Author's Note: Okay. I just wrote this on a whim. I've never read or written any InuYasha fanfictions before...so please forgive me if it isn't too amazing. After all, it's my first time with this fandom.

I do own InuYasha. That is obviously why I am writing a fanfiction about it. Please note the sarcasm before you sue me, Rumiko Takahashi, real creator of InuYasha.

SUMMARY: Kagome had always been a normal, happy school girl. However, her life is turned upside down when on her sixteenth birthday, she's told that she has an arranged marriage with the cold, apathetic Sesshomaru Takahashi! But what happens when she meets his younger brother, InuYasha? Will she fall for him, or for Sesshomaru? InuYashaXKagomeXSesshomaru.


Scroll One

I woke up to silence.

That shouldn't be very shocking, I suppose, for you, or for anyone else. But the reason it was so shocking wasn't the silence itself; it was that I had never, ever woken up to silence on my birthday.

Always, my mother would stand there, holding a cake or another delicious treat, with my twin sister Kikyo and younger brother Saito by her side. They'd sing me the birthday song, loud and off pitch, and I'd blow out the candles and hug them and eat a slice of cake. But today, there was nothing but a heavy silence that seemed to clog my lungs and suffocate me. There was nothing but a gray sky, a dark room, shadows rising against my green walls.

I felt tears glaze my eyes over, a few drops caressing my cheek and splattering against my arm as they fell. My mother had died a year ago, as of today; she'd lost her life in a car crash on my birthday, driving to get me a birthday cake. Because it was October, there had already been a few snow falls, and black ice had dangerously coated the roads, hidden behind every turn, pushed up against the sidewalks. She'd been driving too fast, late for picking me up, and the car had slid on ice when she tried to stop from colliding against one car; this caused her to collide against another. We'd waited for her, me in a party hat and comfortable sweats, Kikyo in her nice red dress, dad with a slight smile on his face as he set the table. But when there was a knock on the door, it wasn't mom. It was a police officer dressed in blue, looking sober and intense. And so now, the only thing I can think of as I get up and make my bed is the coldness of mom's body and the dullness of her eyes as she'd lay in that hospital bed, the machine beeping and slowly coming to a stop, her lungs no longer functioning, heart no longer palpitating. I'd been very close to my mom, closer than anyone else. She'd been my best friend, my cheerleader, my emotional support. And now, the silence was just a reminder of her death. I wiped my tears and tried to push the memories away, but they flooded my mind, vicious and as clear as if it had only been yesterday. I remember everything about that day in detail; and that was almost the worst part of it all. I closed my hand in a fist, missing the warmth of her fingers in mine as she kissed my cheek and wished me a happy birthday.

October 1st was no longer what I knew and recognized as my birthday. When that date came up, I thought of her death, and not my birth. I wondered if it'd stay that way forever. I wanted to crawl back beneath the thick silk covers, but the clock in my bedside table read 6:55 A.M. I showered and quickly dressed in my Shikan Private Academy uniform; a pair of knee length white socks, black pennyloafers, a green skirt, and a white sailor top with a green cape, sleeves and white trimming with a red bow at the front. I didn't bother doing my hair or make up; I honestly didn't want to put effort into anything today. Finally, I slipped on a silver necklace, with a pale purple jewel shard pendant hanging from the end. It was the gift my mother had given me last year, before I'd left for school. I had never taken it off, except to shower. I let the jewel fall into my palm and quickly tucked it inside of my school shirt before the tears could come again.

"Good morning, Kagome," I heard a calm voice say as I entered the dining room. At the sleek, long black wood table that could seat twenty four, despite us having only five members in the family, my twin sister Kikyo was seated. She - and my little brother, Saito, who was also at the table, plus my father, who had already left for work - were the real reason I had gotten out of bed today. I was bold (and sad) enough to ditch school, probably for the rest of my life; but I knew my family needed me there, to help them, because they were suffering just like me, and we'd do better together. I'd always been the optimistic one in the family, and I knew if I let them see me doing stuff like that, we'd fall apart.

"Good morning, Kikyo!" I replied, forcing enthusiasm into my voice. Kikyo nodded politely. She looked calm, the perfect picture of serenity. Her eyes were apathetic and her pale face was void of any emotion, but that wasn't new. If anyone looked at her, they'd think she wasn't affected by my mothers death. Yet I knew. Kikyo was just as pained as me, but she'd always been one to push her emotions so far inside her that they almost didn't exist. She'd been that way since we were kids. Still, I wondered how she could sit there and be so emotionless while I practically fell apart. "And good morning to you too, Saito," I said to my brother. He gave me the smallest of smiles, through a mouthful of pancake. I sat down in front of them at the opposite side of the table.

"Happy birthday, Kikyo," I added, so quietly could hardly hear my words. Her eyes flashed towards me once, and I saw pain in her dark orbs; but soon it was gone, and she nodded, without saying a word. We ate breakfast in silence. My father wasn't there- he had to work almost constantly everyday except for sundays. He was the owner and head of the powerful Higurashi Corporation, a business company known throughout the entire world. As such, he had many things to take care of, and he tried his best to make time for his family with his tight schedule.

