There was nothing left for Kagome.

She had been lied to all her life, she had become something no one understood, and everything was spinning around her.

Of course, that could have just been because she'd consumed way too much alcohol at her father's club, Starlite. Out of all of his clubs, Starlite was the least used. It was the perfect place for her to hide. No one seemed to remember the club existed, stuck in a funny place of the town.

It was certainly most forgotten until the bills had to be paid.

That didn't, however, mean the club was dead. It's just...her dad never seemed to remember it was one of his. Probably because it was less haunted by celebrities, and more attended by underage kids that wanted to get wasted and hook-up for a night. The place was too oddly located for a celebrity to care.

If the night had been anymore pathetic to her than when she ran there to get drunk and feel numb, it had been when she tipped out of the club and down the road to the shore. All she wanted was to sit and watch the waves, maybe a drag-race or two. It be fun to watch the colors blur by when she was drunk and shapes were hard to distinguish. It'd be really pretty.

When she got to the beach, Kagome sighed and sat down. Tokyo's beaches were some of the most amazing beaches she had ever seen--and she saw plenty when she traveled with her parents for business.

There, Kagome sat on the sand, smashed as she watched the drifters race behind her, and the drag-races after. Even as a kid, it was her hobby to sneak out with Kouga or Miroku to watch the races.

But today, Kagome hadn't felt like talking to either of them. They probably didn't know much about her situation, and she didn't want to ruin the closeness they shared because she was even more worthless than a hanyou.

Hell, right now hanyou looked like gods to her, a reason Kagome didn't even call up InuYasha. Hanyou already got beat up enough for being half-demon; he didn't need the derision of being with a quarter-demon. Quarter! Their kids would have been 37.5 demon. She had done the math. How could she have willingly submitted them to that kind of torture?

"Excuse me?" someone asked, making Kagome jump. She had thought she was all alone on the beach.

Well, not entirely. It was far after midnight as far as she could tell, and the only people still out were the romantic young couples. Youkai and human, but no hanyou or quarter-demons, she noticed bitterly.

"Are you okay?" the person asked, bringing her attention to him.

He was cute, in a sense, but not half as good-looking as InuYasha. This guy had preppy-cut black hair and fiery hazel eyes with golden flecks, while InuYasha had gorgeous silvery hair like the moon, and amazing cognac colored eyes. She couldn't use any of the same adjectives to describe this guy. Well, maybe. But this guy wasn't her type.

Despite the adorable black velvet dog ears he sported like a trophy.

"I will be," she replied, smiling and nodding her head.

And she would be. Eventually when she was old and nothing really ever mattered to her anymore. Somehow, she felt that time was coming soon.

"I'm Kagome."

"Tsujiai. Nice to meet you Kagome. Care if I sit with you?" he asked, shaking her hand and sitting when she motioned to the sand beside her. "Sorry. It just looks weird to be out at three by yourself."

That shocked her. "Three? Already? God, I must have been smashed harder than I thought. Damn, my parents are going to...Sorry."

No, they weren't going to kill her for being out so late. If they could lie to her since she was born, they could allow her to be scotch-free on her first break in curfew. After years and years of being nothing but the perfect daughter, the perfect child.

And now they would have to see her rebel for once in her life. As if running away for one night was really such a bad thing to do that it could be considered rebelling. She'd think of some better way to rebel tomorrow.

"So...What's a pretty girl like you doing out here so late, Kagome...? What's your last name?" he asked, looking to the sky.

"Higurashi. I'm out here because I can't go home," she replied, also looking to the sky. "I just found out I'm too worthless to be told the truth to. In fact, you might not want to hang out with me, Tsujiai...onamae ha nan?"

"A Higurashi, huh? Like, from Higurashi-Taisho Aerospace? And the Higurashi clubs, Higurashi? How are you worthless? You're worth zillions. And your mother married Masahiko Kazuki. You're far from worthless."

