Author's Note: Wow! So many reviews, alerts and favorites! Thank you for all of the support of this story and as promised this chapter is a lot longer. I am going to try to keep the chapters over 4000 words each. Okay here is the next chapter!

Edited: 12/29/13

Chapter 2: The Girl in the Forest

The next few days went by rather fast in the Sohma household. Kagome was currently working on getting the household back together, trying to find a job and deciding wither or not to go back to high school. Her middle school years weren't exactly great and it would be hard to pass the entrance exams.

Yuki came down the stairs for breakfast still groggy from sleep when a wonderful smell started coming from the kitchen. It must be Kagome cooking breakfast, he thought to himself. It was rude of him to totally push the girl away from him just because of her heritage. It was just uncomfortable because of her cat Kirara always staring at him like he was prey. He entered the kitchen when Kirara came up next to him. She took a long look at him before walking off into the hallway.

"Good morning Yuki." Kagome greeted him before turning back to the eggs. He noticed that his cousin had her hair in a high ponytail with a nice blue dress on. "I hope you are hungry." She poured the eggs into the bowl with a smile on her face. Yuki noticed that it did not reach her eyes.

Yuki went towards the fridge with a small smile on his face. "Very much so." He took out the carton of juice. "What do you have planned for today?"

Kagome took out a plate from the cabinet as she poured some American-styled scramble eggs onto another plate for Shigure. "I am trying to look for a part time job and I am going to take the entrance exam at your high school." Yuki paused for a second before Kagome glanced towards him. "I hope you don't mind if I try to attend your school. I thought since we were relatives?"

His cousin was uncertain if he would approve or not. Yuki chuckled at Kagome before patting her head gently. "Oh course you may attend my school cousin." Kagome groaned suddenly feeling like a child getting permission from a parent. "I will even be your tour guide."

Great….now he is teasing me!

Why did I need to ask permission like four years old!

Kagome swatted his hand away before she handed him the plate of food. Yuki grinned as Kagome turned away from him. "I am going to go on a little walk through the forest." She put on her shoes before glancing at her cousin. "I will only be a few minutes."

Kirara bolted from behind Yuki causing the rat to gasp out in surprise, which caused him to stumble back in the hallway. The cat demon trotted towards to her mistress with a side glance at Yuki which was almost predator-like. That cat was really making Yuki nervous!

Meanwhile, Kagome walked through the woods with a heavy heart. It was so hard to keep a smile on her face with everything that was happening all at once. It was hard to get use to this place, so Kagome was trying to keep a schedule.

"Jeez, I see your still over stressing everything." Kagome's heart stopped.

Tears filled her eyes as she saw Inuyasha in the top of the pine tree. "Inuyasha? You're here?"

Her lover smiled at her as he looked at the sky. "Yeah, but only you can see me." He hopped down on the ground. "How have you been?'

Kagome ran into his waiting embrace wrapping her arms around him. "I've missed you so much."

His clawed hand smoothed her midnight black hair sending shivers down her spine. "It's okay, Kagome." He breathed in her hair, cheery blossoms. "It's okay to feel again. Don't be afraid."

A blast of wind blew her away from her lover's arms, as the sunlight blinded her. As the wind began to die down, Kagome opened her eyes. To her horror, Inuyasha was gone! "Inuyasha!" Kagome ran forward into the forest, hoping he hadn't run away. "Inuyasha!"

A single tear came down her face as she continued her walk. As the sun peeked through the green leaves, she crossed the river. Kirara gestured to the clearing just below making Kagome noticed it as well; there was a small yellow ten and a young girl looking up at the sky. "I wonder why she is there by herself?" Kagome asked Kirara, who jumped down from her shoulder taking off down the hill. "Kirara! Wait!" This reminded her of her old cat Buyo when he wondered into the well. What sort of trouble was Kirara leading her to?

Kagome quickly rounded the bend to see the young girl held Kirara in her hands. "Hello…" The girl looked up with a slightly surprised look on her face. "Thanks for catching Kirara, she just ran away from me."

The girl nodded before she stroked Kirara' head. "She jumped into my arms out of nowhere." She handed Kagome her cat. "She is very cute."

Kagome smirked before settling Kirara into her arms. "Thank you." The miko looked at the tent with a cocked eyebrow. "So do you live here?"

The girl went all stiff before she blurted out a bunch of answers. Kagome caught, 'camping,' and some other words in there somewhere. "Okay," Kagome cut her off. "I was just wondering. Are you on your way to school?" She noted this girl's blue uniform.

"Yes….I can't be late." The girl answered. "Do you go to school?'

