Chapter 1
Meeting In the Forest
"Kagome! Don't wander too far!"
"I won't!" a five-year old girl called back to her stepmother lovingly, "I'll stay near the path like always!"
Kikyou smiled and walked into the humble house and was greeted by her smiling husband.
"Did she go to the forest again?" he asked even though he knew the answer.
"Yes," Kikyou sat down next to him at the wooden table, "Has she always loved the trees and animals there that much?"
"Yes," the husband answered, "For some reason, Kagome has always been drawn to the forest. When she was just a small child, we would have to make sure that she didn't crawl out of her cradle towards the forest."
"She's devoted," Kikyou nodded in agreement, "but then again, I suppose it's a beautiful place. I would love to have a picnic there with just the three of us."
Her husband hugged her lovingly. "So would I, Kikyou, but the world is a harsh place and I don't have the time. I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault," Kikyou answered, squeezing him back, "You work too hard. Why don't you relax a little before you gather more wood?"
"Alright," he sighed and held his wife close.
Kagome walked through the trees, humming cheerfully. On occasion, she'd stop and admire a flower's beauty or marvel at a skittering chipmunk or a twittering bird. Then, she heard a sound behind her. It sounded like feet, but made the slightest scratching nose. She considered it to be a cat or dog, but it was too quiet to be either and it only had two feet. She continued to walk, but this time with more caution when she spun around suddenly and came face to face with a boy. He looked to be around her age, maybe a year or two older and he had the most unusual appearance.
He wore all red and his feet were bare with protruding claws instead of toe and fingernails. He had long and beautiful silver hair coming down to about mid-back and amber eyes that had curiosity and the disappointment of being caught swimming within them. What Kagome like about him most (I bet you all know this) were his ears. Two triangular dog ears covered in silver fuzz on the outside and pink fuzz on the inside sat atop his head and twitched at every sound.
It seemed like an eternity as they stood and stared at each other, each with curiosity and caution. Finally, Kagome spoke, "Hi, I'm Kagome. What's your name?"
"Inuyasha," he answered, "What are you?"
Kagome laughed, "I'm a human, just like you. Except I don't know where you got your ears or why your parents let your nails grow so long."
"I'm not a human!" Inuyasha retorted, "I'm a hanyou, and all the youkai's say to stay away from humans."
"Then why are you still here?" Kagome asked, "Shouldn't you be running away from me? And aren't you half human too?"
Inuyasha puffed his chest out and answered, "I don't run! I'm brave! Mommy was a human, but she died."
"My mommy died too," Kagome said sadly before she brightened up, "Let's be friends!"
"What?"
"Let's be friends," Kagome repeated slowly, "I can teach you about humans and you can teach me about youkai! Wouldn't that be cool?"
"I guess," Inuyasha said hesitantly before, "I go first!"
"Hey! No fair!" Kagome pouted, "It was my idea!"
"You're too slow!" Inuyasha laughed before he took off into the untrodden woods with the little human girl chasing after him.
For the rest of the day, Inuyasha taught Kagome how to climb and she taught him how to play tag and always lost. Finally, at sunset, the two said their farewells and Inuyasha walked Kagome to the shallow part of the forest before he disappeared into the trees.
Kagome ran out of the forest and yelled happily to her father and stepmother, "Daddy! Kikyou! I met someone wonderful today in the forest!"
Her father put down his ax and Kikyou took down the last sheet and took Kagome into her arms. "What is it Kagome?" she asked gently, "Who did you meet?"
Kagome paused. She strained her mind again and again for who she had met before she answered slowly, "I met...the birds and the squirrels and the rabbits..."
"That's no one special!" her father laughed, "You always play with the animals."
"No!" Kagome insisted, "I did meet someone new, Daddy! I just don't remember who."
"Of course you did," Kikyou tapped the child's nose gently, "Tell us who it is when you remember." With that, she stood up, picked up the basket of dry laundry, and walked into the house with her husband and Kagome trailing behind slowly.
Quietly, the girl mumbled to herself, "But I did meet someone. Someone special."
A/N: So, how'd you like it? I'm not gonna ask for reviews 'cause requests for reviews annoy a lot of people and I want everyone to be happy. Just one thing if you do review me, don't say "Great start! Update soon!" or something like that, 'cause then I don't know how to respond and then I might end up not responding then I'm afraid that people will be left out. Well, that's it for now. I hope you like it.