Summary: During a hunting trip, Kagome and her family go after a half wolf/ half dog called 'Quicksilver'. One night, she turns into a wolf after wearing a strange jewel to bed, causing other hunters to go after her. Kagome crosses paths with the legendary dog and ends up realizing what it's really like to be 'Hunted'.

Chapter 1: Season of Changes

(Writing a story down on paper is very different than telling it out loud. When a story is on paper, you can feel it, you can see it, and imagine the story in your mind. We all love stories. Because it's our way to leave reality behind… and enter a world where anything can happen. But beware. For once a story's been written, it doesn't belong to the author anymore; it gains a life of its own. And for some stories that can be a very dangerous life indeed.)

It seemed like any other November day to high school student Kagome Higurashi. Her annoying alarm clock woke her up as usual; and then she would get ready for school. She would make her bed, take a shower, brushed her teeth, combed out her hair, got dressed, and ate breakfast. Then it was out the door for her to take the 10 minute walk to school. The routine was always the same thing; never touched and it became like second nature. She done this so often that it was like she was stuck in a trench that she made herself, and not able to get out.

"Kagome! Kagome! Could you please come down here a minute?" her mother called up from the bottom of the stairs.

"Sure, Mama, what is it?" Kagome calls down.

"Kagome, I know this is last minute but could you please walk Sota to school today?" her mother asked as she wiped her hands on her apron.

"Mom, isn't Sota old enough to walk by himself? I started walking to school by myself when I was only 10," Kagome complained as she reached for her long winter coat.

"I know, but please? You know how your brother doesn't like to be left alone," mom said simply. "Besides, Sota's school is on the way to yours."

"But Mama…" Kagome whined.

"Please just do me this favor, Kagome. I'm afraid that I'm too busy to do it myself. I was called in for work because someone's sick. Your father will be here by the time that you get home today and he said that he had a big surprise for all of us," her mother replied as she headed back to the kitchen.

"Fine. But Sota owes me one though," Kagome mumbles grumpily, but she then brightened and asked, "Dad's coming back?"

"Yes, dear," mom said happily. "He should be here by the time that you both get home. But you know how bad the traffic is on a Monday."

"Did daddy say what the surprise will be?" Kagome asked hopefully.

Her mother raised her eyebrows at her before saying, "Even if I knew it, I wouldn't tell you. That would ruin the effect of a surprise wouldn't it? But he did said that it had something to do with this weekend."

"I love daddy's surprises. Speaking of surprises… SOTA! GET UP SOTA! IT'S TIME TO LEAVE!" Kagome shouts up to her little brother.

*At school*

Kagome had dropped Sota off at elementary school and she was running up stairs of her high school building. Damn! She knew that waiting for Sota was going to make her late. She ran and fought her way through the sea of students until she finally found her locker. She slid to a stop in front of it and began to hurry with the combination.

"You know…" said a calm voice from behind her, "You don't need to hurry. You have substitute today in math class."

Kagome looked up to see her friend Kikyo standing there.

"Oh, Kikyo," Kagome said in surprise.

Kagome and Kikyo had been friends since they met their first day as freshmen. What really got people were that they both looked so much alike that they sometimes got mistaken for sisters. Back then, Kikyo had been cold and unfeeling to her for the first couple of weeks, but they were forced to get to know each other since they had most of their classes together, and over time, Kikyo eventfully warmed up to her.

Kikyo gave her a small smile and opened her own locker, which was only two lockers away, to get her bow and arrows.

"I see that someone made the archery team," Kagome said smirking.

Kikyo shrugged, "Finally. I was beginning to think that the guy in charge just didn't like me."

"Oh, come on. We both know that he just doesn't like the idea that a girl can shoot better than him," Kagome said matter-of-factly. "Do I really have a sub today in math?"

"That's what I heard some of the other teachers say," Kikyo answered. "Apparently your regular teacher had a family emergency and is out today."

"Well, that's a relief. Hey, Kikyo guess what?" Kagome said excitedly. "My dad's finally coming back today!"

"Really? That's good to hear," Kikyo said. "Remind me though, where has he been again?"

"He was off hunting with some old friends all week," Kagome replied.

"Oh," Kikyo grunted. For the first time, she sounded bitter. But before Kagome could ask what the problem was, the 5 minute bell rang and all the students around them all began to make way for the stairs.

"Good luck swimming upstream," Kikyo said gesturing towards the flood of students that were all jammed, blocking the stairway.

