A/N: Woohoo! I'm finally getting a story out:does victory dance, but stops when people begin to stare: Heh-heh, sorry 'bout that. Too much sugar is never good. :pauses: Well, at least to the people without it :grins and takes a long drink of cream soda: Ah, nothing like an overly sugar-filled soda. I can practically feel the cavities forming. :takes another drink: But, yes, I have finally written a fanfic that I am ready to share. (I actually have two or three more, but I have no idea where to go with them, and I have no intention of leaving anyone hanging or writing something crappy, so they stay where they are in the dark recesses of my mind.) I'm not completely sure where I'm going with this story, but I've got a basic idea about where I want to get to and how to get there, so hopefully all will go smoothly :crosses fingers: although I probably just jinxed myself :sigh: I have a bad habit of doing that.

Disclaimer: While I would love to be able to say I owned Inuyasha and claim the genius of Rumiko Takahashi, sadly I cannot and must resort to writing fanfiction :glares at letter of refusal for ownership: However, if someone would like to give me Sesshoumaru I will gladly take him off your hands :grins: He's just so yummy!

Human Upgrade
Chapter 1
The Accident

Kagome lagged behind the rest of the group as she took in her surroundings with interest. She was on a fieldtrip with her class to ISRAD, the largest scientific research and development facility in the world, and the technology amazed her.

She was lucky to even be here at all; it had taken forever to convince Inuyasha to let her go, and he had agreed only after she promised to come back by evening with tons of ramen.

Kagome sighed. She really needed to stop thinking about him.

An experiment in the lab room the group had been led to caught her eye, and she walked towards it. In a glass beaker there was a strange silver liquid that reminded her of the mercury she had been shown in a previous science class. She stared entranced as the light shimmered and moved on its surface.

It took her a moment to register the shouted, "Look out!" and she just barely dove out of the flying projectile's path before it collided with the beaker full force. Glass shards coated with silver shot outward, covering the surrounded area thoroughly.

A sharp pain in her thigh made her look down. A piece of glass had shallowly lodged itself in her skin and the silver liquid was running into the wound. She immediately pulled the shard of glass out, and watched amazed as her leg healed instantly as the last of the silver seeped into it. She rubbed her eyes to make sure they weren't playing tricks on her, then rubbed her leg. Had she only imagined the wound? No, the bloody glass in her hand was real, she was sure of that. What was going on?

A man's voice pulled her back into the chaos around her. "Are you all right miss?" She looked up into the face of a handsome young scientist and shook herself mentally.

"Yeah, just a little startled I guess." After all she was used to weird things happening. Her life wasn't normal by any means. She smiled at the young man who smiled back.

"Sorry about that. One of the experiments exploded and a chunk of it went flying. You're sure you're not hurt?" he asked worriedly. "Nothing cut you or anything, did it?" His green eyes took on a nervous cast that Kagome was certain had nothing to do with concern about a little bleeding and everything to do with something else completely. She frowned slightly and secretly pocketed the bloody shard of glass as she shook her head. Something told her she wouldn't like the outcome if she said yes. He looked relieved. "Good. In case you discover any scratches or if you have any unexplained symptoms, here's my card with my personal cell number on the back. Use that first if you notice anything." She nodded as she looked at the name on the card: Dr. Seigi Yamamoto. He seemed mighty young to be "Dr." anything. "Well, if everything's settled then I'll take you to the rest of your class." She nodded again and followed him from the room.

Kagome dragged herself up the stairs and into her room where she immediately collapsed onto her bed. Sure she had promised Inuyasha she'd come back as soon as she got home, but it was still early and a short nap couldn't hurt; she was just so tired.

Her lack of energy was why she was home so early anyway. By lunch the whole room had felt like it was spinning, and shortly after she had fainted from exhaustion. At that point she was given permission to leave and had jumped on the chance to go home and sleep.

She didn't understand where this weariness was coming from. Her excursions in the past where definitely more draining then a simple fieldtrip, and she didn't get nearly this tired during those. Her thoughts went back to the strange silver liquid in the lab. Maybe that had something to do with it. She should probably give that cute Yamamoto guy a call. She yawned. Right now she didn't really care if Naraku himself had something to do with it. She'd call that guy if something else weird happened, but for now, all she wanted to do was just sleep. She blinked bleary brown eyes one last time before snuggling deeper into her pillow. Just sleep.

Her world went black.

ssssssssssssssssssss

Kagome awoke to the sleepy silence of night. She didn't know what woke her; her room was nice and dark, her comforter soft and warm, and her house quiet and peaceful. She shrugged and rolled over to return to the haven of her dreams.

