Disclaimer: WHY!? WHY MUST I GO THROUGH THIS AGONY EVERY CHAPTER?! I do not fucking own Rumiko Takahashi's characters, all right? ((mutters)) fucking bane of my fucking existence…

Pre-story note: This part, chapter 3, will introduce the characters that may not yet have been introduced. It also has a random made-up character named Hakkyu. No, I didn't rip that name of anything if it is similar or the same as some other character in a story. Anywho… On with the story!

Light and Shadow

Chapter 3

A dark-haired girl walked easily through a gas station, unaffected by the fact that her boyfriend seemed to be grabbing her ass way too long. Her boyfriend had short blonde hair, but he was about a foot taller than the young girl. They stayed in a corner for a minute or two longer than they should have, seemingly making out. A few minutes later, they walked out of the store, hiding triumphant smiles on their faces.

The girl wore a brown beret that did a good job of hiding her eyes and the boy had a white hoodie on, hood up, which covered his. As soon as they were in the boy's car and out of sight, the girl whooped for joy and kissed her boyfriend on the cheek, pulling down his hood in the process. She opened her jacket and out spilled several bags of chips, a few cokes and other drinks, some candy bars, and a lighter. The boy reached into his hoodie pocket and quietly pulled out a key chain for her.

A souvenir palm tree shaped key chain hung from his fingers and he passed it to her gently. He pulled out several other things including some beers, gum, and two cans of soup. Rin laughed at the stash they had gotten. They had food enough for a week here! She smiled and kissed Hakkyu again. "I got a job interview set up for tomorrow; we may not have to steal anymore to get what we need to eat!" He looked over doubtfully, but tried to encourage her.

"I'm proud of you, baby. Now all we need is for me to get a job and you to finish high school. It won't be too hard" Rin, 17, was not proud of her grades or her "after-school life", which was composed mostly of robbing gas stations and such, but Hakkyu, now 19, was proud she was going to finish high school. He hadn't finished, so he worked odd jobs here and there, but it didn't bring in enough for them to live on together. They lived in an old Chevy pick-up truck, but they had enough knick-knacks like can openers that you have to use your hands to open the cans and pocket knives, that they could take anything and eat it.

They would steal paper plates once in a while or eating utensils, but other than that and food, nothing. Rin stole partly from necessity and partly because she liked the thrill of it. Adrenaline rush to the greatest power she knew. Her habit of stealing was what forced her to move in with Hakkyu. The parents had been nervous when she had told them she was dating someone two years older, but when she had gotten caught stealing one time, they said she had to go or he did. She couldn't give up Hakkyu, so here she was.

"All I need is to get a break. Just one break, and I'll find a job I can keep, baby. All I need is a break. Find a person willing to hire someone who looks like me."

Sesshomaru Kokoro sat in the office, awaiting his newest employee-to-be for interview. His long black hair was tied up neatly in a long black ponytail and he wore a nice button-up shirt and slacks. The girl's name was Rin Honda and she was going to be interviewed for an office secretary. All she would really need to know how to do is file papers and answer a phone. He heard a knock on the door from who he assumed to be the company secretary and invited her in.

"Sir, Miss Honda is here," she said cautiously. Sesshomaru told the plump woman to send her in and was amazed at the girl he saw. She had raven black hair and couldn't be older than sixteen, if that. She wore a professional looking blouse and khaki pants. Sesshomaru marveled at the fact that one so young could look so mature. He stood to greet her with an outstretched hand.

"Welcome, Miss Honda. Please," he said, gesturing at the chair, "make yourself comfortable." They took seats on opposite sides of the desk and looked at each other calmly before Sesshomaru broke the silence by looking through a few papers. "It says you're here for the secretarial job, but you don't look old enough to be driving, much less working in a big company like this." He stated it as if he were unsure of her qualifications.

She laughed and then, "Sir, I'm 17 years old, even if I don't look it. And yes, sir, I'm here for the secretarial job." She looked at him calmly. They went through about a half an hour of interviewing before it was over. He told her to be there at 5 after school, since she was still in school, she could be a part-time secretary. She walked out of there and had to wait until she was outside to jump for joy.

Sesshomaru wanted to jump for joy, too. He had a young, beautiful secretary who, in one year, would be able to leave. No commitment, no regret. He leaned back in his chair and wondered about how long it would be this time before she quit. He didn't like the prospect of it, though, so he pushed the thought away as a joke. She didn't have to leave. Some secretaries can get paid very well, and she could work her way up in the company. Why don't I want to think about her leaving?

That afternoon was spent avoiding his father and making sure his brother would too. If I didn't tell him pops was drunk, he would never escape. He stepped into a deathly quiet house and snuck up the stairs, too fast for his father to catch him. He called Miroku's house for Inu Yasha to let him know their dad would be hung over that night and sober enough the next day that it would be safe.

After that he snuck out of the house, checking to make sure his father was still alive on the way. The even deep breathing and groaning meant he was fine. With that final thought, he left the house to find his brother, then stay in his office that night. It was going to be a long night with all the things he needed to think about. Thank goodness his office had a coffee machine.

Kagome was fuming as she walked to her first class. The nerve of that boy… she was still angry about him walking off from their conversation just a few days ago. She growled at the thought and her friends cast her a worried glance. "Kagome," Yuka started, "are you all right? I mean… You've been quiet all morning." She didn't want to mention the growling thing. Kagome grunted "fine" under her breath and nearly ran into someone turning a corner.

