Disclaimer: Let's see… Inuyasha began in 1997 right? Well… I was seven then… I'm not that smart to create such a brilliant series at such an age! You people are crazy!

A/N: Yay! I got nine reviews last chapter! That's more than last time. I hope I get just as many if not more this time! Thank you all!

Summary: Kagome Higurashi lives in an impoverished sector of the human-demon segregated country of Northern Japan. When she gets the chance to escape to peaceful and bountiful Southern Japan, she must seize the opportunity to help out her family. But she never counted on meeting Inuyasha Taisho.

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Into the Darkness

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Chapter III: In Which Kagome Starts Life Anew

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Kagome was exhausted by the time she reached the city. She had run the entire way, fearing that a squad of Yu-Hellions would be chasing her. She was emotionally drained from the parting with her mother and the death of Kouga.

The sky was still a dark blue color. Figuring she wouldn't be able to find a taxi in such early morning hours, she made her way to a nearby park and curled up in one of the strange plastic shacks. She was asleep within minutes.

''''''''''''''''

Kagome awoke to the sound of wailing.

"Mama!" A child screamed, "There's a dirty girl in the playhouse!"

She shot her head up, only to bump it painfully on the ceiling of her "shack". Her vision cleared to show a pouty little boy, his hand on his hips, standing next to his mother.

But what caught her attention immediately after her eyes opened was the distinct curve of the child's muzzle and the small ears on top of his head. His face was a brownish color and he had black rings around his eyes. He was obviously some sort of a raccoon child. His mother didn't look much more different. They were demons!

Kagome crawled out and quickly bowed respectfully before them. "I'm sorry, madam, I didn't know it was a playhouse."

The woman chuckled, "Didn't know it was a playhouse? Dear girl, where have you been all your life?"

Kagome's eyes suddenly widened. She looked up at the sky. "Oh, shit, what time is it?"

The raccoon mother looked annoyed at the girl's language use, but she told her anyway. "It's 10:45."

Kagome thanked her and ran off. The raccoon boy and his mother watched her disappear. When they could no longer see her, the boy turned to his mother. "Momma, what does 'shit' mean?"

His mother just sighed.

*

Kagome had sprinted three consecutive blocks when she realized something. First, she didn't know where she was going. And second, there was no reason to hurry. After all, she was free now wasn't she?

The word 'free' sent a shiver up her spine. It made her want to throw her head back and scream with joy, but at the same time she felt bad. Here she was, free at last, but her family and friends were still all trapped in the Northern. There was probably a police raid taking place at that exact moment. It was then that she made her vow.

She promised herself she would do whatever possible to get an education and help her family free from human-demon segregation. But at the moment, she had to get to Shikon first and raise enough money to go to school. She slowed to a stop. How was she going to get a taxi? She didn't know how. She walked up to the kindly-looking gent several feet away and asked him.

He chuckled and hailed a taxi for her. As the yellow car slowed to a stop beside them, she thanked him.

"Where to, Miss?" The taxi driver asked.

"Shikon, please," Kagome replied politely.

The driver gave a curt nod of his head and he drove away. Once they were on their way, Kagome quietly dozed off in the backseat. She had slept fitfully the night before, plagued with nightmares and cramped in the small plastic playhouse under the slide.

In what seemed like minutes, she felt someone gently shake her awake. "Miss… Miss, we're here."

She blushed. "I'm sorry."

He grinned ruefully, "It's quite alright, Miss."

She shook her head to rid herself of her sleepiness. "How much is the fare?"

"One thousand nine hundred yen."

She handed him the bills Kouga had given her and told him to keep the change. He tipped his hat at her and drove off. Kagome stretched her arms and took a deep breath. She shouldered her bag and looked at the small town around her. There were several tall buildings, but most were single level houses and shops. She figured it would be around lunchtime at the moment and as if on cue, her stomach gave a hungry little growl. She rubbed her stomach before sitting down under the shade of a nearby tree and opening up the small rucksack her mother had given her.

