Part One: The Very Long Day

The New Girl

"Hey, Kurama!" Boton waved energetically from the corner where she waited with Yusuke and Keiko.

Kurama raised one hand in greeting. However, his vivid green eyes never faultered from their inspection of the girl walking about ten feet ahead of him. There was something about her...

When they saw that he was not moving in their direction they altered their own route to intercept him at the next corner.

He felt his lips pull up at the corners in the ghost of a smile as he slowed his steps so that the others could catch up to him. He brushed a strand of his red hair from his eyes and considered the girl that was steadily getting farther and farther away from him.

"Hey." Yusuke grunted his greeting. He was never much of a morning person.

Kurama said nothing but nodded to his friends. Boton and Keiko chirped and giggled about all the nonsense that girls go on about and he tried to ignore them.

After a few moments of strained silence, Kurama noticed that they were asking him a question. He glanced at Yusuke sideways for help but the spirit detective was dragging his feet and yawning wide enough to inform him that he was paying even less attention than Kurama himself had been.

He sighed and gave in to the inevitable. "My apologies. What were you saying?"

Keiko covered her mouth with her hand and giggled again. He ignored it and continued his pursual of the dark haired girl in front of them. Her ebony hair was long and fell in natural waves down to the small of her back. He had not seen her face yet. His eyes narrowed.

"I said," Boton began,"Why are you so quiet?" She smiled up at him, hoping to catch his attention.

"Huh?" Yusuke rubbed his eyes. "Kurama is always quiet."

"..."

"Well, Kurama?" Keiko said.

He bit back a sigh and tilted his head forward to indicate the object of his attention for the last ten minutes. They all followed his gaze and spotted the girl now thirty feet away. Yusuke was the first to react.

The look on his face said it all. "Oooohhoo, I see! Who is she?" The gleam in his eyes coupled with the sickly sweet smile on his face was disgusting.

"I don't know."

They looked confused. Kurama took mercy on his friends and explained himself.

"There is something about the girl I can't place. Something different... Boton, do you know her?"

"If you are asking if she is from spirit world then I don't know. I've haven't had any calls lately. Do you think she is a demon?" Boton sized the girl up from where they were and seemed skeptical.

"No. But still, I have a sense..." he stopped, uncertain what he was feeling coming from the girl. "What do you see, Yusuke?"

Yusuke seemed awake now and peered at the figure in front of them. "Nice legs."

Keiko swung her bag at the back of his head and glared daggers but he dodged it.

"Seriously, she can't be a demon. She seems to be really pissed off, though."

Kurama smiled at that and continued his careful watching. Pissed off was an understatement.

She was practically burning with rage.

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Kagome was livid. She had just returned from another round of fighting and adventuring in the Sengoku Jidai with Inuyasha and the others last night. When she arrived home she found that her school had arranged to transfer her. Yeah, her grades were suffering and so, she missed a few days...but to make her change schools in her junior year of high school was cruel. Kagome kicked a crack in the sidewalk angrily.

It was hard to keep up when she was spending most of her time and energy into traveling back five hundred years in the past to fix the Shikon Jewel. It wasn't fair. Kagome slumped her shoulders in defeat and rubbed the bridge of her nose with her finger and thumb. It could be worse, she thought. They could have expelled me long ago.

So now, here I am, fighting demons, fighting myself for the love of an idiot, fighting to save the world...or the past world, and now I have to fight to keep myself in school again. Kagome wasn't sure if she wanted to cry or scream. Since she was determined to do neither, she clutched her backpack tighter to her chest and continued toward the new school she was being forced to go to now. Getting used to a new school was not something she was ready to handle right now. Things in the past were finally coming to a close. Naraku was close, and there were only a few more jewel shards left to collect. She seemed to have little choice, and Inuyasha was not going to be understanding. When he came back to get her she wasn't going to be able to leave right away. Oh Kami! She thought This is going to be a long day.

She tugged at the hem of her forest green skirt and lamented the color and six inches that kept it from matching the uniforms of the other girls she would be attending class with. There hadn't been time to get a new uniform. She was going to stand out bad enough as it was, being a new student. She felt herself growing angry again, at the injustice of it all. She glared at the sidewalk in front of her oblivious to the strange looks she was getting from behind her.

Then, the slightest tingling in her mind made her stop in the center of the walkway. A Youkai?

