A/N: HEY GUYS!

So, I know I should be updating By Candlelight right now (Don't worry! It WILL come!), but instead I'm posting the first chapter to a new story. Awhile ago, my friend purduepup offered to give me a bunch of ideas for one-shots. And seeing as she's awesome and I am apparently one-shot challenged, I was like, SURE! So, she gave me several ideas, and my favorite was the idea for a one shot in which Kagome attracts the interests of a certain baseball star. I mulled over the idea in my head, wondering whether to write it or not, and eventually, I came up with this multi-chaptered story.

So, no. It's not a one-shot. Sorry, purduepup. DX

READ AND REVIEW!

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DISCLAIMER 1: I don't own Inuyasha. Get it through your freaking head. Happy, Rumiko? Can't it be enough that we all worship you?

DISCLAIMER 2: I don't own the song "Leaving on a Jet Plane." (Though I'm not sure why I have to put that... seeing as I just used it for the chapter title... O.O)

DISCLAIMER 3: Purduepup gave me the idea for Inuyasha being a baseball star, and for something which will happen in later chapters which I'll mention after it's happened cause it's SUPER CUTE! :D So I don't own that stuff, unfortunately. DX

However, the rest belongs to me. ;)

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Chapter One- Leaving On a Jet Plane

.x.x.

Of the many ways Kagome had dreamed she would find herself flying to America, this was not one of them.

She'd always been a child of many dreams: fantastic dreams, frightening dreams, dreams of glory and dreams of pain. Nightmares and fantasies, forever intertwining into a multithreaded braid of waking hours and peaceful nights… her dreams had been a tapestry, a painting. With bittersweet nostalgia, Kagome recalled how her mother had always said that her dreams were a Natural Wonder of the world. Even since infancy, her dreams had defined her.

Even the ones she had to give up.

Kagome was unsure what to think as she watched the world—her life, her friends, her home which she loved and despised—fly away beneath the wheels of the jet plane. Sadness, maybe? A wistful sigh, a lip punctured by tooth marks? Was that what she was supposed to feel, to do?

But she didn't feel much of that: sadness. Not that that entirely surprised her; after all, she was leaving the cage she'd loathed since she'd discovered the bars. She was escaping the confines and limitations of her past life. And she was experiencing one of her multitude of dreams: flying to America.

Just not under the circumstances for which she'd hoped.

A small stirring to her left caught her eye, and Kagome tore her eyes away from the shrinking world below. "It's cool, isn't it?" Kagome said, grinning at her little brother, trying to hide the way her hands clenched onto the armrests for dear life.

Souta nodded, staring out the window in open awe. "Yeah… it's… it's… amazing," he finally decided, eyes bright and wide and vital.

From his awed face, one would never have guessed that he was harboring a deadly illness. But that's just life.

Kagome smiled, trying to smile openly and not tightly, trying to take strength from his awe. Trying to ignore the realization which was quickly dawning on her as they shot faster and faster into the sky:

She was on a plane.

She was flying across the ocean.

Really fast.

Really high.

In the air.

I am not going to hyperventilate. I am not going to hyperventilate, Kagome chanted to herself. I am going to get a grip. I am going to get a grip.

Beside her, almost as if he could hear her thoughts, Souta snickered. Glaring at him, Kagome whined indignantly, "Don't you dare make fun of me. You won't be laughing when we drop out of the sky." As an afterthought, grinning a little, she added, "At least I hope you won't be… because I'd really begin to question your sanity…"

Souta nodded, smirking ruefully as he said, "And seeing as I don't think we can afford any more doctors for me, I'd better try and stay sane while I'm getting better."

These kinds of words were why Kagome loved her sixteen year old brother more than anything else in the world.

"You'd better," Kagome said menacingly. "And while you're at it…" glancing nervously out the window, she added meekly, "You might want to try and help me stay sane, too."

"Don't worry, Sis. I've got your back."

