Welcome to my newest fanfic! For those of you who are wondering, the title translates to "Welcome Home". Inspiration for this came about a month or so ago. I was lying in bed trying to sleep, and I began to wonder what it's going to be like if I moved to another country after I finish school. Thus a story was born! Also, I want to put a quote at the beginning of the chapters. Mainly because its fun and it'll confuse you until you read the whole thing. I hope you enjoy! Please remember to review.

"What are you doing barging into my room and spouting off your nonsense? Get out, psycho."

Chapter One

Kagome sat on the plane, twiddling her thumbs with anticipation. She was almost there. Almost. Hour after hour had gone by, and she was still as anxious as when she had stepped onto the first plane in Tokyo. Kagome had dreamed of this for years. Coming here, settling down, and living the life she wanted. She was about to touch down in America. Kagome had excellent English skills, and had read countless books on the culture. So she was totally prepared, right?

A voice came over the intercom system. "We're about to land. Please fasten your seatbelts and remain seated until the plane comes to a complete stop. Thank you for flying American airlines."

Little did Kagome know how ill-prepared she actually was.

She stepped off the plane---and wobbled a bit. "Whoa. I've been sitting for way too long. I think this is what they really mean by 'jetlag'." Looking around the airport, she realized how diverse everyone was. There were people of all shapes, sizes, and colors. The clothing looked to be just as varied. Kagome shifted the bag on her shoulder, and made her way to the exit, marveling at how the same coffee shops and bookstores that were back home seemed somehow, different.

The next thing on her agenda was to rent a car. Hers was due to arrive tomorrow, so she only needed one for 24 hours. All of her personal belongings were at her apartment already, or so she had been told. Shaking herself a bit to try and rid her body of the light-headed feeling, she entered the rental car lot. Getting a car hadn't taken long, although she wasn't impressed at the generic look the vehicle had.

"I suppose a car is a step up from a coach seat. But not a big step." Kagome muttered to herself as she drove out of the airport altogether. Within a few minutes, her cell phone rang. "What? I thought I canceled you!" She turned it off and threw it into the passenger seat. Partly, because she didn't want to talk to anyone, and partly because she didn't want any charges going to her old address. Her mother would probably pay for it, then mention it in every conversation they had for the next 10 years.

Kagome's stomach made a low grumbling noise. "That's right; the only things I've eaten have been airline food, if it can even be called food at all. Maybe there's a grocery store around here somewhere where I can get something decent to eat." In fact, one was just a block or so away, just past the stoplight she was at. "There!" she shouted triumphantly. The man in the car next to her shot her an icy glare. Kagome blushed furiously, and wanted to sink into her seat. It seemed forever until the light finally turned green, and she had to resist the urge to floor it. Not that a crappy car like this would be very exciting to go racing down the highway on.

She turned into the parking lot and found a spot close to the door, just in case she ended up getting more than a snack. Looking around, Kagome noticed just how generic her car really was. Three fourths of the cars in the lot looked exactly like hers. And they were all in the most BORING colors she had ever seen (including her own). "Note to self: paint car bright yellow with pink polka dots." She would have to get to that, one she had enough money to buy paint and a free Saturday.

Kagome diverted her attention back to the task at hand: Food. She walked in through the automatic sliding doors, and grabbed a shopping cart (which wasn't really very operational and required much tugging to get it to move). "Now," she began "let's see what we have in terms of snackage." There seemed to be more than enough colorful boxes to go around. Kagome walked down one aisle that read 'chips'. There were what seemed to be countless kinds to chose from, and eventually she settled on a bag of Doritos.

"I'm not going to stuff myself like a pig, so I won't buy more than I can handle." Just out of curiosity, she wanted to go down the aisle with breakfast foods, to see what it was that people ate when they got up in the morning. She walked down another aisle, and saw row after row of rectangular boxes. Just then, two little boys raced past her and stopped in front of one box in particular. "Captain Crackhead is back!" one shouted enthusiastically. "Yeah!" the other one agreed. They grabbed a box of it and ran off again, probably to put it in their mother's shopping cart.

Kagome walked up to what the boys were looking at. It had what did look like a captain, and by their outburst she was assuming his name was 'Crackhead'. She didn't bother trying to read the label, since the boys had shouted it out. "Looks pretty good, I suppose." She tossed the box into her own cart and proceeded to the checkout.

Kagome threw the groceries in the backseat as quickly as she could. She was blushing even worse then before. The cashier had asked her if the box was hers, and she had ignorantly replied, "Oh, the Captain Crackhead? Yes." It had felt like everyone in the entire store had been staring at her. Kagome, having just arrived, was unfamiliar with the slang, and came to the conclusion that she had said something terrible.

She dug into her pocket and found the directions to her new apartment complex, and was relieved that she was not far.

"2828 McCain." She read aloud. "It should be just down this street and to the left". Kagome almost missed the turn, but jerked the steering wheel at the last minute. She shut the door. Checking in only took a few minutes, thankfully. And soon she was back at her car to grab her groceries and walk the steps to her apartment on the third floor, room number 312.

She had been so lucky to find this place; it had a low crime rate and was close to plenty of job opportunities.

Kagome opened the door, and walked inside. "Thank God!" she shouted "All my crap is here!" Suddenly there was an overwhelming urge to hug one of the boxes. "I love you..." Kagome looked at the label "dirty laundry!" The love for the brown cardboard heaps didn't last long, not once she saw the window. "Wow! This is amazing!" she shouted. Now Kagome knew why the rent had been higher for this one.

