AN: Omgomgomg! Ok…I'll stop hyperventilating --deep breath--…New Story ...and you'll know why I was hyperventilating in my ending AN :D.

Disclaimer: Here's three words for ya: NOT MINE (excepttheplotofthisstoryandanyothernoninuyashacharactersthatimaydecidetoputinthestorylateron). Thank-you.

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Heart's Illusion

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Prologue

It was raining. The dark, ominous clouds overhead seemed to make everything dreary shades of grey. Lightning flashed violently, accompanied by boisterous claps of thunder. Fat droplets of water fell from the heavens, creating a constant rhythm of pitter patter as they splashed on the ground.

Despite the dull-spirited atmosphere outside, the mood inside Middleton Elementary School was much different.

It was Valentine's Day, the fourteenth day of February. Since the school hosted such a young group of kids, the primary highlight was just exchanging valentine cards and treats. It was also sort of different this year though. The staff has decided that the day shall be celebrated in collaboration with a 'friendship theme' to improve the kids' attitudes towards each other. And so far, it was working, surprisingly.

The kids were happy since their teachers had kept their promise of a work-free day. In Ms. Yomiko's third grade class, brightly decorated cards with hearts were in the midst of being traded. Little mouths full of chocolates and other goodies carried on cheerful conversation, giggling occasionally at an inside joke. Hugs were common and there were even a few stray pecks on the cheek.

Through the happy haze of it all, no one noticed a boy. He had the most unusual hair colour - a lustrous silver - and a pair of equally unique amber eyes. He was the only one seemingly unaffected by the blanket of joy surrounding him. Head bowed, shoulders slumped, he stared blankly at his desk, not seeing.

Inuyasha did not understand.

Why were these kids laughing when he felt like he couldn't ever smile again? Why were they able to proudly pull out a handful of cards they got from their friends when he doesn't even have one? Why were they able to take their parents for granted without a second thought, when all the family he has left is his half-brother who doesn't even like him?

Why did his parents have to die?

Inuyasha did not understand…

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The little girl happily skipped down the hall, heading towards her first grade classroom. She was such an adorable little thing. Her shiny black locks were fastened into two pigtails and her bright smile showed that she had already gotten her first visit from the tooth fairy. Those round chocolate orbs of hers was her most prominent feature - usually the reason why grownups get the urge to pinch her cheeks and squeal "Oh she's so cuuuuuuuuute!".

One little chubby fist tightly clutched the paper bag of Valentine treats for her class (homemade chocolate cupcakes) and in the other was half a dozen of crimson roses in full bloom for her teacher. Already giddy with excitement, she skipped a little faster, anticipating the treats and cards she was going to receive in return.

The little girl reached the perpendicular intersection of the hallway and spun on her heel to the left to continue to her destination. As soon as she turned, a burst of laughter caught her attention, causing her to glance to her right, into the classroom in which it came from. At once, her eyes landed on a boy. In that instant, all she could see was that boy. Maybe it was his colours - that deep red shirt he was wearing and his hair. Yes, definitely his hair. The little girl had never seen such a pretty colour…and - she noticed with a widening of her eyes - there were furry triangular ears on top of his head!

Her feet stopped moving long before, having forgotten where she was supposed to go already. She blinked, breaking the rather innocent, if shameless eye contact with the pretty silvery tresses and those adorable ears. But, she wasn't done just yet. Big brown eyes filled with wonder, she continued to stare at him.

The boy was older than her, that's for sure. He was just sitting there; eyes downcast and slumped over at his desk as his classmates pranced around, obviously enjoying themselves. His messy bangs hid his eyes from her view, but just from the grim line of his mouth, she could tell that he was sad. No one seemed to notice him and he didn't seem to care.

Something nagged at the little girl. She just knew that something was wrong with this picture, but just couldn't figure out what it was. The boy's apparent sadness was troubling, but there was something else…

So the little girl stood there, chewing her lip in her own typical way when she was pondering over something. Her brown eyes once again swept over his shirt and that pretty silver hair. She went over his posture. His face. His hands clasped so tightly together that his knuckles were white. The wooden surface of his desk on which his hands rested on -

The little girl gasped. His desk was clean - there was absolutely nothing on it! Nobody had given him anything…no cards. No presents. Not even a chocolate.

