(Disclaimer: A few words: I do not own Inuyasha. I wish I did though. Oh well. The story's mine, so back off.)

(AN: Anything in italics is a flashback)

"Inuyasha?" Kagome chorused as the boy spoke.

"Yes. Inuyasha." The boy said, an irritated tone in his voice.

Kagome held up five fingers. One hand. "I'm this many years old!" She gave a toothy grin.

Inuyasha contemplated for a moment. "I'm seven."

"Phew!" Kagome Higurashi said, pushing her raven black hair out of her face as she unloaded a cardboard box. She stared at the bare room around her. It was…bare. Naked. Everything seemed out of place, but there was nothing there in the first place. A single light was hooked onto the ceiling. There was a large window, about the size of Kagome's arm width. There was a beige carpet and white walls. As said before, bare. The fifteen year old placed her hands on her hips and sighed deeply. "I can't believe I'm really back in Tokyo – after all this time."

Ten years ago, when Kagome was only but a child of five, she had lived in Tokyo. She loved it with a passion. She thought that she would remain there forever. What reason would there be to ever leave her paradise? Directly before her sixth birthday, Kagome was forced to move to Kyoto. Her father's job required it. (If he wanted a promotion, of course.) Besides, he would have a higher pay and they would have a bigger house. How could there be a downside? But Kagome whined, screamed and shouted in attempts to get her way. All this effort was completely futile. She left her childhood friends behind and went to Kyoto, leaving it all behind.

Ten years passed. Kagome's father passed away. A car accident, on his way home from work one fateful Tuesday evening. A drunk driver had hit him, forcing him off the road. The drunk went away, not a scratch or bruise on his body. He had to pay a fine, but that was the end of that. Kagome's father, on the other hand, was in the hospital, fighting the battle of his life. He had to win. Sadly, three days after the ordeal he finally passed away. His heart gave up. Kagome, her mother, and brother had cried so many tears. That job, the promotion Kagome's father received, well, as far as Kagome was concerned, had ruined her life. She had to leave so much behind – including her father. After her father's death, Kagome's mother got job. Her boss saw great things in Mrs. Higurashi, and suggested they move to Tokyo, where the company was bigger, better, and there was a great chance of promotion.

Now Kagome was back in her childhood neighborhood. The trees still in place, yet somehow smaller. The houses still there, but it all seemed irrelevant. Time still passed, but it seemed to move slower. As a child it all seemed different. But, how could anyone forget…now it was.

Kagome sighed as she opened a cardboard box marked, 'Kagome's Stuff' in writing that looked rushed. She dumped the box onto the floor of her room. Junk piled out. Several books, several mementos, a photo book…

"A photo book?" Kagome questioned herself. It had been a while since she had seen that. Kagome picked it up from the pile of clutter and dusted off the maroon cover. She opened it – slowly. It was quite pretty, Kagome had to note. The pages were yellow with blood red leaves that seemed to float down the page. It was full of various photos. There was something written on the inside of the cover.

"Dear Kagome," Kagome read.

"I'll miss you. Even though you're a little kid you were still a pretty good friend. Sort of annoying but a friend. You promise you'll move back, right? I'll be waiting for you. Maybe at the park, or maybe at my house. Maybe at the school or maybe even in your backyard. But don't worry. Once you're back, you'll be able to find me. I'll be waiting.

Sincerely, Inuyasha" Kagome continued in a monotone voice.

"Inuyasha." She repeated, trying to access her memory bank. Why did that name seem so familiar? Where had she heard it before?

"Inuyasha!" she exclaimed. Of course! Inuyasha. Her childhood friend. She remembered him clearly now – how could she have forgotten him? So many memories. Swing sets, ice cream, and sidewalk cracks. He was there for a sweet childlike seven months. Until, of course, Kagome had to move away. He never sent a letter, or dropped a phone call. He had forgotten about her. And so had Kagome. Bittersweet memories. Hadn't she promised that she'd never forget?

"I have to move." Kagome said, taking a small lick of her chocolate ice cream cone.

Inuyasha shook his head. His silver hair seemed to wave around him as he did. "No you don't." he insisted, holding onto his strawberry ice cream tightly.

"Yes I do." Kagome cried. This would be a fight. For sure.

Inuyasha pouted. "But that's not fair!" he proclaimed.

"I know. But you know adults." She sighed.

"Promise you won't forget me." Inuyasha said, holding out a pinky.

"Pinky promise." Kagome said, as she linked the two pinkies together.

"Besides, why would you forget me? You're my best friend ever!" Kagome exclaimed, pausing for a moment. "You won't forget me either, right?"

Inuyasha laughed. "Nope!"

Inuyasha. He had been a better friend then anyone in Kyoto. Well, maybe not a better friend but certainly different. In a good way. He seemed to understand Kagome, while still managing to be concerned greatly about himself. Kagome remembered Inuyasha's seven year old image clearly.

At seven, Inuyasha was tall. For his age, at least. He towered over five year old Kagome. He had amber eyes that always seemed angry at something, but sometimes managed to say, "Friends?" in the nicest way possible. Silver locks. He always had such beautiful hair. And those ears – puppy dog ears. He was a hanyou. The first and only, hanyou Kagome had ever met. They were rare nowadays and often shunned - as were the few pure blooded demons. Kagome could only try but help wonder what Inuyasha looked like now and how he was getting by.

