Childhood Remix

Disclaimer: This is an "Inuyasha" fanfiction. I have not stolen the idea and I have not taken claim to the show. It is not now nor has it ever been mine. Enjoy! 

Chapter 2: The centipede that brought a smile…

~End dream~

The seven-year-old, Inuyasha, woke with a start. Other than making his first and now only friend, his fifth birthday had been a disaster and it still haunted his memories from time to time. "M'lord?" he heard Myouga ask from his perch on Inuyasha's shoulder.

"I'm fine," Inuyasha replied as he turned on his side to go back to sleep. His ears shot strait up when he heard a girl scream. He sat up and listened carefully as he heard it sound off again. He bolted off from his spot on the ground. Panting from the run and looking through a bush, Inuyasha saw a girl with pitch-black hair. She was moving away from whatever she was afraid of. Inuyasha was by her side in an instant. "What's wrong?" he asked quietly but urgently.

"AH!" the girl shrieked as she whirled around to face Inuyasha.

Inuyasha pinned his ears to his head in pain. "Relax!" he snapped.

"Ce-centipede!"

Inuyasha pricked up one of his ears. "S'cuse me?"

"Right there!" she pointed to where the insect lay.

"You're afraid…of a centipede?" he asked with disbelief.

"Mhm, now get rid of it!" she shouted as she hid behind him.

"Fine," Inuyasha granted as he went to step on the offending creature.

"No!"

The boy stumbled backwards. "What!?" he snapped.

"Don't kill it!"

"Then what do you want me to do with it!?"

"Put it somewhere safe, but away from me,"

The hanyou grumbled as he picked up the centipede. Coming back into the clearing, he noticed that the girl was still there. "There," he said gruffly.

"Is it gone?" the girl asked hopeful.

"Yeah," he said.

"Oh thank you!" she granted as she gave him a soft hug.

"You're hugging me?" Inuyasha asked in surprise.

"Yeah," she said as she pulled back.

"Why?"

"I needed some way to repay you. I'm sorry, but I don't have any money…"

"No it's fine, I was just surprised is all," he said as she smiled and held out her hand.

"I'm Kagome," she said happily.

Inuyasha just stared at her hand. "Oh," he said simply as he went to leave.

"Well?" she asked sweetly.

"Well what?" Inuyasha grouched.

"What's your name?" she said still smiling and holding out her hand for him to take.

Inuyasha stopped. First she was more afraid of a bug than me, then she hugged me, and now she wants to know my name? It must be a trap, he thought as he glared at Kagome. "Inuyasha," he said finally.

"Nice to meet you," she said with the same smile.

"You too," Inuyasha replied barely coherent as he went to leave again. However, Kagome stood in front of him. "What!?" he barked.

Kagome extended her hand to him persistently. Still, the hanyou just stared at her hand. She rolled her eyes. "You're supposed to shake it," she said as if Inuyasha were stupid.

"I know!" he snapped.

"Well then?"

"Well then what?"

"Well then shake it," she said extending her arm more.

"Grr…fine!" he barked as he grabbed her hand gruffly and gave it a curt up and down motion.

"No, no, that will never do," Kagome said as she gently took his hand. Wrapping her other hand around theirs', she shook gently. Amber met chocolate as they stared at each other.

"Can I go now?" Inuyasha asked breaking the silence.

Kagome seemed to think for a moment. "Where are you going?"

"Back to sleep,"

"Out here?"

"Where else?" he asked gruffly.

"But doesn't it get lonely out here?"

"I'm more of a loner anyway,"

"Well…doesn't it get cold?"

"I guess, but it's nothing I can't handle,"

"Why don't you come home with me?"

Inuyasha paled. "But don't you live in a village?"

Kagome nodded.

"With humans?"

Kagome nodded.

"I don't think that's such a good idea,"

"Why, are you scared?" Kagome asked not meaning to sound taunting.

"I ain't scared of nothing!"

"Well then?"

"Do you think you could finish your 'well then's for once?" Inuyasha ground out.

Kagome sighed. "Well then why don't you come stay with me?"

"Humans don't like me much," Inuyasha stated solemnly. Kagome tilted her head to the left and furrowed her eyebrows.

"But why?" she asked. In answer, Inuyasha just twitched his ears. "Oh my gosh!" Inuyasha flinched from her voice with sadness. "They're adorable!"

"…Huh?"

"Can I touch them!?" she asked with big, innocent, and excited eyes.

"Wha- don't you get it!? These are the ears of a beast!"

"…Puppies aren't beasts…"

"Well no, bu- whoa! Puppy?"

Kagome covered her mouth with wide eyes. "I'm so sorry! Kitties aren't beasts!" she exclaimed with a happy look thinking she had fixed everything.

Inuyasha snarled. "That's even worse! I'm a dog, not a puppy and most definitely not a cat!"

"Dog?"

"Yeah, got a problem?"

"Well it's just you're so young,"

"So?"

"So, doesn't that mean you're still a pup?"

Inuyasha thought about it for a moment before blushing. "Well…yeah, I guess…"

"See? So you are a puppy!"

"I wouldn't be talking! I mean, how old are you!?"

"Five," she answered with a smile.

"See!? I'm two whole years older than you!"

"So? I don't care," she said losing her smile in favor for confusion.

Inuyasha sighed. "Go home," he ordered harshly.

"But aren't you coming with?"

"I told you, I don't belong there," he said as he started walking away again.

"Then I'll stay with you," Kagome replied as she ran over to him.

Inuyasha stopped short and stared at the irritating girl. "Why are you really doing this?" he asked. To his surprise, Kagome actually blushed.

"I'm afraid," she admitted.

