An air of misery revolved around Kagome, the tension between her and her driving mother more than apparent. But Yukiko Higurashi refused to give in to her daughter's sulking. When she told Kagome she would be spending the summer with her cousin in Kagoshima, a long ways away from her own comfortable home in Kochi, Kagome had laughed uncontrollably, certain her mother was joking.

But as the days wore on, Kagome started hearing the words "Sango-itoko" more and more often, and by the school year's end, a feeling of dread was seeping into her bones. Now, as she rode in her mother's red BMW, the joke wasn't so funny. It was for real.

Kagome had done everything in her power to sway her mother's mind, some of which she wasn't so proud of. She'd begged, threatened, and even thrown a tantrum, but all that got her were dashed hopes, lost dignity, and unruly hair. Finally, she just gave up, but not without one final drastic measure—the silent treatment. Armed with the resilience of her own attorney mother and stockbroker father, Kagome had yet to say a word to her mother in 36 hours. She was quite proud of herself, and was sure her mother would be too...if she weren't so frustrated with the seventeen-year-old.

"The cold shoulder, eh?" Yukiko smirked, within a few hours of noticing Kagome's silence. It had turned into one of those "when I was your age..." tales that made Kagome want to rip her ears out of her head, but she could decode the message quite clearly: "Let's see how long you can last." Not only was Kagome as stubborn as a mule, but competitive as well. Another trait her parents had given her.

The Kochi Ryoma Airport was within walking distance, or even biking distance, but Kagome wouldn't be caught dead on a bicycle, and besides, her mother didn't trust her to go to the airport alone. Yukiko planned to see Kagome off until her plane left, and from there, she was on her own. Kagome had absolutely no choice but to go to her cousin Sango's house...

She had only met her cousin three times in her life: on Sango's fourth birthday, at Sango's father's funeral, and on Kagome's eleventh birthday. Even on those occasions, Kagome didn't know her that well. Now that she was older, she still knew very little, but there was one thing she did know, and the only thing that mattered: her cousin was a country bumpkin. They actually had a farm! With disgusting animals and dirty...dirt!

It made Kagome shudder, even now, as she texted her manicured fingers off. Her mother had warned her to soak up every ounce of cell phone use she could while she could, because once she got to the "country"--it was what Yukiko called it the rural area in which Sango and her family lived—she would have little to no cell phone service.

Can't believe this, she texted to her best friend, Kikyou. My mom has me going to Kochi.

Lol, replied Kikyou, and Kagome scowled. Her misery was not preordained as the entertainment for others!

Not lol ,you bitch, she typed furiously. It's horrible! My country cousin lives on a farm.

Really?

I have no reason to lie.

That sucks.

Duh.

"Well, we're here!" Yukiko announced, and Kagome put up her cell phone with a snort.

"Wow. The airport. Gee, how fantastical." She grumbled, well aware that she'd begun talking again. Not that it mattered anyway; she wouldn't be seeing her mother again for a little more than two months, and Kagome couldn't be more divided about it. On one hand, she absolutely despised her mother for putting her through this hellish torment, and would be glad to get away from her; on the other hand, the only place she could escape her tormentor was the one place she never wanted to go. She would rather just stay at the airport.

Unfortunately, as her mother put it, "I've already paid for those damn tickets, so you're getting on that plane even if I have to embarrass you to do it." With a catlike smile, she added, "And I know you don't want that." It was so true.

"Come on, Kagome. You're making this worse than it is. You know what they say: there's nothing to fear but fear itself."

"First off, I'm not scared. Second, that saying was totally inappropriate for the situation." Kagome threw the car door open and got out of the car, while Yukiko just rolled her eyes.

"That may be. But that still doesn't change the fact that you're going to Kochi, sweetheart."

"Don't call me that. You're sentencing me to a slow and tortuous death and I would appreciate you not using affectionate monikers at this time. If you were to change your mind, however..." Kagome trailed off hopefully, and Yukiko quirked an amused eyebrow, popping the trunk open for her to get her suitcases.

"I think you have my answer...sweetheart."

"Mother!" Kagome groaned, frustrated at her vain attempts. "How can you send off your only child to a fate of...farming?!"

"You do have a younger brother, you know." Yukiko pointed out.

"Then your favorite child!"

"I love you both equally."

"Then your oldest child!!" Kagome practically screamed, maddened at Yukiko. "God, Mother, can't you see how much this irks me?!"

"Of course I do. It's hard not to when you keep whining. But I'm trying to pretend I don't." Yukiko smiled calmly, getting some of Kagome's bags. "Now come on, get your luggage so we can get on this plane." She headed towards the airport, while Kagome hung back, trying to walk slowly with the hopes of missing the flight. "And don't you dare dawdle, or you can forget about coming back home at all!" Kagome tossed back her head and screamed in her anger. When passersby stared, she pinked and grabbed the rest of the bags, slamming the trunk closed before running after her mother.

"Now, listen to your Emi-oba-san."

"No."

"And do your share around the house; help Sango and Kouhaku out with the farmwork."

"Definite no."