"I'm walking to school today," Saito announced. I looked at him and nodded. "I'll inform Karesou," Kikyo said softly, referring to our private driver. "Okay. Well, I'm off," He said, and the large double doors to our house clicked shut a few minutes later. I looked at Kikyo, who gestured for me to follow her to the front of the house, where a large, sleek car awaited, ready to take us to our school. We made our way towards the front doors when suddenly Onigumo, our french maid, waltzed in with an envelope in her hand.

"Lady Kikyo," She squeaked, and bowed. She turned and bowed to me too. "Lady Kagome. Your father wanted me to inform you that you shall not be attending school this morning." She held out the envelope. Next to her feet rested to intricately wrapped gifts. One was defintiely mine; wrapped in shiny, emerald green paper with a silver bow. Green was my favorite color. Kikyo's was deep scarlet red and tied with a white bow. Her favorite color was red, which is how I knew it was her present. I took the envelope and ripped it open.

"Huh? We're...meeting him and his friends for tea?!" I asked, as I read the letter over. Usually, I'd take any chance to miss school, but...it seemed weird. Something told me we weren't just going for tea. "Tea" was just an excuse for father to break bad news to us. I groaned, putting my hand against my face. I tried to convince myself it could be great news, but my heart told me I was right- it was definitely bad news. Kikyo took the paper from me and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, Lady Kagome! He insists you open your presents and quickly get dressed for tea. He said to pay extra attention to your appearance. Karesou shall drive you." I opened my mouth to resist, because I didn't feel like dealing with any of this, but Kikyo placed her hand on my elbow and gave me a meaningful look. She looked sad, too, which surprised me, but her eyes also told me that it was no use fighting anything today. I slumped, defeated, and grabbed the green present. Kikyo and I opened ours, and I gasped when I saw the content.

It was a beautiful dress. It was a jade colored silk dress, with an empire waist and a silver belt around the waist. It had a flat neckline and ruffles around the neck, as well as at the ends. The dress had very thin straps that crossed one another at the shoulders, tying into intricate ribbons and creating a greek effect. It was amazing, and I loved it at once. "Oh, what a darling outfit!" Squeaked Onigumo, clutching her hands to her chest. I nodded, beaming at her, and held the dress against me. The color green looked best on me, because of my coloring, and it was also my favorite color. I set the dress down. "We're supposed to wear these to meet father, are we not?" Kikyo's voice said softly. I looked at her. Her dress was red, with a V-shaped neckline and straps that crossed at the back. There was a silver belt around the waist, made of crystals, and the material was thin chiffon. There was a gold design of a dragon to the side of the dress, and I noticed mine had a similar design of silver cheery blossoms. Father had outdone himself.

"Yes! Put these on quickly and do your hair and make up, girls." When we stared at her, Onigumo sighed. "Fine, just dress and at least brush your hair into a braid or something. He said it was important to look your best." Yeah, no, not today. We hurried upstairs. I slipped into the dress and left my uniform on a pile at the ground, then combed my hair once more and piled it into a sloppy bun, holding it together with a jade and pink flower hairpiece pin. I put on ballet flats and grabbed a black coat from my closet- it'd be raining soon. When I stepped out of my room, I saw Kikyo had already finished and was waiting for me at the front door. The dress looked perfect on her, hugging her figure perfectly, and she'd put her hair in a long braid down her back with a few loose strands. She'd always been beautiful - strangers stopped in the streets to tell her - but now she looked even prettier than usual. "You look nice," She said cordially as Onigumo escorted us to the limo out front. "You do, too," I said as I sat in the back seat of the car. She spared me a smile. The car coughed exhaust into the air, and soon we were speeding out of the neighborhood into the winding Tokyo streets.

After ten minutes of silence, I asked, "What do you think we're meeting him for?" I hadn't expected an answer outside of "Who knows?" or something amongst those lines. I definitely had not expected Kikyo to say,

"Well, I suppose it's about our arranged marriages. Sixteen is often the age at which women are told. It gives us time to prepare."

I turned to face her sharply, my jaw resting on the floor.

"W-w-what?! Arranged marriages?!" I screamed, grabbing the seat with clawed hands. Shock ran through my body as I stared wide-eyed at my twin, waiting for her to say I'd heard wrong or that it'd been a joke. But Kikyo wasn't the type to tease.

"Yes. Didn't father ever tell you? We've been arranged to marry into the Takahashi family since we were about six. Didn't you...know?" Kikyo looked just a bit surprised.

I could only stare, but anger and shock built up inside me. When we parked outside the Shino Hotel, I was seething, and marched inside to tell my father just how I felt. However, I'd only just entered the hotel before I ran into someone- hard. "Ow," I said as I fell. A hand caught me, cold against my back. Slowly, I glanced upwards to meet cold, amber eyes which gazed back at me emotionlessly.

...Sesshomaru? A small voice in my head said.


A/N: not the best but I have writer's block. Next chapter to come next week, maybe sooner depending on reviews. Please review, if I don't get motivated by reviews I tend to procrastinate . It will get better so please be patient!