Disclaimer: I wish it were mine. I really, really, wish it were mine. Since it's not, the most I can do is have Inu-Yasha walk around shirtless… take it as a bribe for not suing me.

Summary: Kagome, now a sophomore in college, comes back from summer vacation and finds a bit more then she bargained for…

A/N: A seemingly favorite plot for Inu-Yasha fics- Inu, Kagome, Miroku, Sango and company in high school (college, in this case.). Only this time, it's not AU… 5 years after they defeat Naraku and have pieced together the Shikon shards.

A/N 2: This was untitled until mid chapter 2. Suddenly, it became OAS. *Shrugs*

Chapter One

In Which Many People Are Pleasantly—And Not So Pleasantly—Surprised.

"Kagome-Chan!" With a shriek, Kagome tossed her backpack on the upper bunk in the room and flung her arms around the other girl.

"Siri-chan! Hello!" She cried, hugging the smaller, blond girl tightly. "How was London!?"

"The same as always." The tiny blond rolled her eyes, pushing her loose bangs out of her eyes. " 'Oi, pretty, want to 'ave a little fun?' or, more usually, 'if one closely observes the hibernating meal-worm, one can clearly see the small, scaled, ridges…'" She flopped down onto one of the two lower bunks, her voice returning to it's pleasant, American southern drawl. "Gods save me from British cram school and over achieving parents." She tsked, then brightened. "But guess what? We've got a new victim. She's entirely spiffed, she even writes some Shojo, about ancient Japan—well, Medieval Japan, I guess. Under the penname 'Madam Exterminator.'" Kagome had been listening with absent-minded amusement to the mix of American street slang and Japanese, and was started to full consciousness at the last two words.

"Madam Exterminator…?" She repeated weakly. Coincidence, coincidence, it has to be coincidence…

Siri nodded her head. "Yep. I heard she requested this dorm, like you did. Weird, cuz most people are scared off by the name." Siri lowered her voice conspiratorially. "I even heard two boys tried to get into this dorm… even after one of them knew it was a girl's dorm!" She burst out into giggles, as Kagome forced out laughter, which slowly turned to real laughter. It couldn't be them. They're all… dead…

They were laughing so hard they almost didn't there the timid knock at the door. Siri bounced up and flung open the door. It opened to reveal a tall, slender girl with her long black hair put up in a high ponytail. "There you are." Siri tugged the taller girl into the room. "This is our other roomy, the one I told you about. Higurashi Kagome. Kagome-Chan, this is Kimi —"

"Sango." Kagome finished with her. "I know."

Siri sent a confused look between the two girls. "You know each other?"

"We've met." Sango focused her eyes on the floor as though she could disappear, or avoid Kagome's accusing glare. Siri looked between the two, having never seen either of them like this. "Err… Right, then, I'll just be going…" She backed away slowly, leaving the two girls watching each other.

"Kagome?" Sango asked finally, unnaturally cowed. "Are you… well, mad?"

Kagome blinked at her, feeling suddenly stupid. "M-m-ad?" She gave the question serious thought. "No, actually, really… Surprised. Surprised, and confused. When I l-left…" for no reason, she found herself tripping over the words. "When I left, everyone seemed so happy. Naraku was dead, Miroku was out of danger, you and he were in love, and Inu-Yasha…" Inu-Yasha had been planning to use the Shikon jewel- not to become human, but to become a full demon. Holding vast areas of land he'd gotten from Naraku and other assorted demon-lords, he'd planned on forming a small Empire which he could rule, promoting—though he'd never admit it—peace and prosperity amid humans and demons. A practical Eden for all rejected Hanyous in the world. "What happened?" She asked, mouth suddenly dry. Sango's mouth turned down at the corners.

"Sesshomaru." She replied, brushing back one of her bangs. "He came… Remember Rin, his child?" Kagome nodded mutely. "Human." Sango continued in disgust. "The Tetsusaiga wouldn't work to harm her. And loving her, protecting her, gave Sesshomaru the same power that Inu-Yasha got from you."

"He could use the Fang." She didn't have to ask, she simply knew. She'd always known. Sang nodded and continued.

