Everything went haywire in the morning. Shit just had to hit the fan on this day of days. Of course, I manage to wake up late and miss my alarm ringing, I literally have to run out of my house with a piece of toast slathered in jam my mom had shoved into my mouth (as if the irony of frustrating things in life could resemble even more of what my favorite manga heroines endured), ignoring my brothers taunts and teases out the door, ignoring the slightly weird feeling I got passing the shrine outside the house – ignoring my racing heart.

You can't be late on the first day of high school! You just can't! I have a reputation to keep up. My friends would be counting on me. Hell. I was counting on myself to have not messed up - yet look where we are.

I thank the heavens for my relative athletic skills and still manage to look decently presentable while rushing into my new school's doors before I catch the bell ringing. I stop by a mirror in the girl's restroom to touch up my lip balm. I tousle my hair. It is unfixable. Way to go, Kagome. You're supposed to look well-rested and calm on the first day…not like you'd just ran a marathon.

I thought of all the times this happened in junior high, though, and shudder. I then also feel an odd chill on my right side as I turn my head to glance at the girl looking into the mirror beside me – she must have been a teacher, not a student. Her gorgeous figure and impeccable makeup sends me reeling. My cheeks flush, a little embarrassed for having been caught gawking at her beauty, and hurry out to find my first classroom.

Room 234. At least I'd been smart enough to come here before the fall term began, and I knew exactly where to find it. Right, I think, unable to stop my heel from stamping onto the ground to assert myself where I stood. You got this.

I open the door and head in, high on confidence, a little taken aback by not having any friends in here with me, as far as I could tell. I sigh a little, dreading homeroom already for the rest of the year. Even when Eri, and Ayumi, and Yuka were being nosy as hell – at least it was fun to be paid attention to…

I sigh again and rest my chin in my palms. I mourn my lack of breakfast and think now that even without the main morning bell ringing, I was still here just in time, and could have lingered around at home for longer to eat and get my shit straight. Paranoid, I grab my bag and triple-check to make sure I've got everything I need. With relief, I realize I do, and wish that it would afford me more peace of mind than it does.

The teacher walks into the room then, checking his watch, then glancing at the one up on the wall. A few more students bustle in and get settled, and the bell rings. The teacher rushes over to the door to close it then, clearly in a hurry to get the first lesson of the year out of the way, but then a big hand suddenly grips onto the edge of the door and I can't help but notice how easily it swings the weight of the door and the teacher combined aside. I mean – not knocking him into the wall or anything comical like that – but rather a little intimidating I think, noticing the really muscular arm that follows the hand…I swallow.

A guy walks into the room, then. He really stands out, with platinum silver hair swishing past his shoulders. He is noticeably taller than our teacher. A couple of us, including myself, start immediately judging this delinquent-looking dude showing up late on the first day at such a prestigious high school.

"You're late, young man," The teacher says, adjusting his tie and clearing his throat.

"Oh, God, for-give me," The jerk sighs back dramatically, rolling his eyes.

"I'll allow it for the first day, circumstances barred."

His attitude has been noted, it's clear.

The guy adjusts the hat on his head…a beanie. Wasn't it a bit warm for that today? I start to feel myself grow irritated at the smug look on his face. He doesn't apologize to the teacher and my back lights on fire as I notice him take the empty seat behind me. I feel unjustified and angry, and not sure why my stomach feels so hot all of a sudden along with this.

He kicks the leg of my chair on accident, I assume, I hope, while spreading his legs comfortably in his seat. I glare up to the ceiling. Please God, give me the patience to not kill this idiot before I graduate.

Roll is called. Then, when it is halfway through, suddenly the door slams open again – another male student comes in, his entire cheek swollen red and a dazed look on his face. There is some shouting out in the hallway – girls' voices. His hair is in a low and short ponytail, and his ears are pierced. I start to feel alarmed. Did I apply to the wrong school?! Were all my classes going to be filled with freaks and criminals like this?

He takes a seat not too far from mine, slides into it like he's just come out of a sauna, forehead glistening and gaze glassed over. He is grinning just barely. I then notice the red mark on his face is shaped like a hand and the girl's screaming makes sense.

"…Miroku?" The teacher asks, looking at him over his glasses incredulously, lucky for him he'd come just in time for his name to be called, we guessed.

"Yes, sir," The guy replies, adjusting himself to a more professional looking position and losing the dreamy eyes. I note that this Miroku is the player type and make a mental note to avoid ever making eye contact for as long as I go here.

"Kagome?"

I raise my hand, "Here."

The ass behind me gives a sort of snicker under his breath at the brief exchange and I whip my head around to glare at him while the teacher keeps going on calling out other names. His eyes look into me, bored and hollow – but an incredible color – what was that? Honey? Amber?—

"Take a picture, it lasts longer," He sneers, and I curl my lip and turn back around, adjusting my long hair in the back with my middle finger out for him to see. He shuts up.

Good.


My classes could not have gone by slower. I feel my patience drain drastically as we go over the same old cookie cutter syllabi, and I repeat time spent in rooms without any friends…but that Miroku guy, and the white-haired freak whose name I learn is Inuyasha, aren't in other classes of mine so far either, and for that I am so grateful I can hardly express it except for sighing excessively every other minute.

