~The cover of this fanfic was edited on LunaPic but was created by a friend~

Edited On October 25th-28th, 2018

Warnings: May Contain Errors of Any Sort, Out of Character Moments Might Occur, Some Information Comes From the Inuyasha Wikia

Changes Made: Descriptions Were Improved Slightly, Few Things Changed

*Japan, Present Day*

The Higurashi Shrine was a rather large piece of property, additionally being a place where Kagome and Kaori Higurashi lived with their family members in the modern era of present day. The shrine was owned by their grandfather, who was additionally a priest. Although the shrine was not quite popular (not enough to be a major tourist destination, at least), it was very well known to all of the locals within the area; people would often go there during the summer festivals or during the New Years shrine visits. Furthermore, it had a reputation for being quite effective with dispelling bad omens from items or events, therefore on occasion, there would be someone who would visit after traveling a great distance.

There were several structures within the shrine grounds, about nine in total. Firstly, the shrine had four red torii gates, all which were positioned at three different locations; one was located in front of the steps that climbed upward to the main entrance of the shrine, another could be found at the end of the stairs, and the last two could be located on either side of the area where it lead to the modern household. Secondly, the main shrine building was located at the center of it all and it was definitely the biggest structure there. Thirdly, an small wooden temple could be located at the angle of the main shrine and it covered a rusted well. Fourthly, a storage building was located adjacent to the shrine and it was constantly used to store many artifacts, especially rather ancient ones. Fifthly, a small white office building stood by the right side of the shrine; it was where they would sell charms and other items. Lastly, the modern house behind the shrine was inhabited by the Higurashi family of five (a mother, two sisters, a brother, and grandpa), plus a pet cat. Overall, it was a glorious place.

Inside of the Higurashi household, eighteen-year-old Kaori was sleeping on the floor within her younger adoptive sister's bedroom. She was lying on a heavy blanket, curled up in a fetal position as she dreamed peacefully, and she was covered with a thin sheet. She made no sounds, not once releasing a snore. Her beautiful sky-blue hair, which usually ran past her shoulders, was hanging over her face entirely, but it didn't falter her snoozing, not even slightly. It was quite odd that she was sleeping on the floor within her adoptive sibling's bedroom instead of sleeping in her own bed within her own bedroom, but no one thought negatively of it because they all just assumed two different reasons; one was that Kaori just wished to be near Kagome and the other was that Kaori disliked being alone when she slept, both being true assumptions.

Entering the bedroom slowly was Sōta, the younger brother of Kagome and the sleeping Kaori. He released a puff of breath as his brown eyes spotted his adoptive older sister sleeping soundlessly on the wooden floor and he shook his head, his black hair swaying slightly from the movement (his distinctive bangs on his right side had basically shifted). He approached her at a slow pace and he knelt down on the floor, directly beside her. He reached over and began to shake her roughly, giving her a rude awakening. Kaori groaned as she woke up slowly, grunting as she sat up on the floor, her hair falling from her face in a messy manner as the thin sheet sled down her pajama covered back. She rubbed the back of her head as she opened her sea-green eyes and she stared at Sōta groggily. "Sōta? Didn't you see that I was trying to sleep in a little longer? What do you need?" she asked, sounding a tad grumpy since she had been awakened from her slumber sooner than she had wished.

He grinned sheepishly at her for a single second. "Sorry," he apologized quickly. He glanced down at his pale hands, which were resting on his knees, as he started pouting. "I'm just really bored, Kaori. There's nothing to do."

Kaori rubbed her eyes for a moment before she glared at him. "Seriously? You woke me up just because you're bored?" She huffed, shaking her head at him. That was the stupidest reason she ever heard. "What the heck made you think that I could do something about that?" she questioned. Sōta shrugged. "I can't just magically wish away your boredom, you know. Jeez." She sighed before lying back down on the blanket. She placed the thin blanket over her face, prepared to just ignore Sōta and sleep. "How about you go and find Kagome, hmm? Ask her to help you with that boredom of yours because I'm the wrong person to demand help from. I barely can rid myself of my own boredom most days."

