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Teen Blues by Tamasha Toko

Kagome's Past

Chapter 1

Kagome's Past

Sleeping was a hard thing to do. It wasn't because she was never tired or just couldn't sleep. That part was easy. After all staying awake was a hard thing to do after working two part time jobs everyday during the week. It was the strange dreams that she had that bugged her. When she slept all she could see was her sitting on the edge of a familiar well and then a blue light engulfing her, well that part didn't come until after a warm fuzzy feeling went over her whole body. The feeling she got after a kiss.

Kagome woke up in the middle of the night for the second time that week. It didn't bother her that much it was almost time for her to get ready for her second job that took place at that hour. She had the dream again. The dream about her leaving a happy life behind to save the life of her son. Kagome sighed as she thought about it. The dream happened in the exact order as it did in real life.

First she had experienced her first and wonderful kiss from the one she thought she would spend the rest of her life with and then he let go of her and everything went bad. She had returned to her home the Higurashi shrine and tried to the best of her ability to explain what had happened to family. She had to explain that thanks to a curse that was casted from her crush's dead love she had become pregnant by a full dog youkai and ended up giving birth to three hanyou's by the time the curse had ended. Her whole family had believed her, but that soon didn't matter because weeks later her grandfather had died of a heart attack followed by the burning of her home which resulted in her mother's death. Her brother Souta had moved in with some relatives, but she couldn't. She knew she could never explain to anyone about how she gave birth to a son with silver hair dog-ears. So instead of dealing with that and trying to find someone to move in with she decided to just get a job and try and support both her and her son after she dropped out of school and got two jobs.

That was where the dreams kept ending. Right here in her run down apartment with only one bedroom that she had given to her son. That was why she was sleeping on a couch that took up most of the living room and it was freezing. The dream started to fade away from her mind as she stood up and discovered the real reason she had probably awoken in the middle of the night. It was pretty hard to sleep when there was Linkin Park and Nirvana music blasting in her ears.

"Koinu shut that off and go to sleep!" Kagome yelled hoping her voice was heard over the music.

Finally all went back to being silent and Kagome assumed that son of hers was in bed waiting for her to leave so he could just do it again. Kagome just shook her head as she changed her clothes into something suitable for work. She didn't care that he blasted the music the way he did, they were the only ones who lived in this apartment building's horrible conditions anyways. It was just he had to be home schooled and she didn't want him sleeping while she needed to teach him.

It probably would have been easier just to send him off to a private school, but that meant someone eventually discovering his claws, fangs, and dog ears. It was safer this way, but a lot harder. She had to always change the things she was teaching him. He was learning and growing way too fast. Koinu was now a young man with long silver hair that reached his shoulders. Too bad society would never accept him or Kagome would have to fight off girls with a wooden stick to keep them away from him. Oh well he was way too young for relationships anyways. And she wasn't just saying that because she was a strict parent or anything, he really was young. After all today had been his third birthday but yet he looked like a sixteen year old.

After Kagome grabbed her purse to make her way out she turned around and headed the opposite direction. She had only gotten home a few hours ago from her first job and the first thing she did was go to sleep. She hated herself for it. She had really wanted to spend some time with her son on his birthday, but it was hard when she only came home twice a day. Once for about half an hour which was time she used to help Koinu on his studies and then after her first job she was only home for four hours and she needed that time to sleep.

"Koinu," she said when she opened up his bedroom door and entered his room.

Of course just like she protected he was sitting in his bed as though he was eagerly awaiting something. Koinu just crossed his arms and gave her the innocent look while twitching his ears.

"I know I know," Koinu replied, "I should go to bed so I am not tired when I am studying tomorrow."

"If you know then why must you continue to do it?" asked Kagome as she sat down next to him on the bed giving him the motherly look.

Even though Kagome played the role of a strict mother she did not look a thing like it. Kagome Higurashi was the hottest woman in the downtown era and she was only eighteen. The only problem was no matter who asked her out or wanted anything to do with her she always turned them down. She was even once loved by Hojo who now owned half of Tokyo and was filthy rich, but she also turned him down even though they had known each other since middle school. No one would have guessed it was because of the strange looking mark on her neck.

