Chapter One

Ryoga was hungry and worn out and each step her took felt like he was being dragged further down. He continued to look around as he took another few steps. His vision was blurry, however, he noticed a small shrine and began to make his way towards it. He then set down his backpack and started to take things out of it. Suddenly, a girl walked another the corner, calling back inside the house, "See you in a few days, Mom!" And, even though, his vision was growing blurrier, he could tell that the girl had long black hair and big brown eyes. She wore a white and green school uniform. On her back, she carried a large yellow backpack of her own. Finally, the girl noticed Ryoga and jogged over to him. He blinked slowly as she bent down in front of him.

"Are you alright? You look pretty pale." she asked as Ryoga's eyes began to close.

"Yeah…I'll be…fine." he mumbled as the darkness took hold. The last thing he heard was a new voice saying, "…Kagome?"

***TIME SKIP***

Ryoga could hear as series of unfamiliar voices from all around him, but kept himself as still and quiet as he could as he tried to make out what the voices were saying.

"…Are you sure, Inuyasha? He doesn't look like one." came a young girl's voice.

"Of course he is! I can smell it on him! He smells just like the mangy wolf!" growled a rougher voice belonging to a young man.

"Well, you do have a better nose than us, Inuyasha." came yet another voice, this one low and sweet.

Suddenly, a soft hand was placed on Ryoga's cheek.

"Hmmm…he doesn't seem as hot now as when you and Inuyasha first brought him in."

Ryoga leaned into the gentle hand and mumbled, "Mom…?"

He opened his eyes, only to find himself in an unfamiliar futon in an unfamiliar room. And crouched next to him was the girl from before, a young man with long silver hair, golden eyes, and wearing a red kimono.

"Are those…ears?" Ryoga thought to himself as he turned his head to get a better look. And the boy, as if sensing Ryoga's gaze, turned to look at him. They continued to lock gazes before Ryoga dropped his own. The boy then gave him a small smirk as he turned back to the girl.

The person who still had her hand on Ryoga's cheek was an older woman with short black hair, kind brown eyes, and wearing a pale yellow dress covered by a light blue apron.

"Are you okay now, dear?" she asked, removing her hand with a kind smile.

"Hm? Oh, yeah…I'm fine…" Ryoga mumbled as he tried to sit up. However, he was pushed back by the firm hand of the older woman.

"You need to rest. You have a high fever.." she said in a motherly tone.

Ryoga laid back down, but kept his eyes on the three strangers. "Just who are you people?" he asked, confused. And this caused the girl to give him a kind smile of her own.

"My name's Kagome Higurashi. And this is my mother and Inuyasha." she said, pointing to herself, the woman, and the silver-haired boy.

"Pleased to meet you." Ryoga answered.

"And what is your name, my dear?" asked Kagome's mother.

"My name's Ryoga. Ryoga Hibiki."

"You call me Yuki Higurashi. I'm pleased to meet you as well."

Ryoga gave her a small smile, which caused him to show off his fangs. Just then, an old man came into the room, carrying a tray of food.

"Here's the food you wanted…DEMON!" he suddenly yelled, pointing a bony finger at Ryoga, who blinked in confusion. The old man then whipped out a piece of paper and stuck it on Ryoga's forehead. On the paper, it read "SEAL".

"BE GONE, FOUL DEMON!" the old man yelled, causing an angry aura to surround Kagome's entire body.

"Grampa?! What do you think you're doing to our guest?!" she demanded, standing up with her hands on her hips. Grampa Higurashi made a hasty retreat when he saw the furious look in Kagome's eyes. He muttered the word, "demon" as he walked out.

Mrs. Higurashi sighed as she removed the cool cloth from Ryoga's forehead. "Sorry about that. Grampa thinks anyone with fangs is a demon." the older woman said, re-dampening the cloth in a nearby basin.

Inuyasha snickered in the background, making Kagome turn her glares onto him. This gave Ryoga a smug smile as he turned to the two teenagers.

"So, what were you saying before? About me smelling of wolf?" he asked as Mrs. Higurashi placed the cooling cloth back on Ryoga's forehead.

However, Inuyasha clicked his tongue in stubborn annoyance.

"Inuyasha! Don't be rude!" Kagome scolded.

"That's strange…" Mrs. Higurashi said all of a sudden as she removed the cloth and placed her hands on Ryoga's forehead.

"What's strange, Mom?" Kagome asked in confusion.

"Ryoga…your fever. It's…It's completely gone!" the older woman gasped in shock. "I'm sure it was high a few minutes ago!"

Kagome then felt Ryoga's head as well.

"Wow! It really is gone!" she said, looking at him in awe as Ryoga sat up and stretched his arms.

"Huh. I don't feel as bad as I did before." he noticed with a yawn.

Inuyasha then stared at him with an odd look. "In answer to your question before, you smell like someone me 'nd Kagome know. He's a full wolf demon. But, from the smell of you, you're a half demon."

But, Kagome took one look at Ryoga's face to what Inuyasha was saying. Giving an exasperated sigh, Kagome cleared her throat, gaining the attention of both Inuyasha and Ryoga.

