Hey guys! New chapter :) I'm actually surprised I'm getting this up so quick. Guess I just feel motivated to keep writing. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Chapter 2: Welcome home!

Did every temple in Japan have to have a ridiculously long flight of steps?

Kagome stood at the bottom of the Takahashi temple, staring up at what was to be her new home. She had two small bags, one in each hand, and the rest of her things had been moved yesterday morning. Had it already been four days since Mr. Nakamura had appeared and changed her life more than it had already been changed? It wasn't fair. So much was taken from her already.

A cool rush of wind whipped her face as she snapped back to her current situation. Snow was still lightly falling all around her, and she suddenly found herself very irritated by it. As she trudged up the many steps that painfully reminded her of her family's, she tried to ignore the flakes that stuck in her hair and settled on her eyelashes.

Kagome didn't know what she had imagined the temple to look like. She couldn't remember it well from childhood memories, but when she finally reached the top and saw what was before her, she stopped short. It was massive, much larger than her family's, and looked more like a mansion than a temple. Everything was so spread out, with different, smaller temples surrounding the main home in the middle.

As Kagome looked around her, small fragments of a memory started coming back to her. Playing ball over there, hide and seek over here, or chasing the cat around the well house. All with a little boy, slightly older than her, grinning at her side.

Kagome inhaled deeply and forced her feet forward until she was at the front door. Setting one bag on the ground, she raised her fist and knocked quietly on the door. When no one answered, she noticed a button to her left and pressed it, and she heard a loud bell echoed throughout the house.

A few moments later, a man in his late forties opened the door. Kagome realized she did know this man, her father's old friend and bussiness associate. Taisho Takahashi. Although he was ten years older now and his hair looked more silvery than it used to. That must be where InuYasha got his unusual hair color.

"Oh, hello," Mr. Takahashi greeted in a deep voice. "You must be Kagome. We were expecting you around noon."

He was a handsome man, and his long hair was pulled back away from his face. He wore expensive looking clothes that reflected his important, bussinessman appearance. However, his eyes looked tired, as if years of saddness were behind them.

"I know," Kagome replied, stepping inside the enormous home so he could close the door and keep the cold out. "I'm sorry for being so late. I was saying goodbye to my brother and Grandpa."

"It's alright," Taisho answered in a voice that said it really didn't matter how late she was. "I'm sure you will be seeing them often though. Your family's temple is only twenty minutes away right?"

"Yes," Kagome said softly. "I'm sure you remember that."

Before he could answer, a young man came around the corner and into the entryway. As soon as he saw Kagome, he stopped and stared at her. She felt heat rising in her cheeks and wondered if he remembered their encounter a few weeks ago.

"Oh, InuYasha," his father said, turning to him. "This is Kagome Higurashi, the girl that will be staying with us from now on. I told you about her last week. But I'm sure you two remember each other." He tried to give them each a smile. "Kagome, this is my son InuYasha." He indicated the boy to his right.

Now that she had a better look at him, Kagome grudgingly couldn't help but notice how attractive he was. His beautiful silver hair fell down to the middle of his back, and his eyes were a shade of gold she had never seen before. He was tall, looked as though he exercised often, and seemed to have a good sense of style.

But there also seemed to be a constant scowl on his face, and he crossed his arms as he looked at her. "Hey." That was all he said.

"Hello," Kagome said politely, than looked at Mr. Takahashi. "May I put these in my room?" She lifted her bags.

"Of course. I'm sorry, InuYasha will show you to your room right away." And before his son could argue, he added, "and he will carry your bags."

InuYasha's lip curled up slightly as he extended his arms for Kagome to hand her bags over. She did, and he led her out of the room without a word. They went through what she assumed to be the family room, than the kitchen, and came to a staircase. InuYasha started up the stairs, went down a long hallway, and pushed open a door at the very end. Kagome gasped at the size of the room they were standing in.

"This is my room?" she asked in shock.

InuYasha set her bags on the bed and gave her an are-you-stupid? look. "No, I'm just putting these bags in here so you can move them later. This is actually my room." He looked in annoyance at the many girly items next to him on the floor, which Kagome recognized as her belongings.

"Oh." She said dumbly, than bit her thumbnail. "Sorry."

"Whatever, I'm going back downstairs now." And he left the room.

Kagome looked around her and was amazed that she would be living in such a room. It was bigger than her family's living room, and had two large windows on the wall across from her. The bed was king sized but had an old, green comforter. Maybe this used to be a guest room. She wandered around and opened a door next to the bathroom, which turned out to be a walk in closet. Her bags of clothes had already been unpacked and hung up. I wonder who did that? Kagome thought to herself.

