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Chapter One

Mrs. Higarashi finished adding the last ingredients to her udon. The girls loved this particular dish and anything she could do to cheer Kagome up, well, she would do it. These past couple of weeks had been difficult on her youngest daughter and she felt helpless. Aside from being there for her, she could do nothing more. If only Kagome would talk about it, get it out. Mrs. Higarashi felt sure that if Kagome would only let out all the feelings she would heal faster and be in better spirits, not this false cheerfulness to make others feel better around her.

Mrs. Higarashi had witnessed on several occasions, Kagome staring off into nothing with silent tears trailing down her face. She never interrupted Kagome when she was expressing such emotion for fear she would stop. Kagome was dealing with this in her own way, but Mrs. Higarashi wondered if it was the right way.

She began pulling the dishes she would need from the cabinet and began to set them on her serving tray. Her thoughts turned from Kagome to her late husband and the fun they had when selecting the pattern for these dishes. Her reminiscing was interrupted by a knock on the door. She set the tray of dishes on the table, wiping her hands on her apron as she made her way to the front door.

She wasn't surprised to find a delivery man. There had been several this week alone. Missives were coming from attorneys and detectives from both the United States and Japan. Kagome had been dreading receiving yet another letter from the states, knowing it wouldn't be good news.

What could it be this time? She thought, irritated that Kagome would be bothered again with this. Not a day goes by that she is not constantly reminded of this.

Her irritation did not show of course as she signed for the letter and thanked the young man for his time. Looking at the senders address briefly, she pocketed the envelope. She would give Kagome the letter later. She glanced briefly at the retreating back of the delivery man before closing the door and returning to the kitchen to set the table for dinner.

Upstairs, Kagome soaked in a hot bath. The ache in her muscles just wouldn't go away. The day had been particularly trying to say the least, and the weeks were not going to get any better.

She reluctantly heaved herself out of the tub. She knew her mother would have no problem bringing her a tray for dinner, but she finally had enough of eating within the confines of her room. Today proved one thing above all else, she needed to get out. To move again, to feel her heart beat hard and fast. This sedentary lifestyle wasn't going to cut it anymore. Besides, she had enough pain killers to drop an elephant; she could make it through this.

She wrapped herself in her fluffy oversized bathrobe and bent over to turban wrap her hair. Limping over to her sink she took a good long look at herself in the mirror. Her whole face was red and puffy from her crying. She reached for her washcloth and rinsed it in cool water before limping back into her bedroom and lying down. She placed the cool rag on her face and wished for all she was worth that she could cry prettily like Kikyo. Her face never got red and blotchy when she cried; she had the perfect movie star cry, vulnerable and beautiful. Humph, bitch. She thought nastily and then immediately felt guilty for thinking such a foul thing about her sister as she heard her bounce into the room.

"Come on Kagome," Kikyo said excitedly. "You're not backing out are you? Come on, you've been in this room for a solid two weeks, you need to get out and have a little fun."

Kagome imitated a perfect stage moan for her sister's benefit. "I'm moving, I'm moving."

She didn't need to remove the cloth from her face to know her sister was hunting through her closet looking for something to dress her in. Knowing Kikyo's taste, it would be positively indecent.

"Hmmmm....something blue maybe," Kikyo mused. "Need something to match your eyes."

"I already picked out my outfit, sissy." Kagome knew that if she didn't head Kikyo off soon, she would be leaving the house looking like a party favor for a bachelor party.

"I told you, you can't go to a club looking like your going to a funeral." Kikyo was sounding more exasperated by Kagome's choice of clothing by the minute. "AH HA!!"

This triumphant noise from her sister did not bode well. She dared hazard a peek from under her face cloth to see what outfit she had found so wonderful. She gasped in shock before sitting upright fully and informing her dear wonderful ever so helpful sister that she would absolutely NOT be wearing that particular outfit out in public.

"Why not? It's fabulous!" Said Kikyo.

"Sissy, I wore that costume in 'Chicago'."

"Well if it's good enough to wear in Chicago it's good enough to wear here." Kikyo replied. Honestly, did it matter what city she wore it in.

"The play, sissy, not the windy city." Honestly, her sister could do with a bit more culture.

"But what's wrong with it?" Kikyo asked. "It's the perfect clubbing outfit. I just love all the tassels."