Kagome turned her face toward to trees at her left and looked around. It had been faint, a flash really, but she was sure there had been something if only for a moment. The trees were empty. She tilted her head to the side hoping to catch a remnant of the power she had felt. When nothing else happened, she shrugged and walked on. "Baka.."

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When the girl stopped suddenly, so did the four walking behind her.

Hiei vanished from the trees just as she turned her head to inspect them. After a quiet moment, she continued on.

"Now I'm interested." Yusuke said.

Everyone else stared at her departing figure.

Hiei appeared next to him with a genuinely surprised look on his face. "Did that human sense me coming?"

Kurama watched as she turned the corner with a flick of her skirt. "Indeed. I believe she did."

"She's headed toward our school." Keiko supplied after looking around the corner.

"Maybe I had better go talk to Koenma..."Boton said.

"Let's wait." Yusuke quickened his step, for once content to go to school. "It may be nothing at all. Perhaps she is just sensitive to spirit energy like Kuwabara."

"Not a chance. I was masking my energies." Hiei glowered. "You didn't feel me coming and you are trained to be able to do that sort of thing."

"Well anyway, we can watch her in the school. Hiei, you make sure she doesn't leave unexpectedly." Yusuke stopped outside the school grounds and without waiting for an answer, he split apart from the others to follow the only spot of green in a sea of pale blue. Hiei growled but vanished to a post across the street. Despite himself, he was interested too.

Kurama watched the drama with interest and thought about the slender form he had been following all morning. Something about her...he walked casually in the other direction from Yusuke and made his way to the senior hall. Being a year older than the others in his human form would give him access to more opportunities than the others to find out who the girl was. He kept his hands in his pockets while avoiding the masses of girls and young men that always seemed to be hanging out in front of his classrooms. He knew exactly where to go.

Kurama stationed himself near the office just as the principal walked by with the new girl. He knew that he wouldn't be missed because of the unique color and length of his hair. And he was well liked for his reserved manner and respectable attitude to the teachers and staff while keeping perfect grades and near perfect attendance. It was simple.

"Ah! Here is someone perfect for showing you around, Miss Higurashi." Kurama tried to look innocently away. "Shuuichi-san," the principle called. "If you have a moment?"

Kurama turned slowly when his human name was called and prepared himself to look at the girl he had been following. He wasn't as prepared as he thought he had been.

Two beautiful eyes of blue and grey blinked up into his own green ones. Her hair was delightfully rumpled in appearance and her face was flushed slightly in embarrassment. Her full mouth was parted slightly as she looked up into his eyes and seemingly into his very soul. She was beautiful.

Kurama almost stopped breathing.

"Shuuichi, this is Higurashi Kagome. She will be joining our school for the remainder of her junior and senior year. I would appreciate if you could show her around. I will of course write out passes for you to miss your first few classes."

Kurama stared and had to shake himself to turn his attention back to the principle. "Of course. I will be happy to escort Miss Higurashi around." He smiled confidently at her.

From the corner of his eye he saw Yusuke stalk past and do a double take when he saw the girl from the front. Kurama was pleased that he wasn't the only one affected by the new girl but he would never show it. Then he noticed that all the boys in the hall were openly staring and a few were even rudely pointing. He glanced at her and saw the embarrassed flush in her cheeks grow.

"Shall we go?" he was surprised to hear how normal his voice sounded. He held an arm out for her which she looked at dazed. After flicking her eyes up to his once more with hesitation, she accepted his arm and he walked her away from the gathering mob that threatened to clog the hall ways.

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Kagome was mortified. There were students here that seemed to have no qualms about singling her out and talking about her as if she were not standing less then three feet from them. And this guy...Kagome sneaked a peek from under her lashes at the boy who was escorting her around as if she were important. His red hair contrasted with his pale features and startling green eyes. He reminded her of the strange beauty of the youkai lords that seemed to have an inner light that glowed from within them. He reminded her of Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha's half brother. Beautiful, deadly, magnificent...powerful.

She realized she was staring when he turned his head and his eyes met hers again and held. She was unsure what to say...what to do. She caught a movement from the corner of her eye and saw the figure of a guy that had been following her since she had arrived in the building. His orange hair was short and coarse compared to the angel walking beside her. He was tall and muscled and very bad at pretending he wasn't following her. She sighed.

