Inuyasha, Yu Yu Hakusho 1. Chapter 1

**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!


	2. Chapter 2

**Expect the Unexpected**

**Author: Reflection of a Broken Dream**

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

**A Quick Note**:

**Disclaimer**:

I don't own Inuyasha, Yu Yu Hakusho, or _any _of the characters!

**Expect The Unexpected**

**Chapter Two - Unexpected Anxieties**

**Two Days Later...**

Tap, tap, tap, tap...

Tap, tap, tap, tap...

Tap, tap, tap, tap...

Four thin fingers drummed lightly against a kitchen table nervously as the owner of the fingers re-read a letter that she'd gotten in the mail. The woman's brown eyes were clouded over in thought, worry, and fear as she read to the bottom of the letter, her semi-white teeth nibbling on her her bottom lip. Atsuko was a big drinker...but she hadn't drank a drop since she'd recieved this letter the day before. The contents of it had scared her sober. Eighteen years...had so many years passed already? It didn't feel like it. Then again, her son, Yusuke, had turned nineteen recently, so it was about time for _her _to turn eighteen. Kagome...

"Oh _shit_...," Atsuko groaned to herself nervously as her hands swept up to her face, cradling it as the letter dropped to the table. Her right foot starting tapping the ground quickly with her nervous energy, and her chocolatey brown eyes began to prickle with heat, tears threatening to run down her pale cheeks. How was she supposed to do this? How could she tell this young woman that everything in her life was a lie? How could Atsuko tell her that she'd given her up for adoption all those years ago...? ...Even if she _could _tell her, would she understand? Atsuko had been completely unable to care for her at that point in time, the woman juggling two jobs with an infant already on her hip. She couldn't have afforded another child...and she couldn't bear the thought of abortion... "So I gave my child away... Yeah, _that _sounds _great_. _So _much better than abortion- _abandonment_." She groaned and let her head go. It made a dull 'thunk' against the table as it hit, the woman's heart riddled with fear and nerves.

She'd rather not do this. She'd rather that poor girl just think that sweet, _kind _Hikari was her _real _mother. Hikari had been _so _kind to Atsuko at that time- and even now- too kind. She and her husband Hiro- may he rest in peace- had helped Atsuko through the toughest times during her pregnancy and then some. They'd even kept in touch over the years, though Atsuko had wanted a clean break from Kagome. She hadn't wanted to see her or have pictures of her, but they provided her with the latter anyway. It was painful to remember Kagome, that Atsuko had _willingly- _how_ever _reluctantly- given her up. _That's _why she'd drowned herself in booze all the time- to _forget _her...to forget the guilt she felt over giving up her _child_. She hadn't meant to hurt Yusuke with it (oh shit! Yusuke didn't know yet! How was he going to react to the news? Not well, probably... In fact, she had a deep feeling of dread about it...)...but she had and it made her feel all the more guilty for it. More guilt to drown away... She was addicted now, too, so it was a hard habit to break. She'd managed to stay sober the last twenty-four hours or so only by sheer will. But it all only made her want to drink more, to drink the pain away. She knew it wasn't _really _the answer to all of her problems, but she wasn't sure how to fix things anymore...

"Oh...," Atsuko heaved a heavy sigh, the sigh almost a sob. Little dark dots littered the letter and she realized that she was crying. "Dammit..." She wiped at her eyes a moment, scrubbing all of the tears away. A little of her black eyeliner and mascara came off and smudged her face, but she didn't care. It's not like she was going out or anything...nor was she expecting any company. "Shit..._shit_...what should I do? I guess I need to call her...sometime..." She looked up at the clock; it was three in the afternoon. "Unfortunately...now is a good time for her." Atsuko made a face at the paper, Hikari's neat print updating her on Kagome's life and asking gently about what she wanted to do reguarding telling Kagome about herself in about a month, on Kagome's eighteenth birthday. She had even left a copy of her phone number so that Atsuko didn't have to look it up. "Thorough...she was _always _thorough..." Atsuko grumbled to herself a moment, worrying her lip nervously, before she came up with a decision.

"Okay...I can do this," Atsuko breathed in and out deeply as she stood from the table, wiping at her eyes again. "I just need to call her and tell her not to tell Kagome. Let her believe Hikari is her real mom...she'll be happier that way." With a nod and another deep breath, Atsuko memorized the number and strode slowly to her phone. She purposely tripped over her feet a time or two and glanced over at the newspaper to try and stall a little. She sat on the couch and picked up the reciever, slowly and carefully dialing the number. Stalling wasn't working much for her today. Atsuko put the reciever to her ear and butterflies flitted about nervously in her belly as it rang several times. Then...

