~*~More Than What She Seems~*~

A/N: Here's a second update for this week! ^_^

Chapter 16: A Family Reunion

"Souta..." Kagome breathed and then exclaimed happily. "Souta!"

He flew into her arms and hugged her tightly, "Kagome! I thought I'd never see you again!"

"How long has it been?" she asked with a trembling voice, hugging him back. "Two years? Where's jii-chan? Where's...Mom?"

Souta pulled back and looked around at that faces of Inu Yasha, Miroku and Sango.

"Hey, squirt, who are you?" Inu Yasha asked, narrowing his piercing eyes.

Souta gulped, "Um...eh..."

"Inu Yasha..." Miroku rolled his eyes. "Don't scare him."

"Kagome, who is this boy?" Sango asked.

Kagome's arms dropped to her sides, "His name is Souta...he's my step- brother."

Inu Yasha blinked, and then a thought struck him, "Oh, yeah! I remember now! You said that you used to live with your step-grandfather, step- mother and step-brother..."

"Right," she smiled sadly. Kagome's eyes glanced over her step-brother. "You've grown, Souta. You're eleven now, right?"

"Hai," he smiled back. "Kagome, you have no idea how Mom treated me right after you left. She-"

Souta stopped in mid-sentence.

"What's wrong, Souta-chan?" Kagome asked.

"She's coming," he whispered.

"Who's coming?" Miroku asked.

Souta took a few steps away from Kagome and answered shakily, "My grandpa...and my...and my mom."

Kagome looked straight ahead.

Her.

It was her.

The one person she feared most.

The one person who she never wanted to see again.

Her step-mother.

*****

A woman with short and slightly curly black hair and brown eyes walked stiffly by her father...an old, short man with gray-hair.

"I never thought I'd see her again," the old man stared ahead at the little group, formed near his son-in-law's grave.

'Well, I can say the complete opposite,' the woman thought, a grin starting to form on her face.

"Souta must be happy to see her. It's been two long years..." Grandpa looked at his daughter, "Are you happy to see her again too, dear?"

"Oh, YES," Mrs. Higurashi laughed. "I'm absolutely HAPPY to see her again!"

*****

Inu Yasha began growling the moment he spotted the woman.

'That's Kagome's step-"mother",' he cracked his knuckles. 'The stupid bitch that gave her all those scars and bruises!'

"Inu Yasha?" he heard Kagome ask. "What are you doing?"

He snarled, "I'm going to kick your step-mother's ass, that's what."

She put a hand on his arm, "NO! Wait..."

Inu Yasha gave her a confused look, "Wait for what?"

"I want to solve this problem on my own," she replied softly. "It's family business. I don't want you to get involved in it."

He stared at her, "Kagome..."

He never got the chance to say what he wanted to say because at that moment, an unfamiliar feminine voice spoke,

"Hello, Kagome."

Kagome's eyes dulled (and after everyone helped her to not have emotionless eyes anymore! Can you believe that?! ^_~) and her hands clenched at her sides.

"Hello, step-mother..." she replied blankly. "And step-jii-chan."

Inu Yasha, Sango and Miroku stared at her.

'She's back to her old, OLD self...' Sango let out a small gasp. 'Kagome...what's wrong? Why are you acting this way?'

"You've grown," Mrs. Higurashi continued, ignoring the three other teenagers. "You've grown taller..."

She took hold of Kagome's chin and tilted her head up sharply.

"And you've become a beautiful woman," she said.

Inu Yasha growled, 'Is it just me, or did she just say it like it was a BAD thing for Kagome to be pretty?'

Kagome didn't answer. She just stared blankly into Mrs. Higurashi's eyes.

"You're 16 now, are you not?" Mrs. Higurashi asked, letting go her chin.

She was given no response.

Mrs. Higurashi's eyes turned cold, "Answer me, girl. NOW!"

"O-okay," Grandpa (what else is there to call him? ^_^) jumped in. "Daughter, do the math, will you? Yes, Kagome is 16."

His daughter breathed in and out angrily, "That girl may have grown, but she's still the same mute and immature child that I remember!"

"I wouldn't really have called her a mute and immature child back then," Grandpa said thoughtfully while stroking his gray beard. "In fact, she was very-"

"Enough!" Mrs. Higurashi snapped. Her eyes landed on her step-daughter again. "Get away from me. Don't ruin my day right now. We're going to talk again later...I promise you that."

"Come on, Kagome-chan," Souta whispered, pushing his step-sister away. "Listen to her."

Kagome hugged her step-brother, "We're going to see each other again, I promise. Then, you can finish telling me what you wanted to tell me."

With that, she stood up.

"Good-bye, step-jii-chan, mother, and Souta-chan," she bowed and walked off with her friends.

"Bye, Kagome!" Souta exclaimed to her before she and her friends disappeared from sight.

'Yes,' Mrs. Higurashi kneeled down in front of her husband's grave and took an incense stick. Her mouth twitched into a smirk. 'Yes, good-bye, Kagome. Soon, it'll be good-bye.'

*****With the Four Friends*****

"Promise me that you'll tell Miroku and I about your step-family at school tomorrow," Sango begged.

Kagome stared at the ground and murmured, "Fine...I promise."

"You promise?" Miroku pressed.

"No," Kagome rolled her eyes. "I SWEAR."

"Hey, Inu Yasha...Sango, did you see what I just saw?" Miroku's eyes widened. "Kagome actually ROLLED HER EYES!"

"Big whoop, Miroku," Sango snorted, rolling her eyes at him herself. "Anyways, I'm going home. Bye, everyone."

"Yeah, I'm leaving too," Miroku nodded. "Bye, Inu Yasha. Bye, Kagome."

"Bye," the two replied simultaneously.

Miroku gave them a wink, "Don't do anything inappropriate, okay?"

*PuNcH!*

"Look who's talking! We could say the same thing to you!" Inu Yasha shouted at his best friend...who apparently had a huge throbbing lump on his head right now.

"Geez, don't get so mad," Miroku backed away. "Fine, I'm sorry. Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta go home."

He turned around and sprinted off.

"That lech," Inu Yasha shook his head.

Kagome stood silently, staring at the ground again.

"Okay, Kagome," he said seriously. "Tell me EXACTLY what's going on."

Everything happened quickly at that moment. Kagome burst into tears and hugged him tightly.

"My step-mother..." she cried. "She's back. I know she's up to something. I have a feeling that Souta's getting hurt. I'm worried. She still scares me..."

Inu Yasha put his arms around her and returned her hug, "It's okay...nothing's going to happen to you and the squirt."

"That's impossible to say..." Kagome said gravely and pulled away. "Inu Yasha, you don't know my step-mother."

"Oh, I know her enough to know that she's a bitch," he snorted.

"She can be one sometimes...but I still love her," Kagome replied quietly.

Inu Yasha stared at her unbelievably, "You do?"

"Hai..." she answered.

He pulled her into his arms, "You want to go to my house?"

Kagome buried her face in his chest, "Sure..."

A/N: ^_^ Please review!