Kurama felt his gaze pulled down to her mouth when she sighed. No one had ever captivated him this way before. It wasn't just him. Youko was just as effected and the combination of human and youkai sensation at one time was confusing. It took him a moment to realize she was speaking to him.

"Umm," Kagome hadn't been given his full name and was hesitant to call him by his first name.

"Shuuichi." he supplied.

Her sudden smile lit her face and caused him to catch his breath again. "Shuuichi-san," she agreed. "Who is that boy?" She pointed at the tall figure crouched rather uselessly behind a water fountain.

Kurama hesitated before answering. She glanced at him and blushed. "He's been following me since I got here. It's rather...unnerving."

She worried her lower lip between her teeth and ducked behind him a bit. He smiled slowly. "That is Kuwabara, a junior here. Do not worry about him. He's harmless." She seemed skeptical and kept him between them until they passed. "Shall I show you the school grounds or would you like to familiarize yourself with your classes first?" he stopped walking. "They have given you a schedule?"

"Oh, yes. Here it is."

Kurama glanced at the schedule. She had two classes with him and three it seemed with various others of the Reiki Tentai Team. The two they shared were honors courses in Mythology and History. Her Math class she would be sharing with Yusuke. Not a subject that the boy needed a distraction in...

Kurama smiled and began talking about the school, the people and activities. When he asked a question, she evaded direct answers easily. Kurama decided to let her get more comfortable with him before asking anything more of her.

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Kagome was so nervous she wanted nothing more then to go home and face the angry hanyou she knew would be waiting for her. The school seemed mostly unfriendly with the exception of her escort and the principle.

She looked at Shuuichi again and wondered about the strange powers she felt in him. He was definitely human...but there was something else...like he was two separate people. He caught her staring again. If I keep this up he's going to get the wrong idea.

She looked ahead and watched in disbelief as the boy called Kuwabara ducked into a door frame to lean obviously around it and stare at her. A girl with blue hair suddenly came up behind him and smacked him in the back of the head. He jumped as she dragged him into the room. Kagome sighed in relief. The guy was creepy.

Kagome knew that she should have been enjoying the company of such a polite and refined guy, but there were so many things on her mind right now she couldn't focus on the things he was telling her.

Her life was a mess. All her hard work at saving the world with her friends, from a tarnished jewel that could grant evil Youkai extraordinary powers and from the ambitions of the deadly Naraku, would not help her here in her own time. In fact, she couldn't keep up with her school work and was failing some of her subjects...like math. She glowered at the floor.

Kagome knew that no college was going to accept her if she couldn't pull her grades up and actually attend school. By saving the past, she was ruining her future. Well, her present was already shot all to hell. Kagome sighed again. The lives that would be saved because of what she was doing was worth it, though. So many lives...

Kurama kept talking even though he realized that she was focused on things other than her surroundings. He watched her eyes and saw the changes in emotion flit across her features. Her expression was one of intense determination and her eyes were full of sadness. Her eyes were wise and old. It was if she had seen and done more in her few years then he had in his last four hundred.

She was a mystery he had every intention of solving. The Kitsune loved puzzles. It was in his nature.

Kurama timed the tour to end just as their history class began. He walked her into the room and showed her to an empty seat next to his own. He bowed slightly to the professor and allowed him to introduce the girl to the class. Then the dreaded "tell us something about yourself"...

He was very interested in what she would say without appearing to be interested at all.

Kagome had prepared for this. Somehow she managed to say something with out saying anything at all.

Kurama smiled. She was good. The games would begin now.

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The First Rotten Day

Kagome crossed her eyes and looked at the sheet of paper the teacher had just handed her. It still didn't make sense. The numbers and formulas swam in her vision as she gripped the paper and mourned her lack of skill in the subject. Algebra was so tough for her...

The tall orange haired boy and the shorter dark haired boy with so much gel in his hair that he looked like he was wearing a helmet, were sitting to her left. The had been whispering and staring since Shuuichi had walked her over when the class started. She ignored them. They were obviously just as dumb as her to be stuck in this class. She heaved another sigh. She seemed to be doing that quite a bit today. At least class was almost over and lunch was coming up.

Then again, that might not be such a good thing...she remembered the stares and looks she had been getting from other students. She was getting a headache.

