Definitions: {musuko-san: son | sutekina musume: (my) lovely daughter | kawaii chan: cutie | otosan/chichiue: father | jiichan: grandfather}

The tension did not just fill the air, it had completely exploded; enlarging the space between the two, making it seem like they were already worlds away from one another. Inuyasha opened his mouth in shock, but then closed it shut, biting his lips trying to prevent any signs of damaged emotions. He slowly placed his hands together on his lap, thinking to himself, Why? Why is this happening? The boy shuddered at the thought of having to spend his days indoors with his older brother whom despises him and his parents who don't exactly match his ideas of "fun."

Who would play hide-and-seek? Who will annoy Mr. Jaken with me? Who will save me when I'm in "danger" of him? Who will sit here, halfway with me? Who will pig out eating my mother's ramen noodles with me? Who else would listen to me? Make me laugh? Make me smile? Who? These thoughts swirled in endless loops around his mind for, what seemed to be, an eternity. Inuyasha fought back his tears and tightened his throat, clenching his teeth and fists as he felt a dark cloud hang above him.

"Inu?" He unclenched. "I'm not moving for a couple of days, so at least we still have some time!" Kagome pulled herself towards the boy and gave him a little smirk - a smirk that caused Inuyasha's mouth to curl upwards a bit too.

"Man, this sucks!" he huffed, folding his arms together and pouting his bottom lip. Then, he paused for a second. He stared at the left side of the rock formation until his eyebrow plopped right up, creating a mischievous grin to go along with it. "You know what?" Kagome's head tilted slightly to the right almost as if to say Eh? "I'm NOT letting you move!"

Inuyasha jumped up with hype and confidence, almost hitting his head on the solid, rock-hard roof. He paced around back and forth with a couple of steps while simultaneously alternating between scratching his head and stopping to tap his foot: How can I stop her from moving?.

Meanwhile, the girl stared at the boy with big eyes, He really doesn't want me to move, huh? She felt herself crack a little smile and giggled a bit. However, the bitter realization began to settle in, and her vision began to become blurred and water soon filled her eyes. "'gome!" He rushed to her side and placed a hand gently on her shoulder, "Hey… Don't cry… You know I hate it when you cry… If you cry, then I start to get-" Water began to creep out of Inuyasha's eyes, but he shook his head vigorously to get rid of it.

"Keh!" He spat as he rubbed Kagome's shoulder. "You're not going anywhere." The girl smiled and proceeded to stand up as the boy followed her movements. "Come on!" Inuyasha demanded as he grabbed Kagome's hand and ran at, what she thought, 100 miles per hour. The mischievous grin had came back as his facial expression once again, but this time, it also look like he had a plan.

The leaves flew opposite of the direction the children were running in. The boy's white-light silver hair flowing in the wind and the girl's pigtails doing the same, just with less freedom. The kids' houses weren't far apart at all; they resided right across from each other. However, at this moment in time, it seemed to be a distance far traveled. The suspense of what was to happen to the two prolonged the venture from Inuyasha's house to Kagome's; neither one knew how to handle the situation or what to do to change the outcome. All they knew was that they didn't want to lose each other.

"Mama!" Kagome yelled as she pounded on the door. Her house was much more modern; it had a simple off-white color with a eggshell white door and a black frame to match. The first three concrete steps lead up to another set of wooden stairs, surrounded by white railings that created a little terrace at the top of the steps. Her mother peeped out of one of the two black-framed windows that rested alongside the door. As the knob began to jiggle, Inuyasha threw himself in front of Kagome. "Hey, Inu! That's not nice!" The boy turned to face her, placing his index finger on his lips, mentally saying Shhh.

Kagome's mother greeted the children with a sweet and gentle smile, "Hello sweetie! Hi Inuyasha! How was hide-and-see-" Her mother froze when she saw the boy clench both his fists and bring it up to his chest. "YOU CAN'T MOVE AWAY!" he pleaded; his eyes gleaming with fear and uncertainty. Kagome mumbled his name under her breath as she reached out for his hand. Inuyasha didn't flinch at the feel of her touch.

"Oh… musuko-san…" He let his head down and talked to the floor because he couldn't face what her mother might have to say next. She smiled, and bent down to his level; taking her hand and placing it gently underneath his chin, slowly lifting up his head to meet eye-to-eye. "Come on in, it's time for dinner."

