Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters metioned in this fan fic… Why do you think it's called a fan fic in the first place?

A/N: Hey all, and welcome to my first real attempt at an InuYasha Fanfiction. Please review if you take the time to read it. Hopefully this turns out to be one of the shortest chapters. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

Kagome sighed as she climbed the stairs to her own room. Would anyone here still remember her? Would she ever be able to fit in again? Thousands of thoughts ran through her mind and filled her with doubt.

She opened the door to her room and stepped inside. It was just as she had left it six years ago. Wow, she thought to herself, was I really that much of a geek? She took all the stuffed animals and unicorn pictures off the walls. "Definitely need remodeling," she said out loud as she fingered one of the horse statues on her desk.

She set her suitcase down and walked over to the window. The view had changed a lot in the past six years. Where there used to be only grass and trees there were now sky scrapers and parking lots. There was a park not far off down the road, but that was the only greenery in sight. If the city's changed this much, I can't even imagine how much my old friends must have changed.

"Kagome?" Came a small voice from her doorway, drawing her from her thoughts.

"Hey Kiddo." She said as she turned to face her younger brother.

"Are you really back?" he asked, his eyes filled with hope.

"No," she replied, "I'm having an out of body experience." She replied with a grin.

"Ha ha, very funny."

He's grown so much, she thought. He was only six when I left.

"Mom said to help you unpack."

"That's alright Souta. I can handle it."

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want mom to yell at me."

"Spoken like a true little brother." She said. "Yeah, I'm sure. I need a little time to myself anyway."

"Ok, dinner should be ready in an hour." He said as he turned to walk out of the room. "Kagome?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm really glad you're back." He said over his shoulder.

"Thanks Souta."

Kagome smiled to herself as she turned back to the window. It was good to be home. She just hoped everyone else felt the same way about her.

Shaking these troubling thoughts from her mind, Kagome retrieved her suitcase from the floor and began to unpack. There really wasn't much to unpack. At her Aunt's she didn't have any need for a lot of clothing or trinkets. All she really had were a couple sets of training clothes, a few pairs of jeans, and some shirts. She hadn't had much time for going to the movies, shopping, or even school for that matter. Her aunt had seen to her education as well as her training. After all, that was the whole reason she had left. To train as a priestess and take her rightful place as a guardian of the Shikon no Tama. Her mother had told her when she was ten that she was different than the other kids at school, that she had a duty to fulfill and if she neglected it terrible things might happen. If the Shikon no Tama fell into the wrong hands it could very well mean destruction for humankind.

Kagome walked over to the closet to hang up her clothes. There, hanging in the closet, was her school uniform. Her mother must have ordered it for her when she had known that Kagome would be coming home. Kagome smiled to herself. Just like her mother to be prepared for everything. Just then a thought made its way to the front of her mind. She would be going back to public school. She had forgotten all about going to high school. Suddenly she felt sick to her stomach.

"Are you alright dear?" Kagome whipped around to see her mother standing in the door way. "You looked sick all of a sudden."

"I'm fine mom." Kagome smiled to hide her doubts.

"Well, if you're sure. Dinner is ready whenever you are."

"Ok, thanks mom." Kagome heaved a sigh of relief as her mom walked back down the hall. She couldn't let on that she was having second thoughts about coming home. Her family was so excited to have her back, especially her mother. That was the reason she had chosen to come back here when her training was finished. Her mom was so excited when Kagome had called and told her that she had chosen Tokyo as her post. Too bad choosing to come back meant that she had to go to school and act like a normal 16 year old.

Kagome sighed again and walked out of her room toward the kitchen. Her spirits lifted as the fresh aroma of home cooked food wafted down the hall. She had really missed her mom's cooking. Aunt Rin never had much time to make home cooked meals. She was always busy with Kagome's training or on assignments. It wasn't that her aunt wasn't a good cook; it was just that she had other things on her mind.

As she made her way down the stairs, Kagome could see her grandfather and her brother seated at the table. They were having an argument of some sort but Kagome couldn't tell over what. Kagome chuckled to herself. Some things never do change.

Kagome sat down at the table and the argument immediately ceased.

"Well, look who finally decided to grace us with her presence."

"Grandpa!" Mrs. Higurashi chided from the stove.

"What?"

"Did you finish unpacking?" Mrs. Higurashi asked as she glared at her father.

"Yeah," Kagome replied, "there wasn't much to unpack to begin with."

"Well, that's good." Mrs. Higurashi said as she set the food on the table and took her seat. Too bad for her, Kagome tuned out the minute the food was set in front of her. She helped herself to a generous portion and began to dig in. Unpacking and getting settled in had given her an appetite. Mrs. Higurashi chuckled as Souta stared at his sister. Grandpa just rolled his eyes at the rest of the family and began to eat his own food.

"Oh, I talked to Sango's mother today. She said that Sango would be over tomorrow morning so you two could walk to school together." At this, Kagome began to choke on her food.

"W-what?" Kagome asked, recovering her composure.

"You do remember Sango don't you?"

"Yeah, of course I do." Kagome replied, albeit a bit nervously. Sango was the only one she had stayed in contact with while she was away. Sure, Miroku and InuYasha had written her a couple times but the letters stopped coming over time. She wondered if Miroku and InuYasha even knew that she was back. Probably not. What can you expect from a couple of teenaged guys? But the thought of seeing Sango again still made her a bit nervous. She hadn't seen her best friend face to face for over six years.

"Well, that's settled then. She'll be here around 7:30 so you two can get to school early and you can get all your classes sorted out."

"OK." Kagome replied and finished her dinner in silence.

Kagome lay in bed and tried not to think about the coming morning. It was going to be her fist day at a public high school. It would be her first time seeing any of her friends in six years. She knew Sango still remembered her but what about Miroku and, more importantly, InuYasha? Would they just accept her as one of their friends again or ignore her completely? What would classes be like? Was she prepared well enough or would she end up flunking out of each and every one of her classes? Surprisingly, she was more worried about InuYasha accepting her again than anything else and she had no clue why.

She rolled over and tried to chase every thought from her mind and fall asleep to no avail. Finally, she gave up and went to her desk. She opened the top drawer and pulled out a small notebook that served as her journal. She had kept it everyday since she started her training. The first few pages were filled with angry rants aimed at the mother and aunt for sending her away. Most were uneventful, just notes about the days exercises and how she did. There really wasn't much else to write about since she wasn't allowed to see anyone but her aunt. Rules, she was told, that had been put in place by The Guard to ensure that she trained to the best of her abilities and was not distracted.

She proceeded to put her thoughts down on the paper. Her worries and doubts and especially her growing anger that she could not have been left alone. Why her? There were enough Guardians as it was. Why was she so important? Kagome finished her entry and closed the notebook. Maybe now she could get some sleep. She padded back over to her bed, climbed under the covers, and stared out the window until she fell into a light and uneasy sleep.