Blame It On the Changes.

Chapter Three:

"Ow!" I couldn't help wincing when Channing probed my injured leg. He was being as gentle as possible I knew, but that didn't make it hurt any less. Shooting him a glare, he had the grace to look apologetic – well, before Eri reared back and slapped him upside the head.

"Be nice, hentai!" she exclaimed, obviously not caring who heard by the way she ignored the red face of the nurse at Channing's side. I gave her an irritated look but said nothing.

"I am being nice!"

"If you were being nice, we wouldn't have gotten to this point in the first place!"

"Me being nice is what got us here in the first place!"

I rolled my eyes, trying to sit up on the exam table – and wincing as my leg protested quite painfully. Lying back down, I just grumbled that being nice would mean following the rules and not trying to touch me while I'm working. Even Channing's ears turned red at that. Eri snickered quietly as she crossed her arms over her chest and regarded us both with an amused look. "Well? Can I take her home yet, doc?" She eyed the nurse still in the room warily. "We've got... responsibilities to get back to."

The car ride to the hospital had, somehow, not been awkward; Eri and Channing both immediately started bickering back and forth, leaving me to quietly contemplate things in the backseat. This seemed unbearably familiar, and it was as though I'd been around two that shouted and argued like this quite often... A rather strong woman and a perverted healer of sorts...

I had shaken my head at that. No, I thought, watching them continue to bicker as we entered the ER. They couldn't be Miroku and Sango's reincarnations...

But they could, couldn't they? Reincarnations weren't something of legend, as I well knew, being one myself.

I shook my head again as my mind went over the possibility once more. Even if Channing was a relatively new figure in my life, I had known Eri since we were together in grade school. She was one of my oldest friends, and I would have figured out by now if she was Sango brought back to life.

Then again...

I held my breath as I looked over at my oldest friend. 'That's not really how reincarnation works... is it?' I asked myself as they started bickering again. 'I'm not Kikyo brought back to life... We're similar in some ways, sure, but... We're completely different people, down deep inside.' Obviously there were some similarities between Miroku and Channing, and Sango and Eri, but... There were also some very apparent differences.

I'd need to keep my guard up and my suspicions to myself, just keep observing everything that was going on. 'What other things have I missed in this life while focusing on the past?'

"Kagome?"

"Mm?" My gaze shot in the direction of the good doctor. He and Eri had stopped arguing – 'Finally!' - and now they were both watching me expectantly.

Eri smirked. "Sensei-sama said it's just bruised, so we can go home now. It's not long until dawn breaks, and Shippo will need to get to school."

I nodded with a smile, happy to be leaving. Hospitals still made me feel nauseous and nervous. Eri helped me up, and together we walked past the Channing and his nurse attendant, leaving the emergency room. It would be a long bus ride home, but worth it to be leaving with a relatively clean bill of health.

The rest of the night went as it should have from the beginning: We got home, we showered, changed, got some shut-eye, and when it was time, I left Eri snoozing in the bedroom and got Shippo up and ready for school. The walk was filled with questions about girls and explanations for my sudden limp. I told him I tripped at my night job – which I'd never bothered to explain and sure as hell didn't now. Thankfully he'd never been curious enough to push. With a smile that was too relieved to be fake, I left him in the capable hands of his sensei once more and walked back home to get some more sleep before the rest of the day claimed me.

The days that followed were in something of a blur. Things continued on as normal, though we didn't see Dr. Chase at the club after what had happened. I wore flats for the rest of the week instead of the usual obnoxious heels to give myself a chance to continue working while my bruised hip recovered, and no one seemed to mind the change. 'Maybe I should keep wearing the flats to work for good?' I wondered, though it seemed unlikely to be allowed. Aimi and Airi were both much more attentive than usual, and Eri was obviously concerned but better at keeping it under wraps than the other two of my friends. The other girls at the club were thankfully oblivious to what had happened.

Then, at the beginning of the new week, when I had finished my daily errands and gone to get Shippo from school, everything came to a head. The day had started off as usual and gone on as if nothing was wrong, but as soon as I entered the classroom everything hit me like a whammy. There were two police officers standing with Shippo's sensei to one side, and another sensei – the school's headmaster, if I remembered correctly – just a few feet from them, talking with an older woman in a suit, one hand holding onto the strap of a briefcase against her shoulder. When I walked in, not seeing Shippo anywhere, the situation took an ominous tone.

"Ah – Miss Higurashi!" Shippo's sensei darted forward, leaving the cops where they stood and coming toward me. "I'm so sorry- They just came in and-"

"Where's Shippo?" I cut her off unapologetically, only one thing on my mind. I wanted my son, and I wanted to go home. I wanted everything to be all right...

