Title: A Series of Unexpected events
Summary: AU; Kagome and her family won a lottery, and because of their new fortune plus her father's new job, they move up to the upper-class part of Tokyo. Her neighbors, the Taisho family, aren't exactly what she expected. And who's this Sesshoumaru?
Chapter Two: The Sound of Settling
Last Chapter:
"Kagome!" her mother called. "These are our new neighbors. The Taisho family."
Kagome smiled warmly at each of them.
Sesshoumaru smirked at her and noticed she was uncomfortable under his gaze.
Their eyes met and Sesshoumaru sent an alluring wink, causing Kagome's cheeks to blush a cherry red.
'This is going to be interesting.' The two thought.
Kagome picked at her pie. Blueberry. Who brings blueberry pie to new neighbors? There was succulent peach, or tangy key lime, even the all-American apple pie would've been better than this… blue blob. Maybe it was first moving jitters or the whole overwhelming-ness of it all but there was something about her neighbors. The Taisho family.
Earlier, after graciously greeting all of them they explained themselves to us. They lived just across the street, the slightly larger house/mansion in front of ours. Mr. Taisho was the manager of Taisho corps. Of which my father's industry branched off of. Funny isn't it? The mother and wife, Mrs. Taisho was probably the most different of them all, she didn't have that 'trademark' white hair thing going on, although she did have that insanely silky black hair.
She turned out to be pretty nice and refined. Mrs. Taisho didn't really have a job; she mostly helped out at fundraisers for schools, charities, and bringing up the Taisho name. She was extremely social and was usually never found around the house at all.
Their two sons, of which she had incorporated the names of, Inuyasha was the younger one, 16 years of age, the same as her. They were only one year apart for Sesshoumaru was 17 and going as a senior into Yutaka High School. The two brothers didn't seem to get along much, always inching away from each other.
Before they left, claiming Mr. Taisho had a meeting, Mrs. Taisho had something to do at home, and the two sons had, uhh, something. We gave them a short tour of our home; they didn't seem too impressed. They've probably seen better, of course, seeing as they were brought up from riches.
Wait.
'Was that why I have this feeling against the Taisho family? Because they were always born rich and wealthy?'
I chuckled.
I don't need to worry about that anymore.
I no longer need to be the money-mooching, always finding lower prices, Kagome Higurashi. I'm rich. I'm a millionaire.
A smile crept up my lips as I stared at the blueberry pie in front of me.
I devoured it, remembering to put some spunk and drive into each bite. Yes, all those blasted blueberries were the troubles that made my life hell before. But not anymore!
Kagome Higurashi would eat those blueberries!
At the Taisho household
"Well don't they seem darling?" The only woman of the house said aloud to her two sons.
She only got a 'meh' and a grunt from her sons. She swatted the air and continued rambling about their new neighbors.
"Oh you'll love them! Inuyasha, Kagome's your age! Isn't that great? And Sesshoumaru, I hear she's got the same level of intellect as you! You both will get along with her just great!" She said with a smile and continued as she received no replied, "She's new here. They're new to this, err, lifestyle." she added with emphasis by waving her arms around in their large home. "She could use some friends, some getting used to…" their mother trailed off.
"…Why do I have a feeling you're about to ask us to do something we don't want to do?" The older son asked in monotone.
"Oh c'mon now, you haven't even heard all of what I've said yet. As I was saying, she needs to get around, you know, have a feel for what's going on around here. You two live right across from her, she's already met you two and right now you've all she's got." She said, eyeing Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha.
"What are you saying?" Inuyasha asked with an eyebrow raised.
"I'm saying that you both should take her around town. Introduce her to some of your friends! Take her to some hangouts people your age go to so she won't feel so left out."
Sesshoumaru scoffed and turned to leave as he said, "Let Inuyasha do it." His leave was cut short as his mother grabbed his ear and demanded him stay.
"Don't you defy me, Sesshoumaru Taisho! Now I said both of you will do this, and you will. And you will do it nicely and charitably." She said in a strict, motherly tone.
She picked up the phone resting on the table and pushed in the Higurashi's phone number.
Ring, Ring, Ring.
"Moshi Moshi? Higurashi residence." came from the other line.
"Aah, Kimio! This is Tomiko!" she said to the woman. They hit it off pretty well when they met a few hours ago. They were already on first name basis.
"Ohh, Tomiko! Pleasure to talk to you again! Is anything up?"
"Oh nothing much, how are you all settling in?"
"Just fine, the movers did most of the job."
"Great, great. By chance, is Kagome doing anything tomorrow?"
"I doubt it, why do you ask Tomiko?"
