The people who work for the fanfiction thing took my story off the Internet and I am pleased about that because I hadn't even thought it out. Didn't even know the pairings! But now I've thought this through and my new story is going to be more angst, action and romance. Still bits of humour and all that but more of the seriousness. Is that even a word? Anyway on with the story! Read and Review!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. And I'm too lazy to write witty comment here so there you go! No the rest of the story will not be like that ¬¬

Memories

Chapter 1

Another cough racked her small frame; she huddled deeper into her jacket to keep the warmth with her. Blasted man, she thought while kicking another pile of snow. The wind threw it back in her face and she glared. Why'd she have to find the damn dog? It'd only run away the moment it stepped into the orphanage.

"'Dogs are mans best friend so I insist you get your lazy bottom off the floor and find Yukio before I drag you. Understood Higurashi?'" she mimicked her master. "I wish he'd just leave me alone! I don't know why he has it in for me, not anyone else, just me! What have I done? Nothing! Just fed everyone and acted like a mother those poor children never had and what do I get? A good lecture that I don't do enough!" she turned on her heel and faced the direction she came.

"If you think you can do better then you can have my job, my non-existent memories and my life for free while I sit in that nice comfy chair laughing at Jerry Springer! You hear that you old fart?" she shouted, letting off all the frustration and anger she'd kept inside all day. "You can also have the wonderful duty of washing your dumb dog! The paw prints would be a great improvement to your face!" There. She'd let all of her anger, frustration and annoyance out in just a few sentences. Who needed anger management when you had good old-fashioned yelling?

Her angry posture deflated when a harsh wind knocked her off her feet and onto the snow with sound the sounded like a SPLAT! Had she broken something? A leg, arm or maybe that part of her brain that was screaming at her to run back to her house and not flee for the hills like a coyote. Personally, I think it was the last on but whatever she did think she broke, she decided she'd had enough.

Brushing the powdery snow off of her jeans and straightening her jacket, she turned and stormed off. No more lectures, dogs, children yanking at her hair or men who thought women should be seen and not heard. Something inside Kagome just snapped, like a rubber band you stretch too far. So without any regrets, she just ran. Ran like her life depended on it, which in her case, it did.

Freedom, that wasn't a word she'd heard often. Of course, she'd dreamed about being free and finding her family and get friends that loved her for who she was. All the missing memories she'd spent nights wishing about would just flood back into her mind and she'd be like a normal girl. Family and friends and home and love. Was that really too much to ask? Heck! Having a friend would do. All she wanted was to find a place where she felt like she'd belonged, not some gritty old orphanage that had a dumb dog who could control it's own master! That wasn't a life, that was a disaster.

Not anymore, she promised herself, No more cooking or cleaning or picking up after somebody else's mess. I can't do that anymore! I won't let anyone break me; no one will break me. I'll- All of her thoughts were cut off when she felt a small hand grip her arm. Startled, she skidded to a stop and let out a squeak.

"Kagome-chan? Where are you going? Can me and Yukio come too?" she recognised that voice. It was Shippo! He must of come looking for her. Wide, emerald eyes gazed up at her in wonder and Kagome couldn't help but smile and pick the small kitsune up.

"I'm going to find home, Shippo-chan. I'm getting away from this place, away from everyone and more importantly. Away from him!" she put extra emphasis on the word 'him'. "But you can come along too!" she added quickly, seeing his bottom lip tremble. Shippo's eyes widened and a huge smile spread across his face.

"Really? What about Yukio? Can he come too, I promise he'll be good!" his innocent green eyes begged her. Pleading with her. Her brain was saying no but her heart was saying yes. Could she risk taking that huge, black thing with her? Could she risk it when her master found out that she'd escaped from that prison? No, she couldn't. He'd come and drag her and Shippo back. She could handle the punishments but Shippo…he was only a child.

"Gomen, Shippo-chan, we can't bring Yukio. He could get run over or lost in some big city. Speaking of lost, where is that barbaric baka?" Kagome asked peering over her shoulder to try and find something black, fat and had lots of shaggy fur. Kind of hard to find something black at night isn't it?

"He needed to go toilet so he ran behind a tree! I think he was really desperate because he's been gone a while. But where are we going, Kagome-chan? Are we going to Tokyo, Kyoto or Osaka? I always wanted to go to Tokyo but we weren't allowed. Are we allowed now?" Shippo asked innocently. Kagome stiffened. They weren't allowed, but they'd have to hurry if they wanted to get far away from the orphanage as possible. If they got caught… She shuddered at the thought. No, they wouldn't get caught.

