Temporary Home

Summary: Kagome would be the first to tell you that life wasn't easy. She would also tell you that she didn't want it to be. If not for the hard life she had, she wouldn't have the life she did...all thanks to them...

Anime/Manga: InuYasha/Prince of Tennis

Genre: Romance/Drama

Pairing: Kagome (None)

Rated: T

-x-x-x-

Before Kagome realized it, she was sitting on the bench beside Inui-Senpai. He hadn't spoken with her since she'd chosen to ignore his inquiry of what was unnecessary trouble. However, silence wasn't bad. She enjoyed it, actually. Watching the players go back and forth for the last hour and a half had been most relaxing, and the warmth of the sun accompanied by an ever-constant breeze was all the more comforting.

"Wah! Finally, practice is done, Kagome-Chan!"

Kagome smiled as Eiji made his way over to her. "Hai, you looked like you were working hard, Nii-San."

"Nii-San?"

A tall guy with messy black hair glanced curiously at her, "I thought Eiji-Senpai was the youngest in his family. Are you really―"

"Kagome-Chan is Eiji's new precious Imouta!" Eiji said this all the while throwing his arms around her shoulders and pulling her into a hug.

This was something she wasn't used to yet. Her body would tense up, but she couldn't bring herself to push him off either. Secretly, and she'd never admit it, but she wanted to get used to this interaction with Eiji the most. "...Konbanwa, mina~" Kagome bowed with Eiji moving with her, never letting her go as she stood straight and eyed the group curiously.

"Kawaii," one with shoulder length brown hair smiled and stepped up to her, crouching a bit as he did, "Konbanwa, Kagome-Chan. I'm Fujiko," he introduced himself with the name Eiji always called him by. This didn't go unnoticed by Eiji or the rest of the tennis club, but Kagome wouldn't know the difference.

"...F-Fujiko-Senpai?"

"Hai, it's nice to meet you. Eijiko has been talking about you since practice started. So, I was really excited to meet you."

"..." she wasn't sure what to say.

"Kagome-Chan, are you going to join any clubs at school?"

"I recommend Tennis," the spikey haired one said, smiling as he did.

"I don't know how to play Tennis, but I was thinking about―" she looked away and tried hiding her blush, "um, Gymnastics."

Eiji's arms loosened around her shoulder and he stared at her, his eyes sparkling before he suddenly squeezed her tightly and spun her around in his arms. "Kagome-Chan, kawaii! Nii-San can teach you all sorts of tumbles, and flips and backhands!"

She really wouldn't mind being invisible at the moment. She brought her hands to his arms and pried them off of her. This was too much. Wrapping her arms around herself subconsciously, she disliked the stares and only had three names to work with. "Not that I'm against meeting nii-san's friends, I was really happy to, actually. However, I only know Fujiko-Senpai's, Echizen-Senpai's and Inui-Senpai's name."

Everyone stared for a moment in silence.

They were old enough to know basic common courtesy, how had they forgotten to introduce themselves.

She looked curiously at them and smiled. "I will go first and show you how to introduce yourself since you've all forgotten." Stepping forward, she bowed, "ohayo, mina-san, my name is Kikumaru, Kagome. I'm ten years old," she straightened and grinned at the forming pink on their cheeks, "it's nice to meet you!"

-x-x-x-

It was Tezuka who broke the silence, "Tezuka, Kunimitsu," he bowed.

"Ah! I'm Momoshiro, Takeshi! Call me Momo-Chan though."

She frowned, "Iie, Momo-Senpai,"

He sighed, "what's so hard about Momo-Chan?"

Ryoma smirked, "baka, Momo-Senpai."

"Kaidou, Kaoru...Fushuu~"

"Kawamura, Takashi!"

"Oishi-Kun isn't here, but I'll make sure you meet him as soon as he gets back." Eiji said, smiling as he looked at his little sister of going on two days.

"I know you said you knew our names but let me properly introduce myself. Inui, Sadaharu, as you heard earlier; and this is Echizen, Ryoma." Inui nodded towards their youngest member who didn't look as though he planned on extending the same common courtesy.

"Thank you, are you all heading home for the day?"

"I think Eijiko wanted to go to a pet store?" Fuji said, "he was talking about it earlier and mentioned dragging me along. So, I don't think I'll be heading home quite yet."

She stared curiously up at Fuji.

"Is something wrong?"

"Why don't you open your eyes? How can you see if you keep them closed?"

"Hm?" He laughed, "I've been told I look scary when my eyes are open, it's better to keep them closed."

"That's scary." Kagome said, "not being able to see your eyes, is scary."

"Saa~"

She was surprised when he opened his eyes, more so by the familiarity of his intense gaze. Like burning ice, it was hard to explain, but there was just as much passion in his eyes as there was taciturnity. She smiled, "there you go, isn't it easier to see now?"