"My sons, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru, would love to take Kagome around town, help her meet some new people and make friends. Is she up for it?"
In the background of the Taisho residence, two boys with white hair scoffed.
Without asking her daughter if she wanted to Mrs. Higurashi answered for her.
"Oh, she'd love to!"
Mrs. Taisho giggled as she heard a teenage girl whine 'But mom!'
"Then it's settled. Tomorrow at noon."
"Tomorrow at noon." Kimio concluded with a smile.
So the phone conversation ended after specifics were said and left were two defeated teenage boys and one confused teenage girl.
"What fun." They all muttered.
Next Day
Kagome glared at her reflection in the mirror. She had small bags under her eyes, her hair disheveled, and crusty eyelids.
Curse waking up early!
Curse her mother.
Curse the Taishos for being nice and inviting her around town!
So maybe that's not really something to curse someone about but still. It was eleven for goodness sakes! Waking up early was definitely not Kagome's thing.
…What are you saying, 11 AM isn't early!
…
Alright, so maybe it's not.
But it is for her! And she'd be damned to wake up earlier than that on a summer day.
She shook her head, ridding her of her whiny thoughts. Stepping onto the granite-lined shower she took note of her precious surroundings. Never before had Kagome ever found a bathroom so… amazing.
She giggled; it was funny how life brought her up to this point. How a single day and a single ticket brought her to a new house and more importantly, a new life. She gravely considered how fast it would all go away. Her newfound happiness, home, life.
But for now, she allowed herself to appreciate it. To let it sink in. To just… be.
She was thinking too much again.
Washing the last of the suds of soap off her body and the last of the scented shampoo off her dark tresses she turned the crystal knob of the shower off. She stepped out and dried herself off; she last checked the bathroom to make sure all was in order before she left.
She closed the bathroom door behind her as she entered her room, connected to the bathroom itself. The room was large; too large in fact that it could be the size of her old den and two. She gasped in surprise as she first entered it, ideas swelling up inside of how she would decorate it, where to place everything, etc. She loved it!
Choosing from a small choice of clothing, she picked a green tank and old jeans. If someone were to look at her from afar they probably wouldn't have guessed her family was indeed rich. She frowned and mentally reminded herself to go shopping sometime.
Grabbing her cell phone and her wallet (which was as heavy as ever!) she made her way to the door, exiting her room. She headed through the halls and down the collage of steps, meeting the rest of her family in the dining room.
"Sweetie, are you ready for later?" Her mother said in-between gulps of orange juice.
Taking a seat beside her and started on her breakfast, Kagome replied, "As ready as ever." She said unsurely.
"Good! Oh Kagome you'll have so much fun! You'll get along with them just great!"
"Oh yay." She said sarcastically with a roll of her eyes.
Her mother just smiled, "See? You're excited already."
Kagome was just about to wittily retort when the doorbell was rung. Glancing at the clock in the corner the two hands pointed to twelve. 'Noon, it must be the Taishos.'
And right, she was. Her mother called Kagome to finish her breakfast, as the two white-haired sons waited in the living room. Finishing her eggs and rice she had her father make sure nothing was where it shouldn't have been before she raced to the living room to greet the brothers, so as to not make them wait any longer.
As she ascended into the living room she took quick note of their 'not very excited' expressions.
She smiled slightly and with an interested tone she spoke, "Your parents made you do this, didn't they." Stating it more than asking.
The younger one laughed, "Yeah, no offense or anything." He reached his hand out to her friendly, "I'm Inuyasha."
She took it with no hesitation. He was friendly. As opposed to the older one who just stood there, pretending he was off in la-la land. She frowned slightly, noticing his bored and 'I don't want to be here right now' expression.
It wasn't until Inuyasha nudged him hard in the rib that he noticed the girl was staring right at him, expecting a greeting of some sort.
Right, uhh. What could he say? 'Hi I'm Sesshoumaru! I don't want to be here right now, and frankly, I'd rather watch paint dry than hang around with my annoying younger brother and you, someone I don't know at all, around the city!'
No, he'd had enough sarcasm to last him a lifetime, thank you very much.
Clearing his throat, he spoke with a rich tone. "I'm Sesshoumaru, as you know…" He trailed, not sure of what to say next.
'A man of few words.' Kagome thought amusedly. She smiled politely at him. "Sorry about the wait, shall we move on?"
As they followed her out of her home Kagome made sure to glance at Sesshoumaru every so often. The two brothers exceeded in looks. Out of all the neighbors she could have, she was met with these two. As Inuyasha was quite a looker, spunky with attitude but with a stubborn-looking face; she couldn't help but gape at Sesshoumaru's poise and kempt style. He was definitely intimidating, standing high and chin up. Kagome couldn't help but feel a squirm inside her stomach as she walked beside him.
