Exchanging Glances

It was sunset in the feudal era of Japan, and Kagome was packing her things into her giant backpack. Inuyasha knew she was going home again, but he figured that she was probably just going back to the future to take another one of those 'tests' and stock up on Ramen(). Kagome hadn't told Inuyasha why she was going home, because she knew he'd flip out if she told him she wouldn't be back for probably a couple months, due to a foreign exchange program that was taking her to Shanghais, China. She had been looking forward to this for a long time now, and she didn't want Inuyasha to stop her.

She finished packing and picked up her bag, heading to the ancient well. She heard a 'thud' behind her and knew that her canine friend had jumped down from his perch in the god tree and was following her to the well. She sighed and turned around.

"Do we have to go through this every time, Inuyasha?" she gave him her most innocent look and added some sad-looking eyes. "I'm gonna come back, I promise, I always do."

"Feh. What ties do you have here that'll keep you coming back if you decide you like it better there," Inuyasha scoffed at her.

She walked back to him. "I have my friends, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo-chan. And I have you." She reached up and kissed him on the cheek, leaving him too stunned to move. " I'll be back before you know it," and with that, she hopped into the well, leaving Inuyasha standing there with his hand on his cheek, looking like a deer in headlights.

Kagome felt a little guilty as she shampooed her hair. She had said that she would be back before he knew it, but she highly doubted that. She imagined how he would react in a couple days time when she didn't come back, if he even waited that long. She was mildly surprised that Inuyasha hadn't already come bursting through her bathroom window, demanding that she come back at once, there were shards to be found. The only reason she could think of was that she had left him stunned by her kiss. Kagome blushed, and she felt guilty about that too.

Inuyasha was lying on one of the roots sticking out of the ground from the god tree, his back against the trunk. He looked down at his sleeping comrades, Sango lying as far away from Miroku as was possible and still be able to feel the heat of the fire. Shippo was curled up next to her. Apparently earlier, while Sango had been at a nearby hot spring, Miroku had decided to go for 'a scenic walk.' His cheeks were now still red where Sango had repeatedly slapped him silly, and Sango wasn't weak.

He thought back to what had happened earlier between him and Kagome. He sub-consciously rubbed his cheek where she had kissed him. The only reason he wasn't in the future right now was that he had decided, after much torment, that he should give Kagome her space. After all, it must be hard for her to live in two worlds, he thought miserably, remembering how much of a jerk he had been to her on previous occasions. He fell into a fitful sleep, and dreamt of Kagome running off with that Kouga mutt, saying that he treated her with respect and showed her that he really cared about her. He yelled after her, saying that he cared about her too, and begging her to come back.

Kagome was humming the next morning as she stood in front of the mirror, holding up different outfits to see which one looked the best. She would be getting on a plane that day at noon, and she needed a comfortable traveling outfit. She sighed and looked at her bed, where her school uniform lay. That was comfortable enough. After all, she fought demons in it. But she needed an outfit that would give a good impression to her new family. She said a few sentences in Chinese, practicing what she had learned. She decided on a silky kimono-like top and a pair of denim jeans. Then she looked around her room one last time, picked up her suitcase, and headed downstairs to breakfast.

Inuyasha looked down at his fish while he was eating, not really taking it in. He was being moody and quiet and the others were careful what they said around him. Shippo scooted up to him.

"What's wrong Inuyasha?" he asked.

"Bug off."

"Where's Kagome?"

"At home. Now go away."

Sango came over and stood over him. She was glaring. "Just because you're having your little pity party because Kagome's not here, doesn't mean you have to bring the rest of us down with you! If it means so much to you, go to the future and find her!" she raged, making him glance up and quiver under her fierce gaze. He stood up, and walked towards the well. He stopped at the edge of it, and looked down into it. Then, making up his mind, he jumped into the well.

Kagome stepped off the plane in the china international airport and scanned the crowd. In the middle, there was a family holding a sign that said 'Figurate'. She waved and smiled and walked over to them. There was a girl that appeared to be about her age, and there was a boy that looked like the girl's twin. Their parents were standing behind them with welcoming smiles. The twins introduced themselves as Ming and Minh. The parents said that Kagome could just call them Mr. and Mrs. Yang, because their names were hard to pronounce. Kagome introduced herself, a little nagging feeling at the corners of her mind. Her acute 'priestess senses' were definitely picking up something strange about this family...

Inuyasha sniffed the air before leaving the shrine around the well. Kagome's scent was on the air, but it was faint, as though she hadn't been there for a while. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something move in the shadows created by the eaves on the house. He stood stock-still, both ears swiveled in the direction of the movement. Then he saw more movement. This shadow looked as though it was trying to sneak up on the other shadow. All of a sudden, a fat cat jumped out of the shadows, startling Inuyasha half to death. A little boy Inuyasha recognized as Sota came tearing out behind it. Sota noticed Inuyasha for the first time and gave a little gasp of surprise, then his face broke into a wide grin.

"Inuyasha! You're back!" Suddenly his face fell. "You're probably looking for my sis, right?"

"Er, yeah. Do you know where she is?" Inuyasha looked down at the cat, which was currently sunning itself lazily while playing with a leaf.

Sota gaped at him. "She didn't tell you?"

Inuyasha's eyes snapped back to Sota's face. "Didn't tell me what?"

"She went to China for a couple of months because of a school program. She left this morning."

Kagome and Ming had hit it off really easily, and they were quickly becoming friends. Ming was very fluent in Japanese, so Kagome didn't have to strain too hard to make simple conversation. Ming was very pretty, with almond-shaped eyes that were a deep brown, and soft auburn hair that went a little past her shoulders. Minh looked similar, except his hair was short.

They talked about school and home and friends, and they found a common ground in both owning cats, but the Yangs also owned a dog. Her name was Shijou, and she was a white chow-chow, which was really rare, according to Minh. All the while that Kagome was getting to know her new family, she couldn't get that little nagging feeling out of the back of her head. It was like an itch that just wouldn't leave, or a buzz, like a mosquito in her ear. She sat in the middle of the backseat, and kept catching Minh's eye. Each time she would hurriedly look back at Ming. Minh was very attractive, more so than Hojo or Inuyasha.

Inuyasha didn't know whether to be hurt or angry. On one hand, Kagome had run off without telling him. On the other hand, Kagome had still run off without telling him! Would the madness never end! He thought this all over as he hung onto the plane for dear life. As a demon, if he fell, he wouldn't die of course, but it would still probably hurt. The wind rushed through his hair and tugged at his clothes. 'Wouldn't it just be perfect if the wind took my pants right off?' he thought sarcastically.

On her way to China, a little girl was sitting by the window on a plane, coloring in a coloring book. She was sitting right next to the wing. She glanced out the window. "Puppy! Look Mommy, Look! It's a puppy! Look!" Her mother sighed and didn't even look up. "Yes dear. Its lovely" Why me? She thought. Meanwhile, the girl was delighted by the sight of the puppy on the wing. The 'puppy' turned and gave the girl the most vicious glare it had, and then went back to looking ahead. The girl screamed and slammed the window shut.

"Humans" Inuyasha thought exasperatedly. How did he wind up in this situation anyway? Oh yeah. Sota had told him that the fastest way to get to Kagome was on a thing called an airplane. He had told Inuyasha how to get to the airport, and then told him to get on a plane marked 'China Air.' Good kid, Inuyasha thought. So here he was, literally riding on a plane. On the wing, to be exact.