Inuyasha eased his tensions and nodded his head in agreement, following her mother into the house. Kagome loosened her grip on his hand and traded it in for a light hug just to let her friend know, It's going to be okay. He smiled at her and gave a slight head nod before getting distracted by her chubby, orange and white cat. "Buyo!" He squealed in excitement as he began to chase after the cat who had no interest in being hung upside down for the tenth time this week.

The inside of the house didn't have much space, but it served its purpose. The stairs were placed in the far right side of the living room, against the wall and was, basically, right in front of the door. A light grey couch rested on top of a dark multicolored rug which covered about less than half of the living room floor. A low, wide black coffee table shared the space with the couch while black bookshelves and small cabinet-drawers covered the right wall of the room. A huge flatscreen TV was hung up against the wall, right above the small cabinet drawers that contained many miscellaneous objects.

Kagome left the space of the living room in which Inuyasha was carelessly lifting up Buyo and giggling in amusement. She proceeded through the opening that lead into the kitchen. Her mother stood at the countertop near the sink, preparing dinner.

"Mama?" Her mother turned to face her and averted her eyes downward to meet with her daughter's. "Yes, sutekina musume?" Kagome ruffled her green skirt as her foot drew little circles. The girl then shifted her eyes to Inuyasha; noticing how much he loved playing with Buyo and how much she loved playing with him. She looked back up at her mother with a frown, "Do we have to move?" Her mother, grinning, shrunk down to her height, brushing the baby hairs out of her daughter's face. "Kawaii chan… you know it's been really hard without your otosan and jiichan is getting older… It's just time." The girl sighed loudly, and before she could reply, she was already left alone.

"Dinner time!"

The wide circular table was covered in all of Mrs. Higurashi's specialties: onigiri, katsudon, oyakodon, nigiri-sushi, anban, and - Inuyasha's favorite - ramen. Normally, she'd make some type of curry-based dish, but Inuyasha always loathed the smell and the taste, causing him to leave in a haste due to disgust. Kagome would then be upset for the rest of the night and would refuse to leave her room; her mother figured it was because her daughter hated when Inuyasha leaves without saying bye.

Mrs. Higurashi took her place at the head of the table; jiichan taking a seat opposite of her and Kagome and Inuyasha claimed the remaining two, sitting across from one another. The boy didn't hesitate to hog the ramen. Jiichan gazed in amazement and mouthed, Wow, as he stared at him literally devour his food. Kagome followed jiichan's gaze and giggled, Inuyasha feeling her stare. He lifted his head with bits of food all over his stuffed cheeks, "Oh sorry," he lifted the leftover ramen, "The noodles are awesome! You guys need to have it!" The girl snickered amongst herself once again.

"Oh! Musume," Kagome's mother said breaking the silence. "Have you gotten to what I told you to do?" Kagome shook her head and looked down at her plate, playing with her food in distress. Inuyasha, whilst stuffing his face, viciously put down his utensils after realizing what Mrs. Higurashi meant. "Why are you moving?! Isn't there something I can do?!" he spat, sending bits of food across the table. "I'll stop lifting Buyo in the air and hanging him upside down! Even though it's really fun… But ANYTHING to keep you all here!" His voice softening after every word and gradually brought his head down, "Please… Kagome's my bestest friend."

Kagome stared at Inuyasha with big eyes, slowly breathing, "Inuyasha…." She understood how hard it's been for mama ever since chichiue had passed and how jiichan's age didn't make it any easier. Inuyasha was her bestest friend too, but she knew she had to move for mama's sake. "Inu… You're my bestest friend!" she smile, reassuring the boy. "But-"

"But?!" he shouted with anger. "Are you trying to tell me you want to move? You WANT to leave me?!" Mrs. Higurashi and jiichan stayed silent; both because they didn't know what to say and they didn't know how to comfort the boy. Her mother and jiichan exchanged looks of, Yikes, this doesn't sound good and maybe that wasn't the best thing to say. "Inu, no!" Inuyasha jumped up, "Fine. I'll make it easier for you; WE'RE NOT FRIENDS ANYMORE." He made his way towards the door without hesitation, never looking back. Kagome…., he thought to himself, but that didn't stop him.