They laughed together, exchanging a smile, and for a moment, as she stared into his bright, black eyes, she was able to forget. To forget the sky, to forget the ground, to forget the plane, to forget her home, to forget the virus ravaging his body somewhere behind that easy smile…

For a moment, just like Japan, she left it below and behind her.

"Kagome… your face looks like it's about to crack."

The moment shattered like glass.

That would be because it is, she thought, eyes tightening. But she had to be strong, she had to hide it… for Souta's sake. All for Souta's sake, she reminded herself. This is for Souta's sake… everything is for Souta's sake…

Sometimes it felt like everything she ever did was for Souta's sake. And sometimes, she resented it.

Now was not one of those times.

"It's just the plane," Kagome muttered, glaring out the window as if the clouds personally offended her. "Clouds!" she scoffed. "I mean, come on. Who flies through clouds? What's the point? Clouds belong UP, not… not… d-down…"

Her voice faded as she watched the last layer of clouds sink beneath them, leaving only blue sky above and a sea of white fluff below.

"W-why aren't there any more clouds?" she demanded, outraged. "What happened to them?"

Souta stifled laughter but didn't hide his smirk as he said, "Clouds don't go on forever, Sis. We're higher than them now."

"…Oh." She smiled ruefully, face green. "Right."

Of course. Stupid.

Souta, not in the least frightened or intimidated by the sky, leaned across her chair, gazing with fascination into the white abyss beyond. "They really look like cotton candy," he mused, eyes bright. "It's like… you could just jump out the window and land on them."

"Yeah," Kagome growled. "That's what they want you to think. And then, when you're falling through them en route to being a puddle of gore on the ground, you'll be thinking SHIT! and they'll be thinking SUCKERRRR!"

It took Souta a few seconds to decide how to respond to that. But finally, rather than giving her a dubious look, rather than pointing out the obvious, he started to laugh, eliciting a multitude of glares from Kagome.

Inside, though, she was smiling.

His laughter makes me happy… even when he's laughing at me.

Kagome began to wonder whether Souta was actually amazing, or whether it was just that she was stupid.

Eventually the laughter subsided, and he gestured toward the sky, saying, "Look out the window… come on, the clouds won't bite you."

She rolled her eyes in response, not at first doing as he said, but in the silence that ensued, she found it impossible to sit still. Eyes betraying her, they slid to the window, to the blue, airy sea and the cloudy terrain which looked like pure white cotton candy… like she could just jump out of the plane and lie in tufts of cumulus clouds…

I wish that were true, she thought. At least then I could feel better about my life if the engines decided to fail.

Kagome watched the clouds with growing fascination. They were so… free. Light, aloof, independent. Content. She'd never actually thought about it that way before, but from above, the clouds actually looked content. Like they were living in their own utopia, their own world which needed no food or water or government or money or disease…

A bird flitted through the cloud, and the cloud seemed almost happy to make way for it.

"You're right," she finally murmured, not taking her eyes off of the sky. "It is amazing."

Souta nodded, smiling. "And nothing to be afraid of?"

At first she bit her lip, hesitant… but then, finally, she gave up and grinned, letting out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "Nothing to be afraid of."

Ah, Souta…

She didn't know what she would do without him.

.x.x.

"Rock."

"Paper."

"I take it back."

"Too bad."

"Suck it."

"You don't have one."

Kagome laughed out loud at that, burying her face in her hands. "This is ridiculous," she moaned. "What has three hours of boredom driven us to…?"

"Well," Souta said logically, biting his lip to keep from smirking, "I would say Rock, Paper, Scissors. The real question is what will fifteen hours of boredom drive us to?"

"Twelve," she corrected. "Only twelve left…"

There was a pause.

Then, in perfect unison, they groaned.

.x.x.

"Finally!" Souta gasped, leaning back in his seat. "I can't believe they took this long to get us a fucking movie."

"Don't say that word," Kagome said sternly.

Souta gave her a withering look, rolling his eyes. Maybe most brothers would have said something along the lines of, "What are you, my mother?" But not Souta. Neither Souta nor Kagome would ever degrade either of their parents that way… not when they'd give almost anything to have them back.