"But she can't sing like you can!" Sōta exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air. "She can't sing at all!"

Kaori busted out laughing and she removed the blanket from her face, her laughter continuing for about a minute. "Okay, so that's why you woke me up, you rascal. It wasn't because you were bored, you just wanted to hear me sing for a moment." She sat up again, smiling at him as her anger and annoyance vanished. "You could've just asked me, Sōta, instead of making me get frustrated with your lack of good reasoning."

He blushed slightly in embarrassment. "Are you gonna sing or not?!" he exclaimed.

Kaori laughed again and she nodded. "Okay, okay. Jeez, so grumpy and bossy. Calm your face." She rolled her eyes in a playful manner. "I guess I'll sing for you, but I gotta figure out what song first." She didn't want to sing the first song that came to her head because what if it was a break-up song or a romantic one? Why would Sōta wanna hear that shit? She needed to think of a neutral song, one that he wouldn't mind hearing.

"Awww," Sōta pouted. "Figure it out fast." He was quite an impatient little twat sometimes, but Kaori loved him to death regardless, even though it was very annoying when he was openly sharing how impatient he was feeling. She never liked being rushed, but for some people, she made exceptions and her little adoptive brother wasn't exactly one of them.

"Oh, be patient, you adorable twat," Kaori told him. "And for your information, I already have a song in mind." The young boy smiled gleefully and awaited for her to start singing. She cleared her throat, fixing her sitting posture slightly while she did such, and she began to sing. Her voice was rather gentle, softer than how she regularly spoke. "There's no curtain call and there's no point in life at all if each day ends, and this bent heart of mine cannot heal. I can't see a darn thing, but could it be that the gray clouds that I loved completely blinded me." She continued with her singing for approximately three minutes before the song was completed in its entirety.

Sōta raised his hands from his knees and he clapped, smiling. "That was awesome, Kaori!" He wasn't emotionally touched by the song like Kaori was, but nonetheless, he enjoyed the temporary entertainment.

The female in question laughed a little bit, rubbing her eyes to stop her building tears from flowing. "Ummm, thanks, I guess," she commented, accepting the praise. She gently patted his head with a grin on her face. Suddenly, after she dropped her hand from his head, there was a long awkward pause that was filled with complete silence, apart from their breathing. After about two minutes, Sōta grew bored of the staring contest he was having with Kaori and he stood up from the floor. He started to head towards the door, prepared to leave the bedroom. Before he exited, he paused and turned to look at Kaori. It seemed like he wanted to say something more to her. "Yes?" Kaori wondered aloud. "Do you want something else?"

Sōta shook his head. "Not really. It's just... People are mean to you a lot because of your oddities, but... I think you're really cool and not just because of your abnormal...ness." He adored his older adoptive sister because she was often the kindest person, when someone wasn't on her bad side. Sure, she had her moments like that one moment before she had sang her song, but everyone had their faults and Kaori just happened to have a few extra ones that most didn't like.

Kaori's grin, that had long vanished because of the awkwardness, reappeared on her face. "Thanks, little brother. Now, begone so I can get ready." Sōta stuck his tongue out at her, for an unknown reason, and he left the bedroom. Kaori removed herself from the floor and she approached her door, closing it for some privacy. Afterwards, she walked over to the trunk in the corner of the room and she opened it, pulling out some of her clothes that she had placed there at some point in her life. Putting on some cute casual wear of sorts (a black bra underneath a pink knit sweater that didn't go above her shoulders and jean shorts that were hidden underneath the sweater, additionally wearing black knee socks and some boots), she left the bedroom.