The three made their way to the Taisho's limousine parked outside Kagome's home. Both Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha smirked at Kagome's awestruck expression s she stared at its length. A man, the driver, Kagome supposed, opened the door for Kagome willingly. Her expression changed even more dramatically as she happened to take in the luxurious setting inside the limousine.
After Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru entered, Kagome forced to sitting between the both of them, an awkward silence followed. Neither of them were up to awakening the dead air.
Sesshoumaru scowled. He didn't want to be here in the first place. This was absolutely ridiculous. A day wasted with his brother and some girl he barely knew.
"Look, let me get this straight," Kagome turned next to him, her eyes fixated on him as he spoke, "I don't want to be here." Sesshoumaru could hear Inuyasha mutter "That makes two of us." And he heard a chuckle to his side, "Actually that makes all of us," Kagome said. "So how exactly did you two get into this mess?" she asked.
Inuyasha was surprised. "You mean you're not happy about this either?"
"To tell the truth, I'm not. I just think it's odd since I don't know you two very well," she said uneasily, "We don't exactly come from the same backgrounds and this whole 'thing' is just new to me."
Sesshoumaru guessed that that 'thing' was being rich. He rolled his eyes, "Well at least we're on the same viewpoint. Let's just get this thing over with. We'll show you around here, the hangouts, the shops, and some people. I highly suggest you get to know Inuyasha's friends more than mine since you'll most likely be hanging around with him more often."
Kagome frowned slightly at his last statement. Was she really that unwanted? Turning to Inuyasha she spoke to him, changing into a cheerful face.
"So what are your friends like?"
"You'll meet them sooner or later. Sesshoumaru's friends are coming, too. We're all going to show you around. And, uhh, maybe we can hang out somewhere else, just you and me."
Trying to ignore his last sentence she turned to Sesshoumaru.
With a disgusted look on his face, Sesshoumaru nodded, "First stop is the mall, you'll meet everyone there," he stopped to take a look of her clothing as he continued, "and maybe you'd like to buy something as well."
Slightly offended, she scoffed and looked away from him. This guy was bugging her already! And this Inuyasha boy wasn't her cup of tea, either.
What was she going to do with them?
They drove off in silence and within minutes they reached the mall. Extremely large in size, as opposed to the ones she usually saw, it had a rich, poised air about it. She had heard only people with good money shopped here. The driver dropped them off at the front as he took off. Clutching her purse she eagerly stepped in, in awe at the stores and the people around her.
With Inuyasha at her side and Sesshoumaru just a few steps in front of them, she spoke, "So when are we going to meet your friends?"
Checking his watch, Sesshoumaru said, "1:30. That should give us some time for shopping." Glancing across her body as he spoke.
Annoyed with him she scowled, but what else would he think? She looked so… middle-class. Changing her point of view she stopped scowling at him and disgusted with herself instead she asked, "Where's the next best clothing store?" She said it in a determined and sharp voice that Sesshoumaru was impressed.
Inuyasha at her side immediately perked up, surprising Kagome. He led them to the nearest women's shop, obviously knowing his way around.
'What is he, gay?' she thought. Then shook it off as she remembered his slightly flirtatious comment on the way there.
As they entered the store that read, Core Russe: High Quality Fashion Kagome couldn't help but stare at the clothes that she knew she would have no chance in buying months before. But now she could! And she, like any teenage girl, would take advantage of it, she thought mischievously.
Inuyasha entered the shop, the shop-owner and workers greeting him as he entered. One of the workers asked, "Inuyasha, dear! How is darling Kikyou?"
Dismissively raising his hands, Inuyasha nervously replied, "Kikyou? She's somewhere… Anyways, my good friend Kagome here is in dire need of clothing help. Eriko, please help her."
Taking a good look at Kagome's choice of clothing she snottily asked, "You will be able to afford these things, right?"
Kagome glared at the woman. 'I don't like her already.' Through gritted teeth she replied, "Yes. Actually, I can. And I won't need your help, thank you very much."
The woman scoffed, "Surely you're kidding me. I-"
Sesshoumaru intercepted, not liking the woman and their heated conversation.
"She will not be needing any help," The woman was about to object but Sesshoumaru intercepted again, "That. Is. Final." He finished it off with a stony look and turned off his heel, grabbing Kagome towards the racks of clothing.
Kagome was bewildered with his action. She was surprised he actually, uhh, stood up for her. If that was what you called he was doing. Surprise set to anger soon enough, though. 'What did he think she was! A helpless little girl?'
Taking her arm back from his grasp, she glared at him.
