Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me

Chapter Twelve: Short Skirts and Long Winded Friends

October 11th

It hadn't taken long for Kagome's mother to figure out that the young girl sleeping in the room upstairs was not her daughter. After grilling Souta and threatening to take away all of his electronic games, she finally found out the truth.

Kikyo should have been worried, but the woman was actually very kind about it and took the news amazingly well. Not many mothers would have taken very well the news that their daughter had been sucked into some inter-dimensional porthole and replaced with another girl who could be her twin.

All she asked was that she be called when Kagome was next seen in the mirror.

"She's here!" Kikyo called, as Kagome's face began to appear in the mirror. Kikyo put down the pencil and pushed the books away. Her 'mother' insisted she study hard before she was allowed to go to school. And tomorrow is the day.

Kikyo watched as Souta and his mother talked with Kagome. She noticed that Inuyasha stayed close by the girl's side. He even made somewhat sociable comments on occasion, especially to the hero struck Souta.

"You should have seen your sister, kid," Inuyasha bragged, "She threatened to purify an entire village to dust yesterday."

"Alright Kagome!" her brother cheered.

"Kagome!" her mother admonished.

The young girl waved her hands in front of her, as if trying to fend off their words. "They shot at Inuyasha! An arrow missed him by THIS much!" She held her fingers an inch apart.

"Keh."

Kikyo was shocked. Not by the young girl's threat to an entire village or even her protectiveness of the hanyou. After living with her family and learning about her (she admits to reading the girl's diaries), she had some idea of how the girl thought. What surprised her was the attitude of the dog-demon. He was actually gazing fondly at Kagome when he thought that no one could see him. His posture as he stood beside her practically screamed that she was under his protection.

She would admit to feeling a little jealous. Not because she felt that Kagome was stealing her friend or potentially mate, but because the girl had the freedom to let her heart decide. Kikyo slowly smiled. Now I have that choice.

The mirror shimmered and the faces of Kagome and Inuyasha began to fade. Everyone quickly said their good-byes.

"She looks so happy," her mother whispered gently as she walked to the bedroom door. Kikyo watched as the woman turned and looked at her for a long moment before she closed the door. I wonder if she means Kagome… or me…

Morning came all too soon. Kikyo got up and showered. Once again she marveled at the magic of a shower. No matter how many times it was explained to her, the magic of your own personal indoor waterfall that you can control was absolutely amazing!

She turned on her favorite magical contraption she had found so far, the CD player. The music was incredible. Souta had shown her how to work it on her second day in this time. It had scared her at first, she had even attempted to purify it, then it became her most treasured item. Her 'brother' also tried to teach her how to dance. Though she felt awkward and unsure of herself when dancing with Souta around, when she was by herself she let the music move her like he told her to do. She smiled.

The smiled faded once she put on the uniform that she was told that she would have to wear to school every day. The skirt was too short!

"Mother!" she called.

Sleepily Mrs. Higarushi walked into the room with her hot cup of tea. "Yes?"

"Something is wrong with this outfit! It must be missing something! I can not possibly wear it!" She spun around slowly so that her 'mother' could see how indecent it was. Her eyes opened wide when her mother only chuckled and patted her on the head.

"Wearing long knee socks will make you feel less exposed," she advised as she pulled open a drawer and tossed a white ball of fabric to Kikyo.

"Do you remember the names of your friends and your teacher?" Souta quizzed her as he sleepily made his way down the stairs.

Kikyo clutched the photo album, another amazing discovery, to her chest. They were filled with pictures of Kagome's friends and fellow students. Souta had suggested that she carry this with her to remind her who was who and to tell anyone who asks that she is creating a scrapbook.

"Eri, Yuka, Ayumi, and Hojo are my friends. Mr. Kinomoto is my homeroom teacher. I am to follow this schedule to my classes and give each teacher the note that grandfather gave them explaining about a head injury which may result in loss of memory."

Souta and his mother nodded and clapped their hands encouragingly.

The walk to school was humiliating. The tiniest gust of wind sent her hands down to her skirt to keep it from blowing up. She realized that she should have taken the jacket her 'mother' offered her on the way out the door. At least it would have provided some protection. Seeing that every other girl her age in the schoolyard wore exactly the same outfit did not make her feel any better.

Three vaguely familiar faces appeared before her, almost out of thin air. Kikyo wondered briefly if they used magic in this world also, though Souta had said that they didn't.

"Eri. Yuka. Arimi. Good morning." She almost bowed, but caught herself in time. This world is different, she reminded herself. Be informal. Be casual. Smile.

"You've been out of school for so long!" the girl possibly named Eri complained.

"We were worried about you, Kagome!" another girl, either Yuka or Ayumi said.

"Are you okay?" asked the third girl.

Kikyo hoped that it was a smile on her lips instead of a grimace. Then she quickly recited her well-planned speech on the fall that she had taken that had tragically robbed her of part of her memory.

"I can only remember bits and pieces," Kikyo tried to explain as her… as Kagome's friends began to prattle on about all the things she missed. Trying to keep up with the conversations made her head spin.

Suddenly a boy with reddish brown hair started waving at her. Kikyo smiled slightly and raised a hand back. This must be Hojo.

"It is good to see you back, Higurashi."

Kikyo blinked slowly, confused. There was an unusual feeling in her chest, it was difficult to breath. Her heart was picking up speed. She looked around for any sign of danger, but found none. When her heart sped up even faster when he smiled at her, she realized that she was feeling honest to goodness real emotions. It made her smile.

Perhaps smile is not a descriptive enough word. When she smiled, she beamed. It felt like she was filled with sunshine. A giggle escaped as it occurred to her that she was actually free to feel. She would have skipped off towards the building that held her classes if it wasn't so undignified.

Then she thought of Kagome and what she would likely do. She grinned. Then she skipped off towards the building, her talkative friends, and Hojo, trailing behind.

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Author's Notes: Thank you all for reviewing! It always makes me so happy to hear from you, no matter how often.