I squinted my eyes as they adjusted to the morning sun that shone through my thin curtains. I yawned and knew that any attempt to fall back asleep was futile. After stretching in bed I climbed out of it and walked to my bedroom door.

I could hear Sota's feet scurrying around downstairs from inside my room. It sounded like he was playing with his new soccer ball I had gotten him yesterday for his birthday. Mom had told him many times not to play with it in the house.

I opened my door and decided to rush downstairs and stop him before mom realized what he was doing.

I ran my fingers through my hair as I walked down the hall to the stairs. My fingers got caught with the knots in my hair. I winced as I tugged until I couldn't find anymore knots to untangle.

I walked down the stairs and saw Sota kicking the soccer ball against the wall in the living room. While focusing on my footing I succeed in sneaking into the living room without mom spotting me from the kitchen.

I rush over to Sota and put my foot on top of the ball before it could get another chance to bounce off the wall.

Sota raises his head and looks up at me. "Kagome!" He yells happily as he flings his arms around my hips.

I smiled and wrap my arms around him. He giggles into my leg and I feel is soft warm breath heat my pajama bottoms.

I laugh lightly and squeeze him slightly. He pulls away from me and looks at me endearingly. I smile as wide as I can.

"You better not play with that ball in the house anymore, Sota. You know how mad mom gets when you play with it in the house." I warn him.

He frowns and looks away from me. "That's the point. I was TRYING to make her mad." He mutters quietly, more to himself than to me.

I cocked my head to one side and laughed a short quiet laugh. "Why would you want to make her mad?" I ask curiously. I figured mom must of done something to upset him. He probably wanted something and mom wouldn't give it to him, I guessed.

"I wanted pancakes for breakfast, but she said no!" Sota whined as he tugged on my pants and bounced up and down in frustration.

Bingo, I hit the pin right on the head. I was good like that with Sota, it was like I could always tell what was wrong with him 24/7. It usually came in hand when mom didn't know what to do with him when he threw a fit in the store or misbehaved in public.

I smiled sheepishly and rubbed his back. "Don't worry. I will make you as many pancakes as you want, once mom leaves for the shrine." I whisper secretly as if mom was in the room with us.

He grins and hops up and down. "As many as I want!" He repeats what I said perfectly.

I smile and pat his head. He picks up his ball and runs out the front door as fast as he can.

Now with Sota's breakfast on my mind I walk into the kitchen and see my mother doing dishes. Guess I slept in a little to late.

Mom hears me pull my seat out and turns around. She smiles and asks her usual question, " How are you feeling this morning, Kagome?".

"Fine, mom" I answer. She had been asking that question a lot lately. Every morning she would repeat the same question and I would answer the same usual answer. It was like one of these days I would be deathly ill and she would want to be the first to know about it. But trust me, I wouldn't be coming downstairs if that was the case.

She pulls out a plate from the microwave and lays it in front of me. The smell of waffles, eggs, and sausage fill my nose. The sweet smell made my mouth water. I grab a fork that was on the table already and start eating the delicious breakfast my mother had made.

After clearing my plate my stomach was completely full and ready to burst. I pick up the plate and drop it into the sink making the water splash up and soak the front of my pajama's. I curse under my breath and pull my shirt out so I could see exactly how much I soaked myself.

Mom comes up beside me and sighs. "That dish water had bleach in it Kagome." She stated as she pointed to a small bottle of bleach inches away from me.

I take a deep breath and turn to leave the room. But, mom grabs my arm and turns me around. "Are you sure your okay Kagome?" She asks again with the same tone of concern in her voice.

I think about yelling at her but decide she is just worrying about me. I smile weakly and nod my head. "Yeah mom, I'm fine." I answer. She releases my arm and I turn and head upstairs.

Mom hadn't ever asked me twice before. I wondered if I didn't look too good. I never liked her to worry, but knew that there was nothing I could really do about it.

I reached my room and dug out some jeans and a mid-sleeved red shirt that had a big cherry blossom on the back and a little one on the front on the top left hand corner of the shirt. Satisfied with my outfit choice I head into the bathroom.

I strip down and turn on the shower. The steam races out the top to the ceiling like a chimney with smoke. I step in and close the door behind me.

Quickly, I shampoo and condition my hair, wash myself off, and somehow manage to almost fall in the shower, I finish up.

After getting fully dressed I blow dry my hair and put it up in a messy bun. With a touch of make up here and there I finish getting ready.

A knock from the door startles me and I jump. "Come on Kagome! What's taking you so long!" Sota yells from the hallway.

"I'll be right out!" I call to him. I look in the mirror one more time and leave the bathroom. Sota is standing right there in front of me.

"Finally! I thought you would never come out!" He states.

I giggle and pat his head again. He grabs my hand and pulls me down the hall. I willingly follow.

"Mom just left for the shrine! Now you can make me my pancakes!" He cheers as he pulls me faster now.

In a matter of seconds we are in the kitchen. It only takes me about a half a hour to fix Sota some homemade pancakes. I see him dig in and start shoving the pieces of pancakes into his mouth.

I decide to slip out before he has a chance to think about lunch. I slip on some pink flip flops and throw on a thin black jacket before heading out the front door.

I had to get out of the house. It seemed like I had been trapped in there for days. Probably because I had. Every time I had asked to go out mom would simply give me some chore to do.

But now that she was at the shrine I could slip out without even being noticed.

Our family had owned a shrine for generations. Mom had helped take care of it ever since she was a little girl. I had been there a few times but never really enjoyed myself there. But for some reason mother loved it.