"Afraid of what?" Inuyasha snapped.

"Walking alone in the woods. I came out here looking for my older sister, but then that centipede came out and I got scared," she said as her blush deepened.

Inuyasha's expression softened. "Oh," he said quietly. He too was afraid of the forest once. He understood, but there was no way that he was letting her come with him. Nor was he going to go back with her. He couldn't let her get close to him. Even one night would be bad. She'll end up just like mom, he thought sadly as he quickly disguised it. "Well, you better get a move on then, and fast. You don't wanna get caught and eaten do ya?" Inuyasha said as he walked away. Kagome watched his form go into the shadows and looked up to the stars with fear in her eyes. She couldn't move.

As Inuyasha walked back to "camp", he was starting to feel guilty. The only time you've ever felt guilty before was when mom was- no! Don't think about that! Why do you always think about her on a night like this? Inuyasha asked himself though he knew the answer. It was his seventh birthday, the anniversary of his mother's death.

His thoughts were brought to a halt as "camp" came into view. "M'lord?" he heard Myouga asked as he came into the flea's line of vision.

"What?" he snapped.

"Who was it?"

"Some girl,"

"Why was she screaming?"

"She was scared by some bug," he answered with a look of disgust.

"Well as long as she wasn't hurt,"

"Nope, what can a bug do?"

"Nothing I guess," Myouga said with a bit of anger. He was a bug too after all!

"Exactly,"

"Well good night then, M'lord,"

"G'night," Inuyasha replied as he curled into a ball to go to sleep. However, all he could do was listen to his friend's soft snores. Inuyasha tossed and turned, but no matter what he did, he couldn't get back to sleep. He was feeling guilty. He hated being afraid, and yet he left that little girl out there to face her fear alone. He was feeling hypocritical. Making up his mind, he got up and walked down the same path he went down to find Kagome before. He kept going even though he thought his legs were going to give out from fatigue. Finally, he came across the clearing to see Kagome sitting in the dirt. He could smell the salty-sweet sent of tears and decided he would be nice to her…for now. "Are you okay?" he asked softly so he wouldn't scare her. She jumped nonetheless.

"Yes," she said quietly as she dried her eyes. Inuyasha kneeled beside her and offered her his hand. Kagome just stared at it dumbly.

Mocking her, Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "You're supposed to take it," he said.

"I know," Kagome said quietly. "But I thought you didn't want me with you…"

"I know what it feels like to be scared, I wanna help you," he said. With a small smile, Kagome grabbed his hand and he pulled her to her feet. They both started their way to his "camp".

"So if you're two years older than me, you must be seven," Kagome said to break the awkward silence between them. At Inuyasha's nod, she continued. "When's your birthday?" she asked. No matter how innocent Kagome thought she was being, Inuyasha flinched.

"Today," he answered solemnly.

"Why so sad? I'm always happy when it's my birthday. Does anyone celebrate it with you?"

Inuyasha gave a curt nod. "Yeah, my friend tried once," he said.

"Tried?"

"Yeah, I don't like to celebrate it,"

"Why?"

"I have some bad memories,"

"Like what?"

"Like nothing!" he snarled. He calmed down a bit before sighing. He probably scared her. Looking at her, he was surprised that she only looked sad. "I didn't scare you?"

"No, I just wanted to know,"

"Sorry," Inuyasha said before his eyes went wide. Had he just apologized!? He never did that, and he didn't know why he felt like being nice to this girl. He found himself in love with the color of her eyes. And her scent was as sweet as daffodils themselves. That was really prissy, he thought with a frown. He tried to shake these feelings, but when she grabbed his hand and pushed herself into him because she heard a wolf howl, he found it impossible. He was…happy. This was a new emotion to him. These last couple of years, he barely found himself smiling. Actually, since that day exactly two years ago, he hasn't smiled. Not once. "Don't be scared," Inuyasha started.

"Why?"

He wasn't sure if this would work. She hadn't shown any fear toward him yet, but this could make things worse. But he gave it a try. "Because I'm here," he said softly.

Kagome flashed a smile to Inuyasha that he thought should be illegal. "Thank you. I feel much better now," she said as she moved a bit away from him. Although, she and Inuyasha held hands the rest of the way.

When they got to "camp", Inuyasha worried about Myouga. She hadn't been scared of him, but what about a full-fledged demon? He didn't want to find out, so he walked as quietly as possible. Not quite quiet enough as he heard, "M'lord?"

Inuyasha ignored the small voice, but Kagome had heard it too. "What was that?" she asked trying to stay calm. He had told her not to be scared, and she didn't want to be.

"What was what?" Inuyasha lied as he inconspicuously stepped on Myouga with a soft crunch. "You really are weird aren't you?"

"Hey!" Kagome yelled in anger.

"Well," Inuyasha started. In actuality, he was surprised she could be angry at all, though he didn't sound it. "You're hearing things and you're not afraid of me," he finished as she lay down on his bed. His bed! Inuyasha growled softly until she spoke again.

"Why should I be scared? I mean you're just like me except your ears aren't on the side of your head," she stated with a yawn. She would never know how much that one little sentence had meant to Inuyasha. His mother had died because he was different, but this one little girl had just said that he was the same. He wanted to say something to Kagome, but when he turned to her, he found her asleep…on his bed. But suddenly, he wasn't angry about it anymore. And right before he fell asleep, an alien sensation came: the smallest upturn of his lips.

**And there's chapter two. Sorry it took so long to get out there. I couldn't find any time to type it. Then when I got the chapter finished and saved, the computer deleted the file, so I had to write everything. Again. GAH! I'M SO MAD! But here you are, and I hope you enjoy. Tell me what you think and I'll try to update soon.**