I was in a good mood, so I was able to write this before 7:30 EST. I hope you all like this chapter, though it is a bit shorter than the other chapters.

Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi
Loveless © Kouga Yun

II: Not the Same

She swung her legs over the side of her twin bed as she looked out of the window, passed the Goshinboku to the sky. The sun hasn't risen yet, and Kagome was perfectly awake. Smiling, she got off of the bed and went to her closet to pick out her clothes. It didn't take long for her to pick something out to wear to Kindergarten—Yochien her mother called it last night—a simple mint green tank top with a cat on it and khaki Capri.

Admiring her outfit in the mirror, and fixing her hair with her fingers Kagome couldn't help but look at her eyes, noting that they seemed more green today., but not by much. ''Kaa-san isn't acting the same as she was yesterday morning. She didn't say anything in the car on the way back, and spent her time in the grocery store talking to Misaki-san.' Kagome dropped her eyes and toyed with her curly ear locks, nibbling her bottom lip.

''Tou-san was different last night too, when he got home with ojii-san. Ojii-san kept giving 'tou-san looks, that if I were a normal five-year-old, I would not understand. Ojii-san is probably the most normal out of the three, just without the ramblings about youkai and all,' her eyes closed as she tried to keep the tears now present in her eyes, why was it her life that there was always something wrong with? Opening her eyes, she took in her reflection again with blurry eyes.

Green eyes stared at her tearing blue ones, larger and more innocent, oblivious in comparison to her mature and war veteran ones. Blinking, the green eyes vanished and Kagome was left staring at her own teary-eyed reflection. Her cat ears drooped, but she brought a hand up to play with the tip of one. Her curly ear locks bobbed as she turned her head to the door, the house was still silent with her being the only person awake so far.

She made her way out of her room—not before staring at her mirror curiously over her shoulder—and down the stairs. Her feet brought her to the living room where she picked out the book that she was reading yesterday before her father and grandfather came home. She had dog-eared the page she left off on yesterday, but Kagome wouldn't read it until she was outside by the Goshinboku. Going outside and not bothering to put shoes or socks on, she made her to the tree.

The morning was slightly nippy, but nothing she couldn't handle.

-0-0-0-

After breakfast, it was her grandfather that brought her to Kindergarten, Kagome watched the scenery go by with rapt fascination as her grandfather - though his eyes were trained on the road - smiled at her antics. All too soon did the car ride end and her grandfather brought her to the doors of her classroom, which were open, "Be good, all right Kagome?" Kagome smiled at her grandfather, nodding enthusiastically, though depressed that she has to repeat Kindergarten to her last year of Chugakkou - or Junior High School.

Saying goodbye to her grandfather who was going to come get her when they were let out, Kagome didn't bother watching him leave before walking into the open doorway to her class. The first person she noticed was Seimei who was sitting down away from other people, though a few other kids were near him, chatting. The next thing were a pair of red eyes in her face. Stepping back to look at the person, Kagome mentally had a cow.

Why was Naraku still alive, how did he become five years old and what was with the cat ears atop his head?! He wasn't a cat demon to her knowledge… did he absorb a cat demon while somehow becoming a five year old like her? The black-haired five-year-old smirked at her, something that was a constant depending how you viewed it. Was he going to kill her in front of all these people? And was the a black-haired purple-eyes cat-eared Inuyasha in the background?!

Naraku gave a chuckle at her antics and expression that showed all of her emotions within split seconds of each other, "I bet you're wonder why all of us are here and have cat ears, aren't you miko?" Kagome leaned away from the five-year-old next to her, unconsciously drawing Seimei's attention to the two of them. "So what if I am Naraku? What are you even doing here?! You shouldn't be alive!" she whispered harshly to the black-haired boy in front of her.

