"Kagome!" Her mother came into the living room. She found her daughter stomping the floor like a madman, with her brother following suit. "Kagome?"

"ONE HUNDRED COMBO!" Kagome roared and raised her arms in the air in a triumphant pose. "IN YOUR FACE SOUTA!"

Her little brother collapsed in exhaustion. "If…this…had…been…" he gasped, "Guitar Hero…"

"Well then bring it on, little bro!" Kagome hopped over to the game consul and unplugged the DDR mats. "I'll beat you, anytime, anywhere!"

"Kagome," her mother interrupted. "Please, I need you to run an errand."

Kagome and Souta whined, "But mom—"

"We don't have any potatoes for curry. Unless you want something else for dinner tonight…" she ended with a knowing smile.

Souta hastily stood up as Kagome groaned. Curry was Souta's favorite dish. She'd have to go to the store now.

"Sis, get the grocery list! This is an emergency!" He ran about like a headless chicken. "Mush Kagome, MUSH!"

Break Me

Chapter 1: Miss Heroics

Kagome hummed a random tune as she jogged to the grocery store. She was a little distracted. After all, she had a lot to think about, like formulating plans to humiliatingly conquer her brother the Guitar Hero prodigy. Kagome merrily skipped into the store and brushed past a silver-haired fellow.

"Oh, sorry." She glanced to her side and through the parted silver locks met golden eyes. Dog ears on his head? Cool. She gave an apologetic smile and went back to her errand…and her dastardly thoughts of beating her brother. At Guitar Hero, that is.

Kagome found the bag of potatoes in the back and grabbed some fruits from the refrigerated section. Now for some snacks from the second aisle. Kagome practically jogged to the cashiers, as she had JUST come up with a perfect tactic. Sun Tzu (author of The Art of War, mind you) has nothing on this sister!

"Here's your change," the cashier said.

Kagome rushed to the parking lot, the quickest shortcut to the shrine, and nearly dropped her groceries. The man she had walked past at the doors was on his cell phone, totally unaware that there was a car coming out of the parking lot at breakneck speed. Now the man was taking out his car keys. That idiot! Kagome didn't have time to scream or shout. It was now or never.

"WATCH OUT!" Kagome ran like she had never ran before and collided into the silver-haired man with all her might. Behind her she felt the rush of air and the sound of skidding tires pass by. When she and the man were safely on the sidewalk, twisted in a humanity of limbs, hair, and potatoes, Kagome looked up to realize the speeding car was now a speck in the distance, the driver having had the audacity to continue on his merry way.

Kagome was furious. No, she was beyond furious. She was so furious what she said next was censored, even though the story is rated M for Mature. That's how serious it was, folks.

"YOU BLEEP, WHAT THE BLEEP WERE YOU BLEEP DOING, DON'T BLEEP DRIVE AWAY YOU BLEEP, BLEEP, BLEEP, BLEEP, BLEEP, AW BLEEP—" and due to sensory overload that's all we can allow in this story. Remember kids, stay in school! Back to the story.

Kagome fell on her back, exhausted. She held her chest, her heart still racing from the adrenalin, and looked into the sky. A shadow fell over her.

"You saved my life." It was a simple statement, devoid of emotion and reaction. Golden eyes looked at her with bewilderment and Kagome noticed the cuts on his forehead. Kagome sat up and realized she had grazed her knees. And her hip…she winced. She was going to have one large bruise in the morning.

"A-all in a d-day's work!" Kagome laughed and found her voice shaking. "I-I…" she stuttered, and blinked. "Eh…wow." She ended lamely.

"Here," a hand was offered.

Kagome took the hand and stood up, but her legs had lost their strength. Kagome was about to fall down when two arms wrapped around her waist and her face was buried in the man's chest. She blushed and mumbled, "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry." His voice was calming, if not slightly teasing. "You saved my life today."

Suddenly there was buzzing in the background and Kagome shakily stepped away. The man's cell phone vibrated on the ground, surprisingly still intact. "You should get that," Kagome said, wanting to end the awkward silence.

As the man picked up the phone she quickly grabbed her groceries and dashed away. She ignored his yell and ran home without turning back.

She'd soon regret that.

"You're a mess!" Her mother stared when she came home. Before she could ask what happened Kagome cut in.

"Some stupid driver nearly ran me over. I had to dive away at the last second!" She huffed, leaving out the detail about saving someone's life. She didn't want to make a big deal about it, plus she was mighty hungry.

"The driver didn't stop?" Kagome shook her head. "Oh dear, how awful. Here, let me get those groceries."

Kagome got an icepack and some bandages from the cupboard and gratefully rested on the couch. Souta was wise enough not to challenge her for a DDR rematch and played Mortal Kombat for the rest of the day.

When dinner was ready Souta left in a flash and Kagome limped to the dinner table. The doorbell rang when she was halfway to the kitchen.

She sighed and called, "I'll get it." Her stomach growled in protest. "Oh shut up, you."

She trudged to the front door and automatically grumbled, "No solicitors are welcomed at this…time…" When she opened the door her voice died and went to heaven.

The dog-eared man was lazily leaning against the door frame with a fanged smirk on his smug mug. "Do I look like a solicitor, sweetheart?" He pulled out her wallet, which she quickly guessed had been forgotten on the sidewalk.

Kagome could only reply with a hoarse, "No…"

AN: This was supposed to be a one-shot but now I'm thinking about making it a bonafide fic. What to do... Tell me you beautiful reviewers, you!