Author Notes: Sadly enough... I do not own Inuyasha. I just like to write. Hope you enjoy & let me know what you think!

*~ Crystal Jade ~*

*Cough, cough, cough*

The moment Kagome stepped beyond the mirror, her eyes watered, her throat constricted, and she began to cough.

*Wheeze*

With her eyes closed and bent over at the waist, she made a verbal note, "Next time, *cough* I need to hold *cough* my breath."

Once she was finally able to clear her throat and take a deep breath, her nose began to tingle next. She had never smelled such clean air before. Back home, even in the country where she had visited as a kid, it never smelled so clean and refreshing. She leaned back up and finally opened her eyes to the world around her.

It was incredible to say the least. The colors alone were deeper and richer than she had ever seen. The grass and trees surrounding the small dirt path that stood before her looked like they had been saturated in a forest green dye before being strategically placed. She could see various colors of unknown, wild flowers growing amongst the grass and trees that lead deeper into the forest. The part of the sky that she could see before trees blocked her view was, funny enough, a deep sky blue with several white, fluffy clouds. A color she never really saw while living in the city among the steel gray buildings and overlying smog. Even though she couldn't see the sun directly, she could see streams of sunlight pelting through the cracks between the leaves of the forest.

However, it was not just her sight that was affected by the beauty before her. She could hear birds chirping, small forest animals scurrying about, and a babbling stream that had to be nearby. There was no constant hum of electricity, no blaring of music or people talking, no honking of car horns. She could feel the warmth of the day from the sun as well as the light, cooling breeze that pulled wisps of hair from out of her ponytail. It was what she would call a perfect day.

As Kagome turned around to look behind her, she involuntarily took a step back and looked up.

"Well, I wasn't quite expecting that…"

The mirror that she had stepped through was mounted against a large stone wall that seemed to stretch on for miles in both directions. The wall itself rose and fell and curved around with the land but had several places where the stones had fallen over and left gaps in the wall. Just barely above the wall, she could see the beginnings of what looked like could be a castle or home of some sort.

Dropping her gaze back to the mirror, she only saw her reflection once again. This mirror looked like what she had stepped through but with no spots of aging or deterioration. However, it was held in place by small stones instead of wood and seemed to blend in perfectly with the stone wall. 'Someone would never even know it was there unless they walked right by it', she concluded. The stones surrounding had the symbols etched into them like on her side. In the top left corner, she could barely make out the chip in the glass that she had accidently used to travel beyond the looking glass.

Once again looking at her reflection, she knew she looked a little out of place with her blue jeans, green t-shirt, and black tennis shoes among all the nature surrounding her.

Shrugging her shoulders, Kagome mused, 'Oh well. It can't be helped.'

Not really sure what to do first, she turned to her right and began walking toward the first gap in the wall.

"Why not visit my neighbors first and find out where I am?"

Stumbling over the stones leading to the gap in the wall, she quickly realized that there would be no neighbors to speak with. The crumbling wall surrounded an even more crumbling castle. Splintered wood, white stones, faded red tiles, and tarnish metal looked to have been tossed about by an explosion and had weeds, vines, and grass growing in-between all the cracks. Trees had already grown among the ruins. One lone castle tower stood near her side of the wall, looking like it would crumble at a gust of strong wind.

Looking at the mess, Kagome whistled low and was at least able to figure out what country she was in. 'Looks like Japan; the remaining castle roof looks similar to what I have seen in pictures. And looks like a battle occurred here a long time ago.' Walking further inward, there were remains of armor, weapons, and giant bones surrounding the once proud castle.

Sighing loudly, she pouted, "Great... I'm in a country where I hardly remember the language. At least I remember some about Japan and its history. Between being both Japanese/American and the extensive research I had to do as a kid, I should be able to get around."

Looking around, she mumbled, "Maybe… Looks like no answers will be had here. But I should arm myself with something before leaving out. Just in case..."

Kagome walked towards a bow and quiver full of arrows lying under a slightly raised slab of stone. They actually looked to be in good condition; especially considering all the destruction around. "Good thing my mother and father wanted me to take archery as a kid."

Thinking about her parents and her childhood, Kagome finally understood why her mom wanted her to be prepared for anything. While most little girls did dance and piano, she could remember being forced to take archery, fencing, swordsmanship, self-defense, and gun control; her mother being more adamant about it than her father. She ended up being homeschooled so that she would have time to work on her electives. It was hard balancing school and training, even more so once her mom disappeared. She never had time for much else. At the time, it never occurred to Kagome why it seemed to be important but she did know that it had taught her grace, appreciation for life, stamina, balance, and control. Unfortunately, it also made her stubborn and quick-tempered. She could make friends easily but once they found out about all that she did, she quickly became an outcast since she couldn't join in all the fun that normal teens engaged in.

Shaking her head of unwanted memories, Kagome armed herself with the bow and arrows, then turned around and walked out the gap she came in at. She walked towards the path that was in front of the mirror. Glancing once more at the mirror, she turned and walked into the forest.

Walking in the forest was both peaceful and chilling. It was a good 15 degrees cooler than being back at the ruins. The path seemed to narrow more and it was not before long that she came across stone steps that lead downwards. Seeing nowhere else to go, she continued onward. The scenery changed from a lush forest to thick thorns and briar bushes. The path was only one person width across now and seemed to twist and turned like a winding river. Coming around a sharp bend, her path was blocked by a tree that was larger than any tree she had ever seen. The tree looked ancient and held a life all its own.

Looking upward, Kagome could not help but be in awe of the tree. Without even touching it, she could feel the tree's aura and felt a strange connection to it. As she climbed around on its giant roots, she found both another, broader, path that ran along the edge of the forest and something else altogether.

Held against the front of the tree and what appeared to be in a deep sleep, was a man but unlike any she had seen before. He looked exotic and wild, yet serene and was quite beautiful. He wore red, traditional garb of a Japanese man, though without sandals. His skin was tan and his long, silvery-white hair seemed to float as it was gently moved by the soft breeze. However, what completed the look of being exotic were his claws and the two triangle-shaped dog ears upon the top of his head.

Tilting her head to the side, she thought, 'He's a half demon?'

Growing up in a time where there were few demons left, a half demon was even rarer, or at least she thought they were. Neither demons nor half demons were shunned for not being 'fully' human but most just blended in with everyone else; they were just another race. Sometimes, it was hard to tell what a person's heritage was since most looked like humans. Yet, even with the few she had met and knew were different, they seemed so… boring compared to the one who rested before her.

Walking closer to the slumbering half demon, she reached out and touched the thick briar vines that were holding him against the tree. Instantly, the vines started to twist and pull away from the tree and its victim. After the last of the vines moved, the half demon started to fall forward. Not wanting him to get hurt, she quickly reached out, grabbed him, and sat him up against the tree.

Kneeling beside him, she stared into his face expecting him to awaken. After a moment more of not seeing any change in his status, her eyes slowly lifted toward his ears.

'They are so cute!' she cheerfully thought. 'I wonder what they feel like…'

Not being able to deny herself any longer, she reached up with her hands and gently rubbed his ears. She smiled, 'They are so soft and warm.'

After what seemed like only half a second, two clawed hands reached up and grabbed her forearms tightly. Her body locked up and she paused in her ministrations of the adorable ears and looked down into a pair of golden color eyes. She could hear the half demon growl at her.

"What are you doing?"