Just thinking about it was making Kagome depressed.

They both turned their gazes to the movie which was coming to life: an action movie. Full of miscellaneous explosions and stabbing and shooting and swords and guns and weird equipment… the kind of movie which bored Kagome to tears.

Souta and her dad had loved these kinds of movies. Whenever they would watch them, Kagome reminisced, she and her mother would sneak out for some girl time… sometimes just walk around, sometimes go to the mall, sometimes to a movie of their own. Those moments had been so, so precious to her.

Kagome felt a pain in her gut when she realized she could barely remember them.

She could still remember what it had been like when the news had come. A car crash. Such a common accident, such an overlooked incident… nothing which had ever been so noteworthy before. She'd seen accidents, she'd seen flipped vehicles and burning engines. She'd gawked and felt awful for the people involved, but it was always only for a few minutes. Then the scene of destruction was gone, then the despair was behind her.

She'd never thought that she would take a turn to endure the horror.

There had been a time when she would have given up anything to have her parents back. Anything. Even her brother; as horrible as that was, it was true. But over time, pain was numbed by reality, and rationality caught up to her.

Life caught up to her.

Dreams of grandeur, of achievement, of law school, died with her parents. She'd never known exactly what she wanted to do with her life, but she knew it would have been one of three things: a doctor, a lawyer, or a teacher. Unfortunately, due to circumstances, these dreams were made impossible.

When her parents died and left her the seventeen-soon-to-be-eighteen year old guardian of her fourteen year old brother, she'd known that college was not an option.

She'd resented this a little… resented it, resented him. But she loved him… she loved him more than anything else in the world. Despite her anger, despite her despair, despite her self-hatred for her resentment of him… the circumstances made their bond grow stronger.

They'd healed each other.

Souta was the reason she'd been able to survive three years of nothing. Souta was the reason that the hopelessness of her situation had never poisoned her heart. Souta was the reason she hadn't ripped off her work uniform and thrown it in her boss's face.

Souta was the one thing she couldn't live without… and the one person she'd do anything for.

Even move in with their grandfather in the United States.

To safe her brother's life.

"Can you at least try to tell me what you like about this movie?" Kagome asked blankly, watching the whores onscreen strutting about in short black shorts and belly shirts while several cars blew up around them. "You know… besides the overwhelmingly intricate plot, and the complexity of the characters…"

Souta smirked at her. "It's mostly the hot girls."

Groaning, Kagome muttered, "I liked you better when you were a little kid."

Souta only grinned.

When ten more minutes passed and it was apparent that Kagome's boredom was about to drive her to self mutilation, Souta grabbed a magazine from the seat compartment in front of her and flung it at her. "Here," he said. "Might as well familiarize yourself with American culture."

Kagome grimaced at the magazine, holding it in her fingertips as if afraid it might contaminate her. "No way," she said immediately. "I might catch something just by holding this thing."

"Oh, stop being a baby. Don't pretend you don't like looking at the guys' chests."

Kagome glared at him… and gave up and looked at the front cover of the magazine.

She couldn't stop the slight blush from rising to her cheeks as she took in the man's body. His arms were strong and tanned, his chest hairless and ripped with abs, and his shoulders… oh, his shoulders were something to behold. But none of this was what really caught her attention.

The most striking of his features was his face.

It was heartbreakingly handsome, the kind of face that had teenage girls fawning even when looking at the picture. Of course, at twenty-one, Kagome was much too old to fawn over some celebrity, but she couldn't help but admire him. His golden eyes, his thick, silver hair that fell in a perfect disarray down his back and around his shoulders… even the dog ears atop his head were enchanting.

She grimaced at his expression, though.

"So… Inuyasha, huh?" Souta said, snickering.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Who is this Inuyasha guy?" she demanded, holding the magazine cover up to the light, as if there might be a secret message.

At first she missed the way Souta stared at her. But when it became too obvious to ignore, she stared right back at him and demanded, "What?"

He blinked. "You don't know who Inuyasha Takahashi is?"