"What do you think you're doing!"
He glared at her. 'How dare she question my actions! Does she not know kindness when she sees it?'
"What do you think I'm doing?" He spat.
She put her hands on her hips, a stance she readily took when she exploded.
"First you discreetly point out my clothing is horrible and 'low-class' and pretend you don't know me by standing away from me! And when some snotty woman points it out, you get mad at her! Who do you think you are!"
"Silly girl, you should respect the fact that I, Sesshoumaru, even stood up for you."
He was bewildered that she had the nerve to talk back to him. 'What did she think she was doing!' he thought.
She chuckled venomously, "Oh and I should be thankful that you are rubbing in my face that I am weak and unmanageable with people such as her?" she said sarcastically.
As Sesshoumaru was about to retort, Inuyasha stepped in.
"Sesshoumaru, Kagome! As much as I'd love for my brother to swallow your words and see the outcome of this argument, mother would be very displeased." At this mention, Sesshoumaru straightened up, Kagome silently laughing in her mind.
'They're momma's boys!'
Inuyasha continued, "It's about 1:00, and Kagome, if you're still up on shopping you might want to do so now."
Kagome nodded at him, "Right," she slightly smiled an apology to Sesshoumaru as she went off for the racks of clothing, leaving behind a confused Sesshoumaru.
He was amazed at how the girl's emotions changed so quickly. She seemed so angry and hell-bent on damning him to Hades and yet not more than a minute later, she smiles… He had to give her more credit. To dare argue with him, to even being herself in front of him.
Most girls would be fawning over him. Or sucking in their stomachs, pushing their breasts together, even 'accidentally' brushing a part of their body on his. Sesshoumaru was disgusted at the women who would do this. He abhorred attention-whores and everything that had to do with them.
A quarter of an hour passed as Kagome raced out of the changing room in a pale-blue halter summer dress that leveled with her knees. Inuyasha questioned her about how fast she had taken to pick something out, but she simply replied with, "I'm not much for shopping."
That was another thing that irked Sesshoumaru. Girls he knew would take hours searching for even one pair of shoes. His first impression of her was definitely incorrect.
After paying for her dress she placed the clothes she wore before in a shopping bag, deciding she would just wear her purchase for the rest of the day. As time reached 1:30, they headed to the nearest Starbucks. On their way Kagome noticed more people looking her way, even Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha could not help but spare a glance or two, Sesshoumaru's were more discreet. She smiled, happy with her buy.
Coming upon the coffeehouse, Kagome noticed two groups of teens her age. The first group, sitting at one table consisted of a tall girl with black hair held in a messy bun, another boy, skinny and tall with short, dark brown hair. Another was a male, pale in color but had the darkest hair, almost blue, that reached to his shoulders in a wave.
The other group at the table next to theirs, Kagome noticed, looked younger than the other one. She noticed a boy's hand was snaking down a girl's behind, the girl immediately slapped him, feeling his hand on her body. She also noticed a younger boy, probably one grade below them, with short auburn hair shaking his head at the two.
As they reached the coffee house the two groups waved to Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru and came up to the three of them. Kagome felt a feeling of friendliness wash over her at their eagerness to meet her.
"Fashionably late yet again, Sesshoumaru?" drawled the girl with the messy bun.
"Kagura." He nodded at her.
As Inuyasha and his friends greeted each other, the same with Sesshoumaru, they introduced Kagome. Or, actually, until Kagome nudged Inuyasha in the arm they introduced her.
"This is Kagome, Higurashi," Inuyasha spoke. "She's our new neighbor."
Kagome nodded at them and held her hand out, shaking each of their hands. Each of them introduced themselves to her. She knew she'd be making friends with all of them soon just by that first touch. She was a little skeptical about Kouga and Miroku, though. They took her a hand a little too affectionately, causing Kagome to blush in embarrassment.
She smiled to herself, relieved they weren't the rich and snobby stereotype Kagome saw in the movies.
A/N: Oh man. I apologize for not updating so soon! First, my computer did not work, second, I sort of had a writer's block, terrible huh? And then we had testing coming up which wasn't very fun at all.
I'm not very pleased with this chapter, though. I'm not sure I explained Inuyasha's and Sesshoumaru's character in this fic very well. Inuyasha's supposed to be the more outgoing type, while Sesshoumaru's the more, 'leave me alone you filth!' type. Yeah, Sesshoumaru's going to be a hard-ass in this fic. But hey, we still love him! And hopefully so will Kagome. Heheh.
Anyways the next chapter will include Kagome getting to know everyone else more. And don't forget she still has to spend the rest of the day around Tokyo with everyone! Muahaha.
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Please review. It makes me smile.