Eyes widening, he looked at her. She was ten years old. She had black hair down her back. The wind seemed to like her, as it played with her hair and pulled at her clothes. She wore sneakers with her dress and was almost up to Ryoma's shoulders in height. Her eyes were a deep shade of blue, with a sad dull ember hiding buried underneath a calculated look of cheerfulness. He could certainly see her better with his eyes open. "I don't scare you?"

"Your eyes remind me of Sesshoumaru-Senpai's. His are like yours. He's a cold and calculating teddy bear. He cares for many but doesn't show it in the ways normal people would. Nii-san shows love with hugs and smiles, and speaking clearly, words of endearment." She actually wondered about that, if it wasn't just an act, but she imagined it couldn't always be an act, right? "With Sesshoumaru, actions speak louder than words. He could leave flowers for his mother or help clean one of the kid's injuries. Holding the hand of a scared child, letting them know that he's there for them if they need him. He didn't need to say anything, but we knew, we could always see it in his eyes. Hidden behind his cold stare, behind the callous look of indifference...we are each important to him."

"..."

'Ten.' Eiji thought to himself.

Kaidou frowned, 'not a normal ten-year-old.'

'She certainly doesn't act ten.' Tezuka pushed his glasses up a bit. Eyeing her in a more curious light.

"I can't tell, but you are ten, right?" Fuji asked the very question they all were thinking, closing his eyes as he now hid them for a different reason. Feeling a bit out of his element, he wasn't used to people reading him so clearly. He'd been told all of his life how expressive his eyes were, well, she saw all of it. 'A little empath.'

"Yes, I'm ten. I read a book last year called "Exposing the Eyes", it talked about micro-expression in the eyes retrospectively concealed by mouth movements. Most focus on what's typically moving at the time of conversation. This plays into reading lips and is often why we miss the expressions and truths that are hidden in the eyes. Interestingly enough, that's not why I could read your eyes, Fujiko-Senpai." She smiled, "I could read you because you remind me of myself in some aspects of concealment."

"What?" Momo frowned.

Ryoma looked just as confused, with Eiji hanging off his shoulder, the two stared blankly at Kagome.

The only ones who seemed to follow what she'd said, were Inui, Tezuka and Fuji.

"Could you elaborate?" Fuji asked with a smile, eyes still settled on the girl in front of him.

"Of course," she raised a finger to his smile, pressing it ever so gently on his lips. "Micro-Expressions can be successfully concealed by follow-up mouth movements, in other words, a smile. Because yours has yet to drop since the moment you introduced yourself to me, I could deduce without inhibition, that your smile was fake. How you talk, how you stand, how you smile and how you try to relax yourself after I listed everything off just now, says a lot for who you are. Ah...do I... make you uncomfortable?" Kagome frowned and stepped back, "again, it was just a book. I could be wrong." She berated herself. 'You talk too much. This is why you always get sent back!' She closed her eyes and moved further away. Bowing her head as she realized she may have really upset her brothers' friend.

Silence.

Heavily regarded silence.

She hated the silence.

She really...really hated...the silence.

"Iie~"

She felt a hand take hers; opening her eyes, she looked up at Fuji. Then she glanced over the others. Everyone was staring at her with smiles or looks of humor, 'why? Aren't they upset?'

Fuji laughed a bit, his eyes still wide open. Kagome felt a whirl of emotions hit her from the look in his eyes. He was amused! He was honestly amused by her!

"Kagome-Chan, you are very interesting. My team already knows most of that after two or three years of knowing me,"

"I figured it out after a couple months," Ryoma said with a small smile.

"It really is a wonder. Do you want to work as a psychologist or something when you grow up?"

"No, I don't think so. It'd be pretty boring as a career, don't you think? Reading people and telling people what's wrong with them, no one likes that kind of person." She herself hated it when she did stuff like that. She closed her eyes and could hear the voices of her past families.

"It's because you say things like that,"

"If you weren't so outspoken, if you didn't have to be right all the time. I know my flaws, why do you need to say them out loud!"

"No one wants to hear about their faults! I wanted a cute little girl, someone I could dress up and take to the park, not...not...whatever you are!"

"Mama and papa have me already. Why would they keep you around when you only tell them things that's wrong with them?"

"You can't go through life with this kind of blunt honesty. No one will acknowledge you. Shunned, ignored, hated...is that the life you want?"

"Blunt Honesty...isn't a very desirable trait."

"Iie, Kagome-Chan! I like your blunt honesty!"

'Liar, he hasn't heard my blunt honesty.'

Fuji sat down fully in front of her, "nai, Kagome-Chan, could it be that you aren't being honest at all?"

~CRACK~

She felt it, something inside of her...fractured at those words.

-x-x-x-

Me: Here is chapter seven! Hope you all enjoy~! Merry Christmas if I didn't say it already and I will see you all in a month with my next batch of Bulk Updates! Review and let me know what you think!