Kagome shook her head, giving him a look that said clearly, Obviously I don't. Souta took a few more minutes to stare at her as if she had grown a second head before finally repeating, "You don't know who Inuyasha Takahashi is."

Now Kagome was getting annoyed. "Oh, for crying out loud, just tell me!"

Souta stabbed Inuyasha Takahashi in the face and said dramatically, "This guy is the most famous freak of nature ever to walk the Earth. He's a baseball player, singer and dancer, model, and apparently he's smart, too. And all the chicks think he's hot, but I can't really say anything about that one…"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "He's good looking, I guess," she said reluctantly. "But still… his expression ruins it. He's got that I'm sexy and I know it smirk going on. It's revolting."

"You don't have to argue with me," Souta said, laughing. "I'm not fawning over him."

Giggling, Kagome said, "I guess you're not."

She scanned the cover and flipped the magazine open to the page about Inuyasha Takahashi, scanning the article. Crap… crap… crap… more crap… more crap… "Hey," she said in surprise, eyebrows arching up to her hairline, "He's coming to New York."

"New York City?" Souta asked in surprise.

Kagome nodded, skimming the article for information. "Yeah… there's a baseball game in about a week. And I guess his touring follows his baseball team, because he's going to be performing in NYC for awhile…"

"You might get to meet him," Souta said, smirking.

Kagome stared at Inuyasha for one more moment, committing his features to memory before shoving aside the magazine and his horrible, arrogant grin. "I don't care, anyway. He's probably a jerk."

Souta gazed longingly at the crumpled magazine. "Maybe he is a jerk," he muttered, "But I'd still give almost anything to see that baseball game."

Her fingers stopped tapping.

"You would, huh…?" she mused, staring with sad eyes at the magazine.

Souta nodded. "I haven't seen a live baseball game since Dad took us for my fifth birthday," he said quietly. "I just… I don't know… I guess I'd like to see one again…"

Kagome could hear his voice faltering, could hear his words fading away, morphing into words which she never, ever wanted to hear. Not from him and not from anyone.

She wouldn't let him say it.

"You'll see one again," Kagome promised blindly, interrupting him before he could finish that deadly thought. "I'll make sure you do."

Her brother flushed at the sudden fervor which entered her eyes, the firmness which strengthened her words. "I didn't mean it like that," he said quickly, unable to hold her eyes. Face down, looking at his knees, he muttered, "It doesn't matter."

But it did matter—for more than one reason. And without a thought, without the smallest hesitation, Kagome put her hand on his and forced him to look at her.

"I'll get us to that game even if I have to rip the tickets from a toddler to do it," she vowed.

Souta, unsure whether her eyes sparkled with love or insanity, laughed nervously and said, "That's not really—"

"Shut it. It's completely necessary."

And that was the end of the discussion.

Kagome closed her eyes, leaning back against the chair, trying not to think. Thinking was dangerous… thinking was painful. Talking was all right, words were easy enough, but once something invaded her mind… her sanctuary… it took control.

It left her vulnerable.

I'll get us to that game. I promise, Souta. She opened her eyes just a little, just enough to see him staring at the screen again, watching the movie. Ignoring her.

I'm sorry, Souta.

Kagome let her eyelids droop shut, let her shoulders slacken and her head roll to one side. The game… they needed to get to that game. And one way or another, she would make sure that they did.

…Though maybe she wouldn't go ripping tickets from little children to do it.

She shifted in her seat, trying to sleep, trying to drift away from fears and problems and brothers and baseball. She clenched her fists. She slowed her breath. She counted to ten.

But she couldn't sleep.

Eyes flying open, she looked once again at her brother… at his glazed eyes and empty face, at his fingers which twitched every so often with well concealed anxiety.

Unable to stand his strength for a second longer, Kagome clenched her eyes shut.

He needs the tickets more than any toddler does, anyway.

.x.x.

A/N: Sooo... what'd you think? REVIEW AND TELL ME! (And by the way, for those of you who haven't noticed yet, chapter 64 of Lives Will Change is up :D)