She sighed. If only she weren't so privileged growing up. Because lately she had been feeling like a piece of trash. "Yeah, I am. If anyone knew what I really was, I'd be worth nothing."

Suddenly the boy was laughing.

At her.

This was not a laughing matter! How dare he laugh. Her life was as dark and ominous as the early morning sky, with its vast unexplored reaches. So deep that even until the end of time it would never fully be explored.

Then she dropped it. She didn't remember dropping it, or how she felt secure enough to tell a complete stranger, but she let her secret slip. "I'm a quarter-demon, and my human-father was actually a demon who changed himself for a girl he was infatuated with. Okay? I'm a quarter-demon."

"So?" The boy asked, looking at her like she said she had balck hair. "That means your dad screwed up. Okay, so how does that affect you? You're not screwed up. You're still a human."

Slapping herself, she let her head rest in her hand for a moment longer. "Tsujiai, I'm a screw-up. My dad didn't want me, my fathers are twins, and my parents both cheated on each and got caught. I'm a breed that should be hated more than hanyou. How am I not screwed up?"

"My cousins are quarter-demons," he told her, looking her in the eye. "I only met them a handful of times as a kid, but my cousins are some of the coolest people ever. You'd like the older one. She's just like you."

"Oh, really?" she retorted sarcastically. "How so? Is she a screw-up that tries so hard to impress everyone she forgets to impress herself? So smart that she gets moved up a grade and stuck with such giant nerds they don't know what 69 means? That the first time she was kissed she had already had three boyfriends, and she was sixteen?"

Yeah, Hojo had been her first kiss, but not the first boy she dated. It was odd. Her fourth boyfriend was the first one to ever kiss her? That wasn't right. Of course, it could be because she had been dating youkai and Kouga had threatened the first one until he cried.

But then he didn't do anything when Kikyou threw the kotodama on her and forced her to go around kissing men afterwards. He just sat there and laughed and got a huge kick out of the situation.

"Yeah, except for the part about being a screw-up. And you're not a screw-up. You weren't made from true love, but you were made from first love. And it's not like you were the one who screwed up. Your parents did."

Kagome had to laugh at that. Takehiko, Masahiko, and Asuka ever screwing up. That would be the greatest treasure ever for her. "Tsujiai...onamae ha nan? Really. Do I know you from somewhere?"

Now it was Tsujiai who smiled and laughed, just as a voice could be heard barreling down the street. "Kagome? Kagome? Kago--Kagome!" InuYasha yelled.

He had been everywhere looking for Kagome. The school, every park in town, her grandfather's seventeen restaurants in Tokyo City alone, his twenty-two sushi, dango and ramen bars, and every club her father owned. Only after he checked everywhere he could think of, did her father recall another club, Starlite, which he commonly forgot.

As he made a frantic search his only help was a bartender. With a skimpy teal boob-and-bra top and thick gray eye shadow, the girl claimed to had tended bar for a girl fitting Kagome's description.

"Cute girl, little tpisy," she recalled. "Ambled out on half a leg about two hours ago. Had to be after maybe her seventh drink. For someone so little, she sure can pack it. And kami-sama her hittin'? Some guy made a pass for a grope, and the girl conked him back in one. It was almost eerie. Ya know? Almost like some type of demon, but she got normal ears."

Was she just there to gossip? He had better things to do. Like find his mate. That was pretty damn important right then. And yet, the girl went on. What he wouldn't give for a muzzle!

Only then his opportunity came. She finally twisted from Kagome's clothes to something relevant to finding her. He thanked his lucky stars that she finally cut the gossip and got to talking.

"She kept talking on about this place. Drift Beach. Some of the other minors that come in talk 'bout it too. Some place to watch the drifters and have a 'Stand. I miss having One-nighters. Haven't gotten laid in days. something 'bout having gone there with two of her boyfriends. 'Cept she made it sound like she wasn't a slut hooking-up with two at once--"

"Do you know where my fiancée is or not?" he ended up yelling, tired of the mindless jabber and the comments she was making towards Kagome's character. It was probably just Kouga and Miroku anyways.

