Disclaimer: This story was largely inspired by anonymous573's brilliant story, "Big Brother". Also, I owe deep appreciation to Rumiko Takahashi, for her manga, Inuyasha, which provides the characters of this story.
Looking out the bullet train window at the scenery of central Japan as it zoomed by had a calming effect on Kagome, even if it was slightly mind-numbing. With her mother already gone from Tokyo the week before, Kagome finished up her last year of middle school easily, said goodbye to her few friends, waved farewell to her old house, and boarded a late-night train to Kyoto.
According to Takagawa Touga, or step-daddy number three as Kagome mentally referred to him, she needn't hire movers or bring anything to her new home save for herself and the few belongings she deemed "most personal." This left Kagome to gaze out at the night lights of the smaller towns she passed, choosing to leave her mp3 player in her bag in favor of listening to the clackity-clack of the train's wheels pounding on the track.
At least the fact that it was one in the morning meant her car was relatively empty save for the man snoring loudly with his chin resting on his chest, oblivious to the constant slipping of his large-frame glasses down his somewhat piggish nose.
Turning towards the window again, she imagined that she was a humming bird, flitting over the landscape in the moonlight in search of nectar or an exceptionally brilliant flower to kiss with her long, narrow beak. Her tiny wings beat frantically to the sound of the train, carrying her far away from her lifelong home in Tokyo.
She jolted awake as a loud bell accompanied by a robotic female voice announced her arrival at the Kyoto central station, her stop. Shouldering her backpack and nodding to the conductor, she skirted around the now awakened pig-man wrestling with his computer bag and stepped off the train onto the platform. The already muggy summer morning air seeped into her skin and frazzled her hair, the haze visible in contrast to the spires of the tallest buildings.
Checking her mother's neatly written instructions as to which local-rail train would lead her closest to her new home, Kagome walked towards the hub of the station, eyeing signs indicating which tracks housed which train lines. After noting the track she thought she was looking for, Kagome double-checked her paper, and upon receiving confirmation, sped her pace in the right direction. She groggily boarded the train, energy so entirely spent despite her twenty minute nap on the way from Tokyo that she didn't even turn and slug the pervert who squeezed her ass in passing. Turning just in time to see a glistening black ponytail slip through the crowd, she muttered to herself and settled in for the forty minute ride to the wealthy outskirts of town where the Takagawa house stood.
Apparently her destined train station was at the very end of the line, but still required a hour's walk or forty minute car ride to reach her new house. Luckily, step-daddy dearest sent a fancy black limo to fetch his newest daughter, saving her from the indignity of lugging her single suitcase through the Kyoto streets. The driver, sitting stoically behind the tinted glass divider, barely acknowledged her with a nod of his head, a sign the normally bubbly Kagome would have taken offence to had she been in a slightly less exhausted mood. They drove silently, weaving in and out of traffic towards the mountains on the northeast side of town, the famous shrines on the hills glaring down at her in austere self-importance.
Eventually, houses and buildings thinned, and the forests lining the mountainsides looming above town grew denser.
The leisurely ride jerked to a stop outside the city in what seemed to be a cleft in the rock of a particularly tall mountain, the trees crowding so thick Kagome could barely make out the outline of a feudal-style mansion wedged into the cliff. Pulled from her reverie by the silent driver, who in suddenly opening her door almost forced a frightened squeal from her throat, Kagome stepped into the misty sunlight and stopped abruptly astonishment. The entire city of Kyoto stretched out endlessly before her, miles and miles of steel, concrete, and brick extending in every direction, blanketed by layers of vapor hanging off the buildings like a giant spider's web. At her back, she could feel the massive size and impressive age of the structure on the jutting ledge, its bulk a supporting force as she gazed into the heavily populated abyss.