Kagome shook her head, "I don't at the moment, but I am thinking of going to Kaibra High in the city. My cousin goes there."

The girl's eyes sparkled like a thousand diamonds at the mention of her school's name. "I go there too! I could show you all around and we can be the best of friends." The girl was a little…dense in the head but Kagome just smiled at the girl's reaction. It was nice to meet someone so carefree and happy all of the time.

"I would like that." Kagome answered before offering her hand in greeting. "My name is Kagome Higurashi, what's yours?"

The girl took Kagome's hand in hers. "I am Tohru Honda. It is so nice to meet you." The both started walking towards the main road on the other side of the forest. "When did you get Kirara?" Tohru asked getting Kirara's head again.

Kagome chuckled before looking ahead. "She was my best friend's cat before she passed away. Now I take care of her."

Tohru looked at Kagome sadly. "I am sorry."

"It's okay," Kagome told Tohru and to herself. "It still hurts but it gets better with each passing day. I will be able to look back on those memories with happiness instead of sadness."

They came across a river, a small lake with a rocky shore, Tohru made note to come back there when the summer gets hot to go swimming, a small garden, and strangely a snug two story house with a deck, a balcony, and a koi pond on the side.

"Look at this Kagome…" Tohru said approaching the front of the house to gaze at the interior, "…it seems so peaceful…"

Kagome nodded her head, "Yeah, this is my house I live here with my two cousins."

"That must be fun." Tohru said before taking a closer look at a set of Zodiac animal ornaments, "Look! How cute! The twelve animals of the zodiac!"

"Shigure was working on them this morning," Kagome wondered over to the porch before setting Kirara down to bask in the sun.

"Is it just me or is there a strange girl standing outside my house?" Tohru looked up to find a young adult with dark hair wearing an olive colored kimono holding a newspaper appeared in front of us.

Realizing that she must've been trespassing, Tohru began to spazz, "Oh! I'm sorry! I was just looking! I didn't mean to intrude!"

Kagome calmly placed a hand on her shoulder, "Calm down, Tohru. There's no reason to go into a panic."

"Yes." The Shigure agreed, "She's right. No harm done. I just set them out to dry." He explained kneeling down on the deck to join them "It seems hard to believe these silly little things could catch your interest."

Tohru lightly shook her head, "No, I really like them. I don't think they're silly at all."

Kagome looked inside the house, "I am going to see if Yuki is ready for school. It was nice meeting Tohru. I hope to see you again real soon."

Tohru waved goodbye to her new friend as Kagome searched the house for Yuki. "Yuki, it is time to get going, we don't want to be late."

Yuki wondered outside of the kitchen before swinging the bag of books on his back. "I am ready whenever you are." Kagome was going to check out about going to high school with her cousin. Mom had been right; it was time to move on.

They both wondered out to the porch before, "Oh is that right? I know there was something I felt about you..." He began to lean closer, "…aside from your pretty face -" He was cut off when a green school bag landed on his head by an outstretched arm.

"Please excuse my cousin, Miss Honda…" Tohru recognized that soft sensuous voice anywhere, "…he's a bit of a flirt, but he's harmless. In general it's usually best to just ignore him."

Tohru gasped, "Yuki Sohma!" She got starry eyed as she gazes at the pale, purpled eyed, perfect male figure.

Kagome rolled her eyes, "Try not to be a pervert Shigure." The miko put her shoes back on.

"What do you have in that bag?" Their cousin asked, rubbing his sore head, "A dictionary?"

"No, I have two of them." Yuki responded, pulling his bag onto back.

"So, you're Yuki's classmate from school? Let's start again. I'm Shigure…Yuki's older and much less violent cousin." He explained.

"My name is Kagome Higurashi. I am also their cousin."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you. I'm Tohru Honda."

"Well, Miss Honda, what are you doing here?" Yuki asked curiously.

"U-uh, well, I live…nearby…" She answered vaguely, not sure how to answer.

"Nearby?" He continued to ask.

"Uh…right!" She blushed and looked at Kagome for some kind of help.

Kagome understood the need for privacy. She knew that Tohru was living out in that tent but she couldn't make the girl feel embarrassed in front of her family. She would talk to her later about it. "Okay! We're going to be late. Why don't we start walking?" Kagome giggled nervously.

"Wait." Yuki called, "Since you're here, why don't we all walk together? Kagome needs to go to the school anyways."

