Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. Duh. Thanks to Wu.. who.. well, I sort of got this idea from an AU RP that sort of evolved to this situation.. Oh, and thanks.. I guess.. to Clara, who all but FORCED me to write this and nnnng. Go read her stuff. It's under.. uh. Clara.

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Yoshiyuke Kagome had been orphaned at the age of twelve, having landed herself in several various foster homes since. In fact, the Inu residence had been her fifth home in three years; not too bad, considering some people lived by just the fact that they'd taken in and cared for a teenager as fulfilling their civic duty for the decade.

Of course, she hadn't really moved in with her new 'family' yet. Curled up in the passenger's side of the front seat, Kagome was content to let her cheek rest against the cold window, hands folded in her lap as the evening backdrop of a clean looking suburban city rolled by her.

Inu Kimiko seemed like a pleasant enough lady, soft black hair graying only at the temples drawn into a plait that rested comfortably between her shoulderblades. "Well, you don't talk much," she murmured with a smile about ten minutes into the journey home, flexing slender if blunt fingers on the steering wheel. "My son Yasha, on the other hand.. he'll talk your ear off, if he's interested in the conversation."

A bit surprised, Kagome's nose wrinkled as she turned to look at Kimiko, words forming on her lips.

"No," the woman cut her off, an amused chuckle escaping delicately shaped lips. "His real name is Takehito, but for some reason he'll only answer to Yasha. Or Inu Yasha, really. It's an odd name, but he is seventeen, so.."

Very leniant woman, Kagome had time to think, before going stiff. When she'd been told that she was going to live with an Inu Kimiko and her son, she had automatically assumed that the son was a toddler, or at the very most an adolescent. But a seventeen year old? And what kind of nickname was Inuyasha?!

Before she had time to voice any questions or objections, the compact blue car was pulling into a driveway, lined with young flowers that seemed unwilling to bloom. "We're home," Kimiko announced, before leaning over to give the dashboard an affectionate pat, then climbing out of the vehicle. "I'll send Inuyasha out to help you with your things, dear."

She soon disappeared into the green-shuttered house.

Kagome lifted her hand, as if attempting to speak, but dropped it in favor of turning and tugging the back door of the car open. Two squat, brown suitcases sat in the floorboard, and she wasted no time leaning over to pick them up. Having successfully hefted the two weighted cases up, the teenager inhaled deeply, shut her eyes, and turned to approach the house.

"You can't walk through me, you know. Hand one over, and hurry it up."

Startled almost to the point of falling backwards, Kagome gasped and flinched, eyes popping open to stare at the form of the rather tall young man who stood not a foot in front of her. When had he..?

Not giving her a chance to finish her thought, he snorted, shoving a few black bangs from his face before leaning down to snatch both suitcases from her, having no trouble bearing their weight. "Jeez, what're you carrying in here? I mean -- "

Their eyes locked for a second; something cold and refreshing and painful and wonderful blossomed in each of their stomachs, leaving the two breathless.

"I'll put them in the guest bedroom," he finished snidely, taking careful pains not to refer to it, or anything else in the house as 'hers'. Without another word, Takehito ( no, Inuyasha, she corrected herself ) marched stoically to the house.

Kagome shut the car door behind her, blinking twice.

==

Stupid girl, Inuyasha snarled to himself as he unceremoniously dropped the bags onto the plush beige carpet of the guest room. Stupid Mom. Stupid foster people, allowing us to take a kid in.. who needs another kid around the house.

He snorted and kicked the frame of the door with his bare foot, wincing lightly, but mostly ignoring the faint throbbing of his big toe. I bet she's a delinquent. Or has some kind of mental problems or.. maybe she's a schizophrenic. Or a kleptomaniac. There has to be some reason she hasn't been adopted yet.

Looking down the hall and catching sight of his mother, who was rather cheerfully chopping up carrots for supper that night, Inuyasha's shoulders hunched reproachfully. They hadn't had the best experiences with taking foster children into their home. He wasn't sure if his mother had recovered yet from the time Ken, a little boy, had taken their family puppy and..

Inuyasha blanched and narrowed his eyes as he heard Kagome enter the kitchen, hearing the faint murmurings of conversation between his mother and the girl.

His mother.

He paused, before letting his eyes drop to study his feet, fingers splayed against the wall. It was impossible that he'd met Kagome before, impossible for him to even assume that he'd seen her at all. There was something there, though, something that insistantly tugged at his heartstrings. He hesitated. Kikyou.

Realizing this, Inuyasha turned, slumping his shoulders against the wall. Kagome bore a striking resemblance to his ex-girlfriend Kikyou, whom he'd fallen in love with, two years ago. She'd moved away, and he'd forced himself to all but forget about her.

Hearing laughter from the kitchen, another faint scowl touched at both corners of his mouth. He resolved not to let the girl get the best of him. She'd be out of there soon enough, right?

Right?