'But it's not,' I thought as I took in everything.

"Good afternoon, Miss Higurashi." I stared at the suited woman as she stepped forward, holding out her hand expectantly. Instinctively, I took it in mine and shoot it gently, feeling numb on the inside as I started to gather what this was about. "My name is Yuki Tanaka. I'm a social worker."

"Okay," I murmured, the internal numbness slowly being permeated by irritation. "I'd say I'm pleased to meet you, but I try not to lie."

Ms. Tanaka cracked an amused smile at that. "That's good, Miss Higurashi."

After another moment, she released my hand, and I let it fall to my side before crossing both arms over my chest. "So where's my son?"

"Are you referring to Shippo Higurashi?" she asked, quirking an interested eyebrow. I nodded, and she smiled pityingly. "We've taken him into custody."

The head popped at those words, and my world came crashing down. I was no longer numb or irritated; I was sick to my stomach. And angry. So very angry. "What gives you the right-"

"We received a call from a concerned citizen regarding your... lifestyle," the social worker interrupted, very obviously looking me up and down with not very well disguised disgust. I paled visibly, in shock and shame, my eyes darting from the social worker to Shippo's sensei and the headmaster. Both seemed just as surprised as I was, so I knew it hadn't been either of them.

Then the nurse from the hospital flashed in my mind, and I racked my brain trying to remember what Eri and I had said... I closed my eyes in defeat when I realized she'd mentioned Shippo by name.

'This isn't her fault,' I told myself, knowing it was true. I stepped back from the social worker, shaking my head. "We do what we can..." I mumbled, looking at the cops, who hadn't moved from the corner of the room. I knew my face was flushed from the heat, but it didn't keep me from meeting the social worker's eyes again. "How long?"

She tilted her head, watching me. "However long it takes for you to get things in order," was her response. Not what I wanted to hear, but definitely not unexpected. She pulled a binder from her briefcase, then pulled a few papers from the briefcase. "He'll be placed in foster care until we can complete the investigation. These are the requirements for getting your son back." She reached forward and handed me the papers, still smiling sweetly. "We'll also need to conduct several interviews and background checks, as well as home studies to make sure the requirements are being met and there are no other skeletons in your closet." I held my breath, trying not to make a facial expression at that last part.

"So I just need..." 'Deep breath, Kagome,' I told myself as I paused, taking my own advice to try to settle my nerves. "I just need a new job, a new home, and basically a new life." I gave her a strained smile, my irritation more than palpable, I was sure. "Sure, seems simple enough."

Her pleasant expression never changed. "I understand how you're feeling, Miss Higurashi, but please be aware. This is for Shippo's sake."

I closed my eyes and somehow bit back an annoyed groan. "I understand. But you can't expect me to enjoy it." Bowing my head, I turned toward the door.

"Oh!" Ms. Tanaka cried out, stepping forward again and touching me lightly on the shoulder. I tensed immediately at the unwanted contact. "We'll also need you to provide us with Shippo's papers. I'm afraid it seems the school lost their copies."

I stopped, trying hard not to pale or move or give myself away at all. Of course I knew the school never lost their copies of Shippo's papers; they'd never received them. I knew that because they'd never existed, since Shippo came from the past. I'd told the school I would bring them and they never once asked for them again. Thankfully though the headmaster had apparently covered for me and told them they were lost, instead of the truth – which is that I just plain didn't have them.

Instead, I took a deep breath and nodded sharply. "No problem," I mumbled, turning again. "I'll just have to get them. From my mother. She has them for safekeeping."

Ms. Tanaka's eyes twinkled with something I didn't understand, and she nodded in return. "Of course, Miss Higurashi. Please just bring them to the advocacy center when you can."

"Yes, ma'am." Trying not to hurry too much, I disappeared out the door before breaking off into a run for the street, clutching the papers she'd given me close to my body so they didn't blow away in the wind. I ran the entire way home, never stopping, never looking back, wiping my tears away with the back of one hand while I wrapped the other arm around myself and the papers, which were tight against my chest. As soon as I made it to the apartment building, I threw myself up the stairs, crashing through the front door of our apartment and, ignoring Eri's confused cries and questions, tossed the papers down on the coffee table and locked myself in Shippo's bedroom. Lying down on his bed and hugging his pillow close, I let myself break down in a way I hadn't in years.

Not since everything changed.

'It seems like every time I get used to what's happening around me, things have to go and change all over again.'