A snap from the trunk door slamming shut drew her attention away from the view, and the driver appeared annoyed as he waited for her to follow him through the front door with her diminutive personal luggage. The outer door of the old-fashioned home swung open with a loud creak, revealing a large courtyard complete with small fish ponds bordering the stone walkway to the inner entrance. Red and white koi blinked up at her through the spaces between broad-leafed lily pads, floating aimlessly in search of buoyant greens to snack on, blissfully oblivious to her awe at their brightly spotted heads glowing beneath the water's surface. Brilliant red leaves rustled softly as a breeze wound through the decorative maple trees in the garden, rippling over the fish ponds and picking up strands of Kagome's hair before flowing through the open inner doorway.
The driver shuffled quietly through the doorway, slipping off his shoes in the entry way and pushing them neatly into his assigned space before pausing for Kagome to mimic his actions. Glancing down at the stacked cubes along the left side of the room, she noticed her new step-father's and her mother's names on the top row. Her own name, along with two others, headed the remaining boxes on the highest tier, new house shoes in different sizes and colors filling each space below their names. The house shoes in her box stood out, their bright pink hue shining like a beacon against the dark wood of the cubby holes, a subtle indication that her mother had not quite forgotten her only child. Quickly, she replaced the tired brown loafers on her feet with her exciting new house shoes, scooting after the driver who seemed to think she wasn't quite worth his deeply important time.
Trying her hardest not to screech to a halt as she sped through the elaborately decorated house behind the driver, Kagome made a mental note to explore her new home as soon as she unpacked in whatever room her new daddy assigned to her. The driver came to a fluid stop in front of a thickly papered shoji screen, setting her bag in front of her before sliding the door along its ancient wooden track.
Although the house appeared old, her gargantuan new room certainly did not. All along the walls in various shades of pink and white hung beautifully painted tapestries of cherry blossoms, melding seamlessly with the modern aspects of a huge television, stereo, new laptop computer and desk, and a deep fuchsia couch on the raised floor lined with expertly woven tatami mats. Slowly moving through the doorway, Kagome stepped into her new room feeling slightly overwhelmed, coming to a complete stop when she saw a line of remote controls on a side table next to the couch. She picked up the closest one, the buttons of which sported various labels in English. Stumbling through the barely decipherable words she decided to test it out, hitting the button nearest her thumb on the bottom left of the remote.
Out of the farthest wall, through an unassuming wooden surface sporting tapestries to match other parts of the room, a raised bed topped with pink sheets and a white down comforter slid noiselessly. Gasping softly with delight, Kagome streaked across the tatami mats only to flop with an ungraceful "oof" onto the soft blankets. She rolled over slowly, sinking into the most comfortable bed she'd ever laid on and sighing through her smile as she glanced up through her window at the partially cloudy sky. Not bothering to shrug off her house shoes, her adrenaline-fueled excitement dwindled in a rush, sending her off to sleep in a matter of minutes.
The weeks of her summer vacation flew by filled with days of hiking the mountain around the mansion and avoiding her overly affectionate "parents" who seemed to take particular delight in raucously "christening" every shared room in the house. After one signature session ended in Kagome flying to the bathroom to avoid losing her lunch on the kitchen floor, she learned to spend her time exploring the surrounding area rather than brave her original plan of discovering the mysteries of her new home. This plan held her interest in the warm days of summer, but other than trees, rocks, streams, animals, and other "typical mountain stuff" as she described it in her head, the mountain held little in the way of entertainment. So, when the feel of the air turned drier and chillier towards the end of her break, Kagome returned to the safety of her own room and tested out her skills at old video games.
Finally, summer break ended with the arrival of a fancy new uniform for the expensive private school her new father signed her up for in Kyoto. After eyeing herself up and down in the mirror next to her bed for a few minutes, Kagome brushed her bangs over to the side of her eyes and smoothed the rest of the uncontrollable mess behind her ears and down her back. The sunshine gleaming on her trek through the courtyard warmed her skin, the ripples of the fish pond reflecting her nervous eyes as she moved warily towards the familiar driver of what seemed to be her personal limo.
The driver, who appeared bored enough to fall asleep despite the coffee in his hand, opened the back door of her ride to reveal a pair of long legs, clad conservatively in black slacks and school-appointed loafers. Nerves heightening in the morning air, Kagome bowed her head into the cabin and slid into the back seat with her backpack still resting heavily on her shoulder blades.