"Kami knows you don't clean up around our house." Yukiko continued, as though

"Then why do you expect me to do so at someone else's?"

"Because you'll clean or you'll stay there for your senior year. I'm sure you'd love Kochi Nishi Senior High."

"..." Yukiko kissed her daughter on the forehead, leaving a stain that Kagome would wipe away as soon as Yukiko was out of sight.

"I love you, and I know you'll get over this. You'll have fun—I just know it."

"Mm." Kagome grunted, boarding the plane. When she took her seat, she strapped on her seatbelt—all the safety formalities bored her, so she decided to just ignore them when the stewardess started talking—and took out her iPod, going straight to her favorite dark depression song, Stan by Eminem. As she stared out the window, thinking about the rolling tumbleweeds sure to soon cross her path, she clicked a few buttons to put the song on repeat.

This would be a very long flight.

And yet it wasn't, because when Kagome awoke from her three-hour nap, it was to the captain saying that they would soon be landing in Kyushu. The energy in her battery icon on her iPod was yellow, signaling that she needed to charge it soon or it would die. She took the earplugs from her ears and sighed, dreading the plane's touchdown. The dream she'd had did nothing to allay her gloom: she stood alone on a dry dirt road, with no sense of place or time, lost. No matter where she ran, she couldn't find a single member of civilization, until she stumbled upon her cousin's farm by accident. She stared in horror at the grinning family, holding pitchforks in their hands, and she ran away again, but they kept popping back up. Her mother, nor her brother or father, was anywhere to be found. It was rather depressing.

As Kagome tucked her iPod and earphones back into her purse, she felt the plane slow, and looked around at the other passengers. Most were engaged in lively conversations, happy to be being reunited with family for the summer. Kagome scowled. She shouldn't've even been on this plane, and yet there she was, being shipped off and dumped onto her country kinfolk. She could almost hear the Goofyesque hyuk-hyuk-hyukking of their laughter...probably directed at her and her misery.

Her dismal mood was hardly lifted when she got off the plane, looking around for the sign that would have her name plastered onto it like a death sentence. If anything, her temperament darkened further, when she set eyes upon the sign, barely noticing the tall, pretty brunette holding it. She quirked an eyebrow, making her way over.

"Kagome?" The brunette smiled, with none of the country twang she'd expected beforehand.

"Uh...Sango?" Kagome clarified carefully.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" Sango gave her a small hug, further shocking Kagome; she was expecting more of a...more overdone welcome wagon. As in, giddy screaming and tight, suffocating hugs, overdone. But this girl seemed to be having none of that; in fact, she seemed almost normal.

"Yeah...it has." Kagome muttered, discreetly brushing off her expensive designer jacket. The gesture didn't go unnoticed, but Sango ignored it for the moment and began walking. Kagome followed after her. "What was it, my eleventh birthday party, that I last saw you?"

"I'm surprised you remember." There was a cool edge to Sango's tone, one Kagome wasn't ultimately sure she liked. "So let me guess—your mother forced you to come here?"

"N—yeah." Kagome sighed, feeling busted for some reason. "I don't want to, like...cause offense or anything, but I would so much rather be spending my summer with my friends, or in Italy...or maybe France. Not in Kyushu."

"Because you believe we're a bunch of hicks, correct?"

"..." Kagome was numb with shock at the girl's dead-on analyzing.

"Well, let's get something straight, Kagome." Sango stopped right outside of the airplane entrance and turned to face Kagome, her expression flat. "I don't want you here any more than you want to be here. So if you stay out of my way, I'll stay out of yours, city girl. Do we have an understanding?" Kagome's jaw dropped.

"You bitch!" She blurted out, forgetting herself in the shock of the moment. "You hugged me! With your dusty, farmhand hands!"

"Dutybound. I'll be getting these clothes dry-cleaned tomorrow." Her voice was low, and Kagome would have said more—she might have even strangled her haughty yokel cousin—but Emi, Sango's mother, came rushing towards them out of her little blue car, engulfing Kagome in a big hug.

This was more what I'd expected, Kagome thought, glaring daggers at Sango when Emi wasn't looking, and affixing the fakest smile she'd ever created to her face when Emi looked at her.

"Kagome! I haven't seen you in ages! You've gotten so big!"

"Thanks, oba-san."

"Call me Emi-oba," the older woman waved Kagome off, grinning brightly. Kagome sensed none of Sango's contempt for her presence in Emi, and it seemed as though Sango was the only one unhappy that she was there.

"Sure...Emi-oba." Kagome disguised her smirk, but Sango saw right through it and kept her face level.

"Want me to drive back, Ma?" She offered.

"Of course, Sango, darling." Emi handed Sango the keys.

"Kagome, come with. I'll show you our car." Before Kagome could protest, Sango had linked their arms and basically frog-marched Kagome to the car, Emi following joyfully.

"Like I said, cause me no trouble and there'll be none." Sango said quietly, so her mother wouldn't overhear.

"Bullshit." Kagome hissed. "You don't like me? I'll be making my visit here hell for you."

Black Ice: Aw, who doesn't love a bit of kindred drama early on in the story?!