"Higurashi Residence, Hikari speaking," a very warm and familiar voice came onto the line and Atsuko felt herself hesitate.

"Ah...yes...umm...this is Atsuko, Hikari," Atsuko managed to get out after a moment of struggling. "I...ahh...I got your letter." For a nerve-wracking minute, the line was silent.

"Atsuko," Hikari spoke, her tone full of warmth and...was that a hint of relief? "I'm glad you got my letter...I knew it wouldn't take long." Atsuko could hear the smile in her voice as she merely hummed in agreement. "So...I know, years ago, that you'd said that you'd rather not tell her, but...Atsuko, I feel _so _guilty. It's eating me up from the inside out that I _haven't _told her, that she doesn't know. _You _are her mother, _reguardless _of what's happened...and I'm pretty sure that she would accept you with ease..._after _she got over the initial shock, that is." Atsuko hesitated again, cursing Hikari up and down silently that she had lain a little more guilt in her lap. This time it was for _not _telling Kagome; for lying to her, essentially.

"Um...," Atsuko started and stopped, having to re-think her arguement. "I still feel the same now as I did then, Hikari, I'm sorry." Atsuko hated how soft her voice came out, how shaky and weak it was. "I feel guilty about it, too, _believe me_, but...don't you think it's better this way? That she _doesn't _know?" There was a moment of silence. "I mean, I'm not the best mom. I drink a lot and I _still _have work two jobs to have to get by..."

"That's what I mean, Atsuko," Hikari piped up. "Kagome would understand that you couldn't afford to take care of her. You did the best thing you could for her- you gave her to someone who _could _afford to take care of her. She's a very kind and understanding child, Atsuko, Kagome will understand." Atsuko sighed softly in aggrivation.

"Okay, say she can understand _that_," Atsuko agreed. "But she's still going to feel- even the smallest bit- like I abandoned her. And I _did_. I _abandoned _her." Hikari tried to cut in and Atsuko talked over her to get her point across. "And there are still a lot of bad points about me, Hikari. I drink a lot and make a lot of fuss with the neighbors. I have a _really _bad temper and I'm not patient at _all_. I'm not a good mom...I'm not at _all _like _you_, Hikari. ...I think meeting would be a _really _bad idea."

"Oh, Atsuko...," Hikari's voice crooned gently from the other side of the line. "It's okay to be afraid- _I'm _afraid, too." This time Atsuko tried to break in but Hikari wouldn't let her. "She may feel a little bad about it, but she's a logical child, Atsuko. She's very smart. As I said before, she would understand." Atsuko frowned lightly, feeling like she was fighting a losing battle. Really, it was easy to give in when Hikari laid everything out and spoke in her warm, kind tones. She was a hard person to say 'no' to. "And don't worry about flaws, Atsuko, we _all _have them. So you drink? Most people do. Kagome has a friend that drinks a lot and she's had very few problems with him. She doesn't mind the drinking. And as for tempers...she has many friends with short fuses and she has one herself, sometimes. She's human- we _all _are." _'Maybe not __**all**__, but Atsuko doesn't have to know about that yet_...,' she ammended in her mind.

_'Not Yusuke...or Kurama or Hiei or Yukina_...,' Atsuko listed off in her mind and trailed off.

"And I'm _glad _you're not like me- we're all different," Hikari continued her arguement. "Kagome knows _well _how different people can be- she's friends with a _myriad _of different kinds of people. From would-be gang members to mikos and drama queens...Kagome has _many _friends because she has an open mind and an accepting heart. She would accept _you _just the same, Atsuko, you only have to _try_." (Inuyasha was Hikari's first comparison, Kaede was the second, and Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi was the third.) Atsuko hesitated again, her excuses all lost to reason. She still felt it was a bad idea, but how could she argue with _that _logic? ...Or her soothing, passionate voice?

"Well...I guess...I could give it a try," Atsuko caved. "But if it doesn't work out, I'm gone."

"That's fine- so long as you _try_," Hikari's voice gave away her cheerful beaming. "Where should we meet?"

"How about...Yukimura's?" Atsuko tried. _'Yusuke and Keiko aren't likely to be there_,' Atsuko mused silently. _'Yusuke has his own ramen stand to deal with and Keiko has her own job and schooling she's going through...'_

"On Sakura street?" Hikari asked and Atsuko gave a hum of confirmation. "That sounds good...how about we meet at nine a.m. on the twenty-third? That way we don't have to wait _too _long..."

"Sounds great," Atsuko agreed more enthusiastically than she felt.

"See you then," Hikari replied cheerfully.