There was a huge glass panel that sat on the wall next to the kitchen table that offered the most wonderful view of the city. She was eager to explore the rest of the apartment. Kagome walked into where the bedroom was, and was almost as speechless as before. The bottom half of the room was open, and had enough room for a couch and television. But it was the top that amazed her.

"It's a loft!" she exclaimed. Indeed the bed sat on a loft (the movers had put it there for her) and leading up to the top was a metal spiral staircase.

Kagome raced up the tiny staircase and started jumping up and down on the bed, giggling at the sheer joy she was experiencing. She was going to start her job as a secretary (while she looked for the job she had gone to college for) in two days. This was all Kagome could have hoped for. She smiled. Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

She bounced off the bed, and headed for the door as quickly as she could, falling down the steps. "Crap." She said, getting up off the floor and running to the door. She opened it. "Hello!" It was a boy, who had to be 17-18, give or take. He was tall, slender, and had golden blonde hair that looked adorable surrounding his childish face. "Hello!" he said smiling. "I'm your neighbor, Criss. Do you mind if I come in and visit for a few minutes, ya know, so I can welcome you?" Kagome almost had to slap herself. He was just so cute. "Yeah! That's fine!" she smiled. "Do you like coffee? I can make us some." He tuned around, "I love coffee. That's sounds great."

Kagome noticed that most of his hair was pulled back into a braid that was probably just as long as her own hair. He sat down at the table, and looked out the window. Kagome looked around, fumbling for the box labeled 'caffeine drive'. Since everything was in there. Aha, there it was, right on the floor over there. She opened it up and set the coffee maker on the counter, along with a filter and some ground mix. Kagome sat down at the table to make some conversation while they waited.

"You really have a gorgeous view." Criss commented. "I wish I had something like this next door." By now it was dark, and the lights of the city contrasted beautifully with the dark sky. "It is nice. I'm sure I'll enjoy it when I get up in the mornings."

"Say, didn't you move here from China or something?"

"Japan." she corrected him.

"Oh." He paused for a moment. "Don't the guys wear dresses over there?"

It was all Kagome could do not to burst out laughing. Just as she opened her mouth to explain the concept of 'traditional dress' (no pun intended) to her western friend, the coffee maker started to beep obnoxiously. "It's done." Kagome said, getting up from the table. She went over to the box, and saw that her mugs had broken on their journey. "What is it?" Criss asked. "Oh nothing. My coffee mugs are broken. Guess they just weren't made to take a trek over thousands of miles. Maybe the previous owners left some in the cabinet."

She moved over to the plain doors. Ah geez. How plain can this stuff get? I'll have to paint these to match my car.

Kagome opened one of the doors and immediately jumped back and screamed at the top of her lungs. Inside...there was...something. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Whatever that this was, it was BIG, and black, and had red eyes. Criss had fallen out of his chair after her outburst. Currently though, he was down on his knees next to her.

"What is it!" he asked. Kagome panicked. Her mind went blank. "Todana no naka da!" she yelled. Criss stared at her blankly, even more confused, and probably frightened, than before. That's right, he has no idea what that meant. "In the cabinet! It's in there! I...I don't know what it is!" He got up and slowly walked towards the object of terror. Criss opened the one of the doors and yelled even louder than Kagome had. "Oh my God." He said. "What are we supposed to do!" Kagome said. "We can...we...we can get Jake! He lives on the other side of me! I know he'll help!"

They ran two doors down and started banging on the door. "Jake! Jake! I need your help! Open up!" The door opened and a boy that looked about the same age as Criss came out. He was about the same height, and had short black hair. "What." He said, obviously peeved. "There's something in Kagome's cabinet and we need you to help us get it out!"

"First off, who's Kagome?"

"She just moved in recently, lives two doors down. Now c'mon! It could be anything!"

"Fine. Whatever."

Jake was obviously not impressed by the display. The three walked into the apartment. "Okay, where is this thing?" he asked in an uninspired tone. "In there." Criss said, pointing to the cabinet. Jake opened it up, then jumped back just as the others had done. "Holy bleep! There really is something in there! Whatever it is, we need to get it out. Hold on a second"

He rushed out of the door and returned moments later with two tennis racquets. "Okay, here's the plan: Criss, you hold that window open, Kagome, you'll open the cabinet door, I'll scoop the thing up onto these, and fling it out the window. Everyone get into positions!" The other two scrambled to their assigned spots. "Okay." He breathed. "Three, Two, One!"

Kagome flung open the doors; Jake put it onto the racquets, and flung the accursed thing almost quicker than the eye. All three rushed to the window and peered out. It landed in front of two girls who had obviously just gotten back from shopping. Both screamed; very loudly.

One of them ran out into the middle of the street, causing a car to veer sharply to the left. The car ran into a streetlight, which then fell over into the middle of the street, blocking traffic going both ways. Loud screeching was heard and Kagome counted a total of ten cars piled up. People got out of their vehicles, and it was like World War III.

There was screaming yelling, and throwing of whatever people could get their hands on. "Wait a second." Jake grabbed a pair of binoculars Kagome had left on the table and zoomed in on the 'menace'. "That, my friends, is playmates toys' latest Halloween stuffed animal Cat." The other two looked and came to the same conclusion. Horns continued to honk, and objects continued to be thrown. Kagome let out a long sigh. "So," she began, "this is America."

How do you like them apples! Next chapter is Kagome's first day at work. Yes, it will be painful. :D I got the inspiration for the coolness of Kagome's aparment from my parent's first apartment. My mom told me how dad was always falling down the steps when he tried to move the laundry. XD