Author's Notes: BWUAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Ari didn't kill me after all! Anyway, it struck me as interesting that Kagome might be looking for a college. Besides, the ending of the last episode just asked for a sequel.

CHAPTER ONE: SEARCHING FOR A COLLEGE

            Kagome climbed out of the well and shook her head. How was she going to explain to Inu-Yasha that she would be gone for at least two weeks while she was looking for a college in America? The girl sighed. First things first. That was still a week away, and she would think of a way to tell the hanyou by then. She just hoped he would let her go. This was very important to her.

            She headed for the direction of Kaede's village, knowing full well that the hanyou would be waiting for her.

            "NO WAY!!!!" Inu-Yasha yelled. "I'm not letting you go alone! I'm not letting you go at all!" The hanyou had, as Kagome had expected, thrown a tantrum. "Come on, Inu-Yasha. This is my future. I need to go there to survive in my world."

            "What do they teach you, anyway?"

            "All the stuff we need to know to be able to live," Kagome told him. The half-demon's eyes wavered for a moment. Then, he grabbed her around her waist and hauled her off in the direction of the well. "You're going there. Now. And I'm coming with you." Kagome smiled. She knew he'd understand if she used the right words.

            "And we're coming, too!" Shippou chimed. "Yeah! We want to see Kagome-sama's world, too," Miroku said. Kagome sighed. All right, a complete vacation it was. At least they were as prepared as they could be. Not that that was any consolation.

            The plane left Tokyo airport for the USA. More specifically, Los Angeles International Airport. It had taken quite some work to convince Miroku and Sango to get into this strange metal contraption that was supposed to carry them high across the skies. Inu-Yasha had already known about airplanes, and so he tried not to smash everything that seemed to move out of its own accord.

            The flight took nine hours. Inu-Yasha sat next to Kagome, seemingly very interested in the movies that were shown. Kagome leaned against him contently, drifting in and out of sleep, one of his arms unconsciously draped across her shoulders. Miroku was trying to pick up the stewardesses, and Sango was trying to keep him in line. Shippou was pressed against the window to try to get a good look at what the sky looked like from up here.

            They spent the night at a hotel in Los Angeles, then were picked up by an uncle of Kagome. He drove them southwards. "You know, the colleges in LA are quite selective, and mostly filled to capacity nowadays. I mean, USC you probably won't like, UCLA isn't too nice to international students, and CalTech is probably not for you, unless you are a tech major." He noted as he drove down the freeway.

            "So, what do you suggest?"

            "Try one of the other UCs. Like Irvine, or Berkley. Maybe even San Diego." Her uncle smiled. "I got a room for you and your friends at UCI. I bet you'll like it. I also have a friend of mine there to take care of you. His name's Sung Wang. He's a Iaido instructor there." Kagome arched her brow. "I get to live on campus? Wow!"

            Her uncle chuckled. "Yep. Meet some people, visit some classes. It's going to be fun for you, I hope. The next four weeks will certainly be interesting."