Disclaimer: Inuyasha is mine! All mine, I created him, I thought up the story line! Rumiko Takahashi just copied! (Come on, if you believed that, let me tell you about how I found Barney in my fridge last week...)

A/N: As of right now, I have 70 reviews...And that's just for 5 chapters! faints from excitement Wow, people! Either you give me too much credit, or I must be really good. Anywayz, this is the same old, same old. Nothing new, except maybe the people I want to thank... First off: Darkness-Kitsune. As usual, thank you for your faithful reviews. I really enjoy reading them! And thanks so much for signing my guestbook on my homepage! Next, Inuyasha-Freak15. Thanks so much for the compliment! - I'm currently reading your story Never Say Never during my free time, and I must admit, it's really good! Keep up the good work! After that, Key17. Whoa! Remind me to update as frequently as possible, if only to stay on your good side... Na, j/k. Anywayz, I haven't received any yet, so future readers, be warned! Finally, Red Skyies. Yes, I frequently like to surprise my readers... Keeps them on their toes! And now that that's out of the way, on with the story!

Life of a Teenager

Chapter 6: An Unexpected Gift From Kagome

Not too bad, Kagome thought to herself. Pivoting in a slow circle, she looked at herself in the mirror. It's dressy...but not formal, exactly what I wanted... The thing in question was Kagome's outfit. It was 9:30, and she was in her room, finishing up the last few touches in her dress. Well, she couldn't really call it a dress... Kagome grinned to herself. A was tight, black and blue swirled dress, mid-thigh in length, was her "dressy" contribution to Revolutions. Turning around, Kagome grinned again. Where the back of a dress usually is, there was...nothing. Instead, it dipped low and stopped on her lower back, right where her spine ended. The dress clasped around her neck, halter-top style, and the chest slanted into a V in the front, but not indecently. Her shoes were black strappy sandals, and her hair was pulled up halfway, clasped in a clip, the rest left to fall around her shoulders in a riot of curls. All ear studs were firmly in place, sex bracelets on her left arm (black and blue to match), and a watch on her right wrist completed the look. Checking out her appearance in the mirror, Kagome was pleased by the overall effect. Grabbing her purse and her keys, she left her room and ran down the stairs. She was finally allowed to drive herself around, and she loved her car!

Stepping off the front porch, she smiled when she saw her car sitting there, patiently waiting for her. It was a black, convertible, Mustang GT. Blue and purple flames ran along the sides of the car and swirled into the black. A sound system had been installed, so when she turned up the bass, the amps rocked the whole car. Sliding into the driver's seat, Kagome revved up the engine and turned on the radio, looking for a good station. A look of pure rapture shone on her face when she found a particular song, P.O.D.'s "Sleeping Awake." Turning it up full volume, Kagome cruised the streets of Tokyo in search of Revolutions, while listening to the lyrics. The song basically described her life and view on it to a T...

Reveal, to me, the mysteries

Can you tell me what it means?

Explain, these motions and metaphors

Unlock these secrets in me.

Describe your vision, the meaning is missing

Won't anybody listen?

Define, the riddles of my mind

Nothing is really what it seems.

Dreaming of Zion, awake

Sleeping awake

Dreaming of Zion, awake

Can't stop sleeping awake...

The words echoed in her mind as she pulled into the parking lot for Revolutions. Getting out of the car, she stopped dead when she saw the line that curved around the corner, half a block away. How in the world was she supposed to get inside in time? Glancing down at her watch, she saw it was 9:52. Nope, no way she'd make it in time... As she walked past the bouncer guarding the door, she shot out an arm in front of her, effectively stopping her. Turning, she raised an eyebrow; what in the world could he want? "Miss Higurashi? Kagome Higurashi?" he asked her in a deep rumble of a voice. Surprised, but not so much as blinking, she nodded her head in acknowledgment. Unclipping the chain that separated the door from the rest of the crowd, he ushered her inside. "Mr. Inuyasha specifically said to let you in once you arrived. He also instructed me to give you instructions to the VIP rooms. Once inside, take a direct right, walk down the hallway and go through the last door on the right. Up the stairs is the VIP room." Nodding her thanks, Kagome followed the instructions and was soon outside the room. She could hear the pulsing sound of the music downstairs through the walls, a throbbing beat that made her want to dance. Another bouncer was guarding the door to this room as well, but he leapt aside and opened the door for her when he noticed her. Walking through the door, Kagome raised her eyebrows when she caught her first glimpse of the room beyond.

The walls were painted a deep rose. Black leather couches were placed strategically around the room, coffee tables here and there. An open space was in the middle, sunk lower in the floor, with a step leading down. Obviously, it was for dancing. To the far left was a wall made of glass. It overlooked the dance floor below it, so the lights flashing on the floor were reflected back into the room, making it seem to fade into different colors periodically. Near the glass wall sat a large table, surrounded by eight chairs. Kagome took all this in with one glance. Then, in a second swift glance, she noticed that there was actually another person in the room.

