Disclaimer: no I don't own these characters...but I do happen to own your soul. I bought it on e-bay.

Disclaimer#2: Also the idea for this fic came from a story I started to read called "The Untouchable" written by Calophi. I love her idea and I kinda' finished it in my head and well, it came out on paper and sat around for about a year and a half, and now here it is revised for the ump-teenth time.

I do remind you that I only finished the story my own way, I am not trying to take credit for it. I really think that Calophi has it going a whole lot better than what I've done here. So please don't call me a plagarist( ---see, I can't even spell it.)

thanks!

now you go do the reading :D

Chapter 1: Look...but don't touch.

Her life sucked.

Really, it did. And the worst part about it was that she couldn't do anything to change it.

Kagome, lost in her miserable thoughts walked along the crowded street at an angle, oblivious to the herds of people who made certain not to touch her. They pushed and shoved at each other, but Kagome they made sure never to even brush up against.

This same street may as well have been completely deserted to the poor girl. But such was the life of the dirtest creature, human or youkai. Yes, Kagome Higurashi was lower than the man who disposed of corpses for a living.

Of course she was, she was an untouchable, and not by any real fault of her own. Only by extreme circumstance and common human gossip.

So distraught with this particular day being unrealisticly rough on her, Kagome hadn't even the slightest as to where she was going. She found herself near the palace, just as a carriage was pulled into view by two beautiful white stallions, trotting elegantly.The carriage was veil covered and the passengers were only silouhettes against the evening sun.

Atop his veil covered carriage, the prince looked out towards the crowds with an expression that was so direct, others may have been able to see the boredom rolling off of him in waves. There were hundreds upon hundreds of women standing on the sides of the street he was traveling on. The veil to the carriage was transparent in a way that the passengers could see out, but it was hard to look in from outside. The women Inuyasha saw didn't excite him in the least. They all swooned and waved and smiled so hard it seemed that their cheeks would rupture. The word that he was supposed to be looking for a bride spread quickly by the look of things.

It was really quite pathetic. He was turning his head away, to inspect his clawed hands, when a young woman caught his eye.

She stuck out of the crowd, literally. Everyone made their way carefully around her. Even with all the swarms of people going to and fro, she was never touched or jostled. She turned her head and looked straight at him. It was as if she could see him, clear as day, from such a distance. He focused only on her eyes in that instant. She had deep, brown eyes. From his place in the carriage he studied her eyes, and they alone spoke of an unbearable sadness. As if she'd sensed him looking, she turned, and began to walk off slowly.

Suddenly, Kagome was shockingly aware of the multitude of people around her and their shouts and exclaimations of at the presence of the carriage passing by. Realizing that this was probably the next of many unexpecting suitors for Princess Kikyou, Kagome just followed the carriage with her eyes focusing on one of the shadowy figures inside. Strangely enough it seemed that the figure may have been watching her as well, but that thought was pushed away quickly as she turned toward home. Her depression still clearly etched in her facial features.

Inuyasha faced forward-her eyes were empty and hollow in a way. They held conflicting emotions that swam in that deep pool of brown. Inuyasha, curious, found himself invoulantarily looking back for the mysterious girl again, but when he glanced back in her direction, she was gone. It was as if she had never been there at all, as the crowds pushed past each other like a living ocean. He had only looked away, for a second and she had simply vanished into thin air. 'I wonder what her story is..' The prince thought to himself. He'd never seen so much obvious misery dripping from one person. He let his mind wonder as the gates closed with a clang, locking out the outside world of poverty.

Had he seen her? Maybe Kagome was imagining things, maybe someone else had caused the sensation, but when she had glanced up toward the prince's carriage, it felt like he had seen her...more than seen her, been watching her. It had to be her imagination, why would a prince want to look at poor, lowly Kagome? There wasn't anything special about her. From listening to the conversations of people passing by, Kagome verified her hypothesis that the prince, and his father, had come to their city of Tomeshi to visit the princess Kikyou.

'A fate worse than death it seems...' Kagome thought to herself. Even she, a scum to the earth, knew that their princess was...well...let's just say she had a very distinctive voice.

The prince's father was trying to get him to 'settle down'. If he married Kikyou, he may become permently settled in a room alone, with a jacket that fit backwards. Kagome had heard stories of some poor man who'd spent extended time with Kikyou, after which his sanity seemed to have slipped away. But than stories tended to get exaggerated.

Even thought Kagome's life sucked, It was very true that misery loved company because Kagome couldn't help but grin wickedly to herself, as the carriage pulled through the palace gates, and Kikyou's next victim was well on his way to see her. It was amazing how her dreary mood was slowly brightening at the prince's expense.

'Poor guy doesn't know what he's in for...'

Kagome walked along alone, past the thinning crowds of people, who made their way for her. Being an untouchable did have it's limited perks, she never had to wait for anything. The sun was making its way towards the horizon lazily, as she went towards the poorest side of town, toward her home.