"He took it, from Inu-Yasha… but he didn't kill him, I think, because Rin begged us not to. Instead, he exiled us to Lady Kadae's village. Things were good, there, for about half a year. Then Lady Kadae died… She was almost ninety, then. But things got worse and worse. Lady Kadae acted as a buffer between him and the villagers. Between the two of them…"

"But…" Questions flooded Kagome's mind. "Sesshomaru… I thought he'd gotten his own sword. And the Shikon no Tama, I thought he was going to turn into demon."

"He'd been keeping the jewel to purify it." Sango sighed. "He didn't use it until after Sesshomaru attacked. By then, it was too late. And Sesshomaru couldn't be satisfied with any sword but Tetsusaiga, you expressed your own doubts over it." Sango reminded her. Kagome shook her head.

"This is just… so weird…" Kagome gave the other girl a suspicious look. " Did you guys come to get me and bring me back there?"

"No…" Sango gave her a surprised look. "Kagome, we'd never ask you to come back if you didn't want to. We- we decided to come to your time, for at least a little." Kagome felt the panic rise inside her.

"We?"

"Me, and Miroku and… err, nevermind. We didn't bring Shippo, if that's what you're asking." It hadn't been, but Kagome let it drop.

"Er… well, I mean, of course you can stay here. I'm sorry. I'm just surprised. I said that already." Kagome grinned. "Feudal Japan, eh?" Sango blinked.

"What?"

"Writing Shojo about Feudal Japan. Let me guess- a young woman finds herself transported back in time where she and companions gather the shards of a holy jewel…"

"Young man, actually, and they're searching for a holy grail that was broken…"

Kagome laughed.

Siri sighed in relief when the two came down to dinner, chattering like old friends.

"And Siri, this is our other friend, Deweihoushi Miroku." Sango introduced as a black haired boy wandered up to them. Kagome choked on her water at the mention of Miroku's new name. Siri, whose Japanese wasn't quite up to par, looked confused at her sudden outbreak, but nodded to him anyway.

"Pleased to meet you, Miroku-kun…"

The young man nodded to her but busied himself with patting his old friend on the back as she struggled to regain breath. Her breathing had nearly returned to normal when she felt him patting something he definitely should not be patting. "MIROKU!"

"What?" The ex-monk asked innocently, being stalked on either side by both Sango and Kagome. Kagome growled and whapped him on the back, hard, then left him to Sango.

"Huhwhahuh?" Siri whispered, watching the other two with amazement. Sango was still pounding Miroku, so Kagome shrugged and moved across the table to sit next to Siri, so they could talk without shouting over the thumps.

"They used to… apparently still do, date." Kagome quirked her mouth slightly was Miroku gave Sango a quick, pacifying kiss on the cheek.

"Oh…" Siri still seemed confused. "What's wrong with his last name? I'll admit, it's kind of funny, 'virtuous priest,' but…"

Kagome cracked up again. "Family… joke…" She managed to get out between giggles.

"We tried to talk him out of it." A low voice from behind her admitted sheepishly. "He insisted."

Kagome shut her eyes and didn't turn around, but her ears told her Sango and Miroku had stopped fighting. Undoubtedly, they were watching her. "If I turn around," she asked softly, almost silently, "will you really be there?"

"Yes." Came the equally silent answer. She turned around and looked up. His choice was obvious by his appearance, she noted. He self-consciously brushed a strand of black hair behind his ear, something she'd never seen him do before. Did he learn that from me? She wondered absently, self consciously mimicking the gesture. "That seat taken?" He asked, breaking the silence and snapping her back to attention.

"Oh! It—uhm—I mean, it—"

"Yes." Sango rescued her, slipping into the seat. "Sorry, Fang-breath, you're the only one safe from Master Priest over there's wandering hands." Inu-Yasha sneered elegantly at her and dropped into the seat next to Miroku, across the table from the three girls. Kagome decided it would be undiplomatic to leap up and glomp Sango, so she settled for quietly mouthing 'thank you' to her. Sango raised her eyebrows in return and pointed over her shoulder at Siri.

Kagome shook her head and leaned over, and whispered quietly in her ear. "You're drooling. They're both taken, besides. And you really don't want Miroku." Siri jumped guiltily and tried to unobtrusively wipe her mouth. Out of the corner of her eye, Kagome could see Inu-Yasha smirking. Just my luck, he probably managed to keep his super-hearing and super-smell... she groaned. Stupid hanyou. Human. Whatever. She sent a brief glare at him, then looked away, unable to hold eye contact. Wait a minute…hurriedly, she leaned over to Sango and whispered quickly in her ear, holding her hand up to prevent lip reading and muffle the sound. Sango blinked and nodded, a wicked grin spreading over her face. Kagome smirked, grin growing to match her friend's.