Kouga lifted his head when he heard the door open. His heart seemed to miss a beat when he noticed Kagome, the new girl, stood framed in the doorway. Ever since he'd noticed her in the hallway when she'd stormed out of the attendance office, he'd been having a strange reaction whenever she came near. Almost as if he.... Kouga snorted. Yeah, right!

Kagome raised an eyebrow at the snort. Was he ok? "Uummmm.... Kouga, right?" she asked. He looked up, surprised. "Don't look so surprised. I'm not an idiot who forgets a person's name after a few hours. So, where's everyone else?" Kagome questioned. Kouga blushed red when she said this, then answered her question. "They all went downstairs. Sango wanted to dance, Miroku wanted to watch..." Kouga blushed again when he said this, but continued. "Ayame went with Inuyasha for drinks, and Shippo and Souten aren't here yet." Finished, he leaned back against the couch he was sitting on. "I stayed here in case you arrived while everyone was gone. Guess I thought right," he explained. Kagome nodded and wandered over to the glass wall, waiting for the others to return. An uncomfortable silence enveloped them as they waited. Finally, when Kagome thought she'd go mad if someone didn't say something, the others returned. Sango came through the door first, a pissed expression on her face. Following closely behind her was Miroku, sporting an extremely red left cheek. He'd obviously been up to his tricks again. Inuyasha and Ayame followed those two, containers holding drinks in their hands. Shippo followed, Souten right behind him. Everyone seemed to notice Kagome at the same time. "Kagome!" Sango said, a delighted expression replacing her pissed one. "Glad you could make it. Inuyasha here had a bet running with Kouga that you wouldn't show. Said you'd be too chicken." Frowning, Kagome glanced at Inuyasha. What the hell? Hadn't he been the one to invite her in the first place? What was up with that? Inuyasha had a slight smirk on his face as he gazed at her, as if daring her to contradict him. Kagome decided she would oblige him. "You think I'm gonna go to a school where I know absolutely no one? Where have you been living the past few hours? Your locker back at school?" Kagome asked him in a disbelieving voice. Kouga snorted in amusement, covering his mouth with his hand so Inuyasha wouldn't see him. Unfortunately, he did see it. "You got a problem we all should know about? Cause if you do, maybe you should share it," Inuyasha growled threateningly. Kouga looked at him and raised a brow. "You're not worth my time, mutt-face," he yawned. "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" Inuyasha yelled. "Mutt-face," Kouga said again. "You look like a mutt, and you smell like one too." "WHY YOU-" Inuyasha started. Kagome leapt in between them as Inuyasha started towards Kouga, fist raised. "Inuyasha, sit!" she said, the words coming from nowhere. Unexpectedly, Inuyasha found himself on the floor, face first. Groaning, he tried to sit up, but couldn't move for a few seconds. When he could, he sat up and rubbed his nose, glaring at Kagome, who was looking back at him with wide eyes. "What t-the heck just h-happened?" she stuttered. Looking at Inuyasha as he gingerly picked himself up off the floor, still glaring at Kagome, Miroku started laughing. He laughed so hard he doubled over with it, practically howling. Kagome and Inuyasha both turned to him, wearing identical scowls. "What the hell is so funny?" they said in unison.

Miroku pointed to Inuyasha, still laughing, trying to talk. The first few attempts were just incoherent mutters, but he finally caught his breath enough to say, "Look!" And then he pointed towards Inuyasha's neck and started laughing incoherently again. Everyone turned and looked at Inuyasha. Inuyasha stood there, gaping at a necklace he'd never seen before around his neck. It was made of black beads, a larger silver one between every five black ones. "What the-" he started to say, but didn't finish. He'd been trying to lift it off over his neck, but the damn thing felt like it weighed a few hundred tons, and wouldn't budge. "Why won't the stupid thing some off?" he grunted, trying again. By that time, Miroku had calmed down and was sitting on a couch, trying to catch his breath. "It won't work, Inuyasha," Miroku finally said. "The only one who can remove the necklace is the one who put it on in the first place." Inuyasha turned towards him, a frustrated look on his face. "So who the hell put it on me?" he asked angrily. Without a word, Miroku pointed at Kagome. "M-me? But I couldn't have! I haven't been near him all night!" she exclaimed. Miroku looked at her strangely, then turned back to Inuyasha. "It's a binding necklace. The wearer of it has his or her power restrained for a few minutes after the binding words are spoken by the giver of the necklace," Miroku explained calmly. Then he turned towards Kagome again. "So, why didn't you tell us you had Miko powers? We could have used your help sooner, you know."

A/N: Man, I'm so bad! What's with the cliffies lately? I've been asking myself that question a lot lately... My apologies to all my loyal readers who can't wait for my next chapters. I don't mean to make the endings cliff hangers, they just sort of do that on their own, if that makes any sense. Well, I don't know if I can update tomorrow night or not. My bands gotta go to our first football game of the season, and I probably won't get back home till late, so I'm warning you ahead of time! If I can't update tomorrow night (night of the 27th), then I'll update during the next day. Until then, I'll see you guys later. Remember, read and review please! -