I turned and walked down the street towards the bus stop. I saw the bus up ahead and ran towards it ; catching it just in time. I step into the bus and see only a few people aboard.

An elderly couple sitting together in the back and a young woman who looked like she had been on here a long time. I also spotted a middle aged man in what looked like to be some kind of construction clothes.

I take a seat up front as far away from them as I can. The bus moves forward with a jerk and I fall onto my seat before I could fully sit down. I frown and scoot towards the window and slouch.

Soon enough the bus reaches it's stop. I depart from it while shooting a glare at the bus driver.

The city sounds came from every direction. The sound of cars, people talking, their feet hitting the pavement with every step, and construction a few blocks down. How I loved coming here. I flow into the crowd of people and steady my pace to match theirs. I get pushed and bumped into a few times. I keep my head down and sigh. I step down off the curb then suddenly realize the crowd of people around me had disappeared. I raise my head up and look around. No one in sight. I look back and see them all standing on the edge of the curb. Some looking at their watches, others talking on their cell phones, and a few looking up at something.

I look up and find out that they are looking up at stop walk light. A big red hand is lit up on it.

My eyes widen and my breath hitches. I look to my left automatically and see a taxi cab speeding towards me. I gasp in shock and fear.

Then I feel something around my waist and instantly I'm swept off the ground. I shut my eyes and feel the air rush past my face. I hear brakes screeching and the sound of people's screams. Then the sound of metal crashing into metal.

Then suddenly the wind stops and everything feels still. I open my eyes and find myself in the arms of a boy. I look up at him and his dark brown, almost black, eyes reflect the sun and shine brightly. His long black hair falls over the back of his shoulders and goes down to his mid back.

I feel my face get hot but then gain control of myself and it cools down. He smiles kindly at me and puts me down gently. I fix my shirt and tuck a few fallen strands of my hair behind my ears.

"Are you alright?" His velvet voice asks me. I wanted to sigh and bash my eyelashes but knew that was way too overdramatic.

So instead I just breath a simple, "Yes". I bite my lips and twine my fingers together in front of me. I had always had a problem of being shy in front of guys before.

The corners of his mouth pull down and he puts his hand on my shoulder. "Are you sure your alright?" He asks again.

Oh god, please. Not him too. What was everyone's problem today! I was perfectly fine and would be for the rest of the day.

I guess my expression showed how that annoyed me because he quickly added, "I mean, well, you almost got hit by a taxi. I'm sure you can't just get up and walk away from that like nothing happened".

I smiled and crossed my arms in front of my body. "Really, I'm actually okay," I answer truthfully. I look up and he is looking at me in the most oddest way.

He is smiling at me like a child that knows a secret that he wants so bad to tell. His head is tilted to the side like the child doesn't understand why I don't know what the secret is.

I smile back the look away. A few pieces of loose hair fall on my face and I look through my hair. "What?," I half laugh as I tuck my hair back behind my ear.

He loses that look and the second it is gone I regret saying anything. It seems a little make-believe, but I think I just experienced what they call "Love At First Site". Sounds crazy right? Yeah I know I thought so too.

He looks down and puts his hand behind his head. "Sorry, it's nothing really.," He explains.

I grin and sigh. "Thanks again for saving my life." I thank him with all the gratitude I can give.

He bits his lip and inhales deeply. "Wish I could of done it sooner." He mutters under his breath low enough that his words are barely audible.

I ignore it and turn to walk away. I hear him yell for me to wait behind my back. I stop immediately in my tracks like I was some robot obeying his orders.

He walks up in front of me and smiles. "I was hoping I could maybe get your number so if your ever in anymore trouble you can just give me a call and I'll be there in an instant.," He suggests lightly trying not to put me under too much pressure.

I fall for it instantly. "Yeah, of course." I answer a little too quickly. He chuckles and it makes me blush.

He hands me a pen that appeared out of nowhere and I grab his hand. It's warm and soft to the touch. I get lost in thought but quickly pull myself back to reality when I hear him laugh quietly under his breath. I smile sheepishly and click the pen. I write my number neatly on the top of his hand. I look at it for a second and then let go of him.

He looks at it and smiles. Not some perverted smile just a kind and friendly one. It suits him well. I hand him back his pen and he slips it into his back pocket.

"Oh by the way, what is your name?" I ask him in an interested tone. I was curious to see if his name matched his beautiful face.

He smiles and put his hand out. "My name is Inuyasha." He pronounces.

My mind goes off into space. I could almost hear my thoughts clicking and moving around in my head. But then they suddenly come to a stop and I forget whatever I was thinking so hard about.

I fall back to reality and put my hand in his. "Mine is Kagome." I pronounce in return. We shake for a moment then let out hands fall to our sides.

"Do you have any plans tonight?" He asks me with curiosity lingering on every word.

"No, in a matter of fact I don't." I answer in what I try to sound like a flirty tone.

He smiles and nods. "Well, would you like to go out to dinner with me?" He asks kindly.

Those words in that exact order made my heart flutter in my chest. As if I had been longing to hear them for some time now. "Yes, I'd love to." I answer truthfully.

He smiles and laughs. I smile and laugh along with him. He made me feel very comfortable around him and I think that is only one of the very reasons I fell for him.

"Bye, see you tonight, Kagome!" He yells back to me.

I once again hear my mind at work trying to do something I'm not sure of. It halts suddenly like before. It aggravates me and hit myself in the head. I turn around and walk with my head held up down the streets of my city with the image of a blood red rose stuck in my head.