Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha . . .

ROCK ON!!!

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Kagome cleared her throat, pacing back and forth in her room. What am I going to say? I can't just waltz right up to her and . . .

"Just ask her already, you stupid woman."

The young heiress stopped her furious pace and glared at the lounging hanyou on her bed. "You try and think of something to say."

Inuyasha opened a lazy eye and glancing at the frustrated miko, shrugged. "I don't think, wench, I know. Just go up to her and ask what really happened."

Rolling her eyes at his insensitivity, she turned her back on him. "It's not that simple, Inuyasha," she explained with restrained anger, "Daddy's death is a very delicate subject to Mom; I don't want to bring anything up that'll cause her to break into tears."

The hanyou grunted, closing his eyes again. "Well, don't drag it out too long," he warned, "The more you stall, the harder it'll be to ask the actual question."

The heiress sighed, plopping down on her desk seat. She leaned forward, propping her head up with an arm that was leaning on her knee. This is too confusing . . . Her eyes roamed, finally falling on her companion.

"What about you? What happened to your parents?"

Inuyasha stilled, his breathing stopping slightly. Kagome watched as every muscle in his body tensed, as if trying to defend itself.

"What do you mean," he asked in a low voice, turning slowly to face her. His golden eyes were now fully open, staring at her intently.

"Well . . . uh . . ." the miko stuttered under the hanyou's gaze, "Your parents . . . are they in Tokyo . . .?"

The golden pools bore into the chocolate orbs a few moments longer, before turning away. "I guess you can say that," he grumbled, sitting up and leaning against the head board. "They're buried here, anyway."

Kagome's eyes widened. "I . . .I'm so sorry . . . I didn't mean to bring it--"

"Forget it," Inuyasha cut off, glancing at her. Looking down, he began to speak gruffly.

"My Mom . . . she died when I was four years old. I was left with Sesshoumaru and Father, but I wouldn't call it much of a family."

"Father was always away on some sort of business trip . . . he'd be home probably one month out of the whole year. Sesshoumaru got to see him more than I did . . . that lucky ass. I always longed a better relationship with Father."

"So, I lived with my half-brother," he said saracatically, "who despised the very dirt I walked on. He never really hated me, but he did hold some resentment towards the feelings Father had towards my Mother. I guess that resentment carried on to me."

"He was never really cruel; there were the occasional beatings and lockings in the closet, but Sesshoumaru was alright. That is, until I grew into my teen years."

Inuyasha paused, making sure that the woman hadn't dozed off. He was surprised to see Kagome leaning forward, her face attentive and eyes holding a mix of emotions he decided not to read.

"I was the typical rebel; I hated school, I hated social activities, and I hated rules. People treated me differently because I was neither full youkai nor full human; I was an outsider, and there wasn't any place for me."

"Sesshoumaru thought it would be a good idea if I joined business along with him; Father had passed on when I was eleven, and his whole inheritance was left to the both of us. He was engulfed in the stock company, and wanted to drag me along in it. Unfortunately, I had a mind of my own, and hated the idea. Of course, he was furious, and he threatened to kick me out if I didn't abide by the rules. He said 'it's time for you to grow up, little brother. I won't have a sibling of mine running around like some sort of ruffian.'"

Kagome smiled at the short imitation of the Mayor of Tokyo. Inuyasha looked at her from the corner of his eye, her smile lifting some of the pain that had accompanied the memories.

"Well, I needed to escape, and fast. College wasn't working for me, I knew that, so I decided to go to a police academy. Sesshoumaru was too delighted at the news, I might add."

Stretching, Inuyasha faced the woman. "And here I am today," he said mockingly, "the body guard of one of the most spoiled rich kids in the world. Really, if I didn't grow up around wealth I would've kic--Hey!"

The hanyou dodged a pink elephant that had come careening towards his head. Looking back, he saw the mischievious smile that Kagome now wore. "Spoiled, am I?" she growled playfully, sending another plushie towards his face.

This time, Inuyasha was ready. He caught it in his large palm, and was about to throw it back at her when a voice from downstairs called, "I'm home! Souta? Kagome? Inuyasha?"