Kagome's eyes immediately filled with sadness, fear, and guilt. Streaks of water travelled so quick from her eyes to her chin that she couldn't even stop it if she wanted to. She clenched her fists and bit her bottom lip, but that didn't help at all. The tears weren't stopping; she slid out of her chair, storming through the living room and up the stairs, rushing to her bedroom as she closed the door behind her. The girl leaped into her bed, grabbing her pillow and letting it soak up all her tears. Inuyasha….

"Kagome! Wake up! It's time for school!"

The sun's light shone through the curtains so easily it practically hurt. Morning already? I rubbed my eyes trying to wake myself up a bit. As I slowly sat up, I tried to remember what made me fall asleep so early and why were my eyes so puffy? My attention moved towards the far rightfully ht corner of my room; stacks of boxes were piled onto each other, leaving my room, basically, already more than half empty. As I scanned my the rest of my mirror, my eyes glued to a picture that was, poorly, taped onto my mirror: it was me and Inu.

I grabbed the picture and admired how we looked so….happy; Inuyasha was pulling his mouth wide-open, letting his tongue hang and I wore mama's gigantic sunglasses, which made my face look like a peanut, sticking out my tongue and held up two fingers trying to make Inu look like a bunny, even though he already had ears.

"Kagome?! Are you dressed yet?" I yelped out of freight, and walked quickly towards my closet: a white long sleeve with a green collar, red tie, white knee-high socks, little brown shoes, and a green skirt to match. I quickly dressed myself with my signature uniform; hopping on foot to get the other sock on and then hopping on the other to get my shoes on. I walked over to the mirror and smirked at myself as I frantically brushed my hair, "Inuyasha, I'm NOT losing a friend like you!"

I jumped out of the car as quickly as I could. "Bye-bye Mama! Bye-bye jiichan!" I knew Inuyasha was already at school because his parents always dropped him off early - sometimes he would be the first one there and he hated it. He always gets worked up over the littlest things, but I always find it so funny and silly. He hated that too.

Once I finally reached the front of the school, I forced the doors open and ran right past it. I flew down the hallway; my hair going in one solid direction and my skirt following its flow. I heard a few call-outs of "Kagome!" and "Kagome-chan!" but I ignored it, I had to get to Inuyasha, where was Inu?!

After, what seemed to be, miles of running, I finally reached my classroom and peaked inside of it before going it: Inu? No. INU? No.. Inu?! Oh gosh, no. I couldn't find him. He usually sat in the seat right next to mine while aggressively coloring or drawing on an innocent white piece of paper. Or sometimes he would try talking to my other friends, like Yuri, Eri, and Ayumi, but he wasn't quite as comfortable with them as he was with me.

I searched the tables, the sensei's desk, and even the play area: Is he really not here? I plopped down onto the playmat and buried my head in my arms. The kids near me paid no mind to me, as they were too busy playing with the new toys sensei bought for us.

KEH! I immediately lifted my head from my sorrows. "Eh?" I mumbled to myself. I brought myself back up and made my way towards the sound of the noise. I made my steps slow and light, trying not to let whoever - made that noise - know I'm approaching. I stood at the tips of both my feet to allow myself to peep over the semi-tall bookshelves. "INU!"

"Huh?" His arms flailed to the sky as I tackled him to the ground. I felt my cheeks tense up after realizing how big of a smile had came upon my face. His glistening golden eyes were open wide in either amazement or fear. His facial expression screamed, How did you find me?! And why are you on top of me?!

I threw myself back onto him and squeezed him tightly, "Inu! I missed you so much!" He felt tense. I wasn't satisfied with, what seemed to be, his response, but that didn't make me let go. I gripped him tighter and squeezed him harder, I'm not going to lose you. He suddenly felt calmer and returned my hug; gripping me even tighter.

"H-How…" he stuttered, "How'd you find me?" I giggled at his silly question. It seemed that it didn't cross his mind that our classroom wasn't the best hiding place. "I heard your little 'KEH!' and just had a feeling it was you. I know my best friend."

His face grew pink and he turned his head. "Why are you back here anyways? You hate reading! Is that why you made your little noise?" I nudged him. He let out a small laugh and that gave me a sigh of relief. He reached for the book that was left on the other side of him, The Ugly Duckling.

"Say… 'gome?" He inched towards me more. He looked down at the book and traced the outline of the "ugly" duckling. I had heard of the story before, but not the entire thing. To be honest, all I knew was that there was a little duckling who the other ducks thought was ugly. Hopefully, Inu isn't thinking that he's ugly, or a duckling.