"Thanks, and good luck not freezing to death outside," Kagome retorted. She waved goodbye to Kikyo and went running off to math. Normally, she hated math more than any other class and went there grumpy and tired. But today she couldn't wait to get home and see her dad; so when she entered her first class, she was grinning ear to ear.

*Later*

Kagome said goodbye to Kikyo and all of her other friends kinda hastily. She wanted to get home as soon as she possibility could. She waited impatiently to pick up her brother who gave her a hurried apology and then they raced home.

Just as she had been hoping for—her dad was standing in the driveway hugging mom. He was still dressed in his hunters' clothes so he must've just got back. "Daddy!" Kagome screamed as she and Sota went running up to greet him.

He turned around and gave them both a big goofy grin as he held his arms, waiting for their hugs.

"Kagome! Sota!" he called out happily. "How are my favorite kids doing?"

"We're your only kid's dad!" Sota yelled as they both flung out their arms and ran into their father's waiting embrace. The hug lasted a few minutes before he pushed them both apart to get a better look at them. "Why Kagome," he said grinning like a manic, "You look more beautiful every time I see you. I'm sure that you're a real heart-breaker at school. As for you Sota, I swear that the last time I saw you, you were a foot shorter. God, you kids grow up so fast. Pretty soon, I'll be threatening the poor boy that you bring home Kagome."

"Dad!" Kagome said turning slightly red. When she was in her father's arms, Kagome thought that he smelt a bit like gunpowder and dead leaves. "How was your hunting trip dad?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

He clapped his hands together and said happily. "Oh, it went real well. Still haven't caught the big prize yet… but there's always next time."

At that moment, Kagome noticed that there was something in the pick-up truck that her dad drives. She looked over his shoulder to see that there was a large black tarp covering up something. Sota was too busy bombarding dad with a million questions to notice what his sister was looking at.

"Hey dad! Did you catch something?" he asked excited.

"Well," her dad said happily. "I've had worse days. But not many. At least I managed to bring something back with me to prove that it wasn't a complete waste of time."

Kagome looked over the edge of the car to get a better look at what was in the back… and just sticking out from under the cover… was a dog's paw… a dead dog.

"I swear that there is no greater sport than hunting and camping. Especially if you're hunting for the wolf pack in the Areno Forest" she heard her dad say.

"Areno?" Sota asked. "Doesn't Areno mean 'wilderness' in Japanese?"

"Yes," dad replied. "And rightly named. Wilderness is the right word. It's miles and miles of nothing but dangerous woods, cliffs, canyons, swamps, and almost every other kind of terrain imaginable. If you aren't careful, those woods can kill you."

"And is that where you go every year dad?" Sota asked with wide eyes.

"Yep," dad said smugly. "See, there's this wolf pack that lives up there and this is hunting season. But these wolves are smart and very difficult to catch. Most of the time, it feels like they're the ones who are hunting us. Only the best of the best hunters can get these guys."

"Y-you mean like this one?" Kagome whispered, pointing at the paw sticking out from underneath the tarp.

"Oh, noticed this little trophy did you?" her dad asked proudly. "No, I didn't kill it. I helped trap it though. One of my buddies was the one responsible for killing it. I believe that you remember Nobunaga and his son Hojo? They came with me this time and they're the ones that were able to get hold of this guy."

"Then why do you have it dear?" mom asked. There was no way that you could've missed the disapproving look on her face. There was no way that she wanted a dead animal in the house.

Dad quickly explained, "Well, you see, Nobunaga and Hojo, they drove up to Areno Forest in a small car and couldn't fit this beast anywhere so I'm just holding onto it until they can pick it up. Rule is, if you kill it, you keep it."

After hearing that, Sota went on and on about how 'cool' it was to have a hunter for a father and how he wanted to be just like him when he got older. Kagome on the other hand wished she could feel the same. She knew that there wasn't anything she could do to help the wolf now…

…But…

She reached out and gently stroked the wolf's paw, feeling the soft fur and the sharp claws. She felt so bad for it that she didn't want to look anymore. She turned her head back to her father and forced a smile. "Dad? Let's go in now, its freezing!"

Laughing, he put an arm around her and mom before led the way back into the house, with Sota trailing behind.

*After dinner*

The whole family was back together, and was making up for the time that dad had spent away. Dad told them all about his adventures up in Areno Forest and all the wildlife that lived there. He told them how he got a quick look at the wolf pack that lived up there and how professional hunters went after their prey.

