Disclaimer: Inuyasha was not created by me and I do not own it, so don't sue me.

Author notes:

Well, this takes place in Inuyasha's time. It kind of explains all of this in the story, but I'll say it here anyways. Nateli is the wolf-clans leader only child, so heir to the tribe. Kagome is a human raised by a go-lucky youkai (Nateli). Inuyasha--well he's Inuyasha. He lived alone in the forest ever since his mother died, since his father was killed years earlier. I'm not sure if he has an older brother or not…he may have, but he's not going to play a big part in the story unless I find something important for him to do…Also, Kouga will also be in this story. I figure that's logical, since we are dealing with wolf-youkai ^_^ Hmm…I think that's it for now!

The wolf youkai, Nateli, had sensitive ears, even when not in her true form. She preferred to remain in her human form, since she found it humorous when other's mistook her as easy prey. Of course, none of them lived to contemplate their mistake. It wasn't too strange that she was able to pick up the humanoid screams coming from across the river. Nateli was young and curious, so she bounded up among the tree branches, to see what all the fuss was about. She was a little disappointed only to see that it was a water youkai attaching a small boat. "I was hoping for something a little more exciting." She sighed, but still watched as the two people, a male and a female, were dragged off the boat and carried under the water. The boat was then smashed by one of the monster tentacles and flung on to the river's side. "No technique. No elegance." She said softly. "Oh well."

Nateli jumped out of the tree and wandered to where the wreckage had been tossed. She sniffed it wearily, smelling the unmistakable smell of humans. She had always been a little curious about humans, but wasn't stupid enough to walk directly into a human village. Humans were known to attack without provocation. 'A barbaric race.' She thought. She started to walk off, when a strange, high pitch sound startled her. She jumped several feet back, her fangs bared and her claws ready. The strange sound persisted however, even when Nateli issued a low, threatening growl. It was a stand still between her unknown, squalling enemy, and the lone wolf.

"Who's there?" She yelled. The sound momentarily stopped, then persisted. Nateli felt her curiosity get the best of her, and she wandered cautiously back to the wreckage. After a moments wait, she pushed back a few damaged boards, revealing a bundle placed in a woven basket. The annoying sounds were coming from that odd package. Nateli stood for a moment, waiting to see if it'd attack, and then carefully lifted a corner of the blanket. "What the…" She looked at the odd creature.

It looked human, and smelled human, but it was smaller then the ones she had seen. "Are you a human pup?" She demanded to it. She had never seen such a young human before. She had seen babies of her own kind, but they all looked like wolf cubs, since they were unable to maintain a human shape. The young human looked up at her and stopped crying. Instead, it began issuing strange cooings and gurglings. Nateli wondered whether she should just walk away slowly and pretend she never saw this creature, or kill it. Neither plan sounded particularly good to her.

"Hmm, wolf cubs can't survive on their own. Can you?" She asked it. The baby looked up at her; it's innocence and simplicity echoing out. Despite her fear of it, Nateli felt her heart go out for this little creature. "You can't understand a word I'm saying, can you?" She asked after a moment. The thing just cooed. "Well, I'm just going to leave you now." She started to back up, but the tiny human began to cry again. Nateli jumped forwards. "Hey, hey, don't cry. You'll get eaten if you do." She told it, then hit her forehead with one hand. "You can't understand me, so why do I even talk?" The baby just laughed. "Hey, are you making fun of me?" She demanded to it, coming within inches of the creature's face. The baby reached up and grabbed a portion of her black hair. "Damn you!!" She cried, and gently pried the fingers out of her hair.

'What am I going to do?' Nateli wondered to herself, looking at the human pup. 'I could go and give it to some human village, then I won't feel bad about it dying…but then again, I could keep it. I don't think any youkai has ever cared for a human baby. It could be fun.' Nateli pondered over the idea for a little bit. 'It'd be exciting. A youkai-bred human!' She nodded. 'Besides, that little twerp is kinda cute, and I've never played mother before.' Nateli always liked anything new and exciting. This promised to be both.

She picked up the basket carefully and studied the creature. "You'll be strong and fast, just like me." She told it. "You'll be really cool, since that's how you're mother is." She liked thinking of herself as a mother. She never had any responsibilities before. The only person she ever had to think of was herself. Now she could think for two.

