Kagome's arrival at the farm was exactly everything she'd anticipated. A two-story house and a large field divided by a fence into two parts: one part littered with beef cattle, and on the other side of the fence were eighteen plowed rows. It didn't seem that anything had been planted there...yet, Kagome thought dreadfully as the car stopped in the dirt driveway.
"Well, here we are." Emi sighed pleasantly.
"It's not much," Sango intoned, with a pointed look at Kagome in the backseat—Kagome narrowed her eyes at her malicious cousin--, "but it's something."
"Oh, Sango." Emi rolled her eyes as they all got out of the car. "Why don't you help your cousin with her bags? I'm sure she's got plenty."
"Oh, I do." Kagome grinned, and Sango scowled, bumping Kagome out of her way as she opened the trunk.
"I hope you're comfortable now, because it's your first day. You'll be let off easy. But come next week, you're gonna be covered from head to toe in dirt, and I don't mean the film of grime that usually seems to accompany you."
"Ah!" Kagome scoffed, outraged. "It's called a tan, bitch! And you don't even know me to think that!"
"I don't have to. Nor do I want to. As long as you do your share of work, I don't give a damn about you." Sango grabbed at least three of Kagome's heavier bags and carted them into the house without any apparent effort, leaving Kagome to gape at her almost inhuman strength.
Then again, I suppose that's what happens when you work a farm. With a shake of her head, Kagome got the other two bags, struggled to close the trunk, and went into the house as well.
"You'll be staying in Sango's room, of course." Emi told her, and Kagome almost groaned out loud. "Just make yourself at home! I've got to go to work, so you girls have fun, okay?"
"Okay, Emi-oba." Kagome nodded, feeling tired.
"Sango, have dinner started by the time I get back, okay, sweetie?" Emi called up the stairs, and Sango shouted back, "Okay, Ma!" Kagome went up the stairs and heard the front door close as soon as she entered Sango's room. It was rather plain, and smaller than her own. In truth, Kagome would rather sleep on the couch, and told her host so. Sango's emotionless eyes locked onto Kagome's as she dumped Kagome's bags onto the floor and kicked them into the corner.
"HEY!" Kagome gasped. "Those—those bags cost more than your fucking income!"
"Then you'd better watch them. I may mosey on into town and pawn the suckers off for a hefty profit." Sango twanged exaggeratedly, and Kagome growled, putting down the luggage in her hands on the nicely made bed against the leftmost wall. Sango's bed, adored with red blankets and red pillows, was to the right. Kagome looked around, noticing that most of the things in the room were either red or black.
"Like red much?"
"Obvious much?" Sango mumbled, plopping onto her bed and flipping on the television.
"I prefer blue." Kagome smirked, boastfully gesturing to her expensive clothing.
"I don't think you were asked." Kagome pursed her lips, slighted, and glanced at the television sitting atop the high dresser beside the window, close to the door.
"Well, well! A TV! I'm quite shocked; I was expecting more of an...eight-inch, black-and-white deal, if that. But this is much nicer."
"You know, I'm about sick of your constant ragging on my life, okay? I may not be filthy or rich like you, but I like the way I live. So as far as I'm concerned, you can just shut the fuck up, city bitch." If Kagome didn't have common sense, she would attack Sango. But after having seen her display of strength, Kagome wasn't quite so willing to fight her, no matter how angry she got.
With a huff, Kagome left the room, slamming the door behind her, and bumped right into a young boy, who looked somewhere around fourteen years old.
"Whoops—sorry." He blinked, shaking his head. "You're Kagome, right?"
"Yeah...you must be, uh..." Kagome snapped her fingers, trying to remember the kid's name.
"Kouhaku." He smiled, and Kagome grinned sheepishly.
"Right, right, Kouhaku." He seemed much more understanding than his bitch of an older sister. As if reading her mind, he said, "I can understand why you barely know us. We don't see you, and you don't see us. But maybe that's why you're here, right? So you can get to know us better."
"I don't think I'd like to get to know your sister better. She's a bit...disagreeable."
"Yeah, I think she's on the rag or something." Kouhaku shook his head. "She was against you coming here from the very start, and I don't know why."
"Me neither." Kagome put her hands on her hips, then gave Kouhaku a small smile. "You're not so bad, kid. Way better than your sister by miles."
"I know. I'm the favorite." Kouhaku bragged, and Kagome laughed a little.
"You actually kinda remind me a lot of my little brother...he's wacky too, in a good way."
"I like being "wacky"." Kouhaku grinned. "Hey, you like music?"
