She ran up the stone stairs and shot into the college library.
'Oh geez...how can I be late?! And on my first day, too...'
Kagome burst into the library and earned glances of disapproval from the librarians with her sudden appearance and labored breathing. Cheeks flushing a slightly darker shade than normal, she pointedly ignored the looks and scanned the room for her tutee. She had been given a strange description of her student, but saw no one with white hair and baggy red clothes. Sighing, she sat down at an empty table and started to unpack her bag.
'I knew it couldn't be right. No teenager would have white...hair? What?'
Kagome looked up to see the flash of long white hair was connected to a rebellious looking youth with draping red clothes. He sauntered into the library and glanced around in a lazy imitation of what Kagome had done. When he looked her way, Kagome stood a little and waved hesitantly, still not quite believing this person was to be her student.
'I always get the weirdos. First Hojo, now him. I guess they really want me to earn my money.'
"Are you...Fukashu? Fukashu Inu-Yasha?"
The boy looked at her for a moment, scowled, and made his way toward her.
'Well isn't he just a little ray of sunshine?'
"You must be the wench they assigned me to. Just to let you know now, I don't want to be here. I don't particularly care for learning history and especially not from you. So any goody-goody ideas you might have about being friends and getting along you can chuck out the window, got it?"
Kagome couldn't shake herself from her shocked expression.
'Why that little...No, I can't get angry. I won't get angry. I need that paycheck...'
She forced a smile and sat down across from him.
"Ah, I see you've read my mind. Now that we've established that our relationship is purely business with no room for discussion, let's get started on the Muromachi Era that you seem to be failing in."
She slammed down a thick volume in front of him and graced him with a sweetly smug smile when he sputtered in surprise.
"Now, what can you tell me about Oda Nobunaga?"
v^_^v ~*~v^_^v
Kagome kept bringing her head down onto the table with tremendous force, over and over again. Why did this boy torture her? What has she ever done to him?
'Trying to force him to learn outside of school maybe?'
'Quiet, you.'
Inu-Yasha watched this display set off by his last absurd question with relish and congratulated himself on his efforts. Or rather, his lack of it.
'Heh, it won't be long until this one cracks as well. Maybe then they'll stop giving me these blasted tutors.'
After several more bangs, Kagome stopped trying to flatten out her forehead and breathed a long, long sigh, counted to ten...fifteen...twenty, before she finally faced Inu-Yasha, who was still smiling maliciously.
"Ok, let's try this one more time. First, what are the Feudal Ages?"
"The period where all the samurai ran around chopping people's heads off in honor of their lords."
"Ok, a little vague and...vague, but we can work with that. Now, who was Oda Nobunaga?"
"A big idiot."
"Yes, no wait, no! Well, yes, but that's not important. Why was he so important?"
"Because he shows us that idiots can win wars?"
Kagome gave a strangled cry and lunged at him, gripping the collar of his shirt.
"Why?! Why do you show some sort of intelligence and give me hope that you can absorb some of this stuff and then snatch it away from me?! What kind of sick sadist are you?!"
Inu-Yasha smirked again and replied, "Watch it wench. You wouldn't want to be found beating up your student, now would you? Not that a weakling like you can hurt me."
Kagome let go of him and sat back down in her seat, smoothing back her frazzled hair and rumpled blouse. She propped up her head with one arm and fiddled with her pencil with the other, wondering if the pointed graphite was sharp enough to pierce his skull. A few minutes of silence passed and Kagome smacked her pencil down. It was time for a truce.
"Ok, so this obviously isn't going to work."
'My, she's giving up quickly. Smart of her, really, to throw in the towel this early, but I did hope for more of a fight.'
"A person like you just doesn't respond to good-intentioned people trying to help."
'I just wish she'd shut up. Or at least get to the point.'
"Knowledge apparently isn't a big enough carrot to coax you into learning."
'What's with the animal metaphor? Whatever wench, just quit and stop wasting my time.'
"So, how about a bigger carrot?"
'What?'
"What the hell are you talking about, wench?"
"Since the satisfaction of gaining knowledge isn't enough to get you to study, I'm going to offer you something else to go with it."
"You mean like a bribe?" Inu-Yasha said, looking at her incredulously. What was this crazy girl thinking? Wasn't she supposed to quit?
