Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha

Author's Note: This is my first attempt at an AU InuYasha fic. I hope it isn't too awful _ This fic is currently a budding idea, so who knows where the story will take me :) Hopefully you enjoy it. Please R&R!

The Stray

Chapter One – Routine Life

A cool breeze had swept through the area, which was a welcome relief from the scorching summer sun. Kagome Higurashi had gone out to do some grocery shopping for her mother and was now on her way home. Being the last week of summer vacations, she had wanted to do as many activities as possible. She didn't want to go back to school feeling like the holidays had been wasted. So while today was going to be spent at home helping her grandfather around the Higurashi Shrine and helping her mother with the housework, tomorrow had to be another story. It had to be more than today.

The brunette trudged up the steps of the Shrine, not wanting to look up, knowing that she would feel like she was climbing Mt. Everest to see so many steps before her. And the grocery bags full of food and necessities were certainly not making it any easier in the heat. So even though Kagome was wearing a pastel green summer dress, she could feel the sweat starting to cover her body, making the dress stick to her.

Definitely going to have a nice cool shower, she thought to herself, thinking of the bliss she would feel to have the cool water running down her body.

As she reached the top of the steps, she was greeted by their chubby house cat, Buyo who purred at her arrival.

"Hi Buyo," Kagome greeted with a huff as she adjusted the weight of her shopping bags between her hands. Buyo stared at her for a moment, but as he got no rubs from his human, he lazily walked away, finding shade under the great Goshinboku – a Sacred Tree that stood like a monument on the Shrine grounds.

"Whatever," Kagome muttered under her breath, making her way to the main house, thankful to be under its cover from the sun.

Once inside, she made her way through the house and into the kitchen where she found her grandfather peeking into the fridge.

"Oh good," he greeted as his granddaughter placed the shopping bags on the kitchen table, "I was just looking for something to snack on." Her grandfather began to peek through the bags while she started to put things away in their rightful place.

"You can have a banana if you want," Kagome handed him a bunch. She was always trying to promote healthy eating for him, especially since he was getting so old. But he was stubborn. And if they weren't careful, they'd find him gorging on potato chips or sweet biscuits or something along those lines. "Otherwise you'll just have to wait for Mama to get back and see what she cooks for dinner," she added and heard some grumbling from the old man after he failed to find anything to his liking.

"Should go grocery shopping myself…" he muttered under his breath, as usual, and he hobbled away to the living room. Kagome shook her head in dismay as she put away the last of the groceries, and grabbed the toiletries to put into the bathroom.

Once she had put away the toiletries, she slipped out of her sweaty clothes, turned on the shower to just the right temperature and then stepped inside. As soon as the spray of water hit her body she felt a cool relief.

Even though it was hot outside, Kagome always got restless at home too quickly. But maybe that was because her life was too routine – wake up, school, home, sleep, wake up, school, home sleep. Mix in a bit of housework, shrine duties, and some weekend outings to the mall or movies with her best friend Sango and her boyfriend Miroku, and that was pretty much all there was to her life. But even then, her meetings with Sango outside of school were becoming less and less now that she had Miroku to spend time with. Kagome was happy for the two, but she was just a bit sad that she didn't get to spend as much time with her as she'd like. Especially since it felt so awkward seeing Miroku grope Sango in some inappropriate places. Being called a third wheel felt like such an understatement whenever she was with those two!

Kagome sighed as she scrubbed herself clean. She had thought that maybe getting a boyfriend would change things for her, but there wasn't anyone she was interested in. And the only guy that was keen on her was Hojo, and she could only ever see him as friend.

That's why Kagome was extremely determined to make the most of the last of her summer holidays. Otherwise she'd go crazy being cooped up at home.

Maybe I'll go to the beach… she pondered while she washed the shampoo out of her hair. But it won't be any fun to go alone… Or maybe I can convince Sango to have a girl's night – we can spend the day together and she can sleep over like we used to do.. If worse comes to worst, I could always invite Sango and Miroku to hang out…

Kagome finished rinsing and turned off the shower before she got wrinkly from staying inside for too long, Or maybe I'll just get a part time job. There are always heaps of vacancies at shops and restaurants… That would certainly keep her occupied.

