InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Sengoku Jidai High School ❯ First days are always frightening ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

By: Lcsaf

DISCLAIMER: If Inu-Yasha belonged to me, do you think I'd be sitting here writing this? (The answer to this question is NO.)

A/N: Rehauling.....again. *sigh* If you were interested in this story before, I'd strongly suggest rereading it. This is a combination of the first and second chapter with major changes in the scenes and minor in content. Hopefully, it won't suck as bad this time.

As always, thanks to Phoenix Cubed and Sailor Silver Moon, my beta readers. Yay!!!!!

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Higurashi Kagome stood in front of her bedroom mirror, twisting and turning to make sure her new school uniform was perfect. The white long sleeved blouse was only marred pea green cuffs, a pea green coverlet and red scarf that tied at the bottom of the coverlet. This matched the pea green pleated skirt. Her lucky baggy socks and brown loafers completed the outfit. `At leastI won't stand out.'

"Kagome! If you don't hurry, you'll be late!" Mrs. Higurashi warned from downstairs.

Kagome rolled her eyes at the closed bedroom door and cast a critical glance at her mirror self. Everything seemed to be in order. She did a last minute sweep of her room; quadruple checking to see if she had forgotten anything. With about half of her room still in boxes, it was easy to see that she hadn't. Once more, she looked in the mirror and nodded once to her reflection before grabbing her school bag and heading downstairs. "I'm coming!"

Her family stood waiting for her at the door. Mrs. Higurashi was beaming as she held out Kagome's lunch while her grandfather was muttering incantations against some sort of "evil spirits".

Souta just stood in front of the door with Buyo, the obese family cat, on his head. He shifted his weight impatiently from one foot to the other and back again, waiting for this whole silly celebration to be over so that Kagome could walk him to school.

Grandfather held up a key chain with a glass ball attached to it that sparkled in the light. "This is the Shikon no Tama, it will bring you good luck. Its history is-"

Kagome took the key chain and kissed Grandfather on the cheek. "I've got to go now, Grandfather. I'll see you this afternoon! Bye Mama!" With that, Kagome rushed out the door, Souta trailing after her, with Buyo in his arms.

Before they reached the shrine steps, Souta released Buyo after saying farewell to the cat.

Buyo meowed and gave Souta a look that clearly said 'Why did you put me down? Pick me back up.' At least, that was the purpose of the look, but Souta, being the oblivious kid that he was, happened to ignore the cat at that moment.

“Grandfather is so weird,” Kagome muttered.

Turning to Kagome, Souta said, "You're lucky Sis, I got a water Kappa's foot." He pulled the object out of his bag; it was disgustingly green and webbed. Souta wrinkled his nose. "I should give it to Buyo." He bent down and waved it in front of the cat's face "Eat it, Buyo."

Buyo sniffed at him for a moment before taking the foot and trotting across the shrine with it.

Kagome just shook her head, not able to decide which was worse: Buyo thinking the Kappa's foot was a new plaything or Buyo making the disgusting object his next meal. After all, Buyo hadn't turned down anything edible yet.

Shaking that particularly disturbing thought out of her head, she started down the steps. "Come on, Souta. You don't want to be late for your first day."

*****

“I wonder what school is like in Tokyo,” Souta commented during their walk. “Do you think it'll be harder than home?”

“Probably not,” Kagome commented. “I don't think you'll be very far behind at all.”

Souta slowed his pace when he began seeing other students walking in the direction of the school. The `new school/new kid' fears were written all over his face. "Kagome...what if the kids at school don't like me? What if they're mean?" He stopped walking and looked up at his older sister. "Kagome, let me go to school with you instead!"

'NO WAY!' Kagome thought, mentally cringing. Outwardly, she put on a gentle expression and knelt in front of Souta. "Come on Souta, you're a big boy now, you can do this. You'll make lots of new friends; you won't even have time to miss your old school." Smiling at her brother, Kagome took his hand and walked with him all the way to his classroom with a big fake smile on her face the entire time.