"I didn't come in to scowled you this time though," Kagome told her son as she hugged him, "I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday."

"Mom," whined Koinu as he fought his way from his mother's grip, "you don't need to hold me like that anymore I am not a little kid."

"Your still as cute as one," She giggled as she put her fingers over Koinu's small ears and began to play with them, "and last time I checked three wasn't that old."

"Mom cut it out," Koinu growled, "and it is past midnight its not my birthday anymore. Anyways you said I was considered a sixteen year old."

"Well then maybe you should act like one. So did you like the presents I got you."

Koinu looked at the box that held his new precious valuables that he found before his mother went to sleep earlier. She had gotten him two new heavy metal cds, some concert shirts, new shoes that had a cool checker design on it, and a new wallet with a chain.

"You really shouldn't have gotten me all of this stuff mom," Koinu told her, "I know you were saving up so we could move into a better apartment and I found a note under the door that said you were behind on rent."

"Trust me our savings are just fine. I used the rent money to go shopping. A better home can be your Christmas present for when it starts getting cold. I need to go off to work now so be good."

"I will mom."

"That's my boy. There are ramen noodles in the cupboard you will have use the microwave to heat up some water, I have to go and turn the heat back on today which means our lessons will be cut short."

With that Kagome headed out of her run down home to go to work. She had to go manage a crappy motel only a block away that had a twenty-four hour office. It wasn't that hard or long as most jobs were. She just had to sit around in an office until nine o' clock in the morning and wait for customers which never came. After work was when she took care of all her errands such as paying bills, grocery shopping, and usually she had half hour free after that and she used it all for Koinu's education. Then soon after she would have to go work her other job that lasted all day was being a waitress at a diner that was also not very high-class. Thank god for Koinu or Kagome would have considered her life a living hell.

Koinu was a good kid even though he tried to thank of himself as a punk. He always had a way of staying calm no matter what. They were poor and always on the brink of being homeless, but Koinu just stayed calm and tried to make a solution to everything instead of complaining like most children would do. Like once they had a TV, but she was a little late on paying the bills so she had to pawn it off. Koinu didn't complain at all, instead he just flipped on the old boom box and got a really good interest in music, epically rock. He must have got that type of attitude from his father.

Koinu would never know that. Koinu never even questioned or asked whom his father was and that Kagome was thankful for. There were many things her son did not know. He didn't even know he was a hanyou he just believed that all male humans had dog-ears and he looked exactly like everyone else. It killed her to keep all these secrets from him, but she didn't want him going out one day and accidentally telling someone he was a hanyou or that would be it for him. So instead she just kept his existence as a secret from society. That was why nobody could figure out why she was so poor. None of them realized she was supporting a child. If only he had never gotten involved with everything that went on three years ago that way he could have lived with his father. She really badly wanted to tell Koinu about his past, and about how he wasn't alone in the world since he had two siblings and a stepsister. She never knew how she would work in the part of the story that said they were all dead because they were alive five hundred years ago. It was better to just have Koinu clueless.

Kagome looked around being very alert as she went down State Street. It was the worst street in all of Tokyo. Daily there were rapes, drug deals, mugging, and murders. It was also the street where Kagome had to work at during night hours. It was easy, but not the safest job. She had already had a gun waved in her face during a robbery three times in the last year. And while she sat in an office all day in an office for a few hours doing nothing other woman were using the rooms for their personal jobs. Kagome had been told many many times mostly by drunken men that she would be a great prostitute. They had even offered her a large sum of money for just one night that she could have used. She refused of course. She wouldn't do stuff like that when she had a son at home. Not to mention it was dangerous and she wanted to keep her virginity. Yeah that sounded weird she was a virgin but yet she had not only one, but three children.

The silence of the night was broken when Kagome heard a female voice, "Miss. Higurashi."

Kagome turned around and faced a red headed who was probably just two years older then her. It was Sakura, the only friend Kagome had since she dropped out of school. Unfortunately she also worked for the electric company and she always had to tell Kagome over and over again to pay her bills. Seeing as how she was just called 'Miss. Higurashi' it involved the bill she hadn't paid in awhile.

