Kagome settled into her room. She hadn't decorated it much past what her papa's designers had done. The walls were comforting gray-green. There was a western style double bed, centered on one wall. She had a closet and free standing mirror. She had already put her clothes up in the closet. She moved now toward her bathroom to put up her toiletries. She had an adjoined bathroom with a shower a tub and a vanity. There was a faint buzzing in her ears. It happened more and more recently. She would catch bits and pieces of conversations on the wind like a hum or drone in her mother's voice.

'I'm probably imagining it.' Her brother didn't have a tv or cellphone, so there was no way he was talking to anyone in his room. The only other people were her mama and papa, but they were on the complete other side of the house. She shuddered involuntarily. When her papa was home in Japan, the noises from her parents the first few nights were always atrocious and embarrassing. She tried her best to remember to drug herself on those nights, so she fell asleep before they started.

She let out a sigh. They would be meeting up with the Tashio family tomorrow. She was not looking forward to seeing her papa's old friend and his family. His son, Sesshomaru, was hell on wheels. Not to mention he was never nice to Kagome or her brother. He treated them like they were dirt under his shoes. As if he was somehow better than her. Kagome scoffed. He liked to bully Souta, by making comments about his manners and his soft heart. Nothing pissed Kagome off like someone being rude to her brother. What did it matter that Souta was kind and rambunctious? He was a kid after all! And Sesshomaru's dumb friend Jaken, who was always hanging around and taking Sesshomaru's side. Kagome thought back through her meetings with Sesshomaru. She couldn't find a single one memory that was happy let alone vaguely neutral. They always seemed to fight like cats and dogs. What she wouldn't give to punch him just once.

Luckily, she only had to see them two times this trip. Mama insisted on family time, since they only had a week and a half off of school. During the summers it was much worse. Papa and Taisho-san spent the days bouncing their families back and forth between each other's estates. No matter how much Kagome had complained about Sesshomaru's behavior, papa wouldn't change his mind. They had to spend time together to grow their familial alliance. Though she couldn't see much reason to bother working on the alliance, when she seemed to be working on it alone. Sesshomaru wouldn't stay in the same room as her unless his father made him.

Tashio-san had two wives. It struck her as odd, but he apparently loved both females. His first wife, Kimi Tashio was Sesshomaru's mother. She knew Sesshomaru had a younger brother, though she had never met him. His name was never mentioned. Just that Tashio-san's other wife, Izaoyai, was abroad with their youngest son. Something about trouble at school? Sesshomaru had been part of the incident; the three parents had decided to separate the brothers to prevent something similar from happening again. The only thing she heard was that Izaoyai and her son were well, and they hoped that once the boys were out of school, they would reunite as a family.

Kagome had put on her pajamas, brushed her teeth and washed her face while she had been contemplating this. She tucked herself in. She tried to let go of the discomfort of anxiety about tomorrow's gathering. She laid there staring at the ceiling watching the fan spin until she fell asleep.