She pulled out a small sandwich with peanut butter and jelly inside: a rare treat found in the Northern. Tears came to her eyes as she thought back to her family. She imagined her mother making the sandwiches with the love and care she put in everything she did. The tears slowly rolled down her cheeks as she took a bite out of the sandwich. The bread was coarse and stale, but to her, it tasted soft and delicious. The peanut butter stuck to the top of her mouth and the jelly delighted her taste buds.

"You know, dear, if that sandwich makes you cry, you shouldn't eat it," an amused voice said.

Kagome looked up and quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. Before her was an elderly lady with a black eye patch over her right eye. She wore a simple white blouse-red skirt combonation and was slightly hunched over with age. She had a kind smile on her face and her gray hair was pulled into a loose ponytail.

"It's not the sandwich," she said, "I'm just remembering things."

"Would you care to tell?" The woman asked, sitting down gingerly next to her.

Within minutes, Kagome found herself telling her life's stories to a stranger. She didn't know why, but she held a certain trust in this woman who later said her name was Kaede. She was a great listener. She didn't interrupt and listened attentively. The woman sympathized with her and Kagome found herself a friend as she poured her heart out.

"Tell you what, Kagome," Kaede said when Kagome finished talking, "I own a little coffee shop down the street and I can hire you to work there."

Tears of joy sprang into Kagome's eyes, "Really?" She asked hopefully.

Kaede smiled, "Yes."

Kagome flung her arms around the old woman, "Thank you so much!"

"It's no problem, dear."

And that was how Kagome got her first job.

*

*Ding Dong*

Kagome looked up to the sound of the bell that signaled an approaching customer, as she carried a box of straws to the storage room. She'd been working at Kaede's coffee shop for a week now and she had yet to work at the cash register.

Kaede took the box from her. "Why don't you take up the register today, dear. You've worked hard the past week and I think you're ready now."

Kagome smiled gratefully. "Thank you!"

She stepped up behind the front desk and squared her shoulders, glorying in the slight power she felt. The customer was a young woman about her age and had long dark brown, almost black hair. She wore light pink eye shadow and was quite pretty.

"Hello, what would you like to order?" Kagome asked putting on a friendly smile.

The girl tapped her chin thoughtfully for a moment. "I'll take three vanilla crèmes, please, and one of those biscuits." She pointed to a cookie on display.

Kagome called the order to a young man working behind her and picked out one of the cookies the girl had requested with a sheet of wax paper.

As they waited for the vanilla crème, the young woman started a conversation to break the silence. It was a Tuesday and there were nearly no customers.

"So… are you new here?" She asked politely. "I've never seen you before."

Kagome nodded her head, "Yes, I came here a week ago."

"What's your name?"

Kagome pointed to her tag pinned to the strap of her pink uniform. "Kagome."

The girl blushed at her stupidity, "My name's Sango. Where did you come from?" She asked curiously.

"A… small town a few hundred miles away from here," Kagome lied quickly.

"So what school do you go to?"

"Um… I don't go to school…" She mumbled, embarrassed.

"Don't go to school!" Sango exclaimed, alarmed, "Why not?"

Kagome flushed, "I can't afford it."

Sango chuckled, "Girl, what do you mean you can't afford it? School is free! Where have you been living all your life?"

Kagome stared in awe, "Free? It doesn't cost anything at all?"

Sango gaped right back, "My god, girl, where have you been? You must have lived in a terrible place if they didn't even have a free schooling!"

Inwardly, Kagome gave a wry chuckle, You don't know the half of it…

"Get your mother to enroll you at Shikon High! The year's just started, you wouldn't have a problem fitting in." Sango urged.

"My mother's out for the next few weeks… looking for a job." Kagome made up. "Do you think you could help me get in?"

"Sure," Sango replied enthusiastically. "But you need a parent or a guardian's signature for the paperwork."

"Don't worry," Kagome assured, "I'll get my guardian to sign it. All I need are the papers." Kaede had held great pity for Kagome and had agreed to take her in and give her a home, much to Kagome's great relief. The elderly lady was now a grandmother figure to Kagome and she began to love her as family. She knew Kaede wouldn't hesitate to sign the forms for her.

A grin split Sango's face. "All right then! I'll get you the papers. I'll give them to you tomorrow, if you're working here then…?" Kagome nodded. "Great! Then I'll see you tomorrow! It was nice getting to know you."