"While I disapprove of bribery, I'm willing to resort to that to get you to pass this final."
"Why don't you just quit and save yourself the grief?"
"Tempting as that would be, I need this paycheck, and you're not going to stop me from getting it. I will get you to learn, and I will help you pass this final!"
Kagome's voice rose as she spoke until she was practically shouting the last sentence and slammed her hands onto the table to emphasize her words, something that scared people around them and collected "shh's" and nasty looks from the librarians. Two strikes. They waited for a third and final reason to throw the crazy girl out.
Sitting down again, she composed herself and looked straight at Inu-Yasha.
"So, let's work this out to both our satisfaction. I am told you need at least a 65% on the final to pass this class and that the final is to be in three weeks. Now, you are a senior in your high school, correct?"
"Yeah, what about it?" Inu-Yasha couldn't help staring at this girl who suddenly adopted a calm, rational attitude when just minutes before she was almost choking him in her frustration.
"If I remember correctly, Arami High holds their Senior Prom the weekend after finals. I trust you are going to go?"
"So what if I am?"
"Fukashi Inu-Yasha, I am offering to pay part of your prom expenses depending on how well you do on your final. If you pass it, I will pay half the cost. Anything higher than 70% I will pay that percentage of your expenses. Do you agree to that?"
Inu-Yasha looked at her for a long minute. This girl was...different. Even without her eccentric personality, she felt different than his other tutors. He looked into her determined face and eyes sparked with energy, and decided to take her up on her challenge. He wasn't caving in; he was looking for an extravagant prom at her expense. All he'd have to do was get a good score in history and Kikyo can stop nagging him about being cheap with her "big night."
"Alright wench, you're on."
Kagome smiled triumphantly and held out her hand to shake on the deal.
"Great. Now that we have that settled, our session is over. Read the first three chapters of this tonight and meet me here tomorrow, same time, to discuss the beginnings of the Feudal Ages. And just for your lack of compliance today, I expect you to tell me just who Oda Nobunaga was. Please elaborate on your, 'he was an idiot' phrase tomorrow as well."
"Wench," Inu-Yasha grumbled at her as she stood to leave. Kagome just turned and smiled.
"And by the way, the name's Kagome. I suppose you might have had to invent a name through this session since I didn't introduce myself. I'm terribly sorry for that inconvenience, but I am growing tired with 'Wench' as a replacement."
Inu-Yasha scowled at her back when she turned and walked away. But the scowl turned into an amused smile. Suddenly, this girl interested him.
~*~*~
When Kagome got out of the library, much to the librarians' relief, Kagome sighed her own release. Her first tutoring session from hell was over, and she had made peace with the devil in disguise. Kagome considered the sacrifice of part of her wages a small price to pay for the cooperation of the unruly teen. With a happier countenance than before, Kagome faced a brighter day and walked home, worries gone from her mind. After all, with the agreement, it should be smooth sailing from here, shouldn't it?
v^_^v First chapter finished! I hope you all enjoyed reading that as much as I enjoyed writing it. Another chapter should come soon since summer vacation is just around the corner. I just have to get through one more week, and then, FREEDOM!!!!! *sigh* It's wonderful to be free...
If anyone is wondering about Kagome's deal with Inu-Yasha (the "why is she paying for his prom expenditures if she needs her paycheck" question), let's see it this way. Kagome is going to tutor him for three weeks. Let's assume she's doing it everyday (I might make exceptions) for oh...two to three hours a day. I'm going to make Kagome's fee high (she's being paid by both the college and Inu-Yasha's parents, they really want him to pass ^^) so let's say she gets paid 35 dollars an hour. This comes to about 1,500 to 2,000 dollars for the whole job. From what I gathered about prom (my senior friend just had his), he spent only about 600 dollars, maybe 700. So I'm guess Kagome would have to pay, at most, half her salary to Inu-Yasha if he passes to final. But that's only if he gets a perfect score and she has to pay for the whole thing. And I don't think Inu-Yasha is going to become that smart that quickly.
Anyway, please send in comments and suggestions about the story by means of a small button on the bottom left corner of this screen. They will serve as fuel for my muse and fingers so I can get chapters out more quickly. ^^ I have no shame. But, please, review!!
'Oh geez...how can I be late?! And on my first day, too...'