She wandered around the Higurashi shrine, searching for her younger adoptive sister. Eventually, she managed to find Kagome and their grandfather inside the office building. She slowly began to approach them both from the side, eyeing them both. Kagome was a rather attractive young woman with somewhat pale skin (speaking of skin tones, Kaori's complexion was about the same shade of pale) and a slender, yet curvaceous figure with well-toned thighs; she additionally had long, wavy black hair and big brown eyes, and she was wearing a pink sweater and blue pants. Their grandfather, otherwise known as Grandpa or Gramps, had fair skin, black eyes, gray hair (including gray facial hair), and he always would wear a garment that identified him as a traditional Japanese Shinto Priest. As Kaori continued to slowly approach them both, she noticed that Kagome was holding a keychain with a mini-plaque of Japanese characters and a purple orb dangling at its bottom. She didn't exactly hear the beginning of the conversation the two were having, but she did hear something that Kagome was saying in response to something she hadn't heard be spoken. "Shikon No Wha?" Kagome questioned.

Kaori blinked, raising an eyebrow at Kagome. "What the hell did I just walk into?" she thought as she placed herself behind Kagome. Neither of them had noticed that she had arrived, despite that she had practically made her presence known by being rather loud when she was walking in; she was often told that she had a habit of sneaking up on people, so she often tried to be as loud as possible whenever she was approaching someone but that didn't appear to be helping her get acknowledged. She was standing right in front of her adoptive grandfather, for goodness sake, and he still didn't see her.

"Shikon No Tama, my girl," Grandpa Higurashi corrected Kagome. "The Jewel of the Four Souls."

Kagome looked down at the keychain she was holding. "You don't actually think tourists are gonna buy these dumb keychains, do you?" she questioned. The item didn't look all that great, in her opinion, so she couldn't see the appeal that it could possibly have towards anyone who dropped by. Long story short, or short story shorter, the keychain looked like a piece of junk.

"They might, though," Kaori commented. Kagome jumped slightly in startlement and she turned her head to give Kaori a glare, finally aware that the female was with them. "Tourists go crazy over those sort of things. It's like some sort of collectible to them. They see it, they want it, and they never actually use it for anything. They just look at it for a day and then suddenly, they've misplaced it and they forget all about it until spring cleaning. Happens all the time, I'm sure."

"That is not just some keychain that'll get lost somewhere. That crystal there at the end is a replica of an ancient jewel, which-" Grandpa Higurashi paused his speaking when he heard the keychain jingling. He opened his eyes, which had been closed for some reason, and he watched as their overweight cat, Buyo, pawed at the orb of the keychain Kagome was holding up. "Hmm?" he hummed as he stared at the cat and Kagome, watching as Kagome moved the keychain away from Buyo, the cat continuing to reach out for it.

"Awwwwww. How cute," Kaori cooed, smiling down at the silly cat.

Grandpa Higurashi cleared his throat and coughed, catching the attention of Kagome and Kaori again. "As I was saying," he began, completely missing the fact that both girls turned their attention back towards the cat; if the old man would keep his damn eyes open, he'd know that he lost their acknowledgement. "That crystal is a replica of an ancient jewel, which-" He paused yet again as he opened his eyes, spotting Kagome moving the keychain around with Buyo trying to reach for it.

"Wow, Buyo really wants that crystal," Kaori remarked. "Maybe some cats will come and visit us this time, instead of all those random human tourists. I'd rather be surrounded by the animals, honestly." She wasn't exactly a people person.

"Yeah, seems like it," Kagome replied to the first bit. Her face brightened seconds later as she looked towards Kaori for a moment, responding to the second bit. "That would be so much better than having a bunch of strangers around."

"An ancient jewel-" Once again, Grandpa Higurashi couldn't finish his sentence because Kaori and Kagome didn't particularly care about what he had wanted to state.

Kagome stopped teasing Buyo with the keychain, clenching onto it as she stared at her grandfather hopefully. "You do remember it's my birthday tomorrow, right?" she asked him, sounding eager and full of hope. He released his hold on the keychain he was holding, letting it land in front of Buyo, and he released a grunt of frustration; he never liked it when neither of them listened to their history.

"How could any of us forget your birthday when you're constantly reminding us about the fact every other hour of every other day?" Kaori questioned. She didn't get an answer because she was being ignored, but she didn't really need one; Kagome was just super excited about her upcoming birthday. That or she was super excited about getting gifts of some kind. Either one was likely.