"Thank you!" Kagome said with genuine emotion, her heart was aching delightedly from all the kindness that had been given to her in the past seven days.

"No problem!" Sango waved it off as she grabbed her drinks and biscuit.

And that was how Kagome became enrolled to Shikon High School.

*

"Did you bring the goods?" A young man asked in a low voice.

Sango rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, here you go." She shoved two cups into her friends' hands.

One of the two boys scowled, "Hey, I wanted caffeine!" He growled angrily.

"It's a school night, Inuyasha. Too much caffeine and you'll be all over the place tonight."

"What's your point?" He asked in monotone.

Sango rolled her eyes again and ignored him. "Guess what? We'll be having a new student at our school soon."

"Is it a girl?" Her other companion asked immediately.

She rolled her eyes for the third time that night. "Yes, Miroku, it's a girl. But she's a sweet and innocent girl, so I don't want to hear anything about you going near her."

Miroku gave a dramatic gasp, "You think so low of me, Sango. It hurts me that my friend of seven years would accuse me of such a thing!"

"Oh, cut the crap, Miroku," Inuyasha growled.

"She works at Kaede's coffee shop. I met her just a while ago."

"What's her name?" Miroku asked, curious.

"Kagome."

They lapsed into silence as they sipped their hot drinks.

I hope she'll be able to fit in all right, Sango thought, a little worried for her new friend.

Keh, I bet she's another one of those stupid preppy girls, Inuyasha thought angrily, crossing his arms.

Miroku's thoughts were best not discussed.

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A/N: Blah. I didn't like this chapter. But hey, Inuyasha finally made his appearance! From here to the next few chapters, it'll be similar to a high school fic with possibly some slightly darker tones. But there will be fluff! Yay, fluff! Inuyasha and Kagome will meet next chapter. Will it be love at first sight? Will it be hate at first sight? When will I get rid of this stupid announcer voice? (LOL)

Reviews please! Thank you! I'm not getting many for this story T_T

Oh also! Important Announcement! Please read! I think I might be changing this story to PG-13. I mean there is a quite a bit of violence in the first three chapters, but I don't think there will be anything else besides that. I know there will be no lemon. Sorry lemon fans, but I don't write lemons. Maybe in the future I will, but not for this story. Sorry! So I believe that by next chapter, this will be a PG-13 story. (::sighs:: I did this with No Longer Alone too…)

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Review Responses

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AnimeBrat: ::sighs:: Yes, unfortunately it was necessary. After all, think about it, no one had ever escaped from the Northern. Don't you think that it wouldn't be able to happen without at least one death? But don't worry, it will lighten up! There might be fluff next chapter if not, the one after it okay? Thanks for the review! Pinayazngrl: Thank you! Yes, Kouga is the nice guy in this story. Unfortunately he's dead now… ^^;; I took a little longer updating this time… Sorry. Cataluna: Yeah… I kind of felt bad doing that to him. His promise does mean a lot, after all he's known Kag's mom since the baby years ^_^ Unfortunately… he's staying dead. Although, *maybe* I can bring him back if I need him. *Maybe*. So if he doesn't come back, don't be disappointed. Thanks for the idea! I'll see if I can fit him in anywhere. Thank you for the review! Sooper Penguin: I know! Poor Kouga… ::sighs:: Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, even though not much happened… but hey, Inu and Kag are meeting next chapter! ::cheers:: sashlea: Me too… Thanks for reviewing! Hypergurl20022: Heehee!! Thank you so much! I'm really glad you enjoyed it. Sorry this update took a while longer than normal. I felt the urge to update Robotic Beauty ^_^ Hope you enjoyed this chapter! (as uneventfully as it is…) rose: Thank you! Yes I realize this chapter's kinda boring, but I need it here. It's an important step to bringing Kagome and Inuyasha together! DemonKitty: LOL. Well, I didn't take *that* long to update right? Just a week, which is good, for me. Hope you liked it! Corisu Li: Thanks! I do encourage you to read those books. Heh heh, they are educational and I know your teachers would like that ^_^ There are some parts that are a little boring, but personally I thought they were brilliant and inspiring books. Thank you for reviewing!