"I guess you need a name, don'tcha?" She narrowed her eyes. "I'm no good at choosing names. I've never done that before." She thought carefully. "Hmmm, do you have a name?" She asked it. 'Why do I even keep talking to this?' She wondered. She didn't know, but it was fun, even if the conversation was a little one sided. "You're a girl, right?" She could tell because the human had a pink bow in its thin, black hair. "What about Marlia or…um…Tatel?" The baby began to cry. "Okay, not those. My mother was named Chell? Do you like that?" Again with the crying. "You're very picky, you know. Well, I wouldn't want to be named after a bitch like that either. How about after my great-grandmother? She was our tribe's healer and healed my broken leg once, right before I left. Her name was Kagome. You like that?" The baby didn't say anything. "All right then, you're now named Kagome." She paused; wondering what she should do now.

'I have no idea on how to care for a child, much less a human one.' She though quietly to herself. 'Damn, I guess the only people I can ask is members of my tribe.' She sighed. 'I have to face my mother again, that stupid wolf. Oh well, I'll be quick and leave before she can sink her filthy claws into me and force me back into the tribe.' With that decided, she began the long run back to her home, holding the child in her arms.

She was a fast runner and soon made it back to the mountains where her clan lived. "Hey!" She waved at a younger wolf boy, who was keeping watch. He waved back, and sprinted ahead, probably to tell others that she had returned. She hadn't even stepped foot in her home for over a year now, so her sudden appearance would be news to most of them.

'Why did he still have to be here?' She sighed as a particularly handsome wolf youkai ran out to greet her. "Shan." She said dully as came within hearing distance.

"Nateli!" He said, his happiness sounding very sincere. "I tried looking for you, but you vanished." He told her. "For over a year, too."

"Yep." She told him cautiously. He use to be convinced that she had agreed to be his mate, when she specifically told him that she didn't think of him that way. 'I was running from you, stupid.' She thought warily.

"What's that?" He asked her. She placed on a devilish grin.

"My child."

"WHAT!" He cried, jumping back. "But--wait! You're my woman…and that--it smells like a human! You cheated on me with a weakling human! I'll kill him!" He snarled.

"You really are an idiot. Is your nose just for show? Smell this." She commanded him. "It doesn't smell like youkai at all, wolfy, so it can't be my real child!" She laughed at him as he looked relieved, as well as a little confused.

"You going to eat it?" He asked her.

"NO!" She yelled at him, and took a swipe at his head, forcing him to jump back again. "And I am not your mate, so stop acting like I am one! If I go and mate with a human, its my business, not yours!"

"The leader wants us to mate. And I want you." He told her. She growled and he backed off. Smirking a little at his cowardliness, she ran past him, up into the cave where others were lounging around.

"Hey!" She stood up on a rock, calling attention to everyone around her.

"Nateli?" Some wolves called, confused by her sudden appearance. "I though you swore you'd never come back?"

"Well, promises are meant to be broken, right?" She told them. It was true that she was never going to return, since she had told her wolf mother that she didn't need the clan and could take care of herself just fine on her own. Besides, it was part of the tribe's rules that she would eventually have to mate with Shan if she stayed. Something about tradition and all that stuff. So she left. "I proved my point, neh?" She growled at them. "And I am leaving soon anyway."

"So you came here, smelling of humans, just to leave again?" Came a snarl behind here. "Idiot, we'll never accept you back if you won't do what's best for our clan."

"Hello mother. I missed you too." She called, turning around. "I just wanted to ask you all a question, then I'll be off." She held up the little human, getting some strange expressions from the wolves around her. "It's my adopted wolf child. I was wondering how to take care of babies?" She asked, but was startled by the low growls that were issued by the wolves around her.

"Human." They growled. "You brought a human to our caves."

"Well, where else was I suppose to ask? You older took care of wolfies, didn't you?" She told them, a little surprised by the negative feelings they were showing.

"But that is a human! Why don't you just eat it, youkai?!" Her mother commanded. "You come from a proud family. We don't mess with human's. And here you are talking about raising one! You dare to defy our laws again!" 'My mother is so over dramatic.' Nateli thought to herself.

"It's little right now!" She glowered at her mother. "I'm going to teach it youkai ways."

"Why?"

"Because it'll be fun."

"You want to break hundred-year old traditions for fun! Idiot." Her old mother hissed. The others howled in agreement. Nateli narrowed her eyes. Being the daughter of a clan leader certainly didn't have its good points. "If you dare to take that beast as your child, then you'll be banished from our tribe. An outsider!" She called.

"Wait!" Nateli was surprised to see Shan step forward. "But, you promised that she could be my mate!"

"Heh, you're too good for the likes of her." Her mother seethed.

"But, if she agrees to mate me, then will she have to be banished?" Shan asked. Her mother laughed.