Kagome flipped a page in the book as memories wafted in and out of her mind. A preserved image of her five year old self. Short and somewhat pudgy. (But isn't every child?) Chocolate brown eyes that looked huge on her small face. They looked exactly as they did today. Raven black hair. At that time it wasn't quite raven black. More brown, actually. And it was only shoulder length, unlike today – it was midway down her back.

Kagome glanced at her black and white watch. Tiny numbers engraved on it. How much time had passed? 11 o'clock at night. "I didn't realize how late I was." Kagome muttered, rubbing her eyes. "Or how tired I am." It would be an uncomfortable night. She didn't have a bed to sleep on, just yet. It was packed away, somewhere. Among the mess of possessions her family had dragged along with them from Kyoto. An air mattress with sheets would be her luxurious resting place for eight hours. No matter how unpleasant it was, Kagome lay down and fell asleep immediately, falling into endless memories.

"Whee!" Kagome shouted. A carefree world lay ahead of her. "Higher, Faster!" she cried.

Inuyasha pushed the swing that Kagome sat upon once again. A hard push.

Kagome soared freely. "Whe-OW!" she yelled, sobbing. She had hit the ground and hard. Fallen of the swing.

Inuyasha ran over, concerned. He glanced at her arm and Kagome winced in pain. "Come on, let's go, you could be hurt." Inuyasha muttered.

"I am hurt!" Kagome howled.

She glanced back and saw the swing still teetering back and forth.

--

Inuyasha Takahashi closed his eyes once more. "Sleep." He groaned as he desperately tried to fall back into a dreamy state. No luck. The seventeen year old opened his eyes slowly. Sun greeted him. Inuyasha glanced at the clock. 9 o'clock in the morning. A respectable time to wake up, he supposed. His eyes closed once again. He didn't want to wake up. It was too damn early! (Well, for him at least.)

Inuyasha sat up slowly. A golden framed mirror was parallel to him, on the opposite side of the room. He could see the upper half of his body clearly. Silver locks that fell down quite long. Amber eyes that glared furiously. Silver ears. They marked him a hanyou – half human, half demon. Joy.

Inuyasha's eyes now half open, he stared around at his room. There was one word for it – big. He had always been fortunate – rich, in other words. He saw no need for such a large space though. Oh well. The walls were a dark gray – closer to black, actually. His bed was plain with plain black sheets and a bedspread. There was a closet, a black dresser and a large window. The window had a ledge in which Inuyasha could sit comfortably. And think. Just…think. There was also a television and a couch. With room to spare. Yikes.

Inuyasha shut his eyes once again and rolled as he attempted to get into a comfortable position. No such luck. He fell off the bed. "Ow." He moaned as he began to crawl back onto the comfort and warmth of his bed. Something in the corner of his eye stopped him. Something under his bed. He reached for it. A…book? A photo book. Of course. It was clearly labeled too – PHOTOGRAPHS.

Still lying on the floor, Inuyasha opened the book. He was granted with pictures of two little kids. Two very little kids.

"Wait…" Inuyasha said, fully awakened. "Is that me!" he cried, pointing to a dog eared child. Who else could it be? "It is."

He contemplated for a moment. "Well then, who's that!" he asked himself, pointing to a black haired girl grinning beside him in almost all of the photos. She seemed so familiar but so distant…Inuyasha strained himself, trying to remember her name or anything about her. His eyes widened once again. "Kagome. Kagome Higurashi. Damnit. That's that kid…that girl… I remember." Hadn't she moved to Kyoto so many years ago?

"I was a nice little bugger, wasn't I?" Inuyasha asked, pointing to himself. A pout implanted on his childlike face. Much like his face today. The pout was still there, the face not quite as childlike. His eyes said it all; "Sorry." Obviously, Inuyasha had done something he regretted.

"Kagome I'm sorry!" Inuyasha whined, hurt in his eyes.

"It's okay Inuyasha." Kagome said, staring at a pure, fresh, white cast on her left arm. Like Snow.

Inuyasha moaned once again. "No it's not! Sorry! It's all my fault!"

"Sign it." Kagome demanded. When Kagome ordered something done, it was done. No questions asked.

Inuyasha looked stunned for a moment but whipped out a red marker.

He thought for a moment. Contemplating what to put.

"SORRY." He wrote, with a sad face.

Kagome just laughed. "Oh Inuyasha." She said in between giggles.

And it wasn't long before Inuyasha joined in.

--

(AN: This was written and posted on a Tuesday. You have one guess when regular updates will be. That's right, Tuesdays.

The flashback scenes will decrease in numbers as the story goes on. I'm going to throw a guess out there that the story will be about 10 chapters or so.

I have wanted to write a story with this plot for quite some time, and I think I did some justice to the plot. This is one of the better and longer opening chapters I have ever done.

Please review this. And read it first. I just LOVE reviews. They're a sign someone has actually read your story. So, if you've read this, please review. PLEASE? Anyways, until next Tuesday…Ciao!)