She dried herself off with a towel and slipped into her white cotton robe. Kagome made her way to her bedroom, where she promptly took the robe off to replace it with a yellow singlet and pastel blue shorts. Now that she was in more comfortable clothes, she lay herself down on her bed and closed her eyes.

All I want is a bit of excitement, she thought as she rolled onto her side to find her comfy position, Just a bit of excitement to get me through the rest of high school, and then university if I get in.. Something to keep me going before I really do have to become an adult.

Kagome soon found her thoughts scattering, until she was no longer thinking of anything at all. And with her mind blank, it wasn't long before she drifted into a quiet nap.

It hadn't felt like she had been asleep that long before her mother came knocking on her bedroom door to let her know that dinner was ready. But Kagome spent a few more minutes in bed waking up. She vaguely remembered that she had been dreaming about finishing highscool and instead of going to study at university to study journalism, she had taken over the shrine duties and had become a priestess.

What a silly dream, Kagome thought with a lopsided grin to herself as she finally got out of bed and headed to the dining room for dinner. As much as she loved the shrine, she couldn't really imagine herself being a priestess.

"Did you have a good nap?" Kagome's mother greeted her, scooping out rice for everyone at the table.

"Mmhmm.." Kagome replied as she took her seat. Once the aromas of the various dishes before her filled her nostrils, it was as if her stomach had suddenly woken up and was growling in hunger in response. "The food looks delicious," she added and smiled at her mother. Dinner at the Higurashi household was always a treat since her mother liked to cook something to suit everyone's tastebuds. So laid out before them was chicken karaage – for her, curry for her brother, Souta, and agedashi tofu for her mother.

"There's chocolate pudding for dessert," her brother beamed. Even her grandfather was happy – but that would be because it was for him. Kagome just hoped that it wasn't too sugary. Though knowing her mother, it was as healthy as it could possibly be.

"Thanks for doing the grocery shopping for me today," her mother said gratefully as she passed her daughter a bowl of rice, "I didn't think I was going to be held up at work like that."

"That's ok," Kagome replied as she grabbed a few pieces of chicken and started to eat, satisfying her grumbling tummy.

"I was hoping you could make a quick trip down to the pharmacy," Kagome's mother added hastily, actually looking quite hopeful, "Your grandfather says he's been feeling a bit sick in the stomach, so he'll be needing those special tablets that help with the gas."

Kagome felt a twinge of annoyance at the thought of having to make another trip and she frowned slightly, but she reasoned with herself – it wasn't that far from home, maybe a 15 minute walk if she wasn't dawdling, and she was the only one her mother could rely on.

"Sure thing," she replied with a quick smile to help reassure her mother that she was ok to run such a late errand. Kagome looked out the kitchen window to see that it was twilight already. If she didn't hurry, the pharmacy might close and it'd be such a waste of a trip. "I'll head off now then and just re-heat my meal later."

"Thanks sweetheart," her mother said appreciatively, "Be careful."

Kagome grabbed her wallet and house keys on her way out the door, and headed into the night.

Kagome barely made it in time. The pharmacy was closing in 10 minutes. She asked the pharmacy attendant for some help to speed up the process rather than wandering around trying to find the right medicine.

Once she was out, she decided not to rush and just enjoy a quiet stroll back home, happy knowing that she didn't have school the following day. I'll have to message Sango tonight and ask her if she's free tomorrow… she thought silently.

Kagome unconsciously started to hum a little melody to herself as she slowly started to zone out. But she was abruptly brought back to reality when she heard rustling in the bushes up ahead of her. She stopped in her tracks, starting to feel uneasy walking alone at night. Thankfully the bushes were situated under a street light, so if there was someone there, she wouldn't be caught by surprise. Ominously, the street light started flicker and the bush rustled again.

"It's probably just a cat," she tried to reassure herself in a hushed tone, cautiously continuing on her way home. Just to be on the safe side, Kagome had her wallet ready in hand to throw at any attacker. It may not be a deadly weapon, but it would distract an attacker long enough for her to make a run for it.