"Sakura what are you doing out here this late?" Kagome asked.

"To catch you before you went to work," Sakura said while trying to catch her breath proving she ran all the way there, "I tried to keep buying you time but we need you to pay up at least fifty dollars by day break or were shutting off all the power in your home."

Kagome processed all of this in her head. She couldn't have the power shut off today. Koinu would be all alone in the dark with not even the loud music from his radio to keep him company and he wouldn't be able to prepare anything to eat with out the microwave. The last thing she wanted to do was to allow her son to starve.

"Can you wait here for twenty minutes," pleaded Kagome, "I have a little time to spare before work."

"Okay Kagome but only twenty minutes. I have to children to take care of you know."

"I promise I will be back. I just need to run home and then see Diablo."

"Just hurry. I don't want to stay on this street for too long."

"I don't blame you. I will be right back though."

Sakura shook her head as she watched her friend run off. She just didn't understand how someone as someone as sweet and innocent as Kagome Higurashi could end up stuck in such a horrible position. She didn't see how Kagome could ever escape from it either. She never finished school so her job options were limited and she would never make enough money to get out either at the rate she was making money. The only other choice was to get Kagome a working man to help support her, but that wasn't working either. Every time she took Kagome out of a night and introduced her to several men she never seemed interested at all. Instead she would just look at ground. That didn't make sense.

Koinu covered his ears as he heard the front door slam into the wall after being opened. He right away peered out of his room to make sure it wasn't a burglar or any other bad person. It was just his mom returning home.

"Mom is something wrong?" Koinu asked.

"No everything I just fine," Kagome claimed, "I just forgot something and I thought you were going to bed."

Koinu walked out of his room and followed his mother into the kitchen where she was looking around. Koinu knew what that look on her face meant. She was looking for something to sell to Diablo because she was late on a bill. Diablo was a man who lived in an apartment next door and also owned a pawnshop on State Street. Kagome had made so many trips to his shop she was now one of his favorite customers and free to barge into his house and sell something at any time.

"Take my stereo mom," Koinu all of a sudden said after she gave up on the kitchen and headed towards her bedroom.

"No," she replied, "I am not going to take away your stuff. You need something for entertainment."

"Well maybe we should just go without paying the bill. It is probably something we can do without until your next paycheck."

Kagome turned around and looked at her son. How could he be this way? Didn't he know he wasn't suppose to live like this? Other children lived in places with heat and TVs. Other children didn't have their moms pawn off of everything all the time. Other children weren't half demon and could easily go to public school and have friends.

"Koinu," Kagome whispered as she hugged her son while a few tears came to her eyes, "I am so sorry."

"Sorry," stated Koinu, "for what?"

"For being a bad mother."

"Don't say that. Obviously you're just a bad money maker, you're trying to make everything work."

"I am sick of trying. I want you to have a good life."

"Mom will you stop it before you make me say something I might regret."

"Say whatever you want too. I don't care."

"Okay then I believe I will have a good life as long as your alive and with me."

Kagome pondered what he just said. What if she died? What would happen? Nobody knew about his existence, and if they did find out how would they treat the teenaged hanyou? There was always one option that Kagome made avaible for him if anything like that had ever happened. There was a note in the living room under the couch for him to find. It told him to leave the apartment right away and run to where his grandma's house use to be. It was easy to find even though the whole Higurashi shrine had been burnt down. It was just a patch of dirt by a shed that contained a well.

It was the well from what Kagome preferred to call a dream. It was the bone eater's well and Koinu was to climb into it if anything ever happened to her. She was once told in her dream that only her and anyone with dog youkai blood could pass through. Through to the feudal era. To where Koinu's father was.

Koinu fought out of Kagome's iron grip and looked around. She needed to hurry up or she would be late to work so he had to help her. Nothing was turning up. His mother had already pawned off everything grandma left for her. Koinu even got on his arms and looked under the bed. There was a sock, a small tin Altoid box with a dent in the corner, and a photo album. Koinu reached for the mint box maybe hoping to find something in it.

