A/N:  Okay, here's the deal… I love Inuyasha as much as the next person, but it's only once in a blue moon that I get to actually watch it.  So as a result I really don't know a lot of things about the series. (The name of Kagome's cat, for example; if anyone knows it, could you please tell me?) Thus the reason this is an AU.  To put it simply, none of that stuff with the Shikon no Tama ever happened; Kagome's just a normal person, and she's never met Inuyasha.  She, her mother, and her brother Souta (Sota?) moved to America purely so that the authoress is able to write in a familiar environment.  So basically, expect a lot of people to be seriously out of character…

Many thanks go to DancingWind, VicFan, and DragonFever for answering my numerous questions; also, to KreenoSkunk for listening to my insane rantings so patiently.  And, of course, to the rest of those crazy people that I consider my friends.  Couldn't have done it without ya…mostly because I'd still be relatively sane, but that's unimportant at the moment. 

Rating: Currently PG-13 for some very minor cursing.  May rise later, but I don't really know…it all depends on the plot bunnies.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any related indicia.  Never did, never will.  (And if I had my pick, I'd rather have Sesshoumaru anyway ^_^)  

Half a World Apart

by WookieeBeta

Chapter One: Moving Stinks

Crash.
"...OWW!! Ow ow ow ow ow..." The raven-haired girl hopped on one foot, making an heroic but unsuccessful attempt to remain vertical while massaging her other toe. She turned a baleful glare on the offending box. "Stupid china," she spat.
Kagome stopped to think about those words. Her face paled noticeably as she bent down and hesitantly lifted the cardboard box. A subdued rattle confirmed her suspicions, and she set it back down with less than considerable gentleness.
"Shimattta..."

*          *          *          *          *

"So, how's everything going so far?"
Kagome sighed. "I think my mom is going to kill me. That, or ban me from coming within ten feet of anything breakable. I dropped two boxes of her china, and another one with framed pictures."
She could almost hear Sango wincing on the other end of the line. "Ouch. Hint for the wise: Run. Fast."
"Feh. I'm not running."
"Brave words."
"I'm stealing the car. That way I'm moving at ninety, and she can't follow me."
Sango chuckled. "Good luck with that one, my friend. Seriously though, how do you like it so far? I mean, America's supposed to be the best country around - is it?"
"It's...okay, I guess," Kagome said with a small sigh. "I mean, I've only been here a few hours, and Galveston certainly isn't the center of the country, so I really don't know, but it's...well, intimidating. I know I'm fluent in English and all, but there's a difference between understanding what people say and knowing what they mean. You know?"
"Eh...no, not really, but I'll just go with it."
Kagome rolled her eyes. "I'm being serious, Sango! Everything here is just so strange. It's all mixed signals and broken traffic lights. I already miss home."
"Don't worry about it, Kagome," Sango assured her. "You'll get used to it. And everyone'll call you all the time. And as soon as you get the computer set up we can e-mail each other, too, and you can send us pictures of all your American friends."
"Yeah, I guess," Kagome said.
"Look, I've got to go before Miroku kills me - I'm on his cell phone, and you know how he is about his minutes. Sayonara."
"Sayonara, Sango," Kagome replied, and then the line went dead. She sighed again.
"Kagome?"
"Yes?"
Her mother's head appeared around the door, and she glanced at the room appraisingly. "You've certainly moved fast," she said, looking at the already unpacked boxes.
"I didn't feel like waiting until tomorrow," Kagome said, shrugging. Besides, it was dirty. I hate dirty.
"Anyway, Souta and I were thinking of going out for dinner, since we still haven't unearthed the kitchen stuff... Do you want to come?"
"Do I have a choice?" Kagome muttered under her breath. Then, more loudly, "Sure. Just let me grab my jacket, and change into something a little less...ah...dusty."
"Come to the living room when you're ready," her mom said, closing the door.
Kagome glanced at her current outfit and scowled. It was American-style jeans and a t-shirt, which she didn't mind, but it was dirty from her long day of carrying boxes back and forth. That she did mind. Rummaging through her semi-organized dresser, she found a pair of plain black slacks and comfortable light-blue blouse, thin but warm. It had been a gift from her one-time boyfriend Sesshoumaru. They had just gotten back together when her mom told her they were leaving the country; in order to make the departure a little less painful they had mutually agreed to break up.
Kagome slammed the door on that train of thought and snagged her sweater from the doorknob, brushing her hair out of her face as she walked to the living room.
Dinner was an akward affair. In a moment of extreme hyperness (and cuteness) Souta had managed to persuade their mother to take them to a local Mexican restaurant called Salsa's, so in addition to being uncomfortable with the American way of doing things they had to order from a menu that for the most part they couldn't read.
"What's a 'case-a-dila'?" Souta asked, peering at his menu.
"I think it's...um...it's..."
"The description is right under the title," Kagome said, sweatdropping.
"But I can't read it!"
Kagome sighed. It was going to be a long night...
"Please, Kagome? Tell me?"
"Look, they have hamburgers," her mom said, pointing to something on the back of the menu. "How about one of those, Souta?"
"All right! I love hamburgers!" The young boy's face lit up with a beaming smile, and he fairly bounced in his seat.
"What are you having, mother?"
The older woman glanced over the menu, brow furrowing in concentration. She was much less adept with the language than Kagome, and it didn't help that fully half of the text was in Spanish. "I think I'll try one of these," she said, pointing at something on the menu. Kagome leaned over to see, and promptly facevaulted.
"...That's a drink, mother."
"But it says right here - "
"Look up. It says 'Beverages'. Just trust me, it's a drink."
"...oh....then how about one of these?"
"That's an appetizer."
"Oh, you're right...well, how about this? An...how do you say...inch-a-lada?"
Kagome gave a small sigh of relief. Finally, something real... "Sounds good. I'm having a chimichanga, with a coke."
"Coke?"
Oh yes, it would be a long night indeed...