"See you then," Atsuko returned the brief goodbye, turning her phone off. "Dammit...she did it _again_..." She sighed, putting the phone back where it belonged as she slumped into the couch. "Why can't I just say 'no' to the woman? _No_?" Atsuko sighed again, running a hand over her face. "Because she's just so damn cheerful and happy and hopeful, so I hate letting her down..."

"Noodle delivery," a familiar male voice surprised Atsuko, the woman peeking through her hand as the man came in without permission. "How're you doin', mom? You don't look...right." Atsuko snorted half amusedly and half aggrivatedly.

"I feel like slamming my head into the wall a few hundred times," she admitted with a touch of amusement in her voice as her hand dropped from her face.

"Hangover...?" Yusuke started to ask, the man blinking in surprise. "Wait...no, you're sober..." Atsuko's amusement faded away with ease, leaving a deep weariness in her soul. She gazed at Yusuke as he observed her a moment more, the man shutting the door behind him with his foot, noodles in the takeout boxes in hand. "You've been cryin', too." Atsuko felt the burn as her cheeks flushed, the woman wiping at her eyes again, mascara smeared around her eyes. "Was it dad? Did that bastard hurt you?" Atsuko inwardly smiled at the concern Yusuke had for her despite all that he usually said about her.

"No, it wasn't him," Atsuko quickly interjected so he didn't get the wrong idea, the man setting the noodles down on the floor near to her as he knelt down to her level. He looked a little out of sorts- which he probably _was_, he wasn't good with loved ones crying- and worried.

"What is it, then?" Yusuke asked, his large reddish-brown eyes peering into his mother's eyes imploringly. "I haven't seen you cry- sober- in a _long _time..." He didn't speak it, but the last time had been his first death. It was still a touchy subject, so he didn't mention it if he could help it.

"I...," Atsuko hesitated. "It's nothing major." Atsuko swore up and down mentally at the lie, praying to kami that Yusuke wouldn't see through it. "I'll tell you in a month or so..." Yusuke blinked at her with his wide eyes, then again before they narrowed suspiciously.

"A month or so?" he repeated, his voice a deadpan.

"Mmm hmm," Atsuko hummed back at him, wary of his impending response.

"Are you losing the house?" Yusuke prodded, making Atsuko blink at him in surprise.

"No," she frowned at her son, not happy that he wasn't dropping it. '_Of course, knowing Yusuke, he won't drop it until he knows what's going on...,' _Atsuko inwardly sighed. That thought made her hesitate.

"Gambling?" he tried.

"No," she deadpanned.

"Drugs?" Yusuke shocked her, his eyes narrowed even more at her.

"No!" Atsuko growled, shocked that Yusuke would ask something like _that_. She was a heavy drinker, yes, but she had _no _plans, _whatsoever_, to become a druggie!

"Are you _marrying _the bastard?" Yusuke questioned with a hint of repulsion in his voice, making Atsuko groan with aggrivation.

"_No_," She shot back at him quickly, mouth open to say something else. She was cut off before she could say anything.

"Then tell me what's wrong," Yusuke spoke, his voice both soothing and irritated at the same time. "You know I'm not going to stop until you tell me _something_." Atsuko shut her mouth and frowned as she looked into the worried gaze of her son. _'He's matured __**so **__much in the last few years_...,' Atsuko silently sighed again, quietly proud of her son but also dreading what she was going to have to tell him. _'How should I do this...? I mean, he's going to find out sooner or later...' _Yusuke's gaze was steady, patient, as he waited for her to speak. '_Might as well be sooner, I suppose...give him some time to come to terms with it_.' Decision made, Atsuko took a steadying breath.

"The table," Atsuko spoke her first thought aloud, the woman thinking about the letter still sitting on the table. Yusuke blinked at her, obviously not understanding. Atsuko cleared her voice before she spoke again. "There's a letter on the table. I...I want you to read it." Slowly, Yusuke nodded. She could see the gears grinding in his mind as his eyes finally left hers as he stood and strode over to the kitchen table. Atsuko couldn't help but feel relief as his piercing gaze left her...but now a whole new kind of dread and nervousness filled her as he picked up the envelope and pulled out the letter. He briefly glanced at the pictures, but set them aside for the moment. It was suffocatingly silent as he read the letter...and then re-read it. His hands trembled slightly as he slowly lowered it and looked back at her with uncertain eyes.

"Mom...what _is _this?" He asked, his voice showing how shaken he was.

**- End Chapter -**

- Dun Dun Duuuuunnn! Cliffy! XD

- What do ya'll think so far? Please Review and tell me!


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Inuyasha, Yu Yu Hakusho, Angst, Family