Her bathroom was incredibly clean, and she assumed someone had just scrubbed it floor to ceiling before her arrival. It was hard to imagine having her bathroom, after sharing one with Sota for so long.

The rest of the afternoon was spent unpacking her suitcases and silently crying on her new bed. This home was so strange and foreign to her, and she missed her parents more than ever today. How was she going to make it without them?

While she was unpacking her bedside lamp, there was a knock at her door.

"Come in!" she called, hoping it wasn't InuYasha.

It was.

"Dad is going to the office and says he can order anything you want before he leaves," InuYasha told her pointedly, leaning against the doorframe and crossing his arms. Kagome furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Order? What do you mean?" she asked.

InuYasha gave her another stupid look. "Order from the teriyaki place. You know, take out? Ever tried it?" He rolled his eyes.

"Oh," Kagome replied, feeling embarassed and angry at the same time. "Well how was I supposed to know? Mom always cooked for us. Sometimes I would help her." She looked away, willing the tears not to force their way through.

InuYasha's face softened a little and he uncrossed his arms to straighten up. "Oh...well, do you want anything or not? Cuz he's leavin' right now."

Kagome shrugged and continued what she was doing. "Just get me anything. I'm not that hungry." InuYasha looked at her for a moment longer, than closed the door behind him. She could hear his footsteps getting softer and softer, and she finally let the tears slide down her cheeks. Would they ever stop?

About an hour later, Kagome heard the doorbell chime. She wondered if it was the takeout guy delivering their food. As if to answer, InuYasha knocked on her door again. "Food's here if you want it."

Quickly brushing the tears from her cheeks and checking her face in the mirror, Kagome inhaled slowly and counted to ten. She realized there was no point in not eating, and her stomach had been growling with hunger all day. She could smell the aroma of teriyaki chicken and soy sauce wafting up the stairs as she went down them.

InuYasha looked up from his takeout box in surprise when Kagome entered the kitchen. He probably assumed she wasn't going to come down.

"What did you get me?" she asked curiously, peeking into each box.

"Rice and beef," InuYasha replied, slurping his noodles.

Kagome nodded as she took the box with rice and beef. It was strange he had gotten one of her favorite takeout orders. Sitting on a stool at the counter, Kagome picked up her chopsticks and asked, "Do you guys get takeout often?"

InuYasha didn't respond for a few seconds. "Yeah, I guess. Dad's never home so usually I do. It's on speed dial."

"Oh, I see," Kagome replied softly, thinking how lonely it must get without the only parent he had. "Does your father work alot?"

"He practically lives at the office," InuYasha said matter-of-factly. "Sometimes he even sleeps there. His secretary had a pull out couch put against one wall."

Kagome stared at her rice. It was horrible that her parents were dead, but InuYasha's situation was almost as tragic as hers. It was like he lost both parents the day his mother died.

"I'm not home much either though," InuYasha quickly said, shrugging. "So I eat out more than I do here anyway."

Kagome straightened up in her stool. "Well, how about I make you both dinner tomorrow? It's the least I can do for all your fathers generosity. In letting me stay here." She glanced around the kitchen. "Is there any...food? Or ingrediants to make anything?"

"The maid sometimes buys things. But they spoil alot so she mostly just buys me red bulls and microwavable food. I do know how to use one of those." He looked at the microwave. Kagome bit her lip.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to go grocery shopping."

InuYasha set his box down. "Look, I dunno if Dad's even gonna be home tomorrow."

"Then we will just have to eat the whole meal ourselves, won't we?" Kagome said in a serious voice, than smiled. "You must be tired of so much processed and greasy food."

"Feh," he muttered, opening the refridgerator and grabbing a red bull. "Suits me just fine." He took a long sip before looking away. "But I guess home cooked food would be something different. I'll try it."

"Okay. I'd better leave now then before it gets too dark." Kagome checked the clock and was relieved she still had time to get groceries. Cooking would take her mind off things. She hopped down from her stool and began collecting the empty boxes of food. InuYasha watched her as she cleaned.

"The maid usually does that."

"Well it can't very well sit on the counter all night when there's a trash can right over..." Kagome looked around for a few moments before he said, "In the pantry." She opened the pantry and threw the garbage inside. "There. Now, I just have to get my jacket."

She went upstairs and into her massive closet. Sighing, she knew it would be a hassle each day trying to find certain clothes. She had a certain way of organizing them but that was in her old closet. This was her new one. She grabbed a gray jacket, tied a belt around it to better secure it in place, and went back downstairs. She was just reaching the door when she heard a cough behind her.

"I guess I'd better go too," InuYasha said in annoyance, pulling on a red jacket. "You might get lost or something."

Kagome put her hands on her hips. "I will not!" But she was glad for some company, even if it was him. So she didn't say anything more as they walked out into the biting cold of late afternoon.