"Hey mom maybe you should just relax and have a mint," he told her as he presented the Altoid container.

Faster then he could blink she snatched the can out of his hands. This was the answer to her current problem. She opened it and looked at the necklace with the sapphire on it. It was the jewel the man from the dream gave her before she left, the man who was Koinu's father. It would kill her to pawn this off, it was all she had left to remember the dream well except for Koinu, but sadly he only brought back sad memories. Still the sapphire would probably bring in some good money. She could not only pay the electric bill, but maybe get a huge stock of groceries, by a TV, move into a better apartment and have a lot of money left over to spare along with some she had already been saving from her hotel job.

"What is that mom?" Koinu asked when he laid eyes upon the jewel and then focused in on the words engraved on the clasp, "Who is Sesshoumaru?"

Kagome looked down at her son sadly again. It killed her to hear him ask that. He didn't know who was Sesshoumaru. In her dream everyone knew him as the lord of the Western Lands, she knew him as someone who got inconvienced because of a curse placed on her, Koinu should have known that he was his father. Hard to believe that the Lady and Heir of the Western Lands were living in a run down apartment with hardly any money or food. That's what made her think everything before was all a dream. It wasn't a dream though, it was her past.

"It doesn't matter who he is anymore Koinu," Kagome continued as she removed the sapphire from the chain only wanting to pawn the rock off, "it is just someone from along time ago."

"Sounds like an ex boyfriend," Koinu mocked.

"More like my mate," Kagome said in her head before replying, "you could say that. I will be back I need to make a trip."

"Hey mom I got another question."

"And what is that?"

"Whets a hanyou?"

Kagome looked at him with sad eyes once more. How had he ended up hearing that word? Did he suspect he was different? Kagome had always planned to tell him one day, just not when he was three. Was this the question all half-breeds ended up asking?

"Inuyasha?" Kagome whispered thinking about how he had been bullied.

"Hold on, you know Inuyasha?"

"What!?"

"He is some kid I met not to long ago. He told me that I was a hanyou and he was too."

Kagome wanted to scold him for ever having any interaction with someone outside the apartment, but she couldn't after hearing this, "when did you meet this Inuyasha?"

"Yesterday. I didn't tell you because I thought you would be mad. He looked a lot like me so I thought it wouldn't be a problem. Same age too, well I mean we are both considered sixteen years old, he is really a lot older though. He dropped off some package. Its in the closet."

Kagome rushed to the closet trying to figure out what this so called package was. Was this all a dream? A hanyou came knocking on the door saying his name was Inuyasha and he looked like Koinu. It couldn't be, could it? Inuyasha died along time ago though didn't he? Kikyo took his soul to hell and there was soupposly a demon form of him walking around.

"This guy was strange though mom," Koinu continued as they walked to the closet, "I asked him if he wanted to meet you, and he said he couldn't, he said he could accidentally kill you."

It had to be the Inuyasha she knew and once upon a time fell in love with. She had heard that youkai Inuyasha was created by Naraku to kill her. Was this Inuyasha wanting to kill her also, but then why did he drop off something and warn Koinu? She opened up the closet and there she saw it. The thing that caused her and Sesshoumaru to meet for the first time.

"The Tetsusaiga," Kagome said under her breath as she picked up the sword that was sheathed, "what's this?"

There was a note on the hilt. It had been tied on by a strange kind of twine. A twine that appeared to be ancient. It was from the feudal meaning this really had to be someone from then that brought the sword here. Quickly she untied it.

Mother-

I hope somehow this letter reaches you. We have never meet before, and I wish we could have and maybe we will if you get this. My father told me you were from the future and you had the ability to come back, but you couldn't because of my older brother. Well you can mom and Koinu will be okay. That sapphire father gave you, he looked into it and it turns out he stole it from some mystic demons. That sapphire is a curse deflector. You go through the well and Koinu's life will not be hurt. You and Koinu must get here. Naraku has killed father and Tsuin is horribly sick. I know what time you're from and if you get this at the right time you should be able to help us. We need Koinu here and your help. You can help change the future. Please come back.

