This is in Kagome's POV

This is the first of many twists in the story, though I guarantee, not the biggest!

Also, I should note, Souta is a lot older in this fic, let's say about seventeen. Kinda hard to picture huh?

Woowee!! Enjoy!

~Sabichan~

I don't own anything, just my imagination.

"I got a new life

You would hardly recognize me

I'm so glad

How can a person

Like me care for you

Why do I bother

When you're not the one for me

Is enough enough..."

Chapter 3

Three classes. Three different buildings. Each alternating on opposite sides of the campus, which probably should have been assigned it's own zip code.

And it never once stopped raining.

Each time I stepped outside, I caught myself silently thanking Inuyasha for the umbrella he had lent me. Then I would smile and suddenly the rain wasn't all that offending. I mean, I doubt I would have talked to him if it hadn't been raining in the first place.

As I began to make my way to the Dining Plaza of the University where I would start my first day of work, I found myself thinking about him. Again. And for some reason, I felt like smiling. This time I frowned instead.

`What the hell am I so happy about? Honestly, I just met the guy!....He was cute though... his hair... those eyes...'

I moaned disapprovingly to myself. Here I was getting worked up over some weird looking guy with one hell of an attitude problem. `I mean he was such a jerk-He said I looked like a drowned rat...asshole.'

I gripped the handle of the tattered red umbrella I carried.

`Still...he lent me this. Like he was concerned about me getting drenched even after it was any of his business.' I had to smile.

After the whole ordeal with Kouga, relationships had not been as easy as they should have been. I found myself avoiding dating or even making close friendships with anyone. As independent as I am, I still have to admit, it is hard not really having anyone to talk to.

In high school, I had been mildly popular. Eri, Ayumi, and Yuri were my main clique`. Everyone else was more of an acquaintance. You know, the people you say hi to when you pass on the way to your next class. Or the person you've shared homeroom with since your freshman year. Your lab partner, your study group.

Come to think of it-No one really knew me or anything about me. No one had ever asked.

Then again, I had never brought any of it up.

Sighing, I walked into the building, making sure to really shake out the umbrella after closing it. I found my way to the main office in the back of the cafeteria, and lightly knocked on the door of the manager's office.

"Come In, Kagome."

I winced in shock. I opened the door and peeked inside. A forty something chubby man with a buzz cut sat behind a desk, smiling at me.

"Come in, have a seat." I complied taking note of his slight lisp.

"I'm Bill, and I'll be your general manager, supervisor, best friend, counselor and God." He said excitedly, extending his hand. I shook it, chuckling slightly.

"How did you know it was me?"

"I'm psychic." I chuckled again."No really, I am. Ask anyone here, you'll see. I just know things..."

"I guess I can't get away with calling in sick can I? You'll just know if I'm lying."

He smiled and laughed heartily.

"Oh Darling, you're gonna be a breath of fresh air!"

After my brief meeting with Bill, he gave me a quick tour around the Dining Plaza and then quickly matched me up with a trainer. The girl, Kanna, gave me a quick overview of my duties, which mainly consisted of working the register. I smiled brightly as I realized just how easy of a job this was going to be.

A hour later, I caught on to the register and was set to work by myself as Kanna went to break someone else.

Half an hour went by with no customers. Then a half an hour rush, then back to empty, then a rush, then just a trickle of people. Then no one. Sighing I leaned on the counter and rested my chin on my hand.

"This is the routine of the day-slow then busy, slow then busy. Better get used to it." I looked up to see Kanna grinning at me. "It's not so bad Kagome. I've been here for three years now, and I'm still relatively sane. Things are pretty casual around here."

"I noticed. Hey, I know this is kind of a weird question but-"

"Yeah, Bill is gay and yes he really does think he's psychic."

"I guess he's not the only one!" She laughed lightly.

"I've been here too long...that's just always the first question the new people ask me. Well anyway, it's closing time, so I'm gonna lock up. Take that cash drawer to the back and then wait for me. I'll show you how to count out."