"I'll accept those terms--only if she eats the human here and now." She turned to Nateli, who by this time was shaking in anger.

"I'm right here, you bastards. I won't have any of you decide my fate for me." She said tightly. "I will never mate with Shan. I will not kill this human. If the tribe banishes me, then so be it. I'll run my life my way. I have proved I don't need you, and will never need you." She yelled, stamping her foot as an expression of anger.

"Humans are weak. Stay with them too long and you'll become weak." Her mother sneered. "The brat will die before it grows up and then you'd have left the tribe for nothing. The only daughter of the clan leader should not act so childish."

"I'm leaving!" Nateli cried. "I don't care what you say. I've lived on my own for this long and I can live on my own and raise a human. ON MY OWN!" She turned and walked began to walk out.

"If you leave, don't bother returning! We'll kill you." Her mother warned. Shan looked at her pleadingly as she passed him, clutching the human child protectively from the viscous glares of her tribal family. Or, ex-tribal family.

"Please, Nateli! I want you to stay here!! With me!!" He told her.

"Heh, and sacrifice the freedom I have? I don't think so." She told him gruffly, but then softened her tone. Shan did mean well. "Look, I told you I don't feel the same way for you. I don't want to be your mate. And as for the human…I'll kill whoever tries to hurt it." She said the last part as loudly as she could. "I decided to take it, and I will! I have family loyalties!"

"Loyalties?" Her mother sounded incredulous. "You're a damn liar. You have loyalties to species from another race, but not to your own family! Hypocrite!" She howled. Nateli sighed, but kept walking. 'All I came here was to get help on raising a human.' She thought ironically to herself. 'And in the same day, I get cast out. Branded a traitor.' She stopped as a couple of wolfs gathered by her, throwing insults at her, like 'human lover' or 'two-face double crosser,' and many other childish remarks.

"So this is your true color?" She growled at them. "You, Feri, I helped you with your first hunt. And you!" She pointed to an older male sitting sheepishly on a rock. "Who was it that helped convince Grel to mate with you? You have five children because of my help." They seemed a little phased by her remarks and most slandered off. She looked up to see her mother standing on the cliff, clutching a wolf child in her hands.

"This, Nateli, this is your replacement!" She yelled to her daughter. "This male wolflen will become the next tribe leader, not you! And, if your human is still alive by the time I die, I'll make sure his task will be to kill it and eat it before your eyes!" Her eyes gleamed wildly. Nateli looked up at her, an equally challenging glare plastered on her face.

"Oh, my child will still be alive, old woman. And it'll kill that scrawny pup." She laughed highly and bounded off. 'Damn that old bitch.' She thought angrily to herself. 'Damn her to blackest hell and then some. I'll show my tribe. I'll show them all!'

"Nateli? Leaving so soon?" Came a soft voice behind the rocks. Nateli stopped, and looked at her great-grandmother.

"Heh, I'm afraid I made a mess of things, grams." She told her.

"I heard that you're a traitor to the family. Something about a human child and refusing Shan's offer."

"You heard correct. Haven't gone deaf yet." Nateli said, laughing slightly. Her great-grandmother was the nicest out of any of the wolfs, so she doubted that she cared less about her decision to keep the human.

"Well, let me see it." Nateli showed the child to her. "Hmm, does it have a name?"

"I named it after you. Is that okay?"

"I'm honored." Her great-grandmother smiled slowly. "You know, this child is going to have a hard life. It already has a price on its head with our wolf members. That young pup will one day search for her and kill her."

"Heh, she'll kill him first." Nateli snapped. Her grandmother laughed slowly.

"Well, well, that'll be interesting to watch. Unfortunately, I doubt I'll live that long."

"You're getting pretty old, aren't you?" Nateli asked her, not meaning it rude, just stating a fact.

"You've always been honest. A good quality. Yes. In two more years, I'll be the oldest member to have ever lived in this tribe. Trying for that record, you know." The old woman studied the child once more. "It'll need milk. And cooked food later on. Also fruits and vegetables. It's not a carnivore like us." She told her. Nateli smiled widely.

"That's all I came to find out. Humans eat plants too, huh?"


"Probably have to wait awhile for that. As soon as she gets teeth, you'll have to start giving her solid food. Goat or cow's milk should be good for now. Just remember to not eat the cow or goat afterwards and you'll do fine."


"Got it." Nateli bounded off, waving one hand in thanks. "Hey, try to live long, okay? I want you to see my child again before you die!" She shouted. The old wolf merely nodded.