Underneath unruly dark bangs, deep brown eyes glared at her unblinkingly, the muscles of the masculine jaw that framed the angry face flexing in irritation as she peered over at him in confusion. The owner of the enraged visage jerked away from the door, rolling the down the window on the left side of the car to allow the smoke from his newly lit cigarette to filter through. A familiar forty minute drive into town took on a much more uncomfortable air, as Kagome couldn't find the voice to introduce herself, and the boy across from her obviously had no desire to reciprocate her feelings of curiosity.
Eventually, about ten minutes away from the train station she remembered from her trip into Kyoto, Mr. Stand-off-ish finally spoke up.
"Guess you're Daddy's new little step-girl, huh?"
Startled, Kagome turned towards the feel of his burning stare, stuttering as she attempted to formulate an audible response.
"Uh-um, y-yeah. I'm Kagome, nice to meet you…?"
"Name's Inuyasha. I guess we're technically siblings now, seeing as I'm the great Touga's second, less impressive son. Anyway, don't expect shit from me. We don't know each other. Got it?"
Unable to respond coherently for a moment, Kagome nodded before sending a questioning glance his way.
"What? Never heard of me? Not surprised Daddy dearest wouldn't say shit about his fuck-up of a son. All you need to know is that I spent my last year in hell, I don't plan on going back, and I fucking hate bitches. Especially bitches who talk too much and mooch off my old man."
Surprise finally wearing off, Kagome reared back, shaking her head in momentary frustration before opening her mouth.
"Good enough for me bastard, but don't talk shit about my mom."
Apparently that was the wrong response. Five minutes later found the limo driver Kagome had come to mentally refer to as "toad face" speeding down the block one passenger short after her new "brother" decided he'd had enough of her "lip." Huffing and adjusting the straps on her new backpack, she took out the school planner she thought she wouldn't need and flipped through the pages to find the map of the school and its surroundings. After assessing her location and figuring she had about nine more blocks to walk lugging her bulky bag, Kagome set off and crossed her fingers in the hope that her new school's administrators would grant the new kid a free pass the first time around.
Even though her wish fell short of the gods' ears, Kagome found her new school just as pleasant as her old one. The various acquaintances she'd made in her class were friendly enough, some even inviting the new girl over to their homes for study groups or movie nights on the weekends. Quickly finding herself a somewhat popular girl among the others in class 1-B, she allowed her bubbly nature to emerge in school, attracting what could only be referred to as more followers. Along with several girls who took it upon themselves to mess with her hair and makeup, greedily demanding answers about her past life, love interests, and relationship with her mysterious step-brother, a kind boy named Houjo befriended her. A bit on the geeky side, Houjo always offered gifts, compliments, an endless supply of mind-numbing conversation, and the opportunity to ward off her girlfriends' attempts at setting her up with the "eligible hotties" in their class.
On a sunny Friday afternoon in early September, Kagome switched her shoes out at the shoe-lockers at the back of the school before shouldering her bag to meet some of her new friends in front next to the bicycle racks. She heard male laughter through the rear doors leading out towards the athletic fields and track, and pondered for a moment before moving closer to the windows to catch a glimpse of the perpetrators.
At first, she could see the back of what could only have been Houjo's head of sandy brown hair. Moving slowly to the side while still watching out the window, Kagome could make out two more boys in front of Houjo sporting sneers and arms crossed over their uniform jackets. One boy's long ponytail came loose from the collar he had been required to tuck it into, and she quickly froze as recognition dawned in her brain.