Kagome burst into the library and earned glances of disapproval from the librarians with her sudden appearance and labored breathing. Cheeks flushing a slightly darker shade than normal, she pointedly ignored the looks and scanned the room for her tutee. She had been given a strange description of her student, but saw no one with white hair and baggy red clothes. Sighing, she sat down at an empty table and started to unpack her bag.
'I knew it couldn't be right. No teenager would have white...hair? What?'
Kagome looked up to see the flash of long white hair was connected to a rebellious looking youth with draping red clothes. He sauntered into the library and glanced around in a lazy imitation of what Kagome had done. When he looked her way, Kagome stood a little and waved hesitantly, still not quite believing this person was to be her student.
'I always get the weirdos. First Hojo, now him. I guess they really want me to earn my money.'
"Are you...Fukashu? Fukashu Inu-Yasha?"
The boy looked at her for a moment, scowled, and made his way toward her.
'Well isn't he just a little ray of sunshine?'
"You must be the wench they assigned me to. Just to let you know now, I don't want to be here. I don't particularly care for learning history and especially not from you. So any goody-goody ideas you might have about being friends and getting along you can chuck out the window, got it?"
Kagome couldn't shake herself from her shocked expression.
'Why that little...No, I can't get angry. I won't get angry. I need that paycheck...'
She forced a smile and sat down across from him.
"Ah, I see you've read my mind. Now that we've established that our relationship is purely business with no room for discussion, let's get started on the Muromachi Era that you seem to be failing in."
She slammed down a thick volume in front of him and graced him with a sweetly smug smile when he sputtered in surprise.
"Now, what can you tell me about Oda Nobunaga?"
v^_^v ~*~v^_^v
Kagome kept bringing her head down onto the table with tremendous force, over and over again. Why did this boy torture her? What has she ever done to him?
'Trying to force him to learn outside of school maybe?'
'Quiet, you.'
Inu-Yasha watched this display set off by his last absurd question with relish and congratulated himself on his efforts. Or rather, his lack of it.
'Heh, it won't be long until this one cracks as well. Maybe then they'll stop giving me these blasted tutors.'
After several more bangs, Kagome stopped trying to flatten out her forehead and breathed a long, long sigh, counted to ten...fifteen...twenty, before she finally faced Inu-Yasha, who was still smiling maliciously.
"Ok, let's try this one more time. First, what are the Feudal Ages?"
"The period where all the samurai ran around chopping people's heads off in honor of their lords."
"Ok, a little vague and...vague, but we can work with that. Now, who was Oda Nobunaga?"
"A big idiot."
"Yes, no wait, no! Well, yes, but that's not important. Why was he so important?"
"Because he shows us that idiots can win wars?"
Kagome gave a strangled cry and lunged at him, gripping the collar of his shirt.
"Why?! Why do you show some sort of intelligence and give me hope that you can absorb some of this stuff and then snatch it away from me?! What kind of sick sadist are you?!"
Inu-Yasha smirked again and replied, "Watch it wench. You wouldn't want to be found beating up your student, now would you? Not that a weakling like you can hurt me."
Kagome let go of him and sat back down in her seat, smoothing back her frazzled hair and rumpled blouse. She propped up her head with one arm and fiddled with her pencil with the other, wondering if the pointed graphite was sharp enough to pierce his skull. A few minutes of silence passed and Kagome smacked her pencil down. It was time for a truce.
"Ok, so this obviously isn't going to work."
'My, she's giving up quickly. Smart of her, really, to throw in the towel this early, but I did hope for more of a fight.'
"A person like you just doesn't respond to good-intentioned people trying to help."
'I just wish she'd shut up. Or at least get to the point.'
"Knowledge apparently isn't a big enough carrot to coax you into learning."
'What's with the animal metaphor? Whatever wench, just quit and stop wasting my time.'
"So, how about a bigger carrot?"
'What?'
"What the hell are you talking about, wench?"
"Since the satisfaction of gaining knowledge isn't enough to get you to study, I'm going to offer you something else to go with it."
"You mean like a bribe?" Inu-Yasha said, looking at her incredulously. What was this crazy girl thinking? Wasn't she supposed to quit?
"While I disapprove of bribery, I'm willing to resort to that to get you to pass this final."