Author: Pyari
A.N: Hi guys, if you're wondering, 16 years have passed in this chapter and in this fic Kagome is going to be 18 years old. Oh and I'm sorry for the people who hate Kikyo out there but I needed her to be all nice in this fic. Believe me, I'm not much of a Kikyo fan either (You'd know if you saw me watching her come on T.V every time in the series. Wow, I have a dirty mouth!) I'll answer some reviews I got:
Mew Yukari: Thanks, I'm glad you like it and no it's not gonna be a Cinderella type story. I'd tell you a little about it but then it'd ruin the fun, right:P
DramaQueenABZ: Thanks for taking time to R&R, and I'm so sorry about chapter 2 poofing away but I had messed it up a lot and wanted to change some minor details.
TenPercentWolf: I have it all planned out for how Inu is gonna come into the fic…you're just going to have to wait and see….
Oh and to everyone, I've already started my third chapter and I'll be posting it soon.
Chapter 1: Every day Routine
"Ughhhh, what time is it?" Kagome asked lying in her bed whilst covering her eyes with her hands from the sun. It was somewhere around 8:00 in the morning but Kagome had yet to know because you could easily say she was not a morning person. She groggily got up using her hands to support her weight on the bed. From the other end of the room came a pleasant reply.
"It's 8:55 am Kagome, you should really get up more early." Kagome opened her eyes before rubbing them to come awake. She blinked once then twice and looked up to see her sister, Kikyo, standing across the room brushing her long, straight black hair in the mirror.
"That's easy for you to say," Kagome said and slowly got up still tangling the bed sheets in her legs in the process. "You do everything right. Sleep right, wake up right, do I have to go on?" Kikyo moved away from the wall mirror and put the hairbrush on the dresser then walked up to Kagome.
" Yeah right," She said rolling her eyes "I'm just like you, not perfect." It took a few seconds for it to sink in but when it did Kagome took her fluffy, pink pillow and hurled it Kikyo's back.
"Hey! Kikyo!" Kikyo laughed lightly and walked away.
"Get back here!" Kagome yelled now fully awake.
"Don't have time, I gotta get to work!" was the only response Kagome got. Kagome huffed and then got up from the tangle of bed sheets around her. This was a common thing between the two close sisters. They would have a little argument in the morning and it was sort of like a routine. But, that in no way came in between their love for each other. Kikyo and Kagome would do anything for one another as they had been doing since they were toddlers. Kikyo had always looked out for Kagome, as being the older sister and Kagome directed all of her love towards her.
After brushing her teeth and hopping into a loose green tank top with light blue jeans, Kagome strolled downstairs and into the huge kitchen. It was true, their family was indeed rich and they lived in a beautiful mansion, not directly located in the town.
Kagome walked in and took her seat at the kitchen table. Kikyo was sitting to her right and mother, Mrs. Hyuka Higurashi, directly across from her.
"Good morning, mama." Kagome said cheerfully to her mother.
"Good morning." Mrs.Higurashi replied in a dull voice. Mrs. Higurashi quickly averted her gaze from Kagome and looked at Kikyo.
"So Kikyo darling, are you ready for your first day at work?" She said in a much more cheerful voice. Kagome looked down at her breakfast. 'Why does she always act so cold with me?' she thought as she picked at her omelet. Kikyo took a sip from her orange juice then looked up at her mother.
"I'm all ready, I just hope Mr.Heera is happy with my work." She said. At that moment Kagome decided to step into the conversation.
"Wow Kikyo, your new boss's name sounds like a girl's, is he like gay or something?" Kikyo side-glanced at Kagome with a fake horrified look while Mrs.Higurashi gave a stern glare to the younger daughter.
"Kagome," she scolded a finger raised. "Can't you be serious for more than a second? It's no wonder that you don't have a job. Kikyo is always serious about her work and look where it's gotten her." Kikyo gave a soft look at Kagome who was trying to keep the tears inside.
"Mamma, she was just trying to lighten up my mood." Kikyo said trying to ease the tension in the air.
"Well, she shouldn't be joking around like that, she should be more mature like you." Kagome could take it no more. She got up from the table leaving her untouched omelet and walked to the door. She yanked it open then turned around to face her mother, tears already streaking down her flushed cheeks.