Class ended and to her surprise, Shuuichi arrived at the door to greet her. He smiled at her charmingly. She was immediately suspicious. No one was that good. Not even Hojo. This guy was Inuyasha's exact opposite. Kagome found herself unsure how to react to him.

"I know you don't know anybody yet, so I thought I might introduce you to a few of my friends. You can eat lunch with us if you like." Kurama offered.

There were people already in the hall looking in at her. She gulped and nodded. At least he was somewhat familiar.

"Well, then." He smiled. "I guess I can start with the two gentlemen behind you."

Kagome didn't turn around. She knew who was behind her. The two staring oafs were breathing down her neck. The strange tingling was back, but not as strong as the feeling she had that morning. Stop imagining things, Kagome. There are not youkai everywhere you go.

"Kuwabara and Yusuke, meet Kagome Higurashi."

She felt the tall guy take her hand in his and look at her seriously. He seemed to be looking for something. She murmured a polite response and pulled her hand away.

Yusuke, when she looked at him, took her by surprise. He was kinda cute under the hair helmet and if you looked past the angst-ridden features.

"Yo."

It was such an Inuyasha-like greeting she smiled the first real smile of warmth that day. She stopped herself from laughing when he jerked back in surprise.

Kurama watched the smile with interest. Perhaps he had found the first lever to pull information from the girl. A puzzle indeed!

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Lunch was strained and silent. Boton and Keiko had seemed very pleased to meet her but Kagome was too aware of the strange tension in the air that thrummed around them, to open up to anyone. One of the girls had a strange feel to her, too.

The thick atmosphere only intensified when Kagome continued to stare across the street after Boton asked what she was looking at. "I just feel like I'm being watched." Kagome blushed.

It was stupid, she knew, because she was being watched from about every direction by various students. Why something across the street should bother her was unexplainable. Her new friends exchanged looks.

Kagome was surprised when Boton excused herself and left them. She hoped she hadn't driven anyone away.

Kagome was miserable.

Across the street, Hiei glared in their direction. Damn, if he didn't want to be part of the group right now instead of sulking in the trees. And he was sulking. The girl was looking right at him. He knew he was too far away for them to actually see him and he had doubled his efforts to hide his energy signals.

He should be invisible. Hiei was frustrated. He should kill her. Instead, he sat alone playing the waiting game.

The day was going to be a long one.

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Kagome shared her next class with Keiko and it was actually pleasant. She felt she may have found a friend in the girl. For all her youthful enthusiasm, Keiko was not naive. Kagome liked her enough to loosen up and relax for the duration of the class. There was nothing strange, perverted, or unexplainable about the girl except her friends.

Kagome shook her head. That was the most unlikely group of people she had ever met...well, with the exception of her own friends in the past. Sango was a demon exterminator, Miroku was a monk and a pervert, Shippo was a kitsune child, Kirara was a demon cat, and Inuyasha was half human, half dog demon. And she was a girl from the future, born as the reincarnation of a past Miko that had loved and died for Inuyasha. She was also the reason the Jewel of Four Souls was broken.

Maybe it wasn't so strange to see such variety in a group of friends...she mused. Kagome said goodbye to Keiko and made her way to her last class. She knew she would practically sleep through this. Mythology was easy. She lived it when she went through the well into the past.

Kagome hesitated at the door and found Shuuichi already present. It appeared he had saved her a seat. Why is he being so nice? The boy made her nervous. She was starting to get the impression he was playing some kind of game. There was just the sense that she was missing some pertinent information that he knew. She frowned.

Kurama blinked. Here he was being as charming as he could politely be and she frowned at him. She smiled for Yusuke... he thought. perhaps, if she can sense Hiei so easily, she can also sense Youko.

It was Kurama's turn to frown. Was she playing games with him?!

The answers were not there and he found himself distracted through the rest of class.

Kagome was distracted as well but not by the class or the students around her. She was beginning to feel some sort of unease that something was wrong. Something was going to happen soon. Something terrible and dark. Kagome shivered and determined to watch her back. She wanted to be back home. Even if it did mean facing the angry half demon.

As soon as the bell rang, Kagome sang out a quick thank you to the red haired boy. Before he had even been able to gather all his things together, she was already flying out the door. So much for walking her home...Kurama walked thoughtfully out to meet the others. Maybe Boton was back from Koenma's. Maybe she had some answers.