Grandpa Higurashi chuckled. "I'd planned to wait another day, but-"

"So, you did get me something!" Kagome exclaimed. "Hand it over!" She was gonna regret that shit...

Her grandfather magically pulled out a box from his clothing (not really, he just grabbed it from nearby) and he handed it over to her, a ribbon on top of it to hold it closed. Kagome quickly tore the ribbon off and she practically threw the lid of the box across the room. She pulled out a reptilian foot and instantly, her happy smile turned into a very unhappy scowl. She stared at her gift blankly, displeased; she probably should've expected that from him. Kaori laughed at the look on Kagome's face, quite pleased that she had entered the office when she did or otherwise, she would've missed that pretty epic moment. Their grandfather started talking again, trying to give them more history lessons. "That, my dear, is an authentic mummified hand of a water-imp, which-"

Kagome wasted no time in getting rid of the gift whilst additionally interrupting her grandpa again. "Here, Buyo," she said to the cat as she held the gift towards him. "Eat," she instructed. Buyo immediately bit into the artifact and he started walking off with it.

"Waah!" Grandpa Higurashi exclaimed as he fell forwards, attempting to grab the artifact as he did such but to no avail. "That's an antique!" He stared angrily at the cat as Buyo kept walking away nonchalantly.

"I love that cat," Kaori commented as she watched the cat momentarily. She stared at the gift in his mouth for a moment before she looked towards her adoptive grandfather. "So, that's a hand, huh? I thought it was a foot. Maybe there's no difference between the two body parts. We'll never know since you merely have a hand for hands. Ha, see what I did there? No? You have talented hands and you like collecting hands, it's suppose to be funny." Grandpa Higurashi glared at her. "Too soon?"

Grandpa Higurashi said nothing to her and he started going after the cat, trying to get the artifact back but Buyo constantly ran away from him. Kaori giggled as she watched for a few minutes and Kagome zoned out, deep in thought. "Replica this, authentic that. Here, everything's got a story. The pickles we eat for dinner, the noodles we eat for breakfast, the thousand-year-old sacred tree, and the legend of the hidden well. I hear these stories every day of all my life and I'll never believe any of it. Not ever."

"Kagome!" Kaori yelled into her ear, bringing her out of her thoughts rudely and roughly.

"What?!" Kagome yelled back as she rubbed her ear, glaring at Kaori. "Did you have to be so loud?!"

Kaori huffed and scoffed, standing up straight after having leaned over to do what she had done. "Well, excuse me, princess. If you hadn't been staring at a wall for five minutes, I wouldn't have to yell at you. You were missing the epicness of Gramps chasing Buyo and losing at it. Hell, you made me miss five minutes of it because I was trying to snap you outta your trance." In fact, the chase was still occurring without a hitch but neither of them turned to watch it happen, their attention on each other.

"What? Really?" Kagome questioned as she blinked in surprise. "Huh. I didn't know that I was thinking for that long."

Kaori crossed her arms over her chest, staring down at Kagome as she tilted her head slightly. "Exactly what was it that you were thinking about?"

"Well," Kagome started. She paused for a split second, glancing towards Gramps and Buyo. She cracked a smile before she looked back towards Kaori, immediately spotting the smile on her face that had formed quickly because Kaori, too, had looked towards the chase sequence. "I was just thinking about all those crazy stories Grandpa tells us all the time."

"Oh. I see. That makes sense. You still don't believe in them, huh?" Kaori guessed. Kagome nodded shortly. "Hmm. Well, I don't exactly blame you for disbelieving since the things he shows us could probably be fake. Although, there's always some truth behind stories. That includes legends and myths. People just add in their own stuff to spice it up, sometimes."

"Do you actually believe in this stuff?" Kagome asked her, giving her a weird look.