" So what if I'm not like Kikyo, that doesn't mean that you can act like I'm not even there! Whatever I do is wrong! I'm never right and even when I do something good you're never happy about it!" With that she walked out slamming the door, which made the whole house sake.
"Mama, you shouldn't have done that," Kikyo said worriedly.
"Kikyo, don't worry about her she's just doing this to make our lives miserable." Mrs. Higurashi said in a dry voice and stalked off. Kikyo was left alone in the empty kitchen and she sighed inwardly. 'It's always been like this…' she thought sullenly and quickly got up not wanting to be late for her first day at work.
Kagome, after getting onto her bright pink bicycle, made her way over to the forest behind her house. (A.N: No, this is not the forest of Inuyasha or anything and in this fic there is no Goshinboku. )
Deep inside the forest she arrived at her favorite place: the old wooden bench. She put the stopper on her bike and leaned it against a nearby oak tree. Kagome walked over to the small but sturdy bench and took a seat covering her tear-filled eyes with the palms of her hands. She pulled her knees up to her chest and started sobbing.
'Why does she hate me so much?' Kagome questioned herself. 'She's my own mother…she's supposed to love me but all she does is yell at me.' Kagome sniffed and wiped at her nose with the back of her hand as the sobs slowly stopped. She let her legs fall off the bench and onto the ground as she took a deep breath. Her hand wandered idly to the edge of the bench as she traced the rough curves in the worn wood.
"Kikyo's probably gone to work now," She said aloud. "And Mamma is probably at work too." She sighed. "School's over so what do I do now?"
"Hang with me of course."
Without warning a familiar voice answered her question and made Kagome jump and fall off the bench in surprise.
"Eeeek!" She shrieked and whirled behind her to where the voice had come from.
Unsurprisingly it was her best friend Kouga. He stood there with a charming boyish grin on his face as he looked down at her with his crystal blue eyes.
"Kouga! You scared me half to death!" She scolded half-heartedly. He gave a light chuckle and sighed.
"Sorry Kag, but you just seemed so lonely sitting there by yourself." She huffed and grumbled something about all boys not thinking of other people when she realized she was still on the forest floor. She raised a hand up to where Kouga was standing.
" Help me up?" She asked with a smile. Kouga's eyes twinkled and he extended a hand to Kagome whom gratefully clasped onto it and pulled herself up.
"Thanks." She said and dusted off her jeans. Kagome looked up at Kouga. He was her friend since they were five years old and they had met at the very same spot that they were at now. Something close to what happened at breakfast had occurred that day and Kagome had run off and stumbled upon the bench to sob. Kouga, who was playing somewhere near by had heard her and came over to talk. And that was the beginning of their new friendship.
Kouga, Kagome thought had changed a lot since they had met at the age of five. He now had long, dark black hair tied up with long bangs covering his forehead. His blue eyes had a boyish charm to them that reflected his smile and any girl would easily fall for him. Kagome pulled back from her thoughts and regarded him with a grin.
"So Kouga, you said you wanted to hang with me, where should we go?" He grinned back.
"Where else? Let's go down to 'Brandy's Buns' I'm starving." He declared and rubbed his stomach.
"Yeah, I didn't get to eat breakfast either."
Kagome slurped loudly on her chocolate milkshake then drew back from the straw and shuddered.
"Aaaaaah, brain freeze!" She cried rubbing her forehead. Kouga and her had biked to their favorite food joint, 'Brandy's Buns', ordered their breakfast and where now halfway done eating. Kouga laughed and Kagome glared at him.
"What? You shouldn't be drinking your milkshake so fast." He grinned again. "Wouldn't want little Kagome's brain to freeze up now would we." He ducked as a straw flew past his head.
" Kay, I'm sorry Kag, didn't mean it at all." He said quickly before she could pick up another straw to throw at his head. Kagome finished her milkshake off in a comfortable silence between her and Kouga. They were friends for so long they barely needed to speak to one another.
When her milkshake was finished Kagome pulled out a crumpled five-dollar bill and onto the table then got up from the table.