The little girl felt shocked at this revelation and was almost certain this was the reason for the boy's sadness. Her small chin trembled with indignation. Why, this certainly wasn't very nice. She would surely feel terrible too if no one had loved her enough to have given her anything on this special day.

The little girl decided at once that something had to be done. The boy didn't seem all that bad and even if his unpopularity was his own fault, his classmates were being cruel themselves.

Besides, her mommy always told her "two lefts don't make a right". Or something like that…

So what could she do? Well, it seemed now the only way to solve the heartache of the boy was to give him some valentines so he wouldn't feel so bad. She glanced down at her own valentine paper bag. Certainly she must have at least one extra cupcake in there…

Her feet had begun to move, and she was toddling her way into the totally foreign classroom in a rather determined fashion. Strangely enough, there was no exclamation over the appearance of a tiny girl who was just the height of a desk. Under normal circumstances the little girl would have been nervous about charging into a classroom full of bigger kids but…

Today she had a mission. A boy's happiness was completely in her hands…literally! So the little girl coached herself not to chicken out and trudged on bravely.

It took about all of ten steps to arrive at the boy's desk. His ears looked even cuter up close! Ooh she just couldn't resist! She fumbled for a moment, transferring the bouquet of roses to her left hand. Standing on her tip-toes and stretching her arm, she reached up and closed her hand over one furry tip -

And marvelled at the softness for all of zero-point-six-seven-seconds when the boy snapped his head up and sharply wrenched his ear away from her reach. Misty golden eyes regarded her with suspicion. A bit shocked, the little girl blinked up at the boy. The suspicion became bewilderment. Large brown eyes blinked again. Bewilderment turned into curiosity. She was about to blink a third time when she remembered why she came to blink at this boy in the first place.

Inuyasha regarded this strange girl with mixed emotions as she rummaged around in that stuffed paper bag she was carrying, while trying to balance that huge bouquet of roses also in her arms. Now just where had she come from? It was like she had just popped out of nowhere. And why was she just feeling his ears? More importantly, why was she even here - paying attention to him! Inuyasha was absolutely sure he has never seen her before…

"Here. Thish ish for you." The odd girl held a toothsome chocolate cupcake in her hand, complete with chocolate frosting and gummy bears.

Inuyasha froze. Why was she smiling at him like that? Surely "for you" was not directed at him…? But does that cupcake ever look yummy…

Inuyasha's lack of response was causing the little girl to be little nervous. Maybe he doesn't like chocolate? But that's impossible…everyone loves chocolate. And…hey! The chocolate's melting…The little girl frowned as trails of brown, gooey liquid trickled down her fingers.

Noticing this, Inuyasha finally took the cupcake. It had gone a bit squishy but still looked appetizing. He stared at the girl some more, half expecting her to yell at him for taking her cupcake. Instead he just watched her lick off her fingers one by one, and then found himself looking at her bright smile once again.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" The little girl turned around to leave, feeling much more cheerful now that her mission was accomplished. Suddenly, she stopped as she regarded her rose bouquet. Turning back to face the boy once again, she carefully maneuvered one single flower from the bound bouquet, mindful of the thorns. Giving the baffled boy yet another sweet smile, she handed it to him.

Inuyasha took the crimson flower in a daze, still feeling quite weird about everything that's happened in the last two minutes. In his left hand he now clutched a chocolate cupcake and in his right, a rose. When he looked up from his newly received valentines, the girl was not there - gone as quickly as she had come.

Finally, Inuyasha snapped out of his stupor and cautiously took a bite of his cupcake. For the first time in a long while, he smiled.

Peeking in the classroom just in time to see this small display of happiness, little Kagome smiled as well, pleased that she had just a little to do with it.

AN: Ok, I was hyperventilating because I just read the latest chapter of the Inuyasha manga. Major developments! It made me sad and happy all at once…so I decided to write this story. If you haven't checked out the manga, do so later! As in after-you've-reviewed later :D. And watch out for prologue part 2...coming soon.