"Then you can wear it." Kagome poured some Emu oil into her hands and began massaging her ankle and foot with it. "I'm wearing my slacks. Even if I had wanted to wear that it wouldn't cover the brace, and I would rather not play twenty questions with everyone we're bound to run into about it."

Kikyo looked at her sister for the first time since entering the room. She hadn't thought about the brace, she had forgotten about it completely. Kikyo was feeling very stupid at the moment and couldn't think of a thing to say while she watched Kagome strap her brace back on.

At least it wasn't the bulky brace she had arrived home in several weeks ago, when she could barely walk. This smaller brace offered more movement while she continued her therapy.

"I'm sorry Kagome." Here she was trying to help her sister feel better and she was only making things worse.

Kagome looked up at her and instantly felt guilty. After all, Kikyo was only trying to help. "It's okay, sissy. No harm done." She gave her sister a smile and held her arms out for a hug that Kikyo gratefully gave.

"Now," Kikyo began, handing Kagome the clothes she had picked out. "You get dressed, and I'll do your hair. We have a couple of hours before Sango and the guys get here."

Kagome was apprehensive about going out. She knew that everyone would want to go dancing and considering she couldn't join in, she was already feeling like a fifth wheel. But Kikyo and Sango had been asking her to go out with them for the last two weeks; she was feeling guilty about saying no all the time. After all, she could just enjoy some conversation and some good music.

They had just finished getting ready when Mrs. Higarashi called them to dinner. She had come in to check if Kagome was going to be staying in that evening and eating in her room, and was happily surprised with the news that she would in fact be going out that night. She made a mental note to leave the letter until tomorrow; she didn't want her evening ruined by whatever news was coming her way.

Dinner provided some much needed amusement in the household. The youngest sibling and only boy, Sota, was attempting to explain the finer points of his new game, Halo2 and all the cool things that went along with it, like Red vs. Blue.

"And then there's this guy named Church who gets killed in the beginning but comes back and possesses a robot body and later travels through time and is actually the one who killed himself but he didn't know it at the time because he was trying to prevent himself from being killed." Sota said all this very quickly and grandpa was doing the best he could to follow along.

"In my day we fought real demons, not these made up---"

The rest of his statement was drowned out by scramble for the phone. Kikyo wrestled the phone from Sota as he attempted to run with it to the other room.

"I want to talk to Inuyasha, sissy, just for a second." Begged Sota. "I have the newest Red vs. Blue episode."

"It's not Inuyasha, Sota, It's Sango." Shouted Kikyo, wresting the phone from his eager little hands. "You can talk to Inuyasha later."

After a quick conversation with Sango, Kikyo came back to the kitchen sporting an evil grin. "The guys just picked up Sango and they're on their way." She resumed her seat at the table, grinning at Kagome in such a way as to make her wary. "And guess who's with them?"

She was almost afraid to ask before Kikyo squealed out, "Sesshomaru!"

Not who she expected, but better then who she first thought. "Wow. I'm surprised he'd go out with us tonight. Are he and Inuyasha getting along better now?"

"Not really." Kikyo said. "But it wouldn't surprise me if Inutaishou made him come. Inuyasha's been getting into trouble with his dad a lot lately."

"Sounds like him." Kagome said thoughtfully. "I haven't seen Sesshomaru since he graduated High School."

"Ya, those last couple of years were pretty boring without him. And the Judo Fight Team just wasn't the same after he graduated." Kikyo said wistfully.

"You did well, sissy. How many meets did you place first at?"

Kikyo thought about for a minute before answering, "All but three I think. At least I placed better then Hiten."

"How is Hiten?" asked Kagome. "Does he still have that club?"

"Thunderlicious? Yep, still has it. But his brother doesn't run it with him anymore." Kikyo smirked before she let the other shoe drop on her little piece of gossip. "Hiten bought him out so he could start up a hair salon."

Kagome laughed at this before she could help herself. Mantin was always obsessed with hair. Everyone thought it was a fetish.

Mrs. Higarashi began to clear the table and reminded the girls that if that was Sango that called, their friends would be there shortly. Kagome took two painkillers before she attempted to make it down the long flight of steps to the street below.

Sesshomaru heard Inuyasha stomping up the stairs for what had to be the tenth time in the last few minutes. 'Why me?' he growled to himself. How he ever let his pathetic little brother, talk him into running him and his friends around all damn night was beyond him. When Inuyasha burst through the bedroom door for the last time, Sesshomaru rolled his eyes and bit out an impatient "I'm ready, runt. Let's go!"

