A/N: Hello FF! After months and months of stalking this wonderful website, I've finally worked up the courage to put up a story. Inuyasha FF were the first stories I read so I only thought it fitting to have my first story involve Inuyasha. A disclaimer is in order of course. I do not own Inuyasha and Co. the only character I do own is Ami. Enjoy :)
Chapter One
A plane might possibly be the worst place to sleep in, whether you fly first class or economy. Trust me, I know. I had been trying for the past eight hours to fall asleep. I watched more movies than my brain could handle. The flight attendants dimmed the lights in the first class cabin a few hours ago and yet here I am wide-awake.
"When I get back should I kill my mom or my dad first?" I mumbled, tossing and turning until I found a cold spot on the reclined leather chair.
I would probably go for my dad first, because he was the one who suggested this trip in the first place; or maybe my mom because she supported it through endless shopping trips. I would break out into a cold sweat just thinking about dressing rooms. Tokyo, Japan was thirteen hours away from Dallas, Texas by plane. It was actually more than thirteen hours, if you count the delays and transfers. I had to spend an entire summer in Japan with my dad's sister on some shrine. Japan, where they speak a language I can barely claim fluency in. It wasn't my fault we lived in Texas! Home of football, beer and all things all-american. Not that my dad cared.
"You're losing your heritage Ami." He would drone on and on and on.
Ami may have been my given name but I usually went by Amy. It was a lot easier that way. Most of the people in my hometown couldn't pronounce croissant, forget a name like Ami Nakamura. The worst part? I wasn't even going to be staying in the cool districts in Tokyo. No, no, no. My aunt and cousins lived with some whack job. Grandpa Higurashi was my aunt's father in law and he owned the shrine that my aunt and her children were living on. My dad hinted that he was a little…unstable. But apparently Grandpa Higurashi wasn't crazy enough to have my trip canceled.
Three whole months in Japan? I could barely speak Japanese. I could barely hold chopsticks. I would stick out like a sore thumb in Japan. Sticking out was, unfortunately, something I was very used to in Texas. It just sucked to know that I could never fit in anywhere. I didn't need three months of constant reminder.
The rest of the flight dragged on and eventually we landed. The airport was very empty despite the fact that it was mid-morning. I lugged my suitcase from baggage claim and slowly made my way towards customs. I was hoping that it would take forever to get past customs but the man looked at my passport picture, then my face and stamped it.
"Welcome to Japan!" His smile was very wide and cheerful. Too cheerful.
"Yeah…" I mumbled, throwing my passport back into my bag.
The Higurashi family, grandfather and all, were waiting for me outside the customs area. In fact, if my eyes weren't glued to the floor, I would've notice that they had already spotted me.
"Ami! Over here!" My aunt called loudly.
Ami? Bury me alive please. I sighed and forced myself to look up and smile. But my smile immediately fell off when I saw what awaited me. Mrs. Higurashi was dressed in pants and a blouse, looking very much like my father. Her chocolate brown eyes and ivory skin, even her smile was exactly the same as my dad's. Standing next to Mrs. Higurashi was a shorter version of herself whom I recognized to be my cousin, Sota. He scrutinized my appearance very openly before smiling. All in all, they were a very average family. Except for one member. My aunt and cousin Sota weren't the cause of my horror. It was the grandfather that had me shocked. He was very old and distinguished, dressed in traditional clothing from head to toe. Even his gray hair was long and pulled into a high bun.
"It's so nice to meet you Ami." Mrs. Higurashi pulled me in for a hug.
I stiffened before moving back, "Nice to meet you too."
I knew my Japanese sounded a little awkward but that's what happens when you are born and raised in America. My aunt's Japanese was easy to understand because she was speaking slower on my behalf.
"She looks like a foreigner." Sota mumbled quickly, thinking I wouldn't catch it.
"I am." I flatly replied.
Mrs. Higurashi hushed her son and handed him my suitcase. "This is ojii-san."
The old man awkwardly stood there willing me to do something…but I didn't know what I was supposed to do. So I stuck my hand out.
"Agh! Bow your head child, bow." He reached over and pushed me down.
Right…bowing. "Honestly, I didn't know they were this uncultured in America."
My aunt laughed loudly, for the both of us, before clasping my hand and dragging me along with them.
Three months. I just have to get through three freaking months.
A/N: I have the first four chapters typed up so I'll upload them as a block since they all kind of set up Ami's journey back into time. Then I'll update weekly or biweekly depending on my schedule. I hope you guys are interested. This story is going to be kind of different despite the fact that its an obvious self insert hehe. Read, review, show me some love. TT_TT