Inuyasha, still sneering dangerously, uncrossed his arms and reached behind him to pull a black object from his back pocket. With a flick of the wrist, the switchblade snapped open, glinting maliciously as he extended it towards Houjo's face. Houjo stumbled back a few paces towards the window, and it was all Kagome could do to keep from yelling out or running for help from one of the classrooms. The other boy laughed quietly as Inuyasha began to speak, growling warnings from the side of his mouth that Kagome couldn't understand. In response, Houjo's shaking form nodded rapidly, shifting to the side in an attempt to escape his possible muggers. Retracting the knife as if his mission was complete, Inuyasha stepped back to allow his victim to pass and smirked to himself as his partner chortled more loudly.
Kagome's motor function returned in that moment and she ducked down under the window before edging back towards her shoe locker and racing towards the front door.
Later, sitting in her room and avoiding her homework by talking on the phone to one of her girlfriends, Kagome bemoaned the loss of her very first boyfriend in an overdramatic voice. Inwardly, however, she smirked a little at Inuyasha's way of "taking care" of the boring relationship she had found herself in with the overbearingly sweet boy. The roughness he displayed with relative stoicism was pretty hot, even if he was an arrogant bastard.
After hanging up her conversation with Yuka, she rolled over on her mattress and looked through the window to the trees outside, allowing her imagination to take her away from the gigantic house on the cliff and into the unknown. Sitting up, she turned her stereo on and put on her headphones, tuning out the world as she started to work on her homework assignments for that evening. With the volume of her music pounding in her ears, she never heard the door open, oblivious to the dark brown eyes that squinted in her direction before disappearing behind the closed door once more.
A few weeks later October dawned dismal and cloudy, sending brightly colored leaves tumbling down to cover the exercise track behind the school with a crunchy orange carpet. Kagome's gym period, always the most miserable of classes for her, failed to maintain her attention after she arrived ten minutes late. Luckily Mr. Gouken, or "Coach" as he demanded the students call him, was sufficiently distracted by the boys in her class sliding around on the seasonally slippery track and throwing leaves at each other, which allowed her to slip silently away towards the bleachers where she hoped to take a short break.
Again, the sound of laughter alerted her to the presence of the others before her eyes spotted them.
Feminine squeals and moans mixed with the masculine chuckles, and as she moved closer she could make out pale legs, brown loafers set wide apart on either side of male slacks. Hands bunched sailor shirts over taut pale stomachs that quivered with pleasure, husky voices whispering to one another as louder conversation and laughter layered over the sexually charged pairs to the back of the bleachers. Three boys stood slightly apart from the noisy couples, smoking with their backs to the woods behind the athletic fields. One had taken his jacket off, letting his shiny black hair flow down his back in a glistening wave, the tip of his nose and the blunt he puffed on the only parts of his face visible as she peered from her semi-concealed hiding place.
Gathering boldness, Kagome walked closer to the group, closing in on her "brother" and his friends who had yet to notice her presence. Calling his name in the calmest voice she could muster, she stepped into his personal space and his eyes widened, looking her up and down with unmasked disdain. His friends and their partners hushed with a lazy wave of his hand, eyeing her with mixed portions of confusion, lust, and derision.
"What the fuck do you want, wench?"
She could feel the appreciative gazes of the boys on her legs, ass, and chest, which, thanks to the scant material of the gym uniform, left little to any perverted imagination. The girls, noticing the shift in attention, stared at her angrily, letting out annoyed huffs in their jealousy. Mutters and questions directed towards "Yash" met her ears and she steeled her nerves before straightening her back and opening her mouth.
The glare burning from Inuyasha's deep brown eyes froze her voice, closing her lips with a click of her teeth. Instead, her hand moved of its own volition, reaching up to rip the blunt from the corner of his lips and throw it to the ground, where her feet had a mind to grind it into the pavement.
Time stopped momentarily as the pack collectively gasped, looking at their leader apprehensively as they awaited his judgment, which was sure to be both swift and brutal. Within seconds, the loud pop from the smack his calloused palm delivered to her cheek reverberated in the air behind the bleachers, the only other sound to be heard a quietly snarled "Bitch!" as blood and tears involuntarily began to flow down the right side of Kagome's face.