When they walked in, the teacher looked up and smiled. "Welcome to Elementary School of Tokyo. You must be Higurashi Souta."

Souta said nothing but squeezed Kagome's hand.

Kagome dipped forward in a bow and tossed her brother a meaningful look until he did the same.

The teacher scanned the room and then turned back to Souta. "Why don't you take that desk next to Sotaru-kun?" she said pointing to a sickly looking little boy with freckles who was staring out the window.

Souta gave Kagome an uncertain look; she nudged him in the direction of the other boy. "I'll be back this afternoon," she promised.

Souta nodded and hugged his sister's waist as she ruffled his hair affectionately before she left.

*****

The walk to her own school was long and boring with no one there to make the trip with. The streets were unfamiliar still but she caught sight of students wearing the same uniform a block ahead of her and kept them in her sight so as not to get lost.

Kagome arrived at her own new school to see hundreds of other students milling about in the schoolyard. Suddenly, she started to have her own fears about being a transfer student to Sengoku Jidai High School. All around her were students hanging out with their friends talking, laughing, studying; there was even a group of boys were kicking a soccer ball around in a corner of the yard.

Not knowing a soul, Kagome wandered aimlessly around the schoolyard, simply observing other groups.

"LOOK OUT!"

The girl turned her head in time to see the soccer ball coming right at her head. "Eeep!" Out of instinct, she put her arms in front of her head and waited for the ball to make contact. It never happened. Cautiously lowering her arms just a bit, Kagome looked around for the ball that by all logical standards should have hit her. Instead, she found herself facing the back of another student, who happened to have white, almost silver hair.

"Oi, Kikyou, you should know to watch out, but you're back early, eh?" the boy asked without turning around.

"Eh?" Confused, Kagome lowered her arms completely and blinked.

"I thought you weren't back from Kyoto for another month, I guess you missed m...." he trailed off, by now having turned around and realizing that he wasn't talking to Kikyou. The look on his face was priceless, amber eyes showing confusion under dark raised eyebrows. "You're not....... Kikyou."

Kagome shook her head. "No, my name's Higurashi Kagome. Ummm thanks for 'saving' me.... I guess." She offered a smile.

The boy snorted and frowned "I'm stupid for thinking you could possibly be Kikyou, she wasn't retarded enough t' stand and wait for a ball t' hit her. Look where you're going next time, wench." He walked off, soccer ball in hand.

"How rude!" Kagome muttered to herself. He hadn't even told her his name! "Not like I care anyway," she assured herself. "Who wants to know a jerk like him?”

Finally, the long awaited bell rang.

**********

Kagome stood in front of the class of 1-C nervously, still clutching all of her paperwork from the office.

Registering herself was no problem and talking to the vice principal and school advisor had been a breeze. Even getting her class assignment and shoe locker had been a piece of cake. Even getting her picture taken for her student I.D. had been painless, considering she hadn't worn make-up to school that day. But being introduced to class full of her peers? Mortifying.

The teacher, who had grey hair and eye patch; earlier introduced herself as Kaede-sensei, now addressed the class. "This is Higurashi Kagome; she transferred here from Osaka and now resides at the Sunset Shrine. I trust you will make her feel welcome." The moment the words left the teacher's mouth, the door slid opened with a bang.

In the doorway stood the rude boy, Kagome met earlier in the schoolyard. On his face was the most annoying smirk.... until his eyes rested on Kagome. The smirk quickly turned into a frown.

"You're late Inu-Yasha," Kaede-sensei scolded. "And still lacking your school supplies.....you know what to do." She pulled out two large tin buckets and handed them to Inu-Yasha.

"How long this time, old woman?"

"Another forty minutes for your mouth, two hours seems fair."

Giving Kagome one last dirty look, the boy named Inu-Yasha turned and left, closing the door harshly after him.