"Are you sure? You don't seem fine," Yuki pushed. Kagome wouldn't take any more of this. She stopped in the hallway right where she was, causing her friends to bump into her. She was shaking and her friends knew they had pushed too much. She didn't say anything for about a minute and stopped shaking.

"I said I'm fine," she forced out, nearly yelling. Why would her friends think something was wrong? Everything was fine except for that stupid black-haired boy. What'd he say his name was? Inu Yasha? Her friends didn't believe her but they didn't dare say anything else. They sat through their first hour class silently. They did that until archery class. The last hour of the day, Kagome got all bulls eyes. She wasn't willing to tell anyone she had imagined a certain boy's head as the target and aimed for the nose.

She smiled to herself for that. She was on her way home when she decided she would go back to the park today and, if he was there, demand an explanation. She looked around the park and sat on the swingset, near enough to the monkey bars she would hear him when he climbed up, but positioned just where he couldn't see her without looking for her.

Sure enough, he got on the monkey bars about half an hour later. She waited a minute to make sure he wasn't leaving and made her move. She crept up until she was standing beneath the monkey bars and Inu Yasha's head. 3… 2… 1! "Boo!" It worked; the boy was sent falling to the ground and thumped his back in the right spot where he was stunned still for a moment.

"You!" he yelled angrily. He glared up at her standing over him, clad in the same uniform she'd been in a few days ago. She smiled triumphantly and laughed. That part kind of scared him. Then she covered it up with indignancy.

"Yes, me!" She said triumphantly. "Who else could scare you off the monkey bars?" He rubbed his back where it was sore and was about to stand but she sat on his stomach, her legs crossed on one side of him, and held his arms from swiping her off. "Now, you can't run off. You're gonna answer my questions honestly or I'll sit on you until tomorrow morning." He growled at her, but she was unaffected.

"Alright, ask what you will." He figured, what could it hurt? It's not like she's with the tabloids or something like that. But she had to ask the two things she'd wanted to know since he ran off. He was dumfounded by the questions she asked.

"Why did you run off? And who was Kikyo to you?" She looked at him smugly. He knew he wouldn't be moving until morning if he didn't answer her honestly. He looked around, as if the answer would come and jump into his mouth. His jaw dropped slightly, and she saw that she had surprised him. She smiled even more smugly.

"I… um… Is that all you want to know?" He asked confusedly. She nodded quickly and he tried desperately to find an answer. "Me and Kikyo… We were… we went out right before… you know…" he stumbled to say the right thing. He suddenly found the ground to his left very interesting. After a long silent minute, he finally looked to see what the girl was doing. Kagome was shaking her head slowly at the ground. "What's that for?" he asked incredulously.

"I… I hadn't known her until I found out that she was one of my distant cousins. Third or fourth. My aunt or someone took me to her 'memorial service'. They thought she was dead then and never thought they would find a body." She was still shaking her head. What did that mean? "I hadn't even known her, and there were so many people there. They were mostly crying or sobbing, but there were a few who didn't cry. I saw her picture, and then I knew who she was.

"I remembered seeing her at family reunions and stuff, but only hidden from view, and she never played with the other kids, like me. She only walked around with a little doll of a priestess. She acted like she didn't want to associate with commoners like us humans, or something." Inu Yasha looked at the girl piteously. "I guess then I wouldn't have known, but now I think that could've been the fault of all the people at school treating her like she was high and mighty."

"No," Inu Yasha said quietly. "It's not like that. She isn't… wasn't… like that. She couldn't be!" He looked at her like she was talking about Kikyo being a guy because he looked so confused. Kagome looked up at him with tears in her eyes. Oh, no, he thought to himself, don't cry. Please don't cry!

"You! You didn't have to see her stomp all over you like a little fly just trying to get out! You didn't have her look at you as if you were common street trash! What do you know about how she was?" She yelled at him and the tears started pouring down her cheeks. She jumped off of his chest and all the air rushed in quickly. Little dots appeared in his eyes for a moment. She spoke quietly, "You never knew what she was really like. You saw that mask she put on for parents and people she was 'friends' with."

"No! She was a nice person, she was thoughtful, and she wasn't as high and mighty as you say she acted! She… She…" He tried to think of something good and then he realized… He didn't know her well. He knew what had happened in her life, and what she had said about her boring relatives, but nothing about her. "She never let me know what she was like…" he said quietly to himself. He couldn't believe it. He was sitting up now, looking up forlornly at Kagome.

"Exactly. No one knew but us. The other people in her family that were her age. Don't tell me what she was like." Tears were coming from her eyes again. Inu Yasha didn't know what to do. So he panicked.

"Don't cry! What is it? What happened?" She was sobbing uncontrollably now. He stood, wondering what to do. And then he heard the one person he would rather not hear today. Or rather, he heard the cell phone of the person he would rather not hear right now. A concerto piece rang through the air in high-pitched beeps. Not him right now… he thought to himself as he slumped slightly.

A/N:

Light Angel: Hm… I wonder who this mystery person is who could have a concerto piece on his cell phone…

Dark Angel: ((rolls eyes)) Yeah, I wonder… God damn it, this chapter sucks…

Alien: I know, but I couldn't think of anything else… And they are going through a tell all phase right now… Kagome's kinda like that, but Inu Yasha only tells the girlfriend thing.

Samantha: ((comes in covered in blood)) Ah… Another good day of de… There's people here?! You could've told me before I got here!

Dark Angel: Sometimes I wonder how we're related.

Extraterrestrial: ((runs up in burger suit)) Muhahaha! Join us for chapter 4 of Light and Shadow, an Inu Yasha fan fiction.