"Your...your fiancée?" Oh shit."Yeah, your boss's daughter too. The guy that owns Starlie's daughter. Now, where is she?"

"Most likely at Drift Beach. I don't know where that is."

He growled and ripped out of there, screaming Kagome's name. Where was she, where was she? If she was wasted, alone, on a beach for couples, she may be in danger. Course, she was a quarter-demon. It wasn't like she was defenseless. That was the only thing he could take comfort it. She was in fact demon.

He didn't understand how she had seen it as bad. Within the month off from school, she had brought him to the conclusion even a half of demon blood was better than none, and no matter how many things were in your blood, you should be proud and happy to be such.

InuYasha was fine with only being a hanyou. Why wasn't she okay with being a quarter demon.

Suddenly he froze. Drift Beach. Drift Beach. Was he really that stupid? That was the nickname for the beach he was a life-guard for. He was such a retard--it was the other way!

He doubled back and ran, screaming her name with renewed vigor.

And then he found, after a twenty-minute sprint across town. But she wasn't alone there. She was with some pretty-boy demon. Inuyoukai. But at least the mutt hadn't tried anything with Kagome. Yet.

"Your boyfriend?" Tsujiai asked, smirking at the oncoming demon.

"Worse. Over-protective fiancé," she replied, smiling ruefully.

She should have known to count on InuYasha. Kagome hadn't given him the credit he was due--of course he wouldn't see her as a screw-up.

Still, how did she know where she was and that she was missing? It's not like her parents would have cared enough--they didn't care enough to tell her the truth. They wouldn't care enough to find her when she went missing. Who would've told InuYasha she was missing?

Tsujiai looked at the hanyou with a look of squaring him up InuYasha knew only too well. So, if the kid wanted a fight, he got himself one. No one would ever dare impose on his claim over the girl, not even some pretty-boy youkai.

With a puff of breathlessness, InuYasha finally faced them, his eyes sparkling as he saw Kagome there. Then, without warning, yanked her to her feet and kissed her hard.

Only one emotion was running through Tsujiai's mind, and only one thought as he watched on for the first three seconds.

Awkward...Does he have to kiss her in front of me? Masahiko-hakufu is going to get it tomorrow--today--when I get my damn hands on him! My cousin is not going to go around sucking face with this guy in front of family.

"InuYasha?" Kagome gasped, finally being released after a minute. She pulled him in to kiss him again, and they broke apart when Tsujiai whistled and turned around, trying as hard as he could to ignore the two.

They looked each other in the eye and smiled. InuYasha was glad to find Kagome. And Kagome definitely seemed happy he made the effort to.

"Sorry. Had to make sure this wasn't a dream," he apologized. "Where the hell have you been? I get a call from Kouga that you didn't go home, and your parents were calling everyone scared out of their wits. Then I don't find you anywhere! I thought I lost you! Kagome, I could have lost you!"

On went a wall of hardness that InuYasha was surprised she could own. Why was she being so hard on him? "I'm fine. Not like my parents would really care."

"Really? Really, your parents wouldn't care? The people that raised you and called every five minutes crying, so scared they'd never--"

"Get to lie to me again!" she screamed, ending his sentence. "InuYasha, they lied to me. L-I-E-D. In all the years they knew me, they couldn't spare a second to say why they broke up, or tell me what I was? I was lied to! All my entire life. People that love you don't lie to you about who you are. I was betrayed."

"And I was scared shitless!" he yelled right back, a stray tear falling down his cheek. And once one fell, the others followed, until he was full-out crying to the girl he would spend his life with. "Kagome, they love you, okay? Maybe it wasn't their best decision, but they thought it was best for you!"

