"Kagome! Please don't leave!"

The perturbed, rough voice belonged to a man scrambling through the front of his home, wearing only a pair of brown joggers. He dashed forward, and grabbed the handle of his lover's suitcase just as she reached his front door. She looked back at him with an exasperated scowl, which he could only return with a look of disbelief.

Kagome pulled her bag back, and placed her hand on the doorknob. "I already told you it's over, Koga. I'm sick of your lies."

He pushed his long, black hair back over his head, and held his arms out. "Can I just get a second to explain?"

"I've heard enough, sorry."

Koga tried to find absolution in her watery hazel eyes, but for once, they were as serious as her words. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and warmed his voice, "Kagome..."

"Hands off, jerk!" she objected, pushing his arm away and flinging the door open. She stepped through it with no intention of returning.

Koga clenched his fists in frustration, "You're being so ridiculous! You don't even have anywhere to go!"

"And that's none of your business anymore. Goodbye." Kagome thrust her chin forward as she strutted away with no particular destination in mind, determined only to make it seem otherwise.

Koga placed a foot forward to pursue her, but stopped himself. He could only watch in disbelief of the horrific scene; his lover was true in her ambitions - she would seek pastures anew, and he had only himself to blame. Once that realization struck his conscience, he hung his head and sighed before pulling his door back, shielding himself from reality.

Kagome walked through an alleyway and out to the busy city, where only fate would have her turn toward the downtown area. Her anger set her pace as she wheeled her luggage behind her, feeling each divide in the sidewalk through the handle. It wasn't until she was stopped at an intersection that she truly surveyed her situation, and realized how difficult times would be. She looked up, and marveled at how the buildings around her seemed to stretch to the clouds; it was as if the streets were but paths in a labyrinth, and she was as lost as ever.

"Maybe he's right, I have no idea where I'm going..." Kagome thought with a sigh, hanging her head as the crowd around her poured into the crosswalk. She hesitated, but eventually joined them, and their methodical strides gave her some time to think. Kagome contemplated her options for several blocks, and just as she was on the cusp of reaching a decision, a peculiar sound pulled her mind back into a fit of uncertainty.

She turned to the source of the disturbance, and found a man sitting on the edge of a fountain across the street, an acoustic guitar in his hands. The chords he strummed were fluent and crisp; with each passing measure, he beat the base of his instrument with his wrist to keep time. Kagome couldn't help but cross over to his world, and seat herself on a bench across from him.

He was an unusual figure. Glistening silver hair flowed from beneath his cap, draping over his back down to his waist. He wore a loose long-sleeve tee and a pair of sweatpants, both an outstanding shade of red. His feet were as bare as the hands he used to craft his magnificent timbre. On those hands were anomalous, claw-like fingernails that somehow didn't inhibit his playing ability; if anything, they only served to emphasize the mystery surrounding him. His eyes were closed, and they remained that way for the duration of his song. He seemed to feel the notes he played reverberate through his arms, to his heart, and then shoot back out of his fingers, as if the guitar was merely an extension of his body.

The sword itself was the worse for wear. It was archaic, sporting wood long faded from sunlight, not to mention scratches and bruises all over. Its most prominent scar was a chipped hole right on its face, near where the man was striking it. It was holding up well, however, and its sound proved as much.

The man's lyrics soon cut in; not the greatest tone by any means, but his raspy voice complimented his image well. It was charming - captivating, even. He sang:

"I've been tryna' do it right, I've been livin' a lonely life..."

Kagome looked around, and noticed that of all the people passing by - of all the beings who gave glances, smiles, or dropped money in his guitar case - she was the only one truly listening. He remained oblivious to it all, absorbed in his trade:

"So show your family, all the blood that I would bleed; I don't know where I belong, I don't know where I went wrong..."

It was clear that his life had already been a tumultuous journey; although his face was youthful, his body language and words were seasoned with tragedy. Kagome became obsessed while pondering his story, and formed a short-term destination for herself: merely by his side. She awaited the end of his song, and pounced at the first opportunity to approach him. She sat next to him on the fountain, and watched with bated breath as he opened his eyes for the first time in quite a while. They were a shade of gold both stunning and alarming, though they would tell a story only of dejection.

"Sorry," he said, sending a jolt of energy to Kagome's heart, "I don't take requests." Without another word, he began strumming again, and submerged himself once more.

Kagome was left stunned, but overcame the wave of anxiety onset by the man's directness. "Oh, I didn't want to request anything..." she saw his eyebrow perk up, "I just wanted to know who you are."

"Name's Maigo."

Kagome nodded, etching those syllables into her memory. "I was also curious about that last song."

He let a chord settle for a moment before halting the vibrations with his palm. He looked forward again, "It's about an ex."