"Do I?" Kagome snorted. "My iPod's full to bursting with illegally downloaded tunes."
"So's mine...I've got a bunch of CD's, too. Wanna see?"
"Sure, why not?" Kagome went into Kouhaku's room, looking around appreciatively. It was much more decorative than Sango's room, with posters and pictures of friends, and it certainly reflected Kouhaku's easygoing manner. Enlarged pictures taken at concerts were all over, and Kagome looked at one in particular, recognizing her favorite singer.
"That's Amy Winehouse!" Kagome gaped, and Kouhaku smiled, grabbing a CD titled Frank.. "I've never been to one of her shows!"
"Yeah, it took a lot to get there, but I finally did...I'm glad I did, 'cause there hasn't been another show since."
"You have wonderful taste in music." Kagome commented eagerly, once more forgetting herself when she took the CD from Kouhaku and looked at it. It was actually signed by Amy herself. "Not only that, but you're the luckiest bastard this side of the world." She sighed, a tinge of longing in her tone.
"Yeah, I know. I also met Blake Civil-Fielder, but he was kind of an asshole." Kouhaku frowned somewhat.
"I'll bet. Doesn't he look like one?"
"Totally. Say, Kagome, I was heading into town to see Twilight with my friends. Wanna come?"
"Yeah?" Kagome thought a moment. "Wait, is Sango coming?"
"I said my friends, not my sister."
"Heh." Kagome grinned. "Well, I've never been very interested in seeing the movie. I read the book, see, and I've seen the commercials, and the guy who plays Edward doesn't look nearly as hot as the guy described in the book."
"I thought the same thing about Bella. But then I figured I wouldn't pay any attention to the ugliness of the characters, and just try and follow the plot. You up for it?"
"I guess it couldn't be too bad." Kagome shrugged. "It's not a long walk, is it?"
"No, not at all. It's just a few blocks to my friend Inuyasha's house, and he's got a truck."
"Ahem...truck?" Kagome laughed nervously, a rusty old pickup truck pushing to the forefront of her mind.
But the truck was, like many other things Kagome was discovering, nothing she was expecting. And truth be told, neither was Inuyasha.
When Kouhaku had come calling for Inuyasha, an undeniably beautiful specimen came running from the backyard, without a shirt on, and a hoe slung over his shoulder. His visage reminded the dumbstricken Kagome of Paul Bunyan, for some reason. He wiped sweat from his forehead and nodded to acknowledge Kouhaku.
"Who's the girl?" He grunted bluntly, placing the hoe up against the house. "That the cousin you been talkin' about?"
"Yes, she is." Kouhaku grinned, and Kagome cleared her throat, smiling as she extended her hand.
"Kagome Higurashi."
"Inuyasha Onohara." His rough, calloused hand perfectly matched his gruff voice, and Kagome's smile widened as she thought of what those hands could do to her.
Despite the dirt staining his palm, Kagome didn't wipe her hand after they stopped shaking.
"Pleased to meet you."
"Yeah." Inuyasha turned to face Kouhaku. "What do you want, kid?"
"You to take us into town. We wanna see Twilight."
"That so? Too bad. I'm not finished hoeing. I gotta have my mother's flower beds done before sundown."
"That's really admirable, Inuyasha-san—being so honorbound to your mother." Kagome flirted, coquettishly yet subtly. She'd conveniently forgotten how horrible she'd been to her own mother. She resolved to call her—and thank her for forcing her to come here.
"See, Kouhaku? Even a girl knows the importance of some good work." Inuyasha smirked, but the smile slid right off of Kagome's face. It figured he would be a chauvinist.
"Jeez, Inuyasha, you can pick it back up when we get back, dude! The flowers seeds aren't wilting or anything! I know Izayoi-san will forgive you this one transgression." Kouhaku said sarcastically. "You know she'd want you to go."
"Mmm..." Inuyasha scratched at his sinewy neck. "I guess I could tag along. Let me just throw on a shirt and I'll be ready. Come in the house if you want."
"Ew. He's not gonna shower or anything?" Kagome murmured to Kouhaku as they went into the house after Inuyasha. "He's just gonna go into town dirty and sweaty and stuff like that?"
"A lot of us do it whenever we don't have time to wash up." Kouhaku shrugged. "You'll see a lot of guys looking like that in town. We work hard for a bunch of country bumpkins." Kagome initially froze in embarrassment, thinking he knew what Kagome thought of them, but it seemed he was just kidding.
"Hehe...yeah..." Kagome muttered, shaking her head.