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Chapter 1

The door swung open, letting in a blast of cold air. From behind the counter, Hikaru looked up in annoyance. However, the look changed into delight when she saw the person standing in front of her. "Kagome-chan!" Hikaru cried out, standing up and brushing away a strand of fire red hair that had escaped her bun, "What brings you here?"

Kagome smiled back and bowed, "Konnichi wa Hikaru-san. I'm here for some info so I can do my school project."

"Aa." Hikaru stepped out from behind the counted and asked, "Anything that you're looking for in particular?"

"Umm...whatever you have on the legend Inuyasha." Kagome answered, shifting her backpack into a slightly more comfortable position.

"Hmm...Inuyasha, eh? Now that's something I haven't heard of in a long time. But anyway, we should have something on it. Follow me." She walked to the back of the store and lightly ran a finger over the spines of the books lined up there.

"Inuyasha..." Hikaru mumbled squinting slightly from the lack of light, "Ah ha! It seems that I do have one book." Hikaru pulled out a semi-thick volume that was brown with age and handed it to Kagome.

Kagome looked at the book, a little disappointed. This was all? The book looked like it had seen better days. The cover was brown and frayed at the edges, and it was impossible to make out what had once been the design. Opening it, Kagome was bombarded with the scent of ... well... earth. On the first page, the title "Inuyasha and the Shikon no Tama" was carefully written. Flipping through a couple pages radically, Kagome noted that it was hand written. "Gosh, this sure is old." she commented.

"You know, it's funny," Hikaru began, starting to walk back towards the counter, "I do believe it was your grandfather that gave my dad this book. He had said that he found it the shrine grounds, in the dried up well you guys have." Turning around, she let her jade green eyes settle on Kagome, "Wierd, huh? Maybe you were destined to have this book."

"Destined?" Kagome echoed, "Nah, destiny doesn't exist. Besides I've never even heard of this legend until today. How much will this cost me?"

"20.5 yen." Hikaru automatically said. (AN: I really don't know the concept of yen, so bear with me)

Kagome pouted, "Anno...Hikaru-san, I only have 15."

Hikaru laughed, "Oh well, give me 15 then. Besides, I should probably take some of the price off because of the condition the book is in."

"Thanx, Hikaru-san!" Kagome chirped, slipping the book into her bookbag.

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"TADAIMA!" Kagome cried, removing her shoes. setting her bookbag down, she inhaled the scent of her mother's cooking. Speaking of her mother, here she came.

"Kagome!" Natsu scolded, "Where have you been? I was worried when you didn't come straight home."

"Gomen ne, Kaa-san. I had to stop by Hikaru's bookshop to get a book for this history project I'm doing." Kagome, said, throwing her arms around her mother in a hug.

"All right, Kagome. I'll let it go this time, but next time call first. Now go on, I have to finish making dinner. We're having oden."

"ODEN!!!" Kagome shrieked, her eyes glowing. "ODEN!!!"

Natsu laughed and nodded her head, "Hai, hai. Now go do something while I finish up." she walked back towards the kitchen, her shoulder still shaking from laughter. Some things never change.

Kagome headed up to her room, taking her newly bought book with her. At the top of the stairs, she bumped into Souta. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" he cried out indigantly, but Kagome just shrugged and walked into her room, closing he door. "Wierd." Souta commented to himself.

"What's wierd?" their grandpa said, walking down the hallway, "The stair railing? Oh, let me tell you the story about that. You see, this stair railing..."

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

Kagome sighed and plopped down on her bed. Life was good; there was oden for dinner! Yup, she was one happy trooper right now. 'Might as well start reading about that legend now.' she thought, sitting down at her desk. Opening the book, she carefully turned to the first page, blowing the thin sheet of dust away.

It read:

Behind every legend, there is some truth; no matter if it's just a bit or a massive amount; there is always truth. Yet, there are also lies, deception. Things are not what they always seem and the truths are twisted greatly to form half-truths. It is these half-truths that, when artfully sewn together, form a legend. It is up to you to untangle the delicate threads of each, and find your own answers. This is a legend that, like many others, resides between the thin lines of truth, lie, and deception. This, is the legend of Inuyasha...

The legend begins with the birth of Inuyasha, a hanyo of incredible persona. He was the son of Inutaiko, the Great Deamon of the West and Midori, the Princess of one of Japan's many kindoms.

And so, Kagome read about the tragedies of Inuyasha's childhood life, shedding tears for the poor boy. Her heart went out to him; to have suffered so much at such a young age!

She had gotten to the part about Inuyasha finding out about the Shikon no Tama when a booming noise could be heard. Sighing, Kagome put down the book and opened her door. Sticking her head out, she shouted, "Souta! Could you practice your drums some other time? I'm trying to read!"

"I can't!" was the reply, "I have a performance tomorrow!"

"Arrrgggg!!!!" Kagome growled, massaging her temples. Stomping back into her room, she quickly donned a light spring jacket and picked up her book. Walking down the stairs, she put on her shoes and called out, "Kaa-san, I'm going to be in the well house reading, ok?"

"All right, but be careful! That well is really deep! I'll send Souta to call you in when dinner's ready." Kagome's mother answered.

Kagome nodded and walked to the well house, only stopping to get a lantern. She opened the door and stepped in. Taking a deep breath, she whispered, "Ahhh...peace and quite." Hurridly, she turned on her lantern and sat at the edge of the well. Opening the book, she picked up where it let off:

So, Inuyasha went to the little village, his heart set on becoming a full demon. Maybe then, someone would accept him; maybe then, he would have a place in the world. Little did he know, that the Shikon no Tama would be his downfall; the Shikon no Tama and a miko by the name of Kikyo.

More tears were shed as Kagome read about the final act of tragedy that befelled Inuyasha. 'He only wanted to be accepted in the world.' she thought sadly, stifling a sob as she reached the part of Kikyo's betrayal. 'Poor boy. I wish someone could have accepted him for what he was. Maybe then things wouldn't have turned out this way.'

So caught up in her thoughts was she, that Kagome failed to notice a strange sound coming from the well. All she knew was that something grabbed her and pulled her in. There was a flash of violet light and she screamed. Then, the darkness swallowed her up.

end of chapter

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