"You're not going to finish?" Kouga asked with slight disappointment.
"Nah," Kagome said and yawned. " Not hungry and I um, need some alone time to…um think." Kouga looked up at her with a sympathetic smile.
"Oh, so more family problems huh?" He got up and draped a hand around her tiny shoulders. "Any time you need me Kagome, I'll be right here for you." Kagome tried to keep the tears down. Since the day they had met Kouga knew about her problem with her mother and like every time he'd been very supporting about it.
"Thanks Kouga, but I'm gonna go now."
They said their good-byes and Kagome walked out of the bright red doors of the food joint. Kouga now sat alone at the table and sighed. It was obvious he was in love with Kagome but he didn't know if she felt the same about him. And boy, he wasn't ready to tell her yet. If he told her that he loved her and she didn't feel the same, it would ruin their friendship and he wasn't exactly willing to risk that.
Kagome had made her way back home from 'Brady's Buns' and was now lying on the couch in her room and watching television.
"Gosh, these soap operas are so annoying." She mumbled under her breath. She had the remote in her out stretched hand and was flipping through channels at a fast speed.
"Opera, opera, opera…mom on T.V, opera…" Kagome murmured, then her eyes went wide.
"MOM ON T.V!" She cried then switched back to the channel that she had seen her mother on. Surprisingly she wasn't imagining things and her mother really was on T.V
Kagome sat upright on the sofa now, all her attention on the television. Sure she had seen her mom on TV before, after all she was the mayor of the small town. But she could barely believe what she was seeing on TV was true.
There was a serious looking woman with dirty blond hair up to her chin. She held a big mike by her mouth and was talking into it. Behind her was a big building with huge glass windows and Kagome recognized it immediately. It was the Shikon Industries company, well one of the offices of the Shikon Industry that is. It was one of the biggest Industries in Tokyo and had more branches than a Zebra had stripes. Okay, well that was a slight exaggeration but what shocked Kagome so much was what surrounded the Shikon office.
There was a huge crowd of the farmers from the nearby town and a huge bunch of people she didn't really know. A couple of them held up signs that said: Don't close down the Company, Don't close down our lives. Kagome had no idea what so ever what the signs meant but when she turned up the volume and listened to the reporter she soon found out.
"We are here at the towns biggest office, the Shikon Industries Company." The reporter droned on. "Mr. Yoshi Taisho and his son Inuyasha Taisho owners of the Shikon Industries have not been paying the farmers enough for their crops. And as you can see, the towns people and farmers are not very happy about this." The reporter waved an arm across the crowd. She then walked up to Mrs. Higurashi who was standing in front of the crowd trying to get them to listen to her.
"Mayor Higurashi," She spoke into the mike sliding in beside her mother. "Would you tell us how you are going to take care of this problem when this company is the main source of income in this town?" She asked then quickly shoved the big mike in Mrs. Higurashi's worried face.
"I am sorry but I cannot comment right now." Mrs. Higurashi said losing control of the crowd. Obviously the reporter ignored that and pressed further.
"Does this mean that you do not have a solution?" Mrs. Higurashi turned, her brow scrunching up in frustration.
"No, this does not, now please leave, I do not have time to talk." Mrs. Higurashi said in an uninterested tone.
The reporter finally gave up and walked away from the town's mayor. She cleared her throat.
"Well, we didn't get much out of Mayor Higurashi but if you tune in next week we'll be interviewing Mayor Higurashi so we'll get our answers soon. This is Kira Roai signing off from 'Tokyo Tonight'." The reporter nodded and a commercial for hair colour came on.
Kagome whose eyes were still glued on the T.V blinked in surprise as the commercial came on.
"Wow." Kagome said totally shocked. " Mom is going to have a lot on her hands." She stayed silent for a while then grinned. "But then so am I."
A.N.: Yep that's the end of the chapter. Ahhh! It's not much of a cliffie like I wanted it to be:'(I'll try really hard to update but I haven't gotten enough sleep for a while. And please REVIEW! Just now, while typing this, I got another two and I was practically throwing a party. See what your reviews can do to me? Anyway, just review if you have any questions or comments.
Luv Pyari