A/N-Hmm…I should be writing an English paper right now, but who wants to do that when you can write an Inu-Yasha fic instead? Besides, this idea is going to make my head explode if I don't get it out of my head now. This is an A/U fic where there are pretty much two kingdoms: that of the demons, and that of the mortals. Kagome is the daughter of the king of the realm of the mortals and Inu-Yasha, the son of the king of the realm of the dancing munchkins. Just kidding! The realm of the demons! Hah, had you there for a minute didn't I? Hmm, I'm afraid I can't explain it more than that so just read.

            Disclaimer: I don't own this stuff. It belongs to Rumiko Takahashi (Can you believe word processor doesn't underline Rumiko Takahashi in red, saying I spelled it wrong? It usually does that for Japanese names…)

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"Kagome! Come back! Where are you going?" Kagome's mother, Kikyo, asked, or rather, demanded when Kagome tried to sneak out of the room. Her mother was sewing something. Kagome didn't even know what it was. Kagome's sewing sat on the chair by the fire where she had quietly set it down. Kagome couldn't even remember what she was sewing. At one point she knew, but somewhere along the line, after so many tangles and so many needles jabbing into her thumb, she had forgotten what it was supposed to be.

Kagome had been hoping that her mother was so engrossed in her own work that she wouldn't notice if Kagome snuck away. That plan was sort of out the window now.

"Look at this child!" her mother exclaimed, picking up Kagome's work. She held it up. "What is this? Do you see why you need the practice?" When Kagome's mother looked up from frowning at Kagome's sewing, Kagome was gone. She sighed. It was no use going after her. Kagome had this way of making sure that if she didn't want to be found, no one would find her. She told herself that later, when Kagome got back, she would make Kagome sit at her sewing for two hours with guards posted at the doors. She knew she wouldn't really do that though.

Kagome sighed and breathed in deeply. She was so happy to be outside. The sun was shining and there was a clear blue May sky with not a cloud in sight, just blue. She felt bad for just leaving Mama like that but if she had to endure any more sewing or studies for another minute, she would've screamed. She needed the fresh air.

Kagome was seven years old but she was already well educated. Her father had always been very big on education and schooling and always made sure his children were getting the best education he could offer, which was a pretty good one since he was king. Yes, Kagome was a princess, though she didn't really want to be. Truth be told, she preferred the village and playing with the village children to sitting inside and doing arithmetic and sewing.  

Kagome had one older brother and one younger sister. Her older brother, Shidosha, had always studied very hard because he would be the one to sit upon the throne when their father died. He made sure to visit the all of the villages, even the smaller villages every once in awhile in order to know the people that would one day be his people. Kagome thought that he would make a great king someday, just as great a king as their father was. Kagome was glad she wasn't the heir to the throne because she didn't want it. Right now, Shidosha was probably with her father in his study, discussing the demons. The neighboring kingdom, mostly inhabited by demons, except for a few brave mortals who lived there, was not trusted by her father's kingdom. Her father's kingdom had left them well alone and vice versa, but there were always whispers that the demons were planning something since they were so quiet. Ten years ago, a lord's daughter was given to the demon king for marriage in hopes to ensure a peace treaty between the two kingdoms. After she died in childbed, it became an uneasy peace, but it was peace for the time being. Even so, her father always made sure he was ready if his kingdom were ever attacked. Her little sister, Hachimitsu, was only three years old, not old enough to take lessons yet, something Kagome envied about her.

Kagome was glad to get away from her father's castle, even though she would get into big trouble when she finally returned, but until then, she could enjoy the outdoors. There was a wall surrounding her father's castle and since she couldn't exactly walk through the main gates, right past the guards, she walked along the wall until she came to a section of the wall towards the back that was covered in ivy vines. She climbed up the ivy, and back down on the other side. She had always been a very good climber. After she was on the other side of the wall, she headed for the nearest village where she often played with some of the children there.

When she walked into the village, she spotted a small group of her friends playing with a ball nearby.

"Kagome! Come and play with us!" one of her friends, Sango called.

Kagome gladly accepted and soon she was having fun with her friends, passing a ball back and forth, giggling and laughing the entire time.

"You're going to have to scoot back really really really far to catch this one!" Kagome shouted, throwing the ball high in the air.

Her friends ran back but not fast enough because the ball landed behind them and rolled into the forest right outside the village. Her friends just stood there, looking at the spot in the underbrush the ball had disappeared too.

Kagome frowned and walked over there. "Aren't we going to get the ball?"

"No! We can't go in there! That's the forest that separates the demon lands from ours," one of her friends said fearfully. "We can't! A demon will eat us!"

Kagome remembered hearing about this forest from her father. It was a vast expanse of forest that was half in the demon kingdom, half in the mortal kingdom. Everyone avoided going in there for fear of encountering a demon who had perhaps wandered past the boundaries. Kagome had always been just as afraid of demons as everyone else but the ball was just barely in the forest, perhaps two steps into it!

Kagome brushed past her friends and headed into the forest.

"Kagome! You can't go in there! Remember the demons!" another one of her friends called to her, but she had already disappeared into the forest. At first, the children didn't know what to do but then they glanced at each other fearfully and ran away.

Kagome meanwhile, was searching for the ball. She wandered around some of the bushes and finally found the red ball and picked it up.

"I found it!" she called. When no one answered, she turned and began to walk out of the forest, or at least she thought she was heading out of the forest. At some point in her search for the ball, she had mixed up her sense of direction and, after about fifteen more minutes of walking, she still hadn't come out of the forest, so she turned around and went the other way. She wandered for so long after that, she lost track of the time and seeing that she was still in the forest, Kagome began to get worried. She was lost, and being lost in these woods was dangerous. You would either wander around and around until you starved and died, or you'd get eaten by a demon and you'd die anyway. Kagome began to wonder which one she would prefer. Being eaten by a demon would be a lot quicker than dying of starvation, but would it be more painful? Kagome shook her head to clear these sorts of thoughts. She was going to get out of the forest. She wasn't going to die in here.

She walked through the forest and tried to find a tree she recognized but they all looked the same. Nest she tried to find her tracks by seeing which bushes and grasses and mosses were trampled on by her feet, marking the way she had come, but she looked down and it all looked trampled.

Kagome cried out for joy when she came upon a clearing but then her spirits fell again as she looked around and realized the village wasn't on the other side of the clearing.

Kagome sighed and sat on a rock nearby. She began to fear she would never find her way out of this forest. That was when she looked up and took a closer look around the clearing and saw a little boy laying in a tree on the far side of the clearing. She got up, confused, and headed towards the tree. He was wearing red pants and a red shirt and had long silverish-white hair. She couldn't see the color of his eyes because his eyes were closed.

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A/N-Heh…I bet you can't guess who it is! *CoughInu-YashaCough* Sorry this chapter's so short. I just want to get feedback before I post more first. This is a sort of introduction thing. The next chapter will be longer definitely. I have this story almost finished and all typed up. I try to get most of the story written before I post it so that I know I won't fall behind with the writing of it when I have lotsa homework and stuff. It's thirty-eight pages long so far and it's not done yet. So right now, I'm just waiting for you guys to review and tell me what you think ^_^ Now review! Any flames will be used to burn my math book (Burn BURN!!!).