Naraku's smirk grew in size, "It's because of the fact that I was in possession of the jewel for long with you and your whipped puppy hunting me down that should there be a whish on the jewel, that I would also be affected, along with those in your group that I killed as well. However, because youkai and hanyou and all that never existed in this universe, I am merely a cat-eared human, miko, along with yourself. Though people lose their cat ears when they officially become an adult from what my human father has told me."

Kagome blinked rapidly, trying desperately to soak up all the information her former—she hoped it was safe to assume that—enemy has just told her, "So…only you and I retained our memories? What about everyone else?" Naraku followed her gaze to the cat-eared Inuyasha was talking with a cat-eared - and humanoid - Kirara and Sango, "They have no memory whatsoever apparently of the lives they once had in the other universe."

The black-haired boy was about to talk her elbow in his hand when Seimei approached them - more like Kagome. His blue eyes looked at her own cerulean eyes, having just about lost any green that they had in them when she encountered Naraku in her Kindergarten class. He gently tugged on her hand, "Come on, sensei is going to becoming soon and she likes to have us in our seats by the time she gets here." Kagome numbly let her self be taken to where the plum-haired boy was sitting when she first same into the class, Naraku following.

It wasn't long that after they sat down, that a cat-ear less Kikyou came into the class - Naraku snickered at the apparent meaning of her not having cat ears like she did Saturday - wearing modest clothing, effective starting what they were going to be learning.

-0-0-0-

It was lunch in the kindergarten class and Seimei has stayed by her side as had Naraku, only because he wanted to tease her on how long it took for her to actually catch him to even complete and even then, he was a pain in the ass for her and her ragtag to defeat. However, her clever response to his teasing was kicking him several times in the shins when the teacher had her back turned and wouldn't catch her and apparently this kept Seimei amused.

However, when neither of them were talking to her - Seimei only talked to her when he felt that he had to, Kagome found herself thinking over what Naraku had told her before class had started. All her friends that she traveled with are no longer the same, sure their attitudes may be the same, but growing up in modern times won't produce the same them as growing up and dealing with what happened in Sengoku Jidai would produce. Those people were her friends, though she did try to make friends with them as they participated in class activities and all that.

And what was with Kikyou teaching a kindergarten class anyway? One would think that being a priestess in the Sengoku Jidai she would at least be in the medical field as like a nurse or something! Sighing, Kagome looked at the bento that her mother made for her after breakfast, not feeling terribly hungry. Pushing away, she set her head down on the table, vaguely noticing Naraku taking her lunch and picking and choosing what he wanted to eat from it and not paying attention to Seimei taking it from him to place back by her head.

Kagome felt tears come to her eyes in frustration as she thought of her friends back then and her friends as they were in this life time. They may look like them, but they definitely nothing like them! Her shoulders started to shake as her eyes produced more tears the fell onto the desk under her head, the droplets clumping together if they were close enough. Maybe it was too much to ask for her friends to have maintained their memories…

She knew lunch wasn't done with yet over her silent sobbing - as quiet one's sobbing could be. Both Seimei and Naraku looked her quivering back, Seimei had no clue what was the cause of it, while Naraku knew more than anyone what she was crying over. Kikyou came over when she saw her white-haired student sit up with tears in her eyes running down her cheeks.

Kagome finally started bawling when her five-year-old body couldn't take the stress of her seventeen-year-old mind and emotions.

-0-0-0-

Kagome stared at the psychiatrist across from her with empty blue eyes later that day. She wasn't going to be the person her parents wanted her to become again, she didn't even remember herself before yesterday. The seconds on the clock ticked by loudly as the silences reigned over the two of them. She knew her parents would pick her back up at eh end of he session, but it wouldn't matter how many sessions she were to go to.

They weren't getting their "Kagome" back while she was here.

The next chapter, as a bit of a head ups, is going to have a time skip in it. It'll go to when Kagome and Seimei and Naraku are twelve and all. Yeah, so there's a bit of news flash. Some new things are going to be in there as possible plot twists. Other than that, you'll have to wait and see when the next chapter comes out with tomorrow or the next day.