Expect the Unexpected

Author: Reflection of a Broken Dream

Pairing: Kagome (Inuyasha)x Kurama (Yu Yu Hakusho)

A Quick Note:

- The Spirit Detectives finished their job as Detectives but still occasionally go in. Kagome is still actively working in her role as the Shikon Miko and has yet to finish the jewel and wish it away.

- The pairing will come to fruition slowly...good things come to those who wait. :P

- I couldn't find Yusuke's birthday, so I improvised with what I was given- this is a quote from Wikipedia:

'Yusuke's birthday falls some time between the second half of June and the start of July. This is supported by the fact that he left for Demon World on his birthday, and the fact that Kurama left a month after him, sometime between late July and early August to help Yomi's cause until the end of August. This also makes sense since the animal that manifests through his spirit energy (the phoenix) also rules the days between June 25 and July 24 of the Ancient Egyptian horoscope.'

Disclaimer:

I don't own Inuyasha, Yu Yu Hakusho, or any of the characters!

(Though I'd love to own Kurama...)

Expect The Unexpected

Chapter One - Unexpected Secret

"Mom, I'm home!" the raven-haired young woman known as Kagome called as soon as she entered her family's shrine home, depositing her worn school shoes at the door. 'I'm glad to be home,' Kagome inwardly sighed as she dropped her heavy bookbag at the door as well, shutting the door as she stepped inside. 'School was tough today...and Ayumi, Yuka, and Eri wouldn't stop dogging me...not to mention...Hojo...' She idly frowned at the wooden handle of a scrubbing device of some kind that protruded from the tearing yellow pack, a hard, rough stone on the other end of it. There were even more...interesting...things lying in wait in the bottom of her bag for illnesses that she didn't have. Not that she wasn't appreciative of Hojo's thoughtfulness- Kagome would be ecstatic if Inuyasha was even half as thoughtful as Hojo was...- but...he had been giving her things like this for years now. Since a week or so after her fifteenth birthday...nearly three years ago. It was getting a little old. 'He's a month and a half short of three years.' A somewhat amused smile curled at her lips. 'I can't believe I'll be eighteen next month...I've got a month and eight days to go!' (Of course, that meant it was October fifteenth- her birthday was on November twenty-third. She was ecstatic that she had managed to make it to her last year of high school- she'd just started the new year at the beginning of the month- without failing a grade.)

"Welcome back, dear," Kagome's mother's warm voice reached her ears, snapping her out of her inner musings. "How was your day?" 'She's in the kitchen,' Kagome automatically registered in her mind, her feet leading her to the room as though they were on autopilot.

"It was okay, I guess," Kagome answered as she made it to the entrance to the kitchen, seeing her mother cleaning and getting ready to cook as she often did in the late afternoons. "Math is still an enigma, but I'm doing pretty well otherwise. Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi weren't much help today, though...and I've got another bunch of 'healing' items from Hojo." Hikari (Kagome's mother) laughed softly behind her hand as Kagome sighed softly in exasperation.

"He means well, dear," Hikari gently replied in response to Kagome's silent frustration.

"I know...," Kagome sighed softly this time, her voice a bit deflated as she slipped into a chair near to her mother. She just couldn't stay irritated at the boy, no matter how hard she tried. "He really thinks I'm sick...and he's trying really hard to help me...I get it. ...I just wish he'd try a little less..."

"Can you help me prepare vegetables for supper?" Hikari interjected, Kagome looking up at her with a blink of surprise.

"Sure," Kagome nodded as Hikari set onions, peeled potatoes, and carrots down on the table in front of her, Hikari taking a seat across from her.

"Now...," Hikari gave her own little sigh as she sat down, passing Kagome a knife. "You know why he's trying to help you so much...don't you, Kagome?" Kagome's cheeks turned a rosy hue as her jaw snapped shut. Kagome could only nod to show that she knew. They all knew that Hojo liked her. He obviously liked her a lot to have chased her for three years straight... "Do you like him, then?"

"W-Well...," Kagome started and stopped, a light frown crossing her lips. "I like him...but only as a friend. I told him that once before, but..."

"He's still trying to woo you," her mother finished, gaining a nod from the younger girl.

"He said he wanted to prove that he really likes me...," Kagome added on, cutting through a potato gently, almost not able to as she drifted off into thought.

"And...?" Hikari asked softly, knowing there was more that Kagome had wanted to add to that by the look on her face. Kagome shook herself a little, coming back from her memories more quickly than she might have normally- she was steadily getting better at keeping herself from drifting off too far.

"And...he doesn't have to because I know he likes me, I just...I just don't feel the same for him," Kagome finished, slicing the last of her potato up and setting it aside. "I tried to like him, I really did...but I just can't think of him as more than a friend."

"Okay," Hikari spoke, her voice gentle and soothing. "Then you need to tell him this sometime when you get a moment alone with him. Really stress that you don't want to be anything but friends with him, and that you don't want to further your relationship with him in any way- be sure to do this in a gentle manner so that his feelings aren't hurt." Kagome slowly nodded, again amazed by her mom's advice.

"Alright," Kagome replied thoughtfully as she quickly finished cutting up another potato. "I'll be sure to do that. Thanks, mom."

"You're welcome, dear," Hikari smiled brightly at her daughter. For a long moment, there was a comfortable moment of silence between them. Hikari hesitated, knowing that she had to get this out of the way without revealing what, exactly, she was talking about... "Kagome...do you think you will be able to come home for your birthday?"