"Finally!" Inuyasha turned on his heel and flew down the steps to the front door. He had waited long enough to get to see Kikyo in her new club wear. The sooner they got there, the sooner he could have himself pressed up against her. He smirked at himself in the hall mirror, admiring how hot he looked. 'Kikyo won't be able to keep her hands off me, heh.' His long white hair was loose and fell over his tan shoulders. The black tank he was wearing showed off his defined body perfectly and the tight leather pants showed his even better..Assets. He gave himself a lusty wink and flew out the door, grabbing his black leather jacket on the way. He barely tossed Sesshomaru a glance, making sure his brother was indeed following, before disappearing out the door to wait, impatiently, for Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru took one last glance at himself before walking out the door. He and Inuyasha could not have been more different. Inuyasha dressed like a biker from the American movie 'Grease' whereas Sesshomaru dressed more as if he stepped off the cover of G.Q. Magazine. Long silver hair in a thick braid down his back, not a single hair out of place. Black silk shirt, black silk tie, black slacks and matching jacket. Perfect. The more intimidating he looked the less likely he would be troubled with women tonight. He did not want to have to deal with them after the whole Kagura fiasco.

Grabbing his keys from the table, he made his way out the door to the very impatient Inuyasha. Climbing into his Lexus LX, his birthday gift, he started it up, enjoying the almost silent growl of the beast, and drove out the circular driveway to go pick up the 'Inu Crew', so named since their freshman year in high school. First on the list was Inuyasha best friend, Miroku. Kami help him, that guy was irritating. Miroku hit on every single solitary female that came within his line of site, whether his girlfriend, Sango, was there or not. Sesshomaru figured Miroku must have a thing for pain because every time the leech looked at another woman Sango would clobber him; she had a vicious right hook.

Pulling into Miroku's street, Sesshomaru noted that Miroku must be just as anxious as Inuyasha; he was waiting at the curb, hoping from one foot to the other like a five year old begging for sweets. 'What is it with these two?' Sesshomaru groaned to himself. He was not looking forward to this night. He would much rather have stayed home and watched a movie or read a book instead of driving the 'Inu Crew' from club to club. He hated the night scene that his brother seemed to thrive in. It was always to loud and too crowded and by the end of the night more than one drunk female had groped him and slipped him her number.

Miroku jumped into the back and handed Inuyasha a CD to play. The two looked they had conspired together on the evenings dress code. 'It begins' Sesshomaru groaned yet again as Kid Rock's 'Forever' began pumping through his speakers. Sesshomaru rolled his eyes as Inuyasha and Miroku began singing along, moving their arms in imitation of some music video they had obviously watched one too many times.

Pulling into Sango's driveway, Sesshomaru honked for the girl twice before she appeared. Miroku groaned with obvious want of the girl. Her hair was a mass of spiral curls with little diamonds scattered throughout the mass of hair. She was very pretty but Sesshomaru thought she was wearing just a little too much makeup, covering her natural looks. Her dress, if it could be classified as such, was a shock of skintight pink, cut way to low revealing lots of cleavage and cut way to high revealing a lot of thigh. She jumped into the back while singing her hello's to the boys and taking great pleasure in the pained expression on Miroku's face. With a giggle and a kiss, they were off to their final stop before this disaster of a night would begin.

As they pulled onto the freeway toward the Higarashi Shrine, Sango pulled her cell phone and dialed up Kikyo, giving her a heads up. Sesshomaru remembered from the only other trip he had taken there that the shrine was on the top of a hill that was only accessible by a huge stairway. Had to be over 500 steps up that hill.

Sesshomaru looked up the steps and saw the pair making their way down. Kikyo was easy to spot, she was dressed much like Sango but in a two-piece dance out fit in black that showed her well defined stomach and belly button ring. She was helping another girl down the steps who was holding on to the stair railing while slowly making her way down. Sesshomaru was pleasantly surprised by the way this third girl was dressed. She had long black slacks that covered her footwear and large billowing black silk shirt that opened enough to reveal a sparkling black camisole underneath. Very conservative considering the look of the other two girls. Her hair hung loosely and swayed with each step she took. He noticed that she was limping slightly. As she looked up, Sesshomaru recognized her, Kagome. Kikyo's fraternal twin. They looked very similar but there were obvious differences. Kikyo was taller with a strong build. He had seen her in Judo competitions many times over their High School years and knew she was a strong match for just about anyone, even outside her weight class. Kagome he did not know as well, he had seen her on occasion but knew that she had spent almost every free moment practicing dance. She had been gone for almost three years now. He figured the injury of hers was why she was back home and not still in America. She still had that delicate look to her like she was made of crystal and could break just as easily.