"I honestly don't have a clue. I mean, I guess they could be true. Like I just said, there's always some truth behind stories. We don't know what happened years ago, it was long before our time. Anything could've happened. Demons could've been real and people could've believed in everything back then. We don't know for sure because we didn't live in that time and the history being passed down to us could either be true or completely made up. Basically, we don't know if anything is true or not. I'm rambling, aren't I? Eh, what the hell do I know? I can't even remember my birth parents." Kaori was adopted (obviously since it was mentioned many times already) into the Higurashi family mere hours after her birth. No one knew who her birth parents were or what had happened to them. "So, are you excited about tomorrow?" Kaori asked, changing the topic completely without getting a response back. "Ha, why am I asking that? Of course you are. I mean, you are turning fifteen and you can only be fifteen once in your life. That and your constant reminders showed that you are super eager."

"Yep!" Kagome smiled at her, clapping her hands together happily. "So, did you get me a present? One that I prefer to be better than Grandpa's?"

Whatever expression that Kaori had on her face, it dropped. "Uh..." she hesitated. She had completely forgotten about getting Kagome a gift. It wasn't like she had forgotten the girl's birthday, thanks to those constant reminders, but she hadn't wanted to go into town since that would've meant being around strangers and she didn't like most people. She kept procrastinating until she finally just plain forgot to deal with her displeasure and get a gift. Whoops.

"You didn't get me anything, did you?" Kagome glared slightly at Kaori.

"Uh..." Kaori panicked a little bit. "I got you the... Gift of... Adoptive sibling love? Heh..." she said slowly and nervously, smiling sheepishly.

Kagome scoffed as she stood up, getting off her knees. "That's a pretty lame gift, Kaori." She started to head out of the office building.

"What?! Lame?!" Kaori followed her out of the building, a pout on her face. "There is absolutely nothing lame about adoptive sibling love. Would you rather have the gift of adoptive sibling rivalry instead? I'll gladly give it to you. Somehow."

"I was only kidding." Kagome turned around and she hugged Kaori suddenly. Kaori immediately tensed up a little bit before she relaxed slightly; she wasn't a large fan of hugs, especially ones that she couldn't see coming.

"Would you bloody stop hugging me out of nowhere? I really hate it," Kaori pouted.

"Nope!" Kagome pushed Kaori away from her lightly. "Tag, you're it!" She took off running in the opposite direction, leaving her adoptive older sister dumbfounded, for about five seconds.

"What the hell was that shit?" Kaori questioned to herself. "What kinda almost fifteen-year-old plays tag with an eighteen-year-old? Hmph. I do love tag, though. Damn it." She took off running after Kagome. "Get back here, ya ape! I'm the queen of tag! I'll never be defeated by the likes of you!" Kagome just laughed at her and she continued sprinting away as her older adoptive sister chased after her. So what if they weren't really related; family didn't always end with blood.

First off, I called Kaori by a different name at one point when I made this in 2015. I called her Kohaku, a character from my Death Note fanfic that I had been making at the time (and am currently revamping). Why didn't anyone fucking realize that shit before? XD Better yet, why didn't anyone tell me about it if you did happen to know?! XD

Well, I certainly fucking hope you all enjoyed the reedited chapter because it took me a long while to make. I really hope that it's alright. I left some paragraphs short because I couldn't think of many things to add on to them. It's fine. Like I had said, the descriptions are only slightly better.

Grandpa is still their grandfather's name, according to the Inuyasha wikia. So, wow. Kaori is adopted and you actually know this because I added that fact into the chapter multiple times to get the point across. Additionally, I made it more obvious as to why she is so different; new readers, the cover has already spoiled the secret for you and I made it completely obvious within this chapter. Sorry, not sorry but it wasn't really a total secret anyways. The song Kaori sang originally was "Yours To Hold" by Skillet because I love Skillet. This time, she was singing "My Song" by AmaLee. Actually, it's the song from Angel Beats but in English cause AmaLee makes Japanese songs into English ones. I love her.

So, yeah, this chapter is definitely better than the original chapter one of the rp format version of this story (found on Quotev). Additionally, the reedit of this chapter is better than the chapter had previously been but not by much. Please leave a comment/review and a favorite. Let me know if I'm making this story decent enough for ya. I can't make it perfect, because no one is perfect, but I can make it, at least, decent. Love ya, lovelies!

Word Count: 4,266