Disclaimer:Oh shit, what a bitch, make Magenta throw the switch.

A/N:If you haven't noticed, I am not putting up a damn disclaimer, for a reason. The first being that I can't stand it, second, because it's a waste of my typing time, and third, because it's absolute bullshit-honestly, who would waste there time typing stories on this website about Inuayasha, or Wolfs Rain, Yu Yu Hakusho, Harry Potter, if they fucking owned it! They could be writing beautiful stories at their studio, or drawing at home.SIGHS!

Anyway, I hope you guys liked my prolouge. Lets go to chapter one.

Chapter One

"One...two...three...five..."

"Oh, you missed one,"

The little six year old tilted his head to look up at his mother. She smiled back, and pointed at what he had numbered five. "It's four," she said, and Inuyasha gasped, and clasped his hands over his mouth melodramtically. Yoko giggled, and pulled her son into a hug.

"Four...five-" he look up and Yoko confirmed his answer. With that, he continued counting his bundles of sticks.

It had been six years since the birth of Inuyasha, and although he was old enough, and should've been learning this stuff in school, Yoko was worried. She knew how people thought; the students were afraid of him, and the teachers were hateful.

The only one to protect him from the towns people, would be Sesshomaru, but he rarely attended the class, and when he did, he'd skip. But the people wouldn't try to kill Inuyasha, she knew that; they'd then have a bigger problem to deal with.

No, she was worried about the bruises he had when he came home, the names he'd been called. One afternoon, he had even come home, a questioning look in his eyes, and had asked her what a "half-breed" was.

That night, Yoko had cried herself to sleep over that question.

"Mommy, I'm done! I gots to ten!" Yoko looked down at her little half-demon child and smiled at him in pride. "Very good, Inuyasha! I think this deserves a reward. Come," She stood up amongst the flowers that surrounded the bench she had been sitting on, and helped him stand. He was only tall enough to reach her knees.

"Let's go find your brother and go into town. I will let you pick out one thing-one thing only- and buy it for you." Inuyasha rushed off past her, and towards the place where his full blooded brother would most likely be: the training center.

Yoko took her time. Having Sesshomaru to accompany her would probably be the smartest thing to do. It would put the towns people in fear of what Sesshomaru would do if they tried anything, resulting in less likely attempts to hurt her and her son.

When she finally caught up to Inuyasha, she saw that Sesshomaru was already standing, his long silky silver hair tied in a braid. "Lord Sesshmaru? Are you coming?"

Sesshomaru glared haughtily at her, and walked past. Inuyasha bounded up to her, nodding excitedly to Yoko. "He said yes, mother! Now can we go? Pleasepleaseplease!"

Yoko grinned, and scooped her child into her arms.

"Yes, my son. We shall go."

The town was quieter than usual when they descended down the dirt path, Inuyasha chatting to Sesshomaru about numbers and such, Sesshomaru not paying any attention to him. Yoko gazed at the far city ahead; she had once lived their with her family happily.

Thats not to say she wasn't happy now, but sometimes she missed her mother. A breeze ruffled her deep purple kimono, and Inuyasha laughed in the background.

Then, suddenly, Sesshomaru stopped, putting out his arm to stop his brother, and shifting to shield Yoko. Yoko grabbed her son gently by the arm, holding him to her, and his talking led to an abrupt stop.

"What is it, Lord Sesshomaru? Demons?" He was quiet for several seconds before relaxing. Not totally, but enough so he could turn around to talk to her. "We must be careful around these parts. As much as I hate you two(he said this part quietly), I know my father wouldn't want you two to get hurt. We shall continue."

Yoko bowed her head, and Sesshomaru turned back to continue leading.

"Mother, mother, can I have this?" Yoko looked at what Inuyasha was pointing at, and laughed. "Why don't we look around at a few other things, and if you can't find anything else you like, we'll come back, okay?"

Sesshomaru lazily rolled his eyes; this was wasting his time. He had half the mind to just leave them here, but he knew he wouldn't do it.
Inuyasha looked at the peice of candy he had, and dropped it.