Lunch period rolls around, and I make a mental note to stop by my assigned locker at the end of the day so I can set it up and not have to lug around my heavy bentou in my bag along with my books and everything else. I find my three best friends in the cafeteria and they rush to me, practically carrying me to their table while squealing excitedly over meeting again.

"Kagome! We looked everywhere for you this morning," They gush at me.

"I knooowww," I whine, "I woke up late! You guys know me."

They giggle and chide and go on to eating. I find myself people-watching as they chat, and notice not too far away at a smaller table is that really gorgeous girl from earlier. It looks like she is eating alone, but doesn't mind – she catches me watching her again and narrows her eyes at me. I look away, beyond embarrassed by now. Obviously she was fine by herself, I didn't need to harbor any sympathy.

But then my eye is caught in her direction again when I notice the white-haired delinquent approaching her, and haughtily shoving himself into the closest seat at her side. She glances at him but ignores his intense glare. He starts to talk and use his hands a lot for emphasis, but she hardly seems to notice or reply. I wish I could hear what they were saying, but the outcome betrays it all anyway when he gets up and slams his fist on the table, and storms off. He doesn't sit elsewhere like I expect – he just entirely leaves the cafeteria.

I am so intrigued I almost want to follow, but then I remember that nasty attitude and shake it out of my head. Ayumi playfully nudges me and teases the fact I had spaced out. I laugh too and bring myself back to the real world, forcing myself to ignore the pretty girl and what seemed to be wanted of her, by him.


At the end of the day, I realize I do at least have one class with my three girlfriends – a major coincidence – but then for last period we have to return to homeroom, and I groan inwardly and want to whine and cry. I suck it up anyway and take in a deep breath before heading back there, just so eager to get through the last of it and see the day end peacefully…and survive whatever else could happen…

But that was going to be impossible. Before the bell rings, Miroku is in there arguing with a girl about whether or not he had goosed her, holding his hands up and laughing sheepishly while other girls crowd around, either interested - or involved somehow.

Inuyasha comes in then while the shouting match climaxes, and he just somehow totally ignores it but makes a point instead to really glare at me as he takes the same seat behind me again. As soon as I hear him sit down I spin my body around to glare back.

"Is there some kind of problem we're going to have?" I demand, not scared.

"Hell yeah," He snarls back. "Your face. I don't like it."

Literally. What the hell? I blink hard and do a double take, not sure how to react to that at first. I know…I know I'm not ugly! What in the world was his issue?!

"Honestly, that's pitiful," I harrumph and turn back around to just tell him over my shoulder, "I feel sorry for you."

I can feel from the lack of an instant retort he is taken aback in turn and I smirk to myself. But then what he asks me catches me off guard.

"Fucking whatever. Anyways. Do you happen to know…a Kikyou?"

"Kikyou?" I make a face at him, annoyed with his weird accusations and then this out of the blue-ness. "No, it doesn't ring a bell."

"Figures," He growls. "Forget it."

I wish I were strong enough to fight him, he makes me so mad. For the last 45 minutes of the day I am fuming. I storm out of the room when it finally ends so I can run to my locker and then home – I don't even want to see my girl friends – I just need to get the hell away!

I find my locker down the hallway and shove all my books into it, sighing with relief at the finalization of this long ass day, feeling my heart soar at the thought of crashing in my bed as soon as I got home, curled up with my cat Buyo, napping for a hundred hours…!

"Yo," Someone says above me as I'm kneeling down. I look up.

It's the player guy from earlier…Miroku, or whatever it was.

"What is it," I ask absentmindedly.

"I'm having a party at my place this weekend," He offers, shrugging. "I'm only asking pretty girls to come though," He winks at me, and I shudder on the inside.

"Uhhhh, I don't know," I reply, hoping he'll just say something ambivalent and walk away – but I realize quickly he is the rather persistent type.

"Come on, let loose a little," He laughs.

"Remind me again on Friday, and I'll see," I tell him, slamming my locker door and standing up. He raises his eyebrows. "Alright," He responds, walking off. I watch him for a moment as he approaches another pretty girl, proposing the same thing most likely. Several other girls go up to him too and the laughing starts and doesn't stop and I turn away, bored already. I hope he forgets he asked me among all the other chicks he's trying to persuade to also go.

As I hurry to get out of the doors through the crowd of people, I accidentally shoulder several, then run into someone's chest full-on in my desperation to get out and head home. You wanna guess who it was?

"'The fuck? Watch where you're going, bitch," He snarls at me.

"Oh, FUCK OFF," I yell back. I am astounded at myself! Inuyasha makes a startled face but still doesn't move out of my way, then lets out a roar of laughter that just stuns me. Shocking me further that I could be even more stunned than I already was.

"Nice," He laughs, clearly pleased, then moves out of my way. Did I earn his respect or something for that? Anyway, who cares?

I groan and stalk off, just wanting to get home and not have to think about it, or him, or anyone, or anything anymore.