"Let me explain. Where Inuyasha comes from, there are demons, priestesses, and monks. You see, he is now from our current time. He actually comes from over 500 years in the past. Now, Inuyasha himself, is a half dog demon, hence the ears and powerful sense of smell. And Inuyasha is saying that you smell like a wolf demon because he has such strong senses. In fact, he would be able to smell a familiar scent from several miles away."

Ryoga nodded in silence as he continued to take it all in. "So…you're saying I might be half wolf demon just because this guy can smell it on me? Then, what's the other half?"

"Human." Inuyasha said bluntly. "Your other half will be human, just like mine. One of the parents will be human. The other, demon. And right now, you're in your human form. 'Nd Kagome? Is it really wise to be telling him all this?"

Kagome nodded her head as she rolled her eyes in irritation.

"Yes, Inuyasha. We can trust Ryoga. He has a nice aura. And from what I can tell, he can be trusted."

While this was going on, Ryoga and Mrs. Higurashi were listening intently.

"Huh. Guess my father was the demon…" muttered Ryoga darkly, causing Inuyasha's ears to perk up in interest.

"So, will you be able to turn Ryoga back to his half demon form, then?" Mrs. Higurashi.

Inuyasha thought about this for several minutes before turning to Kagome with an odd look.

"Kagome, I'm going to need your help."

Hearing this caused Kagome to simply blink in confusion.

"Sure, but…what do you need me to do?" she asked after several seconds of silence.

Inuyasha then turned to Ryoga with such an intense stare that the dark-haired teen was feeling slightly afraid and sat back a few inches.

Okay, Kagome. I want you to listen very carefully and do exactly what I say. Place your hand directly on Ryoga's forehead and concentrate all your power into that one spot. Kinda like when you fire a Sacred Arrow. You should then be able to bring out his demon side."

Kagome nodded in determination before laid her right hand against Ryoga's forehead as instructed.

"Hey! Wait a second! What're you…?" But, Ryoga couldn't finished his sentence, because as Kagome removed her hand and he had noticed that it now had a faint pink glow. And after a few seconds, Ryoga's entire body pulsed, like when Inuyasha first woke up. And over the course of the next few minutes, new changes began to occur to Ryoga's appearance.

Black slender wolf ears now stuck up from the top of his shaggy black hair. And these new ears trembled at their sudden sensitivity before flicking forward towards Mrs. Higurashi, who gave a loud squeal of delight.

"Oh my God! They're so cute!" she squealed like a young school girl."

Ryoga winced in pain as the high-pitched squeals reached his new ears, only to find out that they were several times louder than ever before.

Hw shook his head a few times to clear it. He then gingerly touched the top of his head in curiousity.

"E…Ears?" he stammered in shock.

As he did this, Inuyasha leaned forward and peered into Ryoga's eyes, making him lean back a bit more.

"Your eyes have changed color, too. Before they were brown, but now they're a rich honey brown."

Hearing this, Kagome stared into Ryoga's eyes as well.

"You're right! They have changed color!"

Ryoga gave a nervous chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Re…Really?"

Mrs. Higurashi squealed again, making both Ryoga and Inuyasha's ears once again go flat against their heads. The older woman then tugged on one of Ryoga's ears, making it perk up in pain.

"Your ears are just so cute, Ryoga! Just like Inuyasha's!"

Ryoga gave a small yelp as she pulled harder and quickly removed the older woman's hand from his new ears.

"Please do not touch my ears." he said firmly.

Mrs. Higurashi blinked in surprise for a few seconds, then gave him a friendly smile.

"Of course. I won't touch your ears anymore. I guess I just got a little carried away."

Just then, Inuyasha stood up and turned to Kagome.

"We need to get going, Kagome."

"Where?" Ryoga asked curiously.

"We're going back to my time." the silver-haired teen said stubbornly.

"Wait a minute, Inuyasha. Don't you think we should at least take Ryoga back to his house? I mean, he's just recovered from a harsh fever and I'm sure it's a lot to take in that he's half demon." she said, looking towards Inuyasha while Ryoga gave them each a panicked look.

"Oh, no! I…It's fine, really! You don't need to take me home!" he said, waving his hands in front of him.

This caused Mrs. Higurashi to take a good look at his dirty, torn clothing and old backpack.

"Ryoga…" she said gently. "Did you…run away from home?"

Suddenly, Ryoga stopped waving his hands around and looked at the older woman with a blank stare. After which, a dark shadow past across his eyes for a split second before they went back to normal.

"That's none of your business!" he said coldly before lowering his eyes.

"I'm sorry for asking that, dear. I didn't realise it was so personal to you." Mrs. Higurashi said with a frown.

"And I'm sorry for speaking to you like that, Mrs. Higurashi." said Ryoga, looking back up. "And I may not want to go home, but there is one place that I do want to go before I leave on my travels again."

This caused Inuyasha to roll his eyes in annoyed irritation.

"And where's that? 'Cause after we go there, me 'nd Kagome need to get going." he said, crossing his arms and giving into the pleading look in Kagome's eyes.

And Ryoga wasn't completely sure, but he thought he could see a faint blush spreading across the young man's cheeks.

Ryoga looked at Kagome, then Inuyasha, and, finally, Mrs. Higurashi. All of whom were looking at him expectantly.

His ears trembled as he answered their stares in a low voice.

"The Tendo Dojo."