"We're going to find our home, together. We'll go to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and maybe even the moon if we have to! We're just going to get as far away from here as possible. Nobody can know that we're running away okay Shippo-chan? If we get caught then-" she hesitated for a second. How could she put it in a less threatening form? "-We'll get in trouble and have to clean the house spotless with a toothbrush! Now you don't want to spend most of your day scrubbing away do you?" Kagome lied. She lied through her teeth and she knew that it was wrong. Shippo should know the truth; she could save him and take him right back.

Who was she kidding? Shippo would just follow her until she gave in. Why not keep the kid content in thinking it was just a big adventure where the hero's and the heroines triumph over evil? Life never did end like that but it went something along those lines. Maybe she could find a happily ever after? Nope!

"No! I had to clean my room yesterday because I got whipped cream all over my bed. I thought I could sneak it past him but he found out and I had to clean up everything!" Shippo wailed as he buried his head into the crook of Kagome's neck.

"Whipped cream? Shippo-chan how did you manage to get whipped cream…Actually I don't want to know! You have a surprising talent of messing everything up. Don't you?" she teased fondly. She felt him nod and then mumble something sleepily before she heard a faint snore. "I'm going to protect you, I'll find a way to keep us safe. I'll find our family and get you some friends and we'll live happily ever after. Just like the fairy tales! My Prince Charming will save us like they do with all the princess's in the stories and take us home where everyone is waiting for us. We'll be loved and taken care of. I promise…" she muttered before walking more faster. This time she walked more slowly and carefully, the last thing she wanted was a broken back thanks to the wind.

It was cold and wet and dark and…Well, all the bad stuff you can imagine in your nightmares. It was still snowing but it felt more like hail slamming against her like a child having a temper tantrum. Why did I drag myself into this…she mused while shivering again, Oh yes! I just couldn't stay in that orphanage for a day longer, I decided to run away and leave my education and all my dreams to become a doctor! Well, my life has officially turned to mush but then I had to drag Shippo into it! Good grief, I'm rather pessimistic aren't I?

Her musing was cut short when she bumped into something hard and freezing. Puzzled, she lifted her head and found she'd walked straight into a tree. She could hear snickering behind her. Too close for comfort and way too many hushed voices. Oh no…

"What 'ave we 'ere lads? Well, well, well. Looks like we've stumbled across a little girl. Tell me princess, who do you want to go with? We'll make sure you have a good time…" a voice murmured. She heard the unhidden passion in his voice and felt his breath against her ear. Her eyebrow twitched in annoyance. Boys were like men, they like to show off and make you think they are all macho and muscular. Well, all males had a weak spot. A weak spot which Kagome was sorely tempted to kick, hard. So she did, harder than she thought.

"Who do you think I am? I am not a slut or someone you think you can have a 'good time' with! I am a 16-year-old girl! I have no time for that sort of thing, I have school, exams and looking after people. Do you think that I'll just jump into bed with you and follow you around like a lost dog? Well I'll tell you this mister, I AM TOO BUSY FOR BOYFRIENDS, SEX OR HANGING AROUND WITH YOUR SO CALLED FRIENDS!" she took a deep breath to steady her breathing. They looked at her stunned, well, except for the one she kicked who was currently rocking back and forth wheezing. Did it hurt that much?

A huge amount of guilt welled up in her stomach. Had she kicked the poor guy that bad? Aww crap… She hadn't meant it to hurt him that hard. What if Shippo had seen hear do that? Never resort to violence, she'd always said that. Thank kami that Shippo wasn't here. Sending him off to the bakery to get some cupcakes to 'silence' his stomach had been a good idea. Now is she could apologise to this stranger and get to the nearest hotel possible, that'd be even better!

Luck, on the other hand, didn't agree with her.

"That…that bitch!" said guy, growled before stumbling to his feet. He was still wheezing and had a mixture between a glare and a grimace plastered on his face. This didn't seem to be going to plan…

An arm snaked around her waist before pulling her backwards and Kagome suddenly found herself on the floor with a face flushed with anger glaring down at her. She'd gone rigid with shock, a sick feeling of panic and terror churned in her stomach. In a deserted, cold and dark alleyway some guy and his gang were holding her down. So she did what any other female would do in that situation, she made as much noise as possible.