Inuyasha jumped out the passenger seat and looked back into the vehicle before adding quickly "Remember, don't ask about it. Kikyo wants her to start getting over this so no snooping." With that said he speed up the steps to the two girls. 'Get over what?' Sesshomaru thought. 'There must be something more to this little injury than meets the eye."

Kikyo watched as Inuyasha bound up the steps towards her. She pulled on Kagome's arm to make her stop for a moment so they could greet their approaching friend.

Kikyo gave Inuyasha a bright smile and hugged him briefly before letting him pull away and drink in her outfit. She had picked this one out for him because she knew how much he liked it in the catalog, she was not disappointed in the affect it had on him.

"Kikyo! Wow! You look...amazing!" He could barely keep the excitement out of his voice. She flashed another dazzling smile at him as Kagome rolled her eyes and started moving down the steppes again. Inuyasha glanced at her and then remembered why he flew up the steeps to begin with. "Hey, Kagome, wait up a sec." He jumped down in front of her and turned around. "Climb on, I'll carry you down."

Kagome stopped but made no move to climb onto Inuyasha's waiting back, she did the opposite, and she pulled away. "Ummm...that's okay Inuyasha, I can manage. Thank you though." Her voice was almost a whisper. She knew Inuyasha meant well, but she was tired of others doing for her what she felt she could do. Inuyasha turned and looked up into her face, she was smiling kindly at him but looked determined.

"Okay, Kagome," he said jovially, "take your time, no worries." He gave her what he hopped was a reassuring smile and he followed along behind the two as they made their way down the steps.

Sesshomaru had been watching the little scene play out and noticed the hesitant way that Kagome reacted to Inuyasha's offer of assistance. He wondered exactly why she refused his help. She had known Inuyasha for years, the two had gone all through high school together, was part of the 'Inu Crew' what reason would she have. But then again, some women were stubborn. Figuring it was none of his business anyway what the 'Inu Crew' intrigues where, he resigned himself to once again being designated driver.

As the trio made their way down the steps Sango was filling in the two what she knew about Kagome's injured leg.

"Her boyfriend was pissed off about something and took it out on her. He tried to break her ankles but was stopped before he could, he did some damage to the tendons I think. He pretty much destroyed her ability to dance and she had to drop out of school. I know she is heartbroken by it, but I don't think Kikyo is thinking clearly on this, the last thing Kagome needs right now is to go to a dance club and be reminded of the one thing she can't do right now."

Miroku was silent and Sesshomaru found himself inwardly agreeing with Sango. Kikyo's intentions may be in the right place, but her methods needed retooling.

The trio approached the vehicle and Inuyasha opened the passenger door for Kagome. She looked at the distance a little hesitantly. She wouldn't be able to get up without help and she knew it. Giving Inuyasha a shy nod of her head, she allowed him to pick her up and place her in the front seat opposite Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru looked outwardly bored but he was paying close attention to Kagome's movements. His attention was caught by her small wince when Inuyasha picked her up. Settled into the front seat with a small sigh she turned and made eye contact with Sesshomaru she gave him a warm smile.

"Hello, Sesshomaru. How are you this evening?"

Her voice was such a pleasant sound and radiated warmth. He was a bit surprised she even remembered his name.

"I'm well, Miss Higarashi, thank you."

He kept his voice as cool as always, never betraying what he felt inwardly, believing that gave others far too much power over you.

She smiled warmly at him again. She knew from Kikyo that Sesshomaru didn't want to be going out tonight any more than she had wanted to. She was still feeling very uncomfortable around so many people and even more so being around men.

"Please, call me Kagome."

Sesshomaru gave her a small node of his head and returned to driving. Kagome's eyes lingered on Sesshomaru's face for a moment before she turned in her seat to say hello to her friends. As they all chatted about where they would be going that night Sesshomaru pulled back onto the highway and made their way into the city.