"Why do I really not like the looks on their faces?" Miroku hissed. Inu-Yasha frowned in concentration, trying to catch some hint of what they were saying, now that they'd blocked him from reading lips.

"I don't know, Monk. Maybe because last time Sango looked like that, it resulted with you in a dress…?"

"Shuddup." Miroku responded. It had quickly become his favorite modern word.

"Make me." Inu-Yasha challenged, eyes glinting.

"Make me make you." Miroku responded immediately.

"Make me make you make me."

"Make me make you make m—"

"SIT!" came a loud voice, followed by the loud 'THWACK!' of something heavy colliding with someone's head.

"Ow…" Miroku hissed quietly. The world swam into focus above him, including two slightly worried, but more amused, faces, "Ow." He repeated with more conviction, trying to sit up. "Ow!" he yelped, leaning back. Once the pain in his head had subsided, he tried timidly, "Where am I?"

"Your dorm." Sango leered cheerfully. "They let us in when they saw you."

"And when I bribed them." Kagome added.

Miroku considered shaking his head at this shadowy conduct, but considered it prudent not to.

"What happened?"

Kagome managed to keep a straight face. "You fainted and then Inu-Yasha tripped over you."

"I fainted. Uh-huh… Where's Inu-Yasha?"

"Walking Siri back to her room, and assuring her my boomerang didn't do any permanent damage." Sango grinned evilly.

"No, I'm here." Came his voice from behind them. Sango and Kagome swiveled to look at him. (Miroku tried, and managed to sit up, burying his head in his hands. "I'll just sit here and wait for the room to stop spinning…")

Kagome and Inu-Yasha watched each other, neither speaking.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself." He replied cautiously.

Silence fell.

"How's Siri?"

"Fine."

Pause.

"It was nice of you to walk her back to her room like that." Kagome tried again, timidly.

Beat.

"Feh."

Kagome broke out into giggles.

"What?" Inu-Yasha looked taken aback.

"Y-y-you!" Kagome gasped for breath. "You haven't changed at all!"

He looked sheepish. "Neither have you…" he admitted. "Ceptferthewayyoulook." He muttered quickly, not looking at her.

"Huh?" She asked, watching him. "How about repeating that not in Chinese?"

"I said, 'except for the way you look.'" He admitted, sheepishly.

She lifted her chin. "What's wrong with the way I look?" She asked quietly, tone betraying how much that had stung.

"N-n-nothing!" He covered quickly. "Just… Older." Prettier. "You don't look like Kikiyo anymore." He covered quickly.

"Oh…" She contemplated. "Who do I look like?"

"Kagome." He answered simply, taking a step towards her.

"Oh." She took a cautious step towards him. "Thanks."

He took a step, so they were face to face. "Feh." He muttered, turning his face away.

She laughed and threw her arms around him in a dangerously tight hug. "You're really here! I'm so glad you came…" She whispered.

He returned the hug cautiously. "Me, too."

"Where're Sango and Miroku?" She asked, pulling away.

"They left a bit after I got here…" He admitted, sheepishly. "Probably went to go make out somewhere."

"Eeew! Inu-Yasha, I did not need that mental image!" She shrieked.

"Who needs a mental image when you get to see it first hand everyday for the next three years?" He muttered cynically, more to himself then to her.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked quietly, suddenly hyper-aware that his arms were still around her waist.

"Kagome…" he whispered, watching her.

"Yeah?" She breathed softly, terrified she was about to wake up from the all-too familiar dream.

"I—" he was interrupted a long, low bell that tolled three times across the campus.

"Oh!" Kagome cried, pulling away. "Inu-Yasha, that's the warning bell! Curfew's in 5 minutes, and it's the first week, they're still going to be checking dorms! If we're not back… I've got to get Sango! I'll make sure to send Miroku back as soon as I see him, Sorry, see you in class!" She managed all in one breath, running out the door and collecting Sango on her way.

A/N I am SO evil… Well? Like? Hate? I'll continue it if I get reviews!