The bush had stopped moving, so she was going to make a sprint for it. And just as Kagome was about to run ahead, the bush rustled once more and a little white fluffy dog popped out in front of her. Upon seeing her, the little creature wagged its tail excitedly and bounded towards her.

Kagome let out a sigh of relief, not realizing she had been holding her breath. The dog had made it to Kagome and had jumped up onto her legs, so she bent down and squatted to be closer to its level.

She rubbed it behind its ears, and it gave a little yip of contentment making Kagome giggle in return. Now that she knew it was just a dog, the world seemed to return to its normal state of being 'safe'.

"Are you all by yourself?" she asked it, then looked around for any sign of its owner. But it was just the two of them.

Kagome moved her hand from its ears to its neck in search of a collar. And underneath all that white fluff, she felt the thing she was looking for. Using her other hand, she pushed away some of the soft fur and found herself looking at a deep red collar with a silver name tag.

"Tetsu," she tested out the name, and the dog replied with rapid tail wagging that Kagome found endearing. "Well Testu," the young girl continued as she gave it another pat, "Your owner doesn't seem to be around, so it looks like you'll be staying at my place tonight."

Kagome gave Testu a reassuring grin and picked it up gingerly in her arms, and it gave her a quick lick on the cheek in response. There was no struggle from the little being, which made it easier for her. And it was much much lighter than Buyo – Kagome couldn't even remember the last time she had carried her own little furball.

Buyo… Kagome trailed off mentally as she shifted Tetsu in her arms, to get a more comfortable hold on the dog, I hope you two get along..

"It's a little bit late, so you can stay at my house tonight," she spoke to Tetsu conversationally, receiving a happy bark in reply, "Tomorrow, I'll take you back here and we can knock on people's houses and see if we can find your owner, ok?"

Tetsu nuzzled into the nook of Kagome's cradling arms, seeming to be ready for sleep. Such a cutie.. Kagome smiled softly at the bundle she was holding. Her family was definitely going to be surprised that she had picked up a stray. Hopefully her mother wouldn't be too angry about it. It's only temporary anyway, Kagome reassured herself.

It wasn't too much longer before she reached the bottom of the Shrine steps, and Tetsu was snoozing peacefully in her arms. She tried to be quick and smooth in her steps, wanting to get back indoors. Her mother had kept one of the outside lights on for her return, which Kagome appreciated, careful not to trip over herself.

She quietly entered the house. There was no one around, thankfully, but the kitchen light was still on, which meant that Kagome's mother wasn't done in here yet. Kagome left the medicine on the kitchen counter for her mother to find. She had done her part and gotten the medicine from the pharmacy, getting her grandfather to take it was not her problem. She had bigger and more important things to worry about. She grabbed an old newspaper from the dining table as she passed it on the way upstairs.

Kagome took Testu to her room and gently placed the sleeping dog at the bottom of the bed. Testu shifted slightly, but remained asleep. So Kagome quietly rummaged through her drawers for a spare towel that she could lay out for it on the floor. She quickly grabbed a bowl of water from the kitchen and placed that by the towel on the floor. She laid out a few sheets of newspaper on the floor as well, hoping for all she was worth that the dog was toilet trained. Food was another matter entirely, but she would have to worry about that tomorrow.

Kagome moved Testu onto the floor and got ready for bed herself. She snuggled under the covers, leaving her nightlight on so that she could keep an eye on Tetsu during the night. The little white dog grumbled in its sleep and Kagome smiled warmly at the sight.

She didn't know how her mother would take it once she found out in the morning that there was a temporary addition to the family, and she didn't know how easy it would be to find the owner tomorrow. But one thing was certain – by picking up this stray, Kagome had broken out of the routine of her life, if only for a moment, and she was going to enjoy the ride it would take her on. Hanging out with Sango and Miroku would have to wait.

Closing her eyes, she drifted off to sleep with hope in her heart that tomorrow would be a better day.

Author's Note: How was it? I look forward to Kagome's encounter with Tetsu's owner. Keep an eye out for it! Chapter Two - Testu's Owner will hopefully be uploaded within the next week or so :) Thanks guys!