`What has he got against me?' Kagome wondered. She didn't have time to ponder on it for long because Kaede-sensei had pointed to an empty desk next to the window for Kagome to occupy and asked a girl named Suki to grab some extra textbooks for Kagome from the book closet.

Suki nodded and left the room to retrieve the wanted items. She returned shortly with six books and handed them to Kagome with a brief smile.

Kagome grinned and spent the morning plowing through the lesson that had been written on the board, determined to catch up with the rest of the class and prove that Osaka students weren't lazy or stupid.

Inu-Yasha strolled in two hours later with the buckets still full of water and stopped next to Kagome's desk. The buckets were set down with such force that some of the water sloshed out and splashed Kagome's ankles. "You're in my desk, wench," he hissed.

"Go empty your buckets, Inu-Yasha, and quit harassing Higurashi, you know that's not your desk," Ms. Kaede scolded.

Grumbling, Inu-Yasha left the room once again but returned shortly and tossed the buckets in the corner with no concern how they landed. He took a seat in the empty desk next to Kagome. She glared at him; however, Inu-Yasha seemed more interested in his manga.

Kagome settled for thinking of all the nasty things that she could do to him as she went back to her World History lesson.

*****

Lunch had the students outside again, getting healthy doses of vitamin D and a handful of UV rays. Kagome sat on one of the benches under a tree and ate her lunch thoughtfully. So far, she hadn't met anyone other than Inu-Yasha and he was too rude to talk to. Suki had barely smiled when she gave Kagome her books and no one else from her class had bothered to introduce themselves. What an unfriendly bunch. So here she sat, alone with no friends, wishing she were back at home with Eri, Yuka and Ayumi to take her mind off of things.

"What is such a pretty girl doing sitting by herself?"

Kagome nearly jumped out of her skin when a hand rested on her shoulder. She whirled around to see a boy older than her by a year or so. His short black hair was tied back in a dragon's tail; deep purple eyes reflected his easygoing smile. Kagome noticed that his ears were pierced twice in his left and once in his right. "I-It's my first day" Kagome stammered.

The boy nodded and sat next to Kagome. "You must be that transfer student everyone's talking about.... Higurashi, isn't it? Your grandfather runs the Sunset Shrine!" He grinned at her surprise. "My father is a priest, he visits the shrine often, and he's friends with Higurashi-san. My name's Houshi Miroku. I'm in 2-A." He held out a hand in a very Western gesture.

"Mine's Kagome. I'm in 1-C." She took Miroku's hand, but instead of shaking, Miroku kissed the back of her hand. Kagome blushed. “People are talking about me?”

Miroku nodded. “Oh yes, a very pretty new student isn't something we see everyday. Besides, with your remarkable similarity to--”

"Houshi, quit hitting on the transfer student!"

Both Kagome and Miroku looked up to see a raven-haired girl with flashing brown eyes making her way across the schoolyard. She didn't look too happy.

Miroku hopped up to greet the girl. "Why, Sango, dear, how are you on this wonderful day? Have you considered my offer?" Miroku grinned charmingly.

Sango looked disgusted. "I am not joining you in the backseat of your car, you pervert!" She turned to Kagome. "This letch hasn't asked you anything inappropriate yet, has he?"

"No. We were just talking...." Kagome muttered.

"Really Sango, I was simply welcoming the new student to our school" Miroku insisted.

Sango scowled. "Welcome my ass! It's a wonder you don't scare them all away!" she countered.

"He really doesn't seem THAT bad--!" Kagome stopped as she distinctly felt a hand rubbing her hip. Turning around, Kagome smacked Miroku across the face. "PERVERT!!!!"

Miroku met the dirt.

Sango grinned as she linked arms with Kagome. “My name's Taijin Sango and you and I are going to get along just fine. Come on, let's leave this idiot."