"Oi! What do you think you're doing with that girl you stinking pile of shit!" a new, more rougher, voice piped in. The crushing wait she had felt was suddenly swept off her and she heard a grunt of pain. Blinking in shock, Kagome scrambled to her feet and took a deep breath to steady her nerves. Somehow she knew that taking deep breaths wouldn't work until she'd gone out of hyperventilation mode.

She squeaked as a fist narrowly missed the side of her face. Eyes widening, breath vanished from her lungs as she stared in horror at a pair of red, yes red, eyes. Kagome paled. She saw a fist raise, ready to crash down onto her face when suddenly it's eyes widened and it gave a wheeze and a grunt of pain before collapsing on top of her.

Kagome heard more voices around her. One was rather feminine yet had a gruff tone to it, another had a soothing and more gentle tone which was unmistakably male. Then that one she'd heard first. The one that was rough, gruff yet gentle with a slight hint of wildness. Then she heard the one she recognised.

"Kagome-chan, are you alright? I came as soon as I heard you yell and I bumped into those guys too. And…" Shippo trailed off as he took in the sight of Kagome lying on her back, eyes nearly popping out of her sockets, and some youkai sprawled on top of her. Not to mention the fact that she looked like she was in shock.

Kagome was trembling yet seemed to be grasping the position she was in at the present moment in time. She could feel hot breath against her neck, his chest rising and falling with every breath he took and she could also feel his lips against her neck. Oh my…

"You…You hentai!" she cried, leaping up with such grace that even she didn't know she had. Grabbing the collar of his shirt roughly, Kagome flipped him over his shoulder. She grinned menacingly as she heard his hiss of pain. "You stay away from me and Shippo or I'll find you and I'll tear you limb from limb. Testicles first!" she hissed at him as she shoved her face as near as she was comfortable with. He gulped and nodded vigorously.

Turning on her heel to address Shippo, Kagome froze when she saw wide eyes gaping at her. They were practically popping out of their sockets. She shivered, that sounded rather creepy and very, very wrong.

A woman was there, staring at her. She was quite beautiful with her long dark brown hair and puddle brown eyes. The pink eye shadow she wore topped it all of nicely. Giving her an elegant and sophisticated look. But the pink and leather outfit she was wearing didn't look very comfy, at all. It looked hot, sweaty and rather tight.

Then there was a man. He seemed around the same age as the other woman. His hair was jet-black and he had shocking blue eyes. The earrings gave him a wild look yet his face looked so serious and gentle. He wore a deep, rich purple shirt and had black pants. Very nice looking black pants.

Then she saw him. With two snowy, white triangles that twitched repeatedly on top of his beautiful flowing white hair that gave him a spiritual look. But what really caught her were his eyes. Such intense amber that blended with many different colours of gold, they reminded her of a sunset or sunrise. Too bad his style of fashion reminded her of Elton John.

"Kagome-chan, are you alright? You looked like you were going to do what you did when you found that mouse when you were making instant noodles! Oh, I got the cupcakes! You have blueberry and I get chocolate chip. You're allergic to the chips in there aren't you?" Shippo said as he hopped onto her shoulder. Kagome gave him a soft and tender smile.

"Hai, Shippo-chan but I want you to promise me something first, okay?" she said in a serious tone. Shippo nodded without hesitation. "Never resort to violence. Let the adults take care of the problems, it's what we're for. Okay Shippo-chan?" the kitsune nodded again. "Good, now who are these people and where did the others go?"

That jumped the small group back into reality and stopped the gazing at her. What was worse was the fact they all had a cold look in their eyes and made her feel unwanted and intimidated.

"How could you not know us, Kikyou?" the white haired man snarled harshly. Kagome blinked a few times before giving them an odd look.

"I'm not Kikyou. My name is Kagome. Ka-go-me, that easy enough for you or do I have to spell it out? I'm not Kikyou or any other name you may want to give me, I'm Kagome!" she hissed. It took all the strength she had in her to calm down and put a lid on her temper. "I am very grateful that you helped me and you probably saved me but I have to go now. Thank you and goodbye," she gave a small bow before turning round with Shippo munching on her shoulder.

"Wait!"

Author Notes are here:

5 and a bit pages of writing and I still have a huge mountain of homework to do! Ah, yes, about that comment with Elton John, I have absolutely nothing against him at all! But really have you seen his clothes in his earlier years? Honestly, the glasses weren't much better either! If my stylist was like that I'd sack them.

Anyway, hope you like it and remember, READ AND REVIEW!

Ja-