"Of course," Kagome answered instantly with a smile. "I had already planned on coming home that day...or the day before, if I can make it."

"Could you manage being home by the night before?" Hikari asked gently, surprising Kagome.

"Yeah, sure," Kagome nodded as she looked up at her mother. "Can I ask why?"

"I'm afraid not," Hikari replied as she gave an apologetic smile to her daughter. "It's a birthday surprise."

"Oh man...," Kagome muttered, looking more excited now, rather than discouraged. "Okay. I'll definately be home by the day before. You can count on it." Kagome cheerfully got back to work slicing up potatoes as Hikari smiled at her.

"Good," Hikari replied softly, mindlessly continuing her task.'I'll have to be sure to send off that letter...,' she reminded herself silently as she glanced up at her daughter from beneath her long black lashes, her gaze slightly tinged with sorrow. 'It's her eighteenth birthday, after all....'

It didn't take the two long to finish slicing and dicing the vegetables, Hikari naturally fast from experience and Kagome able to move more quickly because of her excitement.

"I'm going to go take a bath, okay, mom?" Kagome spoke with a contented sigh as she rose from the table. "So I can be out before supper."

"Alright," Hikari nodded easily as Kagome bobbed her head in return and bounded out of the room and up the stairs. Hikari let out a soft sigh as she put the onions, potatoes, and carrots into the stew that she'd started, giving it a gentle stir. It was extra vegetables she put in, almost all of the rest cooked down into the broth. Covering the stew, she quickly walked out of the room and up the stairs to her own room. Her heart both slightly heavy and light, Hikari went over to her dresser and opened the first drawer, pulling out a letter and envelope from beneath her clothes. She re-read it one last time before sheithing it in the envelope.

She shut her drawer and stepped up to a semi-tall cart with drawers she'd bought a year or so back, shuffling through the drawers until she found her most recent pictures she had of Kagome. She picked out one where Kagome was sweeping in the courtyard of the shrine in her miko garb, the girl smiling and waving at the photographer. The next picture she picked was of Kagome walking home with Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi, one of the few times she looked completely carefree and happy. She didn't know that Hikari had snapped that one. The last picture she chose was one of her and Inuyasha arguing, Kagome having the rare upper hand (without using her 'sit' command) in the battle. Kagome had her back turned to the white-haired man, her arms crossed over her chest and a smile on her face. Inuyasha actually looked worried as he argued with her, a frown on his face as he tugged his red and white baseball cap down on his head.

Hikari smiled distantly as she slipped the photos into the folded letter, licking the seal on the top lip of the envelope and pressing it firmly against the bottom part so that it would stick. The letter already had the return address and address it was to be sent to on it, as well as a stamp. She just had to get to the post office to mail it. Walking out of her room and shutting the door, Hikari was surprised as she almost bumped into Sota.

"Did soccer practice end early?" she asked, Sota nodding immediately.

"Yeah," he replied nonchalontly. "The coach needed a day off, so the assistant coach just gave a quick speech about practicing in our spare time and we were allowed to go."

"Okay," Hikari nodded understandingly. An idea came to her... "Sota...would you be a dear and send this letter off for me? I would like to go to the post office, myself, but I can't leave the stew right now." It wasn't entirely true, but it wasn't entirely false, either.

"Sure," Sota nodded easily and Hikari let out a soft sigh of relief.

"Thank you," Hikari gave a smile as she handed the envelope to Sota.

"No problem," Sota smiled at her lovingly as he took the letter from her hand. He noticed something odd about the front with a blink. He didn't recognize the person's name, and he was sure it wasn't a bill. "Umm...who's Atsuko Urameshi?"

"She's...a friend," Hikari replied vaguely, searching for the right words to toe around the truth. "We've been pen pals for years, since Kagome was a baby." Sota nodded, believing it. He had no reason not to. Hikari instantly felt guilty about the half-lie. "I haven't written in a while, so I thought I'd drop her a line to see how she's doing."

"Cool," Sota nodded more enthusiastically. "But this address...she lives pretty close. Like...thirty blocks away or so. Why not just go and visit her on an off day while we're at school?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to her about," Hikari answered almost truthfully. "I didn't want to just run over there- she might be at work, or off on a trip or something- and I don't have her phone number..." Atsuko had Hikari's number, but Hikari still didn't have Atsuko's number.

"Oh, okay," Sota replied understandingly. "I hope you guys are able to get together soon."

"Me, too," Hikari smiled, feeling a small part of herself sadden slightly at the thought. It was the part of her that was selfish. She ignored it.

"I'll be back in about thirty minutes, then," Sota grinned as he started for the stairs.

"Alright," Hikari nodded. "Be careful."

"I will," he answered easily with a wave of his hand on his way downstairs. She couldn't help the motherly smile that spread over her face as she shook her head and headed back downstairs. Sota had already left by the time she reached the bottom step. Hikari sighed softly as she stepped into the living room, letting a little of her weariness show as she looked at a picture of her late husband.

"Give me strength, Hiro," Hikari spoke softly, her dark eyes resting on the photo as her hand reached up to her slightly aching chest. "It won't be easy to tell Kagome about Atsuko..." Hikari's eyes shined with several different conflicting emotions. "We still have a month and eight days until her birthday. I still have time to prepare and figure out how I'm going to tell her." Allowing herself to let it go for the moment, Hikari sighed and went back to the kitchen, stirring her stew.

The heavy burdon of the issue was lifted...for now.

- End Chapter -

- Curious yet? Confused? The secret will be revealed in the next chapter! Keep reading to find out!

- Please Review!