As they walked along the crowded streets towards the grocery store, Kagome pulled her hood over her head and looked at InuYasha out of the corner of her eye. He looked annoyed to be walking with her, or maybe he was just really cold? She couldn't tell. His dark eyebrows were pulled down in a scowl, though that was nothing new, and his silver bangs fell into his eyes. He brushed them back with his hand.

They reached the store and Kagome asked InuYasha what he wanted for dinner tomorrow night. "I guess ramen's always been my favorite," he said carelessly. Kagome nodded and picked out ingrediants to make chicken ramen, and then purchased a few other things to have in the kitchen as well. As they were heading back, each carrying some bags, InuYasha suddenly stopped and stiffened.

"Hey, let's go this way," he said quickly, ushering Kagome towards a back alley.

"What? Why? It's much shorter just to take the main road!" Kagome retorted, holding her ground. InuYasha threw up his hands in exasperation, and right as he did there was a loud voice calling, "INUYASHAAAAA!"

The two looked ahead of them to see a girl their age hurrying over, waving. She had short, chopped brown hair and smoldering pink eyes that were heavily made up with eyeshadow. Her clothes were a little too revealing for the cold weather. She reached them and took hold of InuYasha's arm. "I tried calling you the other day but you didn't answer." She made a pouting face.

"Oh, uh, sorry. I was busy," InuYasha replied awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.

The girl glanced to her left and suddenly noticed Kagome standing there. She narrowed her eyes defensively. "Who are you?" she asked pointedly. Kagome felt extremely out of place all of the sudden.

"Um, hi, I'm Kagome Higurashi," she told the girl, shifting her grocery bags to one hand so she could extend the other. "Nice to meet you."

The girl looked at Kagome's hand as though it might bite her, than shifted her gaze to the boy whose arm she was clutching. "Inu, what are you doing with this girl?"

"Ack, I told you not to call me that!" InuYasha exclaimed angrily, shaking her off. "And it's none of your business anyway Yura."

"It is too!" the girl, Yura, said. She stomped her foot slightly. "We're supposed to be dating!"

"We went on like, two dates," InuYasha sighed, shaking his head. "And you haven't left me alone since. I ain't your boyfriend so just leave me alone already!"

Yura made a "hmph!" noise and glared daggers at Kagome. She looked at the grocery bags in each of their hands and crossed her arms. "Oh, I see how it is. Fine, there are plenty of boys who will be dying to know I'm available. Have fun girly." She gave Kagome one last, accusatory glance before turning on her heel and walking off.

InuYasha let out a sigh of relief. "What a psycho. You go out with them once and they think they suddenly own you. Feh. Women." He started walking off and Kagome had to jog to keep up with him.

"It must have been a little more serious if she was acting like that," she commented, looking at her boots. "I mean, girls don't just act that protective for no reason."

InuYasha shrugged. "You don't know her."

When they arrived home, Kagome put away all the groceries and went upstairs to her room. At first she didn't notice the new item of clothing resting neatly on her bed, but when she did she picked it up with confusion. It was a navy blue uniform, with gold buttons and a black tie. It looked brand new.

"So you got your uniform already," a voice said behind her. Kagome jumped and turned to see InuYasha standing at her door, munching on an apple. "Didn't know Dad was having you start school so early."

"This is my new school uniform?" Kagome held it up again. Well, she had to admit, it was better than her last one. "There's a note on it too." She skimmed it before reading it aloud. "Miss Higurashi, I hope you are pleased with your new uniform. I'm sorry you have to start school tomorrow but the board of education feels you have been out for a good amount of time. InuYasha will take you to school and show you to your classes. My best reguards, T. Takahashi."

Kagome looked up from the note in shock, only to see it mirrored back on InuYasha's face. "I have to start tomorrow? I've been out for a good amount of time?" She was disgusted. Her parents had died for goodness sake! She should be taking all the time she needed!

"I have to drive you and show you around?" InuYasha replied, bits of apple falling out of his mouth. "Dad never said anything about that!"

Kagome crossed her arms and threw the uniform back on her bed. "You don't have to. I'll be perfectly fine walking!" She turned her back to him.

"Fine! It's not that far anyway!" He shut the door a little too loudly behind him and stomped off.

"Urg!" Kagome huffed, collapsing on her bed. She grabbed her pillow and pressed her to her face, wishing this was all a bad dream and she would wake up tomorrow in her old bed and her old life. Why was this happening to her? Why did she have to live with the most inconsiderate, rude and obnoxious boy she'd ever met?

"Because Mom and Dad left you with him, that's why," she said quietly to herself, tears springing to her eyes for what seemed like the millionth time. She looked at her uniform again. School tomorrow was going to be horrible, she just knew it.