Love,

Miyori

It was from Miyori. Her daughter and Koinu's sister. This was not a good note at all, but she couldn't help but feel fuzzy when she read the end part that said 'love Miyori.' She had to snap back into reality though. Some things didn't make sense. The last time she checked Naraku was dead, she even watched as Sesshoumaru killed him. And it also wasn't good that her other son was too sick to help out with whatever was going on, and her mate was dead. She needed to go through the well. It was her only choice. Once three years ago she died and Sesshoumaru brought her back to life, if she had a chance to do it for him she would. And if she could go back in time it would be the best thing ever. Koinu could live in the Western Lands with his father and escape this life in this world.

"Koinu we have to do something," Kagome told him, "electricity will go off soon so before then you need to pack up all of your stuff. Well not all of it go lightly. By that I mean everything that isn't electronic. It won't do you no good where were going. You can bring your portable cd player, but if you do you need to bring every battery you have."

"Mom what are you talking about?"

"Were going on a little trip. First we will pack and then I will take the money out of our savings jar and by a nice fancy meal. There I will tell you a few things, you will learn more later."

"That money is for a better home I thought."

"Hopefully I can get you a better home if this works out. Just go and pack now."

They then went to packing and got it done pretty quick. Kagome really didn't have anything except clothes and the necklace Sesshoumaru gave her three years ago. Koinu on the other hand had a few more things. He packed up loads and loads of his clothes, cd player with a lot of batteries, all of his cds which was a lot, a stud for his ear that he pierced awhile ago behind his mothers back, and his lesson books. Before day even broke out Kagome rushed him over to a twenty four hour restaurant where they had the nicest meal Koinu had ever had in his life.

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Koinu looked around as they walked on to the shrine where he use to live for about a year before it burnt down. His mother had'nt told him much during their meal except that he was going to move in with his father. Koinu didn't know what to think. Never had he wanted to ask his mom about his father, he knew how dramtic things like these were, even though he had always wondered. Obvisouly they didn't hate each other that much if she was so willing to go see him.

His mother had also told him that he had a brother and a sister. Miyori and Tsuin were their names. Hopefully they could be like all the siblings he use to see on TV all the time. Maybe they could even trade CDs and things like that.

Kagome didn't know what to think either. She couldn't wait to see her two children again, but there were many things she was worried about. Sesshoumaru for one. They use to be enemies, then somehow she had become his mate and they even somehow fell in love. She didn't want to say that she fell out in love with him, it was just that over the three years they were seperated she wasn't use to his prescence anymore. Would he be the same. Would she be the same to him? How would he react to his son?

Kagome couldn't help but put a smile on her face as she threw their luggage into the well which still stood. Koinu looked at her puzzled but then he soon did the same. She then made sure to grab his hand as she looked at the sapphire around her neck.

"What are we doing mother?"

"Were jumping through this well. The last time I did so was after I got my first kiss from your father. It was also the last time I ever saw him. I couldn't go back because of you. Me and your father will explain later, but now we can go back. And maybe things will be better."

It was after she said that did Kagome lead her son to the edge and they both jumped and watch as a blue light engulfed them just as it did to Kagome three years ago.

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That scent. Sesshoumaru looked up into the sky after slaying a few weak demons that dared to interfere with trip to the east. He was heading towards Inuyasha's forest to see the demon slayer and monk. He had heard that the girl named Sango had just given birth and he felt it would be proper to make a visit. That was before a scent attacked his nose.

A scent that he had smelled once upon a time in his past that he perferred to call a dream. Three years ago he tried to kill a girl, fell in love with that girl, and then she dissappeared. He remembered all of it as it was her scent that he could smell. Could Kagome really be here, if she was she would be his and he wouldn't let her get away again.

(End Chapter 1)

AN: Oh right were back everyone. I think I did a pretty good job on this chapter...by the way I like chocolate chip cookies. I thought this was a pretty good place to end, you all remember me don't you? You know the one who likes to make cliff hangers? Oh well here you go I hope you enjoy the sequel.

INUYASHA © Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan • Yomiuri TV • Sunrise 2000
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