Startled, but not exactly surprised at the rough treatment doled out by her big brother, Kagome walked around the field to the locker room, stopping in front of the sink to wipe the blood from the corner of her lip and nostril. She winced slightly at the sight of a rapidly spreading purple and yellow bruise covering her cheek, dabbing it lightly with a moistened paper towel in hopes of tamping down the swelling before any of her classmates could see. Luckily, gym filled the last period of the day, and Kagome could readily justify an early departure from school after she changed into her normal school uniform.
The driver, who by now was used to bringing only Kagome home as Inuyasha's various buddies drove him home around three in the morning most days, waited by the schools entrance, dozing as he leaned against the driver's side window. Without saying a word, Kagome let herself into the back of the car, letting the driver know silently that it was time to go home. The long drive felt astonishingly short, and before she knew it the long black car wound up around the mountain to come to a halt on the gravel in front of her cliff-bound home.
Her mother stayed home nowadays, the wealth her handsome husband raked in providing more than enough capital to support the family. She spent her days "nesting" as she called it, teaching herself how to bake and decorate, and keeping her youthful body toned with hours of aerobic exercise in the mansion's gym. This time, the kitchen filled with smells of homemade noodles as Kagome walked through, and she could hear her mother's intake of breath as she spotted the new layers of color on her daughter's cheek.
"Kagome! Baby, what happened?"
Pausing in her retreat to her room for a second, Kagome turned to her mother with a forced smile, showing her that it was not that bad with a hushed, "Nothing, Mom. I just fell in gym class today. I'm fine though, don't worry."
"Oh, ok Sweetie. Do you wanna try these noodles I made? I know they're not gourmet, but I've been working on perfecting them all day!"
Smiling again, Kagome sat at the counter and accepted a bowl of noodles from her cheerfully grinning mother. After a few hours of chatting and slurping down noodles, she excused herself from the kitchen to go up and start her homework in her room.
Towards the top of the stairs to the second story, a faint thumping rumbled through the floorboards, alerting her to the unexpected presence of her older brother in his room across the hall. The blasting music poured through the cracked doorway, electric guitars squealing as drums echoed repetitively. Stepping lightly towards the door in hopes of warding off another physical attack, she peeked inside to see her shirtless big brother sprawled across his bed, entertaining himself with a particularly violent game on his Xbox 360. His foot twitched in irritation as it hung over his knee, the muscles in his forearms bunching noticeably when he gripped the controller tighter at every apparent disadvantage. The loud music washed over her, cloaking her presence from her oblivious step brother until she gathered the courage to toe more completely into his incredibly spacious bedroom.
Inuyasha paused his game, stretching and lowering a hand down to scratch his crotch before he noticed the figure in his doorway watching him. Leaving the game paused, he reached over for the remote to his stereo and jammed the power button before turning around to send a questioning glance her way.
"What the hell is it this time? Your sensitive ears can't handle real music?"
She realized that she recognized the game as one she thought she had perfected over the tail-end of the summer she spent in her room. His eyes lingered momentarily on the purple splotch on her face and the crusted blood on her mouth before looking back to her eyes, hostile expression still in place. When her face morphed into a shy smile he looked confused, but still nodded when she asked if she could try and beat him at his game.
He snickered softly at her first loss, his laughter growing in volume with added jibes as her death-toll reached the teens. She hunched angrily over her controller next to him on the bed, her socked feet tucked under her folded legs and the sleeves of her winter uniform rolled to her elbows. He had covered his formerly naked chest with a white undershirt and was leaning back in obvious relaxation and enjoyment as he easily trounced her again and again, glancing over from time to time at her frustrated face and tense posture.
After her twentieth loss, she turned to him, saying with a smile, "Thanks for turning the music off, I know you like that stuff but it was giving me a headache after a while."
With a scowl that didn't quite reach his eyes, he muttered, "Shut up. I didn't turn that shit off for your whiny ass. I just didn't want to hear your pathetic voice complain again."
"Thanks anyways."
"You know, my other nine step sisters knew when to steer clear of me. You must be one stupid little girl."
"Wow. That's a lot of step sisters. My mom's only been married three times, counting your dad."