Seven years later

Nateli watched her daughter, feeling a little proud by how fast she picked everything up. "Hey, Kagome, try climbing that tree?" She called to her. The little girl looked over at her and smiled happily.

"Okay." She was still not able to easily bound up branches, like Nateli, but her climbing skills were top notch. She was able to find foot holds on the smoothest of trunks, and was soon at the very tip of the tree, looking out above the world.

"Good job!" She congratulated. The little girl slid back down to the base of the tree. "I got you a present." She told her daughter, smiling as the little girl jumped up excitedly.

"Really?"


"Yep. You don't have claws or fangs like me, but you need protection later on, right?" She handed the little girl to emerald handled daggers. "I've seen others fight with these. With proper training, you can use them just as well as if they were a part of you." The little girl held them awkwardly, almost managing to cut herself with her weapons. Nateli gently showed her how to hold them. "I'll teach you how to use them. I watched those human's enough to know what to do."

"Thanks!" The little girl said excitedly. "Will I be able to fight like a real youkai?"

"Sure will! And a great one at that. You'll learn how to fight elegantly and with great technique. Some youkai rely on brute force and clumsy attacks to muddle their way to survival, but no daughter of mine will be that crude." She told her, and the tousled the girls hair. 'I'll show my tribe.' She thought angrily to herself. 'I will show that I can make a human just as strong as their brats, if not stronger. Kagome is my child, and I'll prove it.'

"What's wrong?" The small voice piped worriedly. Nateli shook her head.

"You're mother's just thinking." She told her. "Hey, we'll start training tomorrow. You have to be ready."

"Ready?" 'She certainly asked a lot of questions.' Nateli smiled. 'Just as curious as me.'

"Yes." She decided not to tell her why she needed to be ready. 'Let her feel safe for awhile longer. So long as my mother is alive, then she is safe. Once that bitch finally dies, then she's in danger. Life sure is ironic.' She smiled wearily. 'And I can't help her fight him. That wouldn't be fair. It'll be between that bastard pup and my little girl. I will just make sure my little girl will win.' "Today, I want you to meet someone. Hopefully she isn't dead yet." She remarked.

"Who?"

"Your great-great grandmother. I want her to see you before she dies. We have to be secretive though, okay? No talking." The little girl nodded.

"Like when hunting? Like a game?" She whispered excitedly.

"Sure." Nateli agreed. "Only if we mess up, then we'll be--" She stopped. 'I shouldn't say stuff like that.' She chided herself.

"What'll happen?" Kagome asked.

"Nothing. We just have to make sure we don't mess up, 'kay?"

"Okay." Nateli began to run, nodded with approval at the speed Kagome ran as well. 'Not as fast as a true youkai, but faster than any human. There is still time.' She looked ahead again, looking carefully through the trees, keeping her senses open to outside intrusions. 'I'll be ready for anything.' She thought to herself.

"Hey, Kagome?" She called behind her. The forest was oddly still. "Kagome…" Nateli spun around. Her daughter was gone. 'Where did she go? I just turned for one minute--' "Kagome!" She called out, feeling herself begin to panic. 'What kind of mother am I? I can't even find her!' Nateli forced herself to calm down and cautiously tested the air as she backtracked. Nothing…nothing…there! She caught a brief twinge of her daughter's smell. She dropped low and began to follow it. "Kagome!" She shouted again.

Kagome was trying her best to keep up with her wolf mother, but her little legs were beginning to tire. She was concentrating so hard on running, that she completely missed seeing the tree branch in lying on the ground, and tripped on it, falling heavily to the ground. Tears welled up in her eyes. "Mother!" She shouted as the figure vanished out of sight. "Mother, where did you go?" She sobbed. She didn't like being all alone like this, in this strange place. And her knee hurt from where she scraped it.

The bushes beside her began to shake. Kagome stifled a scream. 'I'm no baby.' She told herself. She took out her two new daggers and tried to hold them threateningly before her. "Who are you?" She demanded, her voice wavering slightly.

"Me? Who are you?" Came a voice from the bushes.

"You're not a ghost, right?" Kagome asked it.

"A ghost? Moron, why'd I be a ghost?"

"Because you're hiding. I've never seen a ghost, so I think that they must hide." Kagome told him.

"I'm not hiding!" Came the voice again.

"Then what are you doing?" Kagome felt herself become curious. She walked to the bushes, trying to smell whatever it was in the way her mother always did. All she could smell was the trees and the grass. "I can't smell well, so I have to see you." She commanded it.

"Why?"

"Because." She insisted. "I have to see you or else how will I know that you're really there?"


"What? Really there? Of course I'm here! I live here!"