I've never like taking the bus after dark. It's scary and just like the saying goes, "the freaks come out at night." Like the winner standing next to me. From the moment I walked up to the stop by the school, he hadn't stopped staring at me. Then he had asked me if my hair was real. When I said yes, he told me how pretty it was on my head. Mumbling a faint "thanks" I had scooted a little further to the side, and reached my hand inside my purse to where I carried my Taser-gun. My mother had given it to me shortly after the Kouga ordeal. I've never had to use it, but I sure as hell wouldn't hesitate.

"What's your name?" he suddenly asked me.

"Um...Keiko." I lied.

"Wow, that's a pretty name? Do you know my name?"

"No I'm afraid I don't" He stooped down next to me and my body tensed. He whispered loudly

"Johnny. My name is Johnny." He stood straight again and giggled worse than I did when I <i>was</i>a schoolgirl. `Help...'

"Oh. Good to know."

"Are you sure your hair is real? That's not a wig, right? Cuz I'm afraid of wigs."

I sighed and shook my head `no'.

I found myself wishing that Inuyasha was there.

**twenty minutes later**

"Bye Keiko! It was nice to meet you!"

"Yeah you too...." I called back sweetly.

Turning around, I rolled my eyes in annoyance. My new best friend Johnny had found it necessary to ride the bus with me to "make sure no crazy hairdressers" bothered me or my "precious locks". At least I had managed to bribe him out of walking me home. Of course now I sported a sloppy single braid on the left side of my head.

Still I had been grateful for some company. The bus had been full of dirty old men leering at me, and a rough looking band of teenage guys. If good old Johnny hadn't been there chatting away about how dark hair was better than light hair "because it keeps your head warmer", I would have been in for a very, very uncomfortable ride.

As I walked alone down the sidewalk, I began to undo the plait and smooth my hair back out. The rain had stopped the moment we had boarded the bus, thank God. I was pretty sure I was going to have to start rounding up two of every animal soon. I kicked at a puddle, sighing aloud. It was getting darker by the minute and I still had three more blocks to go. I debated on whether or not to run the remaining distance home. I decided against it when my shoulders cried out in protest the moment I sprinted forward.

"Ouch....stupid college and all it's stupid books and papers..." I muttered bitterly. True I probably didn't need half the stuff I had packed. For some reason I had found it necessary to take the books for the two classes I wouldn't even start until tomorrow. I can't help it, I'm a packrat by nature.

The dim street lights flickered on and I silently thanked any god listening. My neighborhood is in no way bad, but it was pretty damn creepy at night. Especially the block I lived on.

The shrine we lived on actually took up that entire block. And yes, we own the whole thing, but don't get the wrong impression. We are in no way rich. The property just happens to have been passed down through many generations-in fact, some parts of Higurashi shrine were five hundred years old. The old well, most of the statues and the stone steps. Then there was the Goshinboku- the "God Tree". It was well over five hundred years old-almost twice that.

My family, the shrine's namesake, had produced a long line of priests and priestess. My grandfather is one them, and he had been the one to train my father. That of course is how my parents had met.

I'd started my training as a miko since I remember. Archery had been one of the skills I took best to. I have to admit I'm pretty good. I had taken an immediate liking to meditation. The overwhelming sense of peace I used to get from sitting beneath the Goshinboku was indescribable. I'd felt safer and happier there than anywhere else in the world. Of course, after my father had died, things didn't quite feel the same. So I only meditated every so often, just when I was particularly stressed out.

`By the looks of it, that's gonna be a whole lot more often....'

When I was not but three feet from the stone stairway that led to my home, I heard a familiar voice call out to me from the darkness around me.

"Hello Kagome."

I froze instantly in absolute fear. It felt like my stomach had dropped down to my ankles and my heart had jumped up into my throat. I stopped breathing.

"Kouga?" I choked out in a whisper. A deep male chuckle to my left prompted me to turn....and

confirmed my fears. There he stood, leaning against the railing of the stairway. The lack of streetlights had hidden his presence from me, as well as the black suit he wore. A single red rose was pinned to his lapel.

"Well, well, you have grown since we last met, my sweet. Tell me, did you get taller?"

I stared at his ice blue eyes that were filled with sinister amusement at my obvious fear. My mouth had gone dry and my throat was paralyzed. All I could do was start at him in abject horror. This drew yet another laugh from him.