Inuyasha's deep voice chuckled at that, "Well I guess that makes my dad the whore then. Ironic."
Kagome giggled, and then grew serious for a second before apologizing for her earlier actions behind the bleachers.
"According to my mom, my real dad used to get high a lot too. He ran his car off the road trying to light a blunt while driving before I was born. I guess I just got mad. Sorry."
"Whatever. Just don't fucking do that shit again. Your pretty little face ain't so pretty all purple like that."
Nodding her head in acquiescence, Kagome resumed her tense stance in front of the TV, declaring in no uncertain terms that she was determined to beat him at this stupid game. With the uncomfortable air between them cleared, Inuyasha teased her more openly, cracking jokes at her inability to play the game, her stupid friends, and her shockingly pink house shoes. She teased him back, calling the long shiny hair she secretly adored girly and laughing at the peeved expression on his face. He repaid her with six more losses for that comment, but lost steam after the sixth and finally let his newest little sister win the game she tried so hard to beat him at.
Figuring now was a good time to get some sleep, seeing as they had played Dead or Alive 4 until midnight and the limo left for school at seven the next morning, Kagome rolled her neck, closing her eyes and sighing before sitting up and handing the controller back to Inuyasha. He nodded at her quiet "Goodnight" and turned back over; resetting the game to single player mode and ripping his shirt off again to play by himself.
The limo ride to school the next day passed in silence with neither step sibling even sparing a glance to the other. School passed much the same way, although Kagome's friends gave her the third degree about the horrid looking mark on her face. Just like the day before, she shrugged it off and told them it would heal, ignoring her teachers' worried glances in her direction. From time to time she saw Inuyasha walking outside, most likely to meet up with the same friends he slapped her in front of yesterday.
At lunch time, after the thirtieth person asked her about her cheek, she sighed in irritation and stomped away from the group she had been standing with. Rounding the corner to the bathroom in a rush, she winced with a gasp of pain as she ran into a solid surface. A hand closed around her forearm, stalling her possible descent to the floor and causing her to glance up at the sly face with squinting blue eyes that slowly raked over her school uniform. Mumbling a quick apology, Kagome skirted around the unknown boy and into the bathroom before he could open his mouth to comment on her appearance or actions. Her shoulders slumped in relief and she made her way to the sink, peering in the mirror at her disheveled countenance and noting with disdain that her bruise had darkened to an even more angry purple, a sickening bile-colored tinge lining her cheekbone and down her jaw. As angry as she wanted to be at Inuyasha, however, her ire faded as she remembered back to last night, picturing in her mind's eye the lightness on his face and the way he told her she was pretty. Well, pretty without the bruise anyway.
The mark on her face faded almost completely by the end of the week, and everyone forgot about the incident except Kagome. She was left with food for thought and a sense of understanding towards her older brother.
Fall faded into winter, bringing snow on the mountain that clung to the crevices of the mansion's wooden walls and froze the surfaces of the fish ponds in the courtyard. Inuyasha had taken to riding home with her in the limo more often instead of staying out late at night and stumbling in reeking of alcohol. Kagome initiated the first few conversations in the back seat of their shared ride, but after a few weeks Inuyasha began to make small comments on her hair, the weather, a video game he had played, or a funny story involving a prank he and his friends played on the less fortunate members of the student body. More often than not they walked into school together, small smiles on their faces before they parted ways with a wave at the door and headed off to morning classes.
Her friends questioned her about what it was like to have a handsome bad boy as a step brother, some even getting so bold as to inquire about her brother's relationship status. As always, what happened between them remained between them, and Kagome in all honesty had no idea whether Inuyasha had a girlfriend, even though she secretly hoped he didn't. None of the sluts that hung off his friends seemed to have caught his eye, but she couldn't help the feeling of apprehension that bubbled up her throat every time she thought of him curled around a girl who wasn't her. Keeping these thoughts to herself seemed best at the moment, and she resigned herself to enjoying her brother's company away from the prying eyes of their schoolmates.