Wait, dark? Quiet? Peaceful?

Her eyes snapped open. Oh shit. Inuyasha was going to kill her.

She rolled out of bed and silently thanked the gods that she had packed that morning. She changed into clean clothes and quietly made her way down the stairs. She absently noticed her surroundings seemed clearer then usual in the darkness, but she figured it was just the familiarity of the house and didn't worry about it.

She picked her bag up off the table and swung it onto her shoulders with a fluid, well-practiced motion and braced herself for the loss of balance normally associated with carrying the over-stuffed yellow backpack.

It didn't come. All she felt was the solid thud of the bag hitting her back, before it settled comfortably on her shoulders.

That was weird.

It was obvious everything was still in it; the bulging seams were proof enough, but the overbearing weight was missing. What was going on?

A glance at the clock made her remember the reason she was carrying the bag in the first place. She shook her head and continued on her way to the well. She'd deal with whatever was happening later. Right now she had to go placate a sure to be angry hanyou with large quantities of ramen.

She smiled at the thought of Inuyasha when he got his ramen. It always made him happy even if he tried to hide it, and with those oh-so-cute dog-ears of his, he looked just like a puppy that'd gotten its favorite treat.

Crap. She was thinking about him again. She scowled as she jumped into the well. It seemed like she was always thinking about him.

Soft blue lights surrounded her before gently setting her on the floor of the well. The relaxing sound of the wind through the trees told her she had made it to the Sengoku Jidai, and she began her climb up the vines that had become her makeshift ladder since she had first found herself in this strange time. She pulled herself out of the well and started down the path to Keade's village.

It wasn't long before she felt a familiar presence join hers. That was odd. She usually didn't know Inuyasha was there until he was right in front of her, but now she could sense him from a distance. Weird. She turned her head at a rustle in the trees, and her eyes easily found him as he landed silently on the dark boughs.

Inuyasha was surprised to find her looking directly at him. Usually he just followed her silently for a while before yelling at her about being late. She had never noticed before; had she? His normal scowl replaced his surprise. Well, the argument would just have to start sooner than usual.

Kagome knew as soon as his expression changed that the fight was about to start, and she wasn't in the mood. While she wasn't exhausted anymore, she could feel a major headache coming on, and she knew Inuyasha's yelling would only make it worse.

"Look Inuyasha," Kagome said in the voice of a person long martyred, "I'm sorry I'm late. I wasn't feeling well earlier and took a nap. I overslept and got here as soon as I woke up, so don't start. You can yell at me all you want in the morning, but for now, lay off. I have a headache and all I want is a little peace and quiet. Can you please just wait until the sun comes up?" She was surprised she got it all out. It had to be some sort of record for him for staying silent. Normally he would just cut her off before she could say a full sentence.

Tonight just kept getting stranger.

The truth was, Inuyasha didn't know what to say. She had sounded so resigned and had actually seemed like she hadn't meant to be late. Any anger he had had evaporated when he realized what she said. She hadn't been feeling well. Was she sick? He inhaled. There was no smell of sickness around her, only her normal scent that he loved - though he'd never admit to it - so maybe she was sick and had already gotten better. He never could figure out the human sickness thing. He guessed he could let her off the hook this time.

He jumped from the branch and landed beside her with his trademark, "Feh," and was silent a moment before adding, "you better have remembered the ramen."

"Of course, Inuyasha. I would never forget something so important," Kagome said teasingly. She had to hide her smile at the mental picture of a little white puppy.

"Good," he answered, completely serious.

Kagome couldn't help it. She laughed.

ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

A/N: Well, there you go. The first chapter. Like it? Hate it? Yes, I know. Rather uneventful except for the whole silver liquid thing, but it was a necessary evil :sighs dramatically: It'll help the rest of the story flow better. I hope :crosses fingers:

As for the next chapter, it will hopefully be out within the next two weeks (Reviews make me write faster wink, wink, nudge, nudge), but I can't actually promise anything. My muse only likes to bless me with writing ability when she feels like it (and most ideas are for a completely new story, rarely for the ones I've already started), and she takes long vacations without warning me :glares at muse hanging upside down on the door who grins back: Weirdo :turns to readers: So don't blame me, blame that demonic creature :points at muse still hanging upside down on the door, but now singing "The Song that Never Ends" at the top of her lungs: Pure evil. :bangs head on table: Why can't I ever get a sane one?

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