"Mostly," he said between mouthfuls of cake that his wife had made for dessert. "People only bother going after the deer or ducks up in those parts. But even just the tiny birds and rabbits are hard if you don't know what you're doing. And you have to be real patient to want to do fishing in those rivers at this time of year. But if you want a real challenge, then go after the wolf pack. Deer and ducks are good for beginners. But for the true hunter…"

"Dad," Kagome interrupted, "You mind not talking about killing while we're eating? I'm starting to lose my appetite."

"Don't listen to her dad!" Sota said in excitement. "So did you and Nobunaga get anything other than that wolf outside?"

"Not really," dad admitted before shoving more cake into his mouth. "We didn't stay all that long this time. See the radio predicted that there was going to be a big snowstorm coming and if we didn't leave then we could've gotten snowed in. But I can tell you that Nobunaga's boy is a chip of the old block. I can see that he has the same talent for hunting that his father has. He's gonna be somebody someday."

"Gosh," Sota said in an impressed voice. "I can't wait to be able to go hunting with you someday."

"Well," dad said casually, "You could get your chance this weekend."

Sota's jaw dropped, showing the half-chewed food in his mouth. But he didn't notice, he was looking at dad with a look of complete surprise and eagerness.

"What do you mean dear?" mom asked curiously. "And Sota, chew with your mouth closed."

Dad put down his finished plate before he stood up and said, "That's my surprise! The snowstorm they predicted? It turns out that it passed over the hunting grounds which means hunting season's gonna stay open a little longer! So I thought, why not take my family up for a camping trip? We're going to be staying in a log cabin all weekend! How does that sound to you kids?"

"WOW! Are you serious?" Sota screamed in exhilaration.

"That sounds great dad!" Kagome yelled, getting up to hug her father.

Sota leapt up to do the same, over their heads dad looked at mom and asked, "How does it sound to you dear?"

"That sounds wonderful honey," was mom's trouble-free answer. "I've been wanting to go on vacation for a while now. I need to get away from work and camping sounds great at the moment."

So after the whole family had a group hug they all broke apart. "We're leaving this weekend right dad?" Sota asked as if making sure that he wasn't lying.

"Yes, Sota," dad said smiling and rubbing his hands together. "After school on Friday, we'll be heading up to Areno Forest for our camping trip."

"YES!" Sota yelled. "I'm going to my room to pack right now!"

"SOTA!" mom called after him, "We still have 4 days to get ready!"

"What? Only 4? I thought it was 5!" Sota yelled. "Oh, this is getting grim, I gotta hurry!"

Dad could only laugh at his son's retreating back. "Well, I'm glad that everyone is so excited for the trip. And it looks like we're finally gonna see if my kids are as good as hunters as their old man is."

"W-what me hunt?" Kagome said caught off-guard.

"Yeah you!" dad said pulling her in a one armed hold. "I want to see if either of my kids have my talent for hunting like Hojo is with his father. Of course," he replied as if he thought of something, "If you rather not hunt I'll completely understand. I mean, we're going to do more than just go after animals. There's going to be hiking, canoeing, fishing, bird-watching, cooking outdoors, and pretty much anything you guys want. Nobunaga and Hojo will both be there with us so I'm sure that we can all find something to do."

"Yeah," Kagome said cheering up greatly. "Yeah, that all sounds fantastic. Ah, dad… I'm going to go and look through my clothes and see what I'm gonna need."

"What? You too?" he asked surprised. "Sota I can understand but you getting ready early? You always wait until the last minute to pack for a trip."

"Well, I want to be ready to go this time," Kagome said. She quickly left after that to let her parents have some time to themselves.

She went to bed with a lot on her mind that night. Really, she was looking forward to the camping trip and spending some time away from the same old boring stuff that happened to her every day. A chance to get out of this town for a little while and to be away from her school and the boring neighborhood for a few days sounded almost too good to be true. But…

The image of the dead wolf came into her mind. She rolled over onto her side, trying to decide what to do and why she felt this way. Could she bring herself to actually kill another animal like that? It would be one thing if the animal was trying to kill her or if she was alone in the wilderness about to die of starvation… but to actually kill an animal for nothing more than sport?

She didn't want to… but at the same time, she couldn't get the eager look on her father's face when he talked about her hunting with him…

Sighing, she pulled the blankets up over her head. She would talk to her friends tomorrow and see what they thought.

(I hope that you all enjoyed the first chapter of my newest story. I was just watching this movie about wolves and this story just came into my head! Please review and tell me what you think and if I should continue.)