"Uh…heh heh…"

Kagome was mentally horrified once she learned her cousin had a fanclub at school. She wanted to laugh at him, but, he probably would have killed her. "L-O-V-E! We love Yuki! Yuki! Yuki! L-l-l-l-ove! L-l-l-l-ove!" Three of them cheered boldly on the side walk. Yuki, Tohru, and Kagome kept our heads down and continued walking without batting an eye at them.

"Idiots." Kagome sneered before smiling at Yuki. "Well cousin, I didn't know you were so popular.

"Kagome….shut up." Yuki growled.

Kagome walked out of the office with a huge smile on her face. She was allowed to come to the school! She passed the entrance exam with flying colors. She rounded the corner to try and find Yuki. "Hey!" Kagome glanced over only to find herself cornered by that fan club. "Why were you walking to school with Prince Yuki?!"

Kagome raised an eyebrow at him. "Because I can."

"We forbade it!"

"Like I give a shit." Kagome moved to go past him.

"Hey!" Someone yelled from behind them.

"What?" The three girls yelled, before turning around to see who they were yelling at. Big mistake on their part. Tohru was behind her friends as Uo and Hana came to Kagome's rescue. "She said get lost!"

"One more word…" She spoke softly, "… and you'll all get *Beeeep* with electric shocks."

That did the trick because they all ran down the hall in fear.

"Kagome, are you okay?" Tohru came to her friend's side.

Kagome nodded smiling, "Nothing I couldn't handle."

Arisa came forward. "You have guts new girl. My name is Uo and this is Hana." The Yankee introduced the Goth looking girl behind them.

"A pleasure…" Her eyes bore into Kagome's soul as if she knew all of her secrets. "You have very interesting electric waves… miko."

How does she know?!

Kagome thought as she tried to recover. She looked back at Hana terrified. "Miko?" Tohru asked confusingly.

Kagome breathed in a little before she moved her hair from her eyes. "Yes, my family owns a shrine on the other side of town and I worked there as a shrine maiden."

Tohru smiled at the thought of being friends with a miko, after all of the stories her mother had told her about the maidens of the heavens. "Really that is wonderful." It just seemed to be so magical. "That must be fun."

Kagome laughed a little at Tohru's enthusiasm. "You should meet my grandfather… he would tell you stories about demons for hours."

Uo snapped her fingers as a thought came across her brain. "I got it." Uo said.

"What is it?" Tohru asked, slightly concerned.

Uo turned her attention to Kagome with a huge teasing mile on her face. "Your new nickname is Miko." Kagome just stared blankly at the girl as if she was crazy but then Tohru smiled brightly, agreeing with Uo immediately.

"That is perfect." Hana said solemnly, nodding her head.

Kagome smiled as the three of them talked, it was like they had been friends forever.

"Really, the prince is your cousin?" Uo asked as they all sat down for their class. Kagome had been invited by the principal to survey a few classes to see what she wanted to take. Since Yuki ditched her, Kagome decided to stay with her new group of friends for today.

"Yeah…" Kagome sliced the fish into equal parts for all of them. "I just met him few days ago my mom didn't keep in contact with my father's family that much after he passed away."

"There are some strange electric signals coming from that boy." Hana said with her ever apathetic tone, holding a bowl of rice in her hands.

"Here we go again." Arisa said sarcastically, "Hana's Electric Report."

"Strange how?" Tohru asked.

"I don't know. He's different." Hana replied.

"You have no idea." Kagome said.

Arisa brushed her blonde hair out of her eyes, "I admit he does seem to have an air of mystery about him and there are some strange rumors floating about him too."

Uo nodded. "Oh, yeah, I heard about the one when one of those Fan Club girls tried to hug him. But he literally pushed her away and ran off."

Hana placed a bowl of miso soup in front of Tohru, "Like I said strange electric signals."

Tohru pulled off her yellow apron, "Uh, let's talk about something else?"

"How's that job of yours coming?" Arisa asked curiously.

"Fine. Why?" Tohru asked, hoping her fiend wasn't worrying about her.

Kagome really didn't listen to their conversation after that as she cooked the rice. As she caught bits and pieces of it, she did notice that Tohru did look a little pale. "So Miko," Uo used her new nickname, "You live with your cousins, and are they paying for your tuition once you start here?"

Kagome shook her head, "No I want to pay my own, and I just need to find a part time job."

Tohru's eyes sparkled, "My job is hiring!" All three friends blinked looking at each other. "You could come work with me. It could be fun."

"That's a fine idea Tohru," Hana said pleased. "Miko could keep an eye on our little Tohru."

Uo agreed. "Yeah, it's settled, you'll work with Tohru."