Seconds after the girls had packed up Kagome's things and left, a shadow fell across Miroku's prone form. The owner of the shadow shook its head. "You just can't help yourself, can you? You really did deserve that."

"Hello, Inu-Yasha. I don't suppose you want to give me a hand up?"

Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes but squatted down and offered the boy on the ground one of his hands to grab. “What did you tell Sango this time?” he asked as Miroku took his hand and began to pull himself up.

“Actually, I was talking to that new student, Higurashi—damnit!” Miroku's face became reacquainted with the ground as Inu-Yasha had let go of his hand. “Perhaps a warning next time?” he ground out in an irritated tone.

“What did you say to her?” Inu-Yasha demanded.

“Nothing!” Miroku insisted as he got up again and brushed himself off. The handprint on his face was just starting to show. “Just welcoming the new student! Poor thing was sitting alone at lunch....and after everyone's been talking about her and how she looks like--”

“No she doesn't!” Inu-Yasha snapped. “Not a damn thing like her!”

“What's your problem?”

“Nothing! She's just a damn idiot, that's all! What's so special about her anyways?”

“She's pretty...”

Inu-Yasha just glared at him.

Miroku sighed. “Fine. If you want to continue living in denial go ahead, but please don't take it out on the rest of us just because the new student looks like--”

“NO SHE DOESN'T!”

Miroku rolled his eyes and decided to let the boy sulk until the end of lunch.

Inu-Yasha debated about skipping the rest of the day. There was hardly any point in going back: he hated the class, Kaede-sensei was boring and that stupid girl (who did NOT look like Kikyou) was there just to annoy him. He could just show up late, and hold those stupid water buckets, but the challenge had long since faded since he'd started lifting weights. Besides, standing in the hall with nothing to do but keep water buckets off the floor wasn't exactly something he would call fun. No, the only thing for it was to leave the campus and hang around Tokyo until it was time to pick up the brats. Maybe he could go visit the Nerima district. Something exciting was always happening there.

That decided; he stood up to make a break for it when the bell rang, only to be held back by a hand on his collar. He turned and glared at Miroku. “Buzz off.”

“Just get over it and go back to class,” sighed the other boy. “We don't need to be hearing about the fire you started somewhere in the district on the news this evening.”

“Fuck you.”

“No thanks, I'm not into that. I hear Jakotsu in 3-C might take you up on your offer, though.”

If it were scientifically possible for Miroku's head to explode due to the extreme voltage coming from Inu-Yasha's eyes as he was dragged along to class by the older boy, it would have been blown to pieces smaller than microscopically seen. As it was, Miroku's head remained intact, Inu-Yasha was apparently going back to class and the only thing drowning out him grinding his teeth, was Miroku's annoyingly oblivious humming....

Kagome looked up from her Trigonometry lesson to see Miroku practically shoving Inu-Yasha back in the classroom.

Inu-Yasha turned to glare at him and make a rude hand gesture. He was ignored in favour of Miroku making his way to Kagome's desk.

“Please forgive my actions, Higurashi. I feel this whole thing was a misunderstanding....you see...there was a bit of dirt on your skirt and I only intended to wipe it away....”

“THAT'S what you were doing!?” Inu-Yasha interrupted. “No wonder she hit ya, you damn perv! When are ya gonna learn t--” he was cut off by an elbow to his gut.

“So you see,” Miroku continued calmly as Inu-Yasha struggled to catch his breath. “I was only trying to help. Surely, you can forgive me for saving you the trouble.

It was unnaturally quiet for a moment as Kagome simply stared at Miroku. “Sango's right, Houshi. You really are unbelievable.” She turned her attention back to the work in front of her. “And to think I felt sorry for you...”

Miroku's grin looked strained.

Behind him, Inu-Yasha was wheezing enthusiastically. “Serves ya right, bouzo ....”

“Houshi...Miroku....is that you?” Kaede called as she peered at Miroku from her desk.

