"You are so special, Inuyasha. No matter what anyone says. As long as you believe in yourself, you can do anything."

I don't remember everything my mother used to tell me. Maybe it's because it was so long ago; maybe it's because I've tried so hard to forget those times. But, for whatever reason, I can hear those words like she's talking to me right now. Guess she wasn't wrong. My life's been anything but ordinary so far.

I should probably back up for a second. I'm writing my own story down because I don't want anyone to do it for me. Look, I'm not real good with words, but I have opinions and stories, and that's all anyone needs if they wanna' be heard. There's a lot of stuff that I've realized about life, and I just thought that if I shared it with others, they might find that they feel the same way. Humans, demons, it doesn't really matter - we're all the same, in a weird way. That would've been nice for me to know back when I felt so alone.

I've grown up a lot in the past few years, after all the fighting stopped. That might sound crazy coming from someone who's been out and about as much as I have, but it's not like I had a real reason to settle down before now. Or an opportunity, for that matter. I don't think tetsusaiga's had a scratch since that last battle with Naraku. Maybe that means the world's slowly becoming a better place. I like to think of it that way.

That's one of the biggest lines people draw between humans and demons, in my opinion. They think that demons just try to wreck what everyone does for the hell of it, and I don't think that's true. Demons try to get more power because they wanna' change something about the world, and ultimately make it a better place. A better place for them, of course, but that's not any different from what humans do. In fact, humans might take more extreme measures to become powerful, because they don't have as much time to change stuff. Kagome talks about her era sometimes, and from what I can tell, it doesn't sound like people are much different in the future. After all, who doesn't think they have the perfect world planned out in their head? Thing is, it's never the one they live in.

I never wanted to become a full-fledged demon to wreak havoc. That was my talk, but I don't think I ever would've backed it up. Not as long as I had control of my actions, at least. I just wanted to change the world around me; for me and only for me. I wanted to change how people saw me, or how they talked to me. Maybe that's selfish, but give me a break; I never cared about others because others never cared about me. It gets tiring, trying to catch all the bricks they throw at ya' when you're a half-blood. You end up getting hit by a lot of 'em.

That's why my mother was so important to me. She was the only one - and I can guarantee you that - the only one who didn't hate me as a child. I never talk about her because it still pains me a little that she's gone. I was a scared little kid in a world that couldn't stand - still can't stand - my kind. My mother was the only one I had to hold onto.

Special, she used to call me. I never believed that as a kid. It was only recently that I looked back on it, and realized all the extraordinary things I've done. I don't remember much else of what she said. Maybe I don't need to. I was usually crying when she told me those things, anyways. If you ever think I'm hiding something while writing this, remember I admitted that.

I think that's why I feel so strongly for Kagome. She came here, and never once treated me like I was different. She just saw me as Inuyasha. When she told me she loved me as a half-demon, it's hard to describe what I felt. It was like this crazy sense of relief, because I had finally found someone who cared for me as I am. I feel comfortable around her knowing that I don't have to be anyone but myself: the son of a powerful demon and a kindhearted human.

I never admitted it to myself until now, but I probably fell for Kagome long before she fell for me. I was cruel to her because I didn't know how to deal with it. Hell, I'm still cruel to her because I don't know how to deal with it. Excuse me if I don't do affection after being left out in the cold all my life. At least I admit that I'm not perfect.

Those three years without her were the loneliest years of my life. And that's saying something. If Kagome hadn't taught me how to make friends - if I didn't have Miroku, Sango, or Shippo during those times, I don't know what I would've done. Every three days, I went back to that well. Well, that's what I told everyone. It was more like every day. Could ya' really blame me? That was all I had left of her.

I'd sit out there for hours. It didn't matter if it was raining, sleeting, snowing; I'd just sit there and wait. Wait for a sound, a scent, a touch - anything. And when it didn't come, I'd curse and say I'd only come back on the third day from then on. I'd say she had forgotten about me, and that she'd probably never come back even if she knew how to. But I kept going to the well. Every day.

She actually caught me off guard when she returned; I had given up hope at that point. I would pass by the well, just to touch it again and make sure she wasn't there, but I had stopped sitting there for so long. When I picked up her scent - and I knew it when it came to me - I ran faster than I ever had in my life. To hold her again, after so long; to feel her warmth... there aren't any words for it. It almost brought tears to my eyes. Almost. She's the love of my life.

I've never said that before. I love Kagome. Nothing about it's wrong, it just feels weird. I almost told her the night she came back, but I couldn't force it out. I just held her - closer than I had ever held anyone in my life, closer than my mother ever held me. I'd kiss her, tell her how happy I was she was back, and she'd say something similar. We'd look up at the stars, talk about how beautiful they are. I'd tell her how much time I'd spent studying them, how I made pictures of me and her in my mind with them. I talked about how often I'd look up at night, and wonder what she was doing. How often I worried about her. She'd just giggle, and say how relieved she was to be with me again. We'd kiss again, longer than the last time, and the cycle repeated itself. That night was the happiest I've ever felt in my life. I love her so much.

Maybe I should tell her sometime.