"Okay," he said, and they all started down the path. The street was littered with traders and street vendors, all selling various things. Yoko bought herself a new kimono-a deep blue one that had silver thread sewn throughout it; it shimered constantly when she moved it. The color blue nearly matched her eyes, give a shade or two darker.

Yoko didn't notice the whispers until she heard someone snicker. The next thing she heard, was a whispered insult.

"That half breed is an abomination!"

Yoko closed her eyes, gripped her sons hand tighter, and continued walking. Sesshomaru glared scathingly at a few of the onlookers, before placing his hand atop his swords sheath.

Excuses, insults, lies-these were some of the ways to cover up his feelings. If he had to, he would protect Inuyasha and Yoko, because nobody disgraces his family-even if it was his half-brother, a disgrace to humans and demons alike.

Yoko was jerked to a stop by Inuyasha, and she looked down, only to see him gazing across the street. His eyes were alight with wonder; Yoko looked over in the same direction, and saw a street vendor selling a bunch of wooden balls.

They walked closer, and Inuyasha squealed in delight. The spherical toys were beautifully designed with intricate carvings. The street vendor smirked at them ruefully, before grimacing as Yokos' son picked a simple silver ball with long lines that swirled into an intricate design. The carvings themselves were painted black.

"Mommy, I want this one! Can I have it? Please?" Yoko nodded, and smiling at the man, she asked him how much the toy was. The man glared at her, and flicked his wrist. "You can have that for free." Yoko shook her head."Please, sir, I insist."

"I don't take money from some half breeds mother, wench, so just take the damn ball and leave!"

Yoko stepped back, and Inuyasha lowered his ears in defeat. Sesshomaru felt his chest tighten in anger, and he withdrew his sword with a metallic sound. He held it so the tip was pointing at the mans throat, and pushed it forward slightly.

"You watch your mouth, street vendor. If I hear you even ever call Yoko a "half breeds mother" again, I will hunt you down and kill you. Nobody disgraces MY family without getting away with it!" he hissed, and Yoko took Inuyashas' hand, pulling out some coins. Placing them down on the countertop, she said quietly, "Here, sir. I still insist that I pay you."

They turned around, and Inuyasha looked over his shoulder at the street vendor, whos' face was contorted in fury and fear. Sesshomaru was at his side, his glare still on his face.

They were half-way out of the market place, when Inuyasha bumped into a woman and her daughter, who was near Inuyashas' age. Dropping his ball, it rolled to the girls feet, who picked it up, letting go of her mothers hand.

The girl smiled at Inuyasha, and Yoko stopped. Walking towards the little half demon, the girl held out the ball. "Is this yours?" Inuyasha nodded, and took it from her. "Thank you," he said quietly, and the girl giggled. "Your welcome." she whispered, and Inuyasha flushed, looking away.

"My name is-" The girl started, but was interuppted by her mother, who ushered her away, saying, "Kikyou! You don't associate with people like that!"

The girl looked at Inuyasha sadly, and waved. "Goodbye!" she called, before turning to walk away, her long black hair trailing behind her. Inuyasha waved back, and looked at the ball in his hands. For once, someone who wasn't forced to be nice to him, had been.

Yoko could feel her heart pounding in her chest, and she wanted to squeal in excitement, but refrained from doing so. 'Maybe,' she thought walking a little quicker now, 'just maybe, Inuyasha has finally found a friend'
Did anyone else see that coming? Apparently not. I really had a hard time with this chapter, mostly due to the fact that I had based the ball scene on a picture I had found of Inuyasha holding a ball, with the words, "Whats a half-breed?" across the top. And then there was Kikyou...

You'll begin to see how Inuyasha fell in love with the priestess at a young age, and she'll be in some chapters for a while. We'll skip ahead a few years, though, to age eight or nine. Heres some hints: Kikyou goes against her parents word; Sesshomaru meets a demon by the name of Sunkist;
Inuyasha begins to become restless; Kikyou has some bad news.

I hope you all liked this chapter. I'm very sorry its so short.

WitchBlade

Oh, by the way-please explain to me what a beta/betareader is, and where can I find one?