"What's wrong Kagome...Cat got your tongue? Can't you at least say hello to an old friend? An old lover?"

The last few words were laced with such malice that it broke me out of my haze and put my anger on the rise. Suddenly, I found my voice.

"I was never your lover. You made me your slave." I spat out. Suddenly his face fell and his eyes softened.

"Oh but Kagome, you were so much more than that! You know, I really did love you. I never once lied about that."

I stared hard at him.

"How dare you come here, to my home, after everything you've done to me, and try to tell me you loved me. You aren't capable of love Kouga-you're a demon."

"Kagome....you don't mean that do you? I thought you knew me better than tha-"

"What're you doing here? I signed your deal, I held up my end of the contract. You're not supposed to bother me anymore. You should hold up yours."

He grinned sadistically and walked closer to me. I instinctively reached into my purse for the Taser. He grabbed my arm before I could pull it out. He pulled me into a suffocating embrace and pressed his face into my hair. I heard him inhale deeply and sigh nostalgically. Disgusted, I struggled to pull away. He lowered his head to my ear and whispered softly.

"You seem to have misunderstood-or rather, you seem to have not paid enough attention to what you signed.. Tell me my dear Kagome...where in that contract did it say how long I had to stay away

from you?"

I stopped struggling. It was like realizing your worst nightmare wasn't just that. I remembered that contract word for word-I immediately knew that he spoke the truth. `How...how could I not have caught that? the most important thing of all...how could I not have seen....'

I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream. I really wanted to punch him.

I felt his lips on my neck and I chose option number four. Taser his ass.

I pulled the gun out of my purse and pressed it to his stomach before he could react. I flicked the safety off and pushed.

There was an image I never wanted to forget. Kouga flying way from me and landing on the ground twitching with the jolt of electricity I had sent coursing through his body. The look on his face alone, the sheer shock that I would dare to protect myself.

That look quickly turned to one of anger as he picked himself up off the ground. I stepped forward the gun still tightly clutched in my extended hand. I flinched when I heard the growl of rage that he emitted. I heard myself whimpering and my whole body began to tremble.

I flinched again when he took a stet towards me.

"Kagome? Are you down there?" A faint voice called down the steps. It was Souta. I darted my eyes in the direction of his voice as did Kouga. Hesitantly Souta began to make his way down the steps, a wooden baseball bat in one hand and a Mag-lite in the other. His eyes widened in fear and then anger when he caught sight of Kouga, He gripped the bat more tightly as he continued down the stairs.

"Souta, go and call the-"

"No need, Souta...I was just leaving..." He suddenly cut me off. I looked back at him, his eyes still trained intently on my brother and his weapon. He glanced back at me and winked, with a smile only the devil could manage. Then he turned on his heel and walked away, his form fading into the darkness of the unlit street.

I stood there still frozen, watching his retreating figure. When I couldn't see him anymore I still stared. I was briefly aware of Souta calling my name softly. Suddenly, my knees gave out and I fell. He caught me and let me lean all my weight on him.

"Kagome? Please answer me? What did he do to you?"

"No-Nothing...nothing this time."

"Can you make it upstairs, sis?"

"Yeah...yeah I can."

I still couldn't tear my eyes away from the spot I had last seen him. Something red in my peripheral vision prompted me to glance at the ground next to me. Absently thinking it was the umbrella, I stooped down to pick it up.

Instead of Inuyasha's umbrella, there was the rose that had been pinned to his lapel, somehow knocked off during the struggle.

I fell again before Souta could catch me.

I started to cry.

Tbc…

OO! Kouga's so mean!

"Bill" is an actual person, and was my gay boss who thought he was psychic when I worked for the dining plaza at my university. Sorry for the self-insertion, but I had to give her a job I knew would be really easy. And believe you me, that was it!

Had to throw Kanna in there somewhere, though she won't play too big of a part.

Oh, and before you ask, the johnny scene was also based on a personal experience. Man am I glad to be a brunette! My head stays extra warm! Take that blondies!!

HA HA HA....gomen...

Hey...is anyone else completely grossed out by the dinosaur with the book at the bottom here? It looks like he's gettin head or something...

I wonder what he's reading...XP (AFF.net)