"Really? What happened?"

He chuckled, and slid his left hand down the neck of his guitar. "Look, I don't have time to be tellin' my life story..."

Kagome turned away to rummage through her purse, and returned with a five dollar bill. She flashed it to him just before it fell into his case. "I'm interested."

His gaze narrowed, and for the first time, he locked eyes with her. "Why do you care?"

Kagome shrugged, "I'm not sure. There's something about you that's different."

"Yeah, well, that's not always a good thing."

"What do you mean?"

He let out a sigh, "There aren't a lot of people out there who like different. My life's been filled with a lot of hate."

"Is that why you sing about love?" Kagome pursued.

He tilted his head, and after a few moments of thought, he placed his guitar back in its case, and threw it over his shoulder. He stood, "Come with me."

Kagome grew suspicious, but took solace in the fact that she had no place to be anyway. She followed him several blocks through the city, eventually arriving at a ragged high-rise apartment building. He unlocked the front door, and motioned her through. They climbed a flight or two of stairs, until he veered off and unlatched the door to his apartment.

He led her inside what was a small, cramped, one-bedroom flat. It was clean, but that was the extent of any possible compliments. Not even a poster graced the dull grey walls - it was as if he had just moved in. A small futon and a relatively smaller television were the only contents of the living area, save for the pale white blinds over the sole window in the room. Kagome didn't have the time to form a defined opinion of the place, as the man wasted no time in removing his cap, revealing his most perilous secret: two dog-like ears protruding from the top of his head. Kagome's jaw dropped, and the man stared at her for some time before admitting, "Yeah. I'm a little more different than you might've thought."

"You're... you're a youkai?"

"Hanyou."

Kagome tried to articulate her acceptance, but she couldn't find the words to do so. She could only stare at him as he turned to a window.

"Well, go ahead and run off." he acquiesced, "Go tell everyone about me so I can move on. I've pretty much milked this place dry, anyways." He waited for the sound of his door slamming, as he had heard so many times before, but it never came. Instead, he jumped back when Kagome grabbed hold of one of his ears, kneading it between her fingers.

"They're so soft..." Kagome beamed.

The half-demon's brow raised, "Y-you mean you're not scared?"

"Why should I be?"

He was baffled by her innocence, "You're the first person who hasn't run away screaming."

Kagome shrugged again, "I just think it's cool. I wanna' know more about you... Maigo, is it?"

"My real name's Inuyasha."

"Inu... yasha..." she giggled, "That's an interesting name. I'm Kagome Higurashi."

He gave her a doubtful glance, "Where are you headed, anyways? Airport?"

Kagome looked to her suitcase, "Oh, well, not exactly." she sighed, "I don't really have anywhere to go. I just broke up with my boyfriend, and I was kinda' living with him, so yeah..."

"Well that wasn't the brightest move."

Kagome looked around for a moment, "Say, you wouldn't mind if-"

Inuyasha shook his head in defiance, "Oh, hell no. No! You can't stay here. Do ya' see how small this place is? I'll tell you whatever you wanna' know about me, but you're not living here."

"Oh, really?" Kagome grinned, "Because if I don't have anywhere to stay, I could just go to the police station. And while I'm there, I might just-so-happen to tell them about a certain youkai-"

Inuyasha scowled, "You wouldn't."

Kagome started to quit the room, "I guess we'll just have to see..."

"Hey! Wait..." he intervened, stretching his arm out. When the she stopped to listen, he growled, "Fine. You can stay here. But just for a little while."

"Oh, thank you, Inuyasha!" Kagome bellowed, dashing back to the hanyou and wrapping her arms around him. "It won't be for long, I promise. Just until I get some money saved up."

Inuyasha was revolted at first, but rested a hand on her back after she began to sob into his chest, "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Hey! Quit the water works..."

Hello everyone! As you can tell, this is gonna be set in a modern-day AU where Inu is a street guitarist, lmao. I don't plan on continuing this immediately (unless you guys are super into this idea, I guess), but I've had this typed up for several months, and figured I'd put it out there anyways. I have a ton of things I'm writing or working on right now, but I guess another outlet won't hurt anything. Let me know what you think of this premise, because I do have some decent ideas for this story moving forward! I would set this in Japan, but I'd like to avoid all the cultural research that goes into doing that.

Obviously, there will be a ton of songs popping up in this story, none of which are mine, because I like for you guys to be able to imagine the music (also because I can't write songs lmao). The song in this chapter was Ho Hey by The Lumineers.

Oh, and despite what the first few lines would indicate, I'm not gonna be demonizing Koga in this story or anything. He's not done, either, but he's not gonna be some raging asshole in this, I promise lol.

Thanks for reading!