"He's right," Tsujiai agreed, looking back and forth between the two before looking at his watch. "Kagome, sorry, but it's already five, and I have school tomorrow. But I'll see you around, okay, Higurashi-Kazuki?"

She froze and looked at the boy. "What?"

Then Kagome heard InuYasha growling. "Just who the hell are you, anyways?"

It was, once again, the youkai's turn to smiled. "I'm Tsujiai. Don't worry. You'll meet me again soon. Congratulations, InuYasha. Kags is a great person."

And then, the enigmatic Right was gone.

The next month, they were going over the plans for an Engagement Party. Despite InuYasha's extreme protests, he was expected to show up.

At present, they were both expected to be going over the Guest's List and make a seating arrangement. Neither of the two happy, having been told they had to have all of there relatives present.

All of them.

And despite a rocky first week, Kagome and her parents were doing much better now.

The three grown-ups had sat down with Kagome and Souta, and talked about everything. It had, in fact, been a shock that Masahiko and Takehiko were twins to Asuka, and the twins had agreed to a friendship again, while Takehiko came back to the family.

Because of this, the companies had to be renamed Kazuki-Taisho, which was soon changed again to Demon Dogs Aerospace, as Takehiko signed Kazuhiko and Masahiko on as junior-partners. The Kazuki clubs also had a new partner, a wolf-demon that was known as Kouga's father.

They also, as a Parental Force, ordered Kagome to only work in practical hours and act more of a kid her age. In doing so, they took half of her clientele from Demon Dogs away and had her spend two weeks with her friends without any work, but access to the family's money.

InuYasha and Miroku had teased her when she started withdrawal symptoms, and Kouga consoled her by calling it Heiress Training. Learn how to be a kid that could spend her parent's cash and never have to work a day in her life.

Thank kami-sama for Sesshomaru, Rin and Sango counting down the days until she could work again. Only Ayame was excited to be spending millions with Kagome.

Things had changed so much, but Kagome was sure they were going to the better, now that Takehiko understood Asuka had always been in love with Masahiko, but it didn't have to change him. And though he could never be a demon again, his family still loved him.

Then Kagome sighed. "InuYasha, do we have to do this? I could care less if my cousin Yuki sits next to her nephew Chouji, or if my mother has to sit next to her father. "

"Sorry, babe. These are orders. I'd love to be doing anything else than this right now. Especially being alone with you."

"That's so sweet. What would you do, if, for instance, we were alone and able to be doing anything else right now?" Kagome asked seductively as she leaned over in her seat to his face.

Only, before anything could happen, their came a knock and Kagome just snapped back to her seat as Masahiko walked in with Takehiko.

"Hey, kiddos," they greeted in unison. "Guess who came to visit? Kagome, you haven't been properly introduced to him since you were a kid," they added in perfect sync.

"Cut it out already!" she yelled.

They certainly got the twin-thing back fast enough. Then she slumped back in her seat with her head leaning on InuYasha's shoulder. It was a good thing she had him to fall back on when her family got to her.

"Who? Kazuhiko-hakufu? Please be Kazuhiko-hakufu. It's so strange not to see him and still work with him."

Masahiko cleared his throat. "Yes, but I have a question. Why didn't you tell us you saw his son lately? Jiai was telling me how he had to watch you two make-out at Drift Beach."

They looked at each other as their eyes bulged. Jiai? Kazuhiko Kazuki's son...at the beach...

Suddenly two dog-demons walked in, one looking surprisingly familiar. "I told you two I'd see you again," Tsujiai teased.

It was still processing in Kagome's head while InuYasha blushed. He tongued the dude's cousin right in front of him.

Oh shit.

Tsujiai...Kazuki. So that was why he didn't tell her his name earlier. He didn't want to give away the fact that they were family. That he understood what she was going through because it was what all family did.

They related, they comforted. They helped when you were down and they drove you crazy when you were annoyed. They watched you ton…

Then her thoughts came to words. "Oh shit."