"How do I know that? You could just be a ghost." She told him

"Whatever." A boy, a little older than her walked out of the bushes. He had long silver hair and puppy ears on the top of his head. "You're such a baby, you know."

"I'm not! I'm at least seven years old." She told him proudly, then stared at him. She had never seen anybody like him before. "I like you're ears. They're funny looking." She told him.

"What?" He asked her in confusion. "You're mean." He told her. "I'm not funny looking."

"I like them." She insisted again. "I've never seen any like them before."


"Well, you're funny looking too." He told her.


"How?"

"Well--you're human and a girl."

"What does that have to do with anything?" She asked him curiously. "Say, you want to fight?"


"What?"

"Fight. I need to train. That's what my mother says." She told him, then, remembering that she had no clue where her mother was, found herself beginning to cry.

"Hey? What's wrong?" He asked her. "I didn't say yes or no about fighting, so there's no reason to cry!"


"It's not that! I lost my mother!" She sobbed.

"Well, I'm sure she'll look for a brat like you. Human's do that." He told her. She looked up at him and shook her head.

"She's not human. She's a really cool wolf youkai." She told him. He looked startled.

"But you're not a han--"

"Kagome!" A loud voice broke through the woods. "Kagome!"

"Mother!" Kagome yelled back to the voice. She turned to the strange boy and bowed to him. "You're really nice. Goodbye." She sprinted off, leaving her new friend behind. "Mother, I tripped and I fell, and you went really fast so I couldn't stop you, but I met a nice boy, so I'm okay." She cried as she ran into her mother's arms. Her mother held her tightly.

"You worried me." She told her. "I wasn't sure where you were and that scares me. Be more careful, okay?"

"Okay." Kagome promised. Her mother bent down and had Kagome get on her back.

"I don't want to get separated again." She told her. "So lets go. Hang on and be quiet." Kagome nodded and watched with amazement as the scenery zoomed past them. 'My mother is really fast.' She thought proudly.

Soon, the scenery changed to one of mountains and her mother slowed down, looking around even more cautiously. "There." She whispered, looking at a small hole in the mountainside. "I'm glad she likes her privacy."

"Who?" Kagome whispered to her.

"Your great-great grandmother." Her mother stepped lightly and slid into the cave after making sure that only one wolf was inside. "Hey, old woman?" She whispered in the darkness of the cave. Kagome blinked as a sudden light was lit. An old woman was lying on strange skins, holding a candle.

"You startled me." Came a scratchy voice. Kagome found herself hiding behind her mother, a little shy to meet this person. "I see you returned." Kagome had honestly never seen anyone this…this…old.


"Yah. I didn't eat the cow or goat." Her mother told her as she pushed Kagome forward. "I wanted you to see her before you died. Seven years, huh? And still alive. You definitely are the eldest now." She smirked.

"Let me look at the one with my name." The woman said softly. Kagome blinked and stepped back nervously as the old woman's eyes flashed red and she began to shift into wolf form. She quickly changed back and sighed. "I can't seem to maintain one shape these days. Well, she looks strong, for a human, but that pup your mother named heir is tougher. Still has a ways to go." She coughed. "Best be off. They'll kill all of us if you hang here too much longer."

"Thanks, grams." Kagome's mother said softly as she left the cave. "You're the best and I hope you live out your days in peace." Kagome heard soft laughter from the cave.

"I could if my traitorous great-granddaughter would stop visiting me and let me die."


"Heh heh." Together, Kagome and her wolfish mother sprinted into the night. After awhile, her mother told her she could talk again.

"What is tret-or-us?" Kagome asked.

"Um…" Her mother looked confused. "Oh, you mean traitorous! Well, that's when someone does something that other people don't like, but they did it anyway 'cause they thought it was the best even though now the people they were with no longer likes them as much because of it." She explained. Kagome had a completely blank look on her face.

"Huh?" She asked.

"Never mind. Just know that you're safe right now and we'll start your training tomorrow." Her mother told her. "She says he's tougher…well hmph. Kagome, you'll be tough as nails and super cool by the time I'm through with you! We'll leave that pup in the dust! He'll never suspect that such an awesome girl can beat him, right!" She cheered. Kagome, not understanding a word of what her mother was talking about, also jumped up and yelled with her.

"Yah!"

**********

Well, how was it? I don't think there are any like this, but if there is, sorry. I was trying to be unique ^_^ I'll be continuing the other fanfic (The Lady and the Prince) as well, but I suddenly felt the need to write this, and I was on temporary writers block for the other one/

Please Review! Thanks!