Instead of sharing his words he proceeded to show me the story within the book. He flipped through the pages, one by one, slow enough to make sure I was able to read it. The duck was really small, but not ugly at all. The other ducks didn't like him so they made fun of him and left him all alone. The poor duck ventured off by himself, just sad and alone. Why is this a kid book?!

Then Inu finally reached the final page; the duck had grown up into a beautiful swan. "Inu…What is it?" He smirked at me and began to refer to the pictures in the book, "When you move… This will be me: sad and alone."

He flipped to the last page, "I just want you to know that being your best friend, doesn't make me feel sad, alone, or ugly, because I know I'm not," I couldn't help but giggle, "But, being your best friend makes me feel happy. As happy as the ugly duckling when he turned into a beautiful swan."

I felt the water works coming again. I wiped them away as quickly as I could, because everyone hates it when someone cries in class; sometimes it's just really annoying. Before I could even tell him how I felt he stopped me, "Meet me halfway later?!" My mouth curved up into a smile, "Mmhm!"

And so I waited. I waited, I waited, I waited. Did Inuyasha forget? I began to wonder, but then it became clear to me, Nah, he wouldn't forget.

I looked around the little cave to make the time go by. It wasn't nearly the size of a normal cave, but it did have some depth to it. The roof, the walls, the floor all shared the same rocky, slightly-pointed, concrete texture. I wonder how this even formed in his backyard?

"KA-GO-ME!" He just loved saying my name like that, but I hated it, which made him love it even more. I peeped my head out of halfway. "Here I am!"

Inuyasha, a little startled, stepped back less than an inch backwards, keeping his grip on something he held in his right hand. I eyed it for a moment before Inu started huffing and puffing, "Hello! Look 'gome! I brought you something!"

He rushed towards me; his white-silvery hair flowing in the wind and his attention was on nothing but me. His red outfit that he wore, practically everyday unless it was a special occasion, collected the wind in itself and caused him to look much, much pudgier. It was truly a sight to see.

"Close your eyes and put out your hands!" I hesitated, giving him a curious and suspicious look. He is my best friend, and I do now what he's capable of. "'Oh my gosh, 'gome! It's not a prank. Pinky promise." He held out his pinky and I wasn't hesitate to wrap mine around his.

As soon as I shut my eyes the object was at my touch. I felt it before re-opening my eyes; it was smooth and felt like tiny balls put together and… ouch! some mildly sharp.. Teeth? Fangs? I was puzzled for a couple of moments before finally concluding what it was, "Oh my… Inu! I can't take this, you wear it all the time."

He took a seat next to me and shook his head. "Which is why I'm giving it to you!" Eh? I reached for his forehead thinking he had a fever which would explain why he wasn't making sense, but nope, he was fine. "It's so you remember me, okay?"

My heart dropped. I hate this moving thing. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I hated how I was leaving my beautiful, awesome house. I hated how I had to leave my awesome school. I hated how I wouldn't be able to talk about boys and cooties with Yuri, Eri, and Ayumi anymore. I hated how I have to start all over. I hated how I was moving away from my best friend; the only boy, I decided, that didn't have any cooties.

"Th-Thank you…." I softly muttered. He took it from my hands and placed it on me - probably the absolute sweetest thing Inu has ever done for me, in all our seven years of existence / friendship.

"Remember when we first met?" Inuyasha scratched his head and thought about it for a good two minutes. "That's a trick question! We were literally just born and our mothers would always take us to each other's houses. All we did was spit and poop, probably."

I started laughing at the thought. I couldn't even remember when or what my first memory of Inuyasha was. I remember running around and playing tag in his backyard. I remember when he came over and saw Buyo for the first time, boy was that unfortunate. I remember fighting with him because he wanted us to play video games but I wanted to open my new barbies. I remember sitting with him in school; taking each other's crayons and blaming it on other people. I remember sitting next to him during story time, play time, and even nap time. I remember playing hide-and-seek for the first time, and then came the amazing Mr. Jaken. I remember all the times we escaped the world and came halfway. I remember all these things, and I wish, instead of just remembering, I would be looking forward to tomorrow so we could do these things again, but that wasn't the case.