Kagome could have disagreed immediately when someone made her decisions for her however, if Tohru's job was hiring, Kagome needed to apply quickly. "That's sounds great." Kagome answered. "I will go with you to your work tonight; I just need to tell Yuki first.'

After school Kagome met Tohru over by the lockers so that they could begin our walk to her work. When Tohru saw Yuki she easily gets flustered, "Oh. Yuki it's you…I mean it's…" She fumbled cutely before settling with, "…Hi…"

Yuki chuckled softly to himself as he closed his shoe locker, "It seems we're all making a habit of bumping into each other. Shall we walk together?"

Kagome nodded, "Sure, I am actually going with Tohru to apply for a job, I won't be home until later tonight."

Yuki nodded. "It was nice meeting your cousin this morning. He was funny." Tohru said, trying to start a conversation, "And those Zodiac ornaments he made were really cute."

"I think I overheard you saying something about the cat?" Yuki asked curiously.

Tohru flushed with embarrassment, "It's an idea I had when I was a kid…it was silly."

Yuki walked a little further ahead as his whole attitude shifted, "Cats…useless, foolish creatures." He whispered with disgust.

Kagome frowned. "Yuki, I would be careful what you say around Kirara. She's sensitive." Yuki went rapid.

Tohru blinked, Kirara? Who was that?

"Tell me something. How familiar are you with the history of the Chinese Zodiac?"

Tohru looked down at her feet, "I know the stories my mom used to tell me…"

"Wasn't it originally used as a sort of calendar to tell the passage of time?" Kagome asked.

Yuki kept his back to us as he stood still on the side walk, "Yes, only later in time did people start using it for astrology and fortune-telling…I don't know how the animals came to represent the years, but I don't believe they were there from the beginning." He spoke softer and softer, but his tone was firm, "What I do know is that the cat should never be included. It's been shunned for thousands of years and yet it still yearns to be accepted…like I said a truly foolish animal."

Yuki turned around to face Tohru lightly touched her forehead with mild concern, "I noticed it this morning that you were starting to look pale. Please take better care of yourself." He removed his hand from her forehead and continued walking home without waiting for us.

Flustered, Tohru touched her head where Yuki touched her moments ago, "Wow…he really is mysterious and so smart too. He knows a lot about the Chinese Zodiac, doesn't he?"

Kagome crossed her arms in thought, "Yeah…" She looked up at the orange-red sky realizing what time it could've been, "Hey, Tohru…which direction is your work?"

Tohru's blue eyes widen with panic, "Oh no! Work!" She spazzed waving her arms around in a flurry, "I'm going to be late! Late! Late! Gotta run! Run to work!" She rambled as she ran down the street still waving her arms like a mad chibi.

Kagome blinked, "Tohru wait! You're going to fast!"

Kagome finally made it home later that night. She entered the door, "Shigure, Yuki! I'm home!" The house was silent. "They must have gone out." Kagome thought to herself. "I'm going to bed." Kagome did just that, to dead to the world to hear the conversations down stairs. The next morning, Kagome bolted from her bed once she heard a huge bang coming from another room down the hallway. She quickly ran into the hallway to the other room,

Everyone all stood there recovering from the shock. When the dust and dirt cleared there was a guy standing in the middle of all the debris! He had short bright orange hair and long bangs that hung over his eyes. His skin was slightly tanned and he had a slim figure like Yuki's. Kagome felt the aura of a cat instantly.

"Yo." He said with his back to us as he cracked his neck, "Time to pay the piper, rat-boy. I'm here to collect."

Yuki leaned against the window, smirking, "Really? I would've thought he's send somebody bigger." He taunted egging the other guy on.

Growling, the orange hair guy clenched his fist, "That's right! You better get your tough talk out of the way because I'm about to wipe that stupid little smirk right off your face!" He yelled running at Yuki.

"Wait don't fight!" She was rushing in too fast and tripped over her pant leg falling into the boy.

Shigure moved into the door way wondering what was going on, "Yuki, what were all those crashing sounds I just heard? Kyo's not here, is he?"

Tohru started spouting off apologies, "I'm so sorry! Are you-" She stopped cold when she saw the orange cat in her arms.

Kagome froze! Did he turn into a cat?!

This set Tohru into a whole new panic attack, "Ahh! We turned him into a cat! I'm so sorry! I don't know how it happened but we're going to get you help! We got to get him to the hospital!" She yelled but fell into Yuki and Shigure in the process.

Then the weirdest thing happened! They disappeared in colored smoke and transformed into a rat and dog!

Kagome groaned. "Why am I always brought into these situations?"