Miroku stood up. “Yes, it is, Kaede-sensei,” he answered, exuding charm. “You look well, how is your health?”

He was answered with a very flat glare. “I suggest you go to your own classroom before you are late and stop causing trouble in mine. And Inu-Yasha can stop imitating a fish and take his seat.”

“Oi!”

Miroku let his head hang in defeat for a moment before making his way out just as the other students of 1-C began to pour in.

******

Class that afternoon was relatively quiet. Kaede-sensei had written the assignments to be completed on the board and none of it was new to Kagome, who was relieved she wasn't so far behind in her learning that she couldn't catch up. She was pleased that it only took her an hour to wrestle through the rest of her Trig problems before she moved on to her Japanese essay.

She had almost assumed that Inu-Yasha had been working on his essay too, the way he leaned over his desk, scribbling furiously with such an intent look. But, no....upon further inspection from the corner of her eye, it became apparent that her classmate was doing nothing even remotely resembling his work.

For all appearances, it seemed Inu-Yasha was more interested in producing a mini-manga in his notebook than his essay. Sharp, angled drawings with so little detail that most of the art was left to the imagination was paired with almost scrawled writing. She only saw it for a second, but the whole page was striking. The boy had talent.

As if reading her thoughts, said boy looked up and caught her eye. Tossing her a dirty look, he hunched further over his work and turned his back on her as much as he could in his desk.

So, he was private. Fine. It wasn't like she really cared what he was doing anyways.....just interested to see if he actually did any work. Obviously not.

She let out a quiet sigh and let herself be drawn back into her essay.

With all of the work Kaede-sensei had assigned the class, Kagome found her afternoon to be completely occupied with her lessons. Nothing except her maths had been particularly difficult, but there was certainly enough to be kept busy. Kaede-sensei had also engaged the class in minor discussion revolving around environmentalist project to stop production of a new shopping centre to preserve a natural wetland. It had been an entertaining debate for Kagome, who sided with those who wanted to save the habitat of some rare ducks.

It had startled her then, when the bell rang to announce that class was over for the day. She'd been immersed in her work and enthralled with the debate, she hadn't realized the time had passed so quickly.

While the other students said their goodbye to the teacher and left, Kagome took her time packing up her things and new books.

By the time she reached the footlockers, most of the students had already left.

`That was quick.'

However, not all the students were gone. She spotted an irritated Inu-Yasha hanging around the end of the particular row her locker was situated. He didn't appear to be moving anytime soon, so Kagome steeled her nerves as she walked over to change shoes and hope that he would keep his mean comments to himself.

"Oi, wench..."

So much for THAT idea....

Kagome sighed and pulled out her sneakers. "My name is Higurashi Kagome, not 'wench'," she told him in an overly polite tone. She concentrated on tying the laces and thinking about anything but the rude classmate of hers.

But said classmate wouldn't be ignored. "What are ya waitin' around here for? The bell rang, it's time t' leave." He jerked a thumb in the direction of the front doors as if to emphasize his point. “Go.”

"I'm waiting for Sango."

As if on cue, Sango appeared. "Sorry I'm late, `had to finish my Japanese lesson." She rolled her eyes as she pulled out her shoes. "Kuraseku-sensei is such a stickler for the details."

As Sango changed her shoes, Kagome took the time to study her classmate's interesting choice of footwear.

"Inu-Yasha doesn't believe in shoes," Sango explained as she placed her school shoes in her locker. She rolled her eyes again. "I think it's against his religion or something," she added sarcastically. “You ready?”

“Hold on....” Inu-Yasha interjected. He jerked a thumb at Kagome. “She ain't comin' with us, is she?”

“Kagome's brother goes to Elementary School of Tokyo, too, `Yasha,” Sango told him. “She comes too.”

The horrified look on Inu-Yasha's face was almost comical if it hadn't been insulting as he turned to Kagome. "There's ANOTHER one of you?!" he cried. "Damn, it's bad enough that you've got the self preservation of a fuckin' goat, and you've got to look out for a little brother? I feel sorry for him."