Kagome instantly paled at the sound of her mother's voice. Sending the hanyou a pleading look, she received nothing more than a shake of his hand.

"It's now or never, Kagome. You're going to have to learn things on your own, just like I did on mine."

She opened her mouth to object, but closed it. He's right . . .I'm 18 . . .I should be able to handle this.

Offering a shaky smile, she straightened her shirt. "Wish me luck," she said nervously, making her way towards the doorway.

"No."

The heiress stopped, confused. She turned around and faced the hanyou that was standing in the middle of her room, her face etching into a frown. "What?"

"You don't need luck. You'll do fine."

And with that last statement, Inuyasha flung himself back onto the bed and opened a magazine lying nearby. "Now go away, I want my reading time."

Kagome shook her head, smiling at her bodyguard. Taking a deep breath, she left her room and made her way slowly downstairs and into the kitchen, where her mother was busy making coffee.

"Ohayo, Mom," she greeted, sitting on the stool that stood by the doorway.

"Hello Kagome," Katsuko greeted, turning away from the coffee machine to smile at her daughter. "Find anything new in the scroll searching?"

"Ummm, not quite," the heiress said slowly, not knowing how to bring the subject up. "But I did find something unrelated to the Bone Eater's Well that was well, here, you look."

The young woman pulled out the newspaper clipping from her pocket, handing it to Mrs. Higurashi. The older woman's eyebrows raised, surprised to see the old article.

"Shojiro," she whispered, carefully tracing the outline of the photograph of the man's face.

"Mom, I know this might be a hard subject," Kagome began carefully, "but I really need to know. Just how, exactly, did Daddy die?"

Mrs. Higuarshi stared at the aged paper for a moment longer, before lifting her eyes to meet her daughter's. "He died in the car accident of course," she frowned, handing her back the paper. "I thought you already knew."

"Well, I did," the heiress, sighed. I better just tell her.

"A few weeks ago, Inuyasha and I met a woman by the name of Miyako Okimoto at the ice cream parlor downtown. She recognized me, and we began to talk about Daddy, and then she mentioned something about a place . . ." Kagome trailed off, noticing the strange expression Katsuko now wore.

"Did she say anything else?" She asked sharply, hands clenching and unclenching.

Kagome stared at the angered woman before her, but shrugged off her suspicious feeling as normal behavior in regards towards her father's death. "No."

Katsuko relaxed, her face resuming it's usual softness. "Okimoto-san was a good friend of your father's. The place she spoke about was the hospital he was sent to. It was rather a dingy place, and it was believed that your Father would've survived if he was brought somewhere else."

The heiress sat for a moment, letting all the information her mother just said sink in. "I see," she said slowly, glancing down at the paper in her hands. But why doesn't this newspaper say more?

"You should go call Inuyasha; I bought Chinese food for dinner." The older woman motioned towards the small boxes in the plastic bags on the counter, dismissing the subject of Shojiro.

Kagome nodded, sliding off the stool. "Hai," she said, her thoughts still spinning as she left the kitchen to fetch her hanyou body guard.

Mrs. Higuarshi watch her daughter's figure retreat, the sound of her feet climbing the stairs growing faint. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the phone, picked up the reciever, and dialed a number.

Katsuko waited as it ringed twice before a male voice on the other side answered. "Hello?"

"Seiji-san, it's Katsuko," she spoke, leaning against the wall.

"Katsuko! What's wrong?" the old man asked anxiously, wondering why his daughter-in-law was calling.

"It's Kagome."

"What's wrong? Has something happened?"

"No, no, nothing like that," Katsuko straightened, peeking around the corner to make sure her daughter and Inuyasha hadn't come down yet.

"Then what is it?"

Mrs. Higurashi took a deep breath, before answering,

"She's beginning to question the circumstances of Shojiro's death."

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AU: here's another chapter to appease your appetite . . .hehehe, DUN DUN DUN!!!! so the mother's in it to!! What's going on?!?!?

thanks for the reviews, guys! Stay tuned!