..::.. chapter two ..::.. the new kid ..::..

Kagome Higurashi awoke to the sound of little feet running past her bedroom doorway. She groaned and glanced unwillingly out of her warm covers at the glaring alarm clock.

"Ugh, seven. I suppose that means I should get up." She stretched, trying to reduce her disgust of the morning to a minimum, before rolling over and out of her soft bed - quite literally. She hit the ground with a dull thud and groaned once again, sitting up and rubbing her sore back. She turned her raven-haired head to the door when the sound of children's laughter could be heard from the hallway. There she saw her two little brothers, five year old Shippo and eight year old Souta.

"Good morning Shippo. Good morning Souta." Kagome said, pushing herself off the floor.

"Good morning sleepyhead." They chimed before turning and running downstairs. Kagome rolled her eyes at their retreating backs, pulling her covers back into a semi-neat position, thinking. Kagome had just turned seventeen, and had decided, before her birthday, that her mother should start treating her like the young adult she was. However, as any teenage girl knows, 'mother knows best'. Kagome grumbled under her breath as she heard her mother yelling at Shippo and Souta to quit horseplaying and finish eating breakfast and getting ready for school. She sighed quietly.

"Geez, little brothers. Did I do something wrong in a past life to deserve them in this one? Or perhaps I did something horribly right." She stumbled into the bathroom and hopped into the shower. Fifteen minutes later, Kagome walked back into her room and proceeded to don clothing. She slipped on her undewear and a pair of faded and torn jeans. She rummaged through her closet and found her blink-182 shirt and pulled it on, not quite sure when she had last washed the thing. But it smelled alright and felt and looked clean so she put it on anyway. She then walked back into the bathroom and shut and locked the door behind her, as she didn't want her annoying little brothers to barge in and scare her when she was putting on eyeliner - dangerous situation. She brushed out her ebony hair, then donned her make-up. She painted her eyelids a startling pink color, and lined them with black, putting on her mascara when she was done with that.

'I wonder if it shows through this mask I paint for myself every day, that I'm more alone than anyone believes. Myself included.' She thought almost bitterly. Kagome frowned as she stared at her reflection, wondering if she was really alone, or was just feeling that way. She had the best of friends of course, but they had their own problems and worlds to deal with, and sometimes found themselves too busy to help Kagome with her own superficial problems. They sometimes didn't see anything at all, and just lived all of their lives like the blind leading the blind. Kagome shook her head as she pulled on socks and tied up her black and white chucks. She grabbed her bag, tossing it over her shoulder, then headed downstairs.

"See ya mom!" Kagome yelled as she started out the door, hoping to avoid her routine morning confrontation with her mother.

"Wait Kagome!" Her mother yelled back, her voice coming from somewhere in the kitchen area. Kagome reluctantly turned around to see her mother dragging another reluctant teenager behind her.

"Kagome, this is Inuyasha Hanyou." She said, dragging the boy towards Kagome. "He's new here." She added. Kagome rolled her eyes and arched an eyebrow, staring blankly at her mother.

'Gee, really?' She thought rather bitingly, but wisely kept her mouth shut.

"I talked to his mother and I've arranged for you two to walk together. So, just be nice, and show him around okay?" Her mother said, pushing him toward her. Kagome merely nodded her head, keeping her bitingly sarcastic remarks to her brain and only her brain. She knew that there was no point in arguing with her mother. It was like fighting a losing battle while knowing that you're losing and still charging head on, or giving yourself willingly to the sharks. Kagome waved her hand vaguely in the direction of the door and the boy shrugged, looking a tad unsure of himself.

"Do good in school today kids, okay? And don't get into trouble." Kagome's mother called before shutting the door and leaving the children by themselves. Kagome nodded and waved half-heartedly towards the direction of her mother and as soon as the door was shut, her morning rant started in full fury, startling Inuyasha.

"For Christ's sake mother! You tell me the same fucking thing every single day, and every single day you get some sort of call from our darling Principal. Perhaps the message you're trying to send me is getting mixed up with the message that I'm trying to send you! THINK ABOUT IT!" She turned, her burning silver eyes splashing Inuyasha with an angry light, and he was staring at her strangely. "Do you have a staring problem?" She yelled, then, catching herself, apologized. "Sorry. Mornings aren't exactly the best time of day for me, and I kinda sorta hate my mother. Only on some days. Any questions?" Inuyasha shook his head and thrust his hands deep in the pockets of his faded jeans. Kagome studied him, her stormy eyes traveling up and down his person. His eyes were deep brown, and he seemed tired, both mentally and physically. Kagome saw something else in his tired brown eyes, a sadness that was rooted deep in the pits of his soul, the sadness that can only come from losing someone precious to you. Someone that you loved deeply. He was lonely too, she could tell by the way he carried himself, as though he had nothing to lose. Kagome felt bad, but didn't want to press and ask him, and possibly push him away. She turned her silver eyes away from his soul and studied his exterior.

He was tall, well, taller than her anyway, maybe about 5'11", or a good six feet, and he seemed somewhat muscular, though still skinny. Kagome sighed, staring ahead of her as the cogs in her head started turning and she began thinking of all the kinds of havoc she could wreak in the school today, especially with this new and mysterious kid at her side.