"I'll come visit!" His ears moved in excitement as his mouth fell open and a smile grew on his face. "Really?!" He jumped up and squeeze me from above. I couldn't resist throwing my arms back around him. "Of course."

The day had come. The dreadful, dreadful day. The sun's ray of light didn't pain me nearly as much as having to move away from my best friend. I knew there was nothing that I could really do to stop it from happening, but gosh I wish there was. I wish Inuyasha and his family could just move away with me. That'd surely make life much easier. To think I'm only a seven year old, and I'm already stressing this much.

I dragged myself out of bed, miserably looking at the, now, completed stacks of boxes that were piled on one other. My room looked so lifeless and just dead, honestly. I was surprised Mama hadn't had my mirror taken away by the trucks already.

I, once again, became distracted by me and Inu's picture. The smiles, the laughter, the good times - all these things that described the moment in the picture made it worth a thousand words.

"Musume! The trucks are here! Come down, they'll get your boxes for you!" As I walked towards the door and bid my room a final farewell, I felt as though I was missing something.

I spun around; left, right, up, down. Everything seemed to be packed. Until, my attention was taken away for the last time, mmhm, that's right! I snatched the picture and went out the door.

I rushed down the stairs and couldn't ignore how empty it was. Nothing. There was nothing at all. No carpet, couch. TV, bookshelves. It was all stowed away, making this house look like a ghost town.

"Kagome! Kagome?! Kag-" Mama stepped right in front of me without even noticing. She could've trampled right on me without noticing until she's already done it.

"There you are musume! We don't have much time at all. There was something wrong with the trucks and now we have to be out within ten minutes," she didn't even blink. "So, get your things and go on and say your goodbyes to Inuyasha and his family….. I'm sorry kawaii chan" she said as she gently kissed my forehead.

Inuyasha….?

I bolted up remembering that it was time. I looked down to my neck, and held the prayer beads Inu had given me the night before. I felt myself blush at the gift.

As I busted the door open, ready to shout Inu's name, there he was. He wasn't dressed in his everyday red outfit - he had a white collared shirt with a grey long sleeve sweater over it. His dark blue jeans were held up by his tiny-waisted belt and wore black shoes to tie the outfit together.

"Inu…?" I scanned him from head to toe, he was smiling at me, but it wasn't out of happiness or excitement. He was just happy to see me. "How come you're all dressed up? You have a special thing today?! Tell me all about it before I have to leave!" I ran up in front of him.

He held one of his hands behind his back, keeping that mischievous smile on his face. "It's a special day today because you're starting a new life," he said it happily, yet with spite. His facial expression was smiling, but his distraught eyes said otherwise.

"Inu… no! I just… I wish I-" He pulled flowers from behind him. His smile now reached his eyes, making his cheeks all big and puffy; his expression so smug. I couldn't resist the beautiful pink texture and lovely scent, "Thank you, Inu. Seriously, for everything. Best friends forever," I slipped him the picture of us.

His mouth fell open, but no words came out. His eyes locked with mine and he just nodded in agreement, holding the picture to his chest. We shared our final hug; his grip tighter than ever and his squeeze the hardest it's ever been. Neither of us wanted to let go, but we knew we had to.

"I'll see you soon okay?" I made my way to the truck, basically forcing myself to walk away from him. I felt the tears working its way up, but I didn't do anything to stop it. I just stared at Inu for as long as I could. He was so happy for me, yet so sad for us, we didn't know what was going to happen or how to handle it.

I closed the door and slugged into my seat, continuously staring out the window waving goodbye to Inuyasha, his parents, and his brother. As the the truck proceeded to drive further away, Inu began to chase after it or me?

I pushed my face against the window mouthing, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" He then shot me that infamous, mischievous smirk and nodded his head as if he already knew that I'd know, "JUST REMEMBER, ALWAYS MEET ME HALFWAY!"

I nodded my head in agreement, as he knew, letting a tear roll down my face. I kept my stare with him until he was out of my vision.

It's been twenty years since I've played hide-and-seek, and it's not just because I'm now 27 years old and married, but because no one else played the game like her. No one else made me laugh as hard. No one else - pretended - to enjoy my mother's ramen noodles as much as I do just to make me happy. No one else made sure I always stayed out of trouble. Then when I did get in trouble, no one was ever so quick to be at my side. No one. But, that was then and this is now, and I'm married now. Besides, she probably wouldn't even remember me.