"Inu-Yasha!!" Sango yelled as she punched him soundly in the bicep.

The white haired boy flinched and rubbed his arm. "Fuck! Whadja do that for?"

"Don't be rude. Besides, since you seem to think that Kagome can't protect herself, I'm glad you volunteered to help her out, since she's so helpless and all…"

“Don't count on it....”

Inu-Yasha's statement went unheard as Sango turned to Kagome as well. " 'Yasha comes with to get his cousin," Sango informed her.

"Tell my whole damn story to the world, why don'tcha?" Inu-Yasha cried.

“Get over yourself already,” Sango sighed as she linked arms with Kagome and led the trio out the gates.

******

When the trio reached the elementary school, shrieks and cries of "Sissy!" could be heard across the schoolyard. Four over energetic children bounded up to them, three boys and a little girl.

Souta greeted his older sister with a hug.

While the two others hung back, one of the other boys followed suite with Sango. He had his Sango's mouth and nose, Kagome decided, a sprinkling of freckles and large coal coloured eyes. His ebony hair was long enough to be pulled back in a short ponytail towards the top of his head.

Sango smiled as she talked to the boy, then tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to Kagome. "Kagome, this is my little brother Kohaku," she introduced.

“You two know each other?” Souta exclaimed as he made the connection between his new friend's older sister and his own.

“I guess you already know Souta then,” Kagome addressed Kohaku. She turned to Sango with a smile. “Small world.”

“Something like that,” Sango agreed.

The little girl, who had been incredibly quiet until now, tugged on Kagome's skirt in a silent request for attention. “My name's Rin,” she announced with a smile. “And I think you're pretty. Are you related to Kikyou? You look like her.”

“Kikyou?” Kagome echoed. Wasn't that the name Inu-Yasha had called her this morning?

The other boy, who had sandy hair, squinted his aqua coloured eyes and inspected Kagome's face. After a moment, he came to his conclusion. “Yeah, you kinda do. Only, I think you're prettier.” He grinned charmingly.

To this, Inu-Yasha snorted. "Ya need glasses, Shippo," he informed the boy. “Not only is Kikyou much better looking, those two don't even look remotely alike.” A second later Inu-Yasha was grabbing his ankle and glaring at Sango. "Dam-dangit!!!" he amended, remembering the kids. "What was that for?" he cried.

Sango looked annoyed. "Don't be such a jerk, Inu-Yasha." She nodded subtly in Kagome's direction.

“So?”

"Yeah Inu-Yasha, don't be a jerk,” the sandy haired boy echoed as he mimicked Sango's move on Inu-Yasha's other ankle. He squealed in protest when said older boy lifted him up to eye level by the back of his shirt collar.

"Do that again and you're walking home alone, brat." With that, Inu-Yasha released his hold on the kid and the younger boy fell unceremoniously to the ground.

Sango calmly cuffed her male companion's head and told Inu-Yasha to quit picking on the boy (whose name was Shippo) before she bent down to help the younger boy pick up his things.

“You're not hurt, are you Shippo?” Kagome asked gently.

Shippo made eye contact and visibly straightened, trying to make himself to appear larger. “Nah, Inu-Yasha can't hurt me,” he assured her. His gaze slid over to the older boy to glare in his general direction. “He's just a bully.”

“You're the one startin' sh—ah...crap,” Inu-Yasha retaliated, crossing his arms. He became the recipient of a rather flat stare from Sango.

“You're such a role model,” she deadpanned. She turned to Kagome. “Why don't you meet us here half an hour earlier and I can give you a tour of the school? We can walk together that way, too.”

The Higurashi siblings consulted on the matter for a moment before agreeing to the plan. Souta informed the boys that he would be bringing his Pokémon cards to school tomorrow and encouraged the other two to do the same.

“What makes you think I'm gonna come early?” Inu-Yasha objected.

Sango shrugged calmly. “It's your loss, `Yasha. The boys'll already be here by the time you drop off Shippo and Rin so, they'll have someone to play with. But who're you gonna walk with? Come on, Kohaku....”

Farewells were exchanged and Sango reminded Kagome to arrive at school early tomorrow.

******

Souta and Kagome arrived to an empty house with a note on the kitchen table saying that Mrs. Higurashi was at the market to purchase fresh vegetables for supper. The note also asked Kagome to keep an eye on Souta and see that he did his homework and they should feel free to help themselves to the last of the rice balls in the refrigerator.

Souta pulled out the plastic ware containing the rice balls, set them on the counter before quickly grabbing the largest two of the remaining four, and headed to the living room.

Kagome frowned and trailed after her brother; noting that the TV had been turned on and Souta plopped in front of it. She turned it off. "Your homework isn't done yet," she said in her best older sister voice.

Souta scowled. "But I didn't get any homework on my first day," he insisted.

Kagome raised a brow and stared at her brother. "If you don't get your homework done, I'll tell Mama and she won't get you that Nintendo system until your grades are really good." Kagome added what she hoped was an intimidating look to her threat.

Souta stuck his tongue out at her and ran to his room to (hopefully) get started on his homework.

Kagome shook her head and help herself to the rice balls before heading to for her own room to study. She whiled away her time by reviewing her History notes until her mother came home with the groceries and asked for assistance with dinner preparations.

Souta appeared seconds later and also wanted to help. So he claimed.

Kagome knew better, he was just trying to earn points to get out of doing his homework to watch TV.

Mrs. Higurashi, however, smiled fondly and instructed him to set the table. "So, how was school today?" she asked.

Those seemed to be the magic words as Souta began talking non-stop. "It was really great, Mama! My teacher's really nice and I made four new friends, even Rin...she's okay for a girl. And Sotaru and Kohaku have big sisters too, just like me! And we're studying samurais!"

Mrs. Higurashi smiled and leaned over to her daughter. "What about your day, Kagome?" she asked quietly.

Kagome frowned as she chopped up a cucumber and thought about what to tell her mother. "It was okay, I met some new people. I made a new friend, her brother and Souta met each other at their school." She decided to leave out the part about Inu-Yasha; her mother didn't need to know about such a rude boy.

Souta continued to chatter about minuscule things until Grandfather hobbled in from the shrine.

He sniffed the cooking and exclaimed that he must be the luckiest man on earth, to have such pretty women cooking a wonderful dinner, making Mrs. Higurashi blush with pride.

This caused Kagome to wonder how long it had been since someone had cooked a meal for her Grandfather before the family had moved in with him. Probably years. After all, their Grandfather had lived in the shrine all of his life and had been alone for almost two decades now. The only woman that ever stepped in the house that wasn't family was the house cleaner service that came once a week to tidy up and stock the kitchen.

Poor Grandfather.

But through the circumstances of her father's death, their grandfather wasn't alone anymore.

That evening, in her room, Kagome let her mind go over the events of the day. She had met some interesting people, made a friend and possibly an enemy. Try as she might, she couldn't think of a single reason why her new classmate was so nasty towards her. Perhaps it had to do with her looking like this Kikyou she kept hearing about. After all, she been told by Shippo and Rin that she bore resemblance to the other girl, and Inu-Yasha himself had referred to her as so just this morning.

Kagome mulled over this while getting ready for bed, but thinking hard right before bed had always been a taxing job and so it wasn't long after her head hit the pillow that she nodded off to sleep.

She had the strangest dream that she fell into the shrine's well to land in the real Warring States Era and went on exciting adventures with Inu-Yasha, who really WAS a dog demon.

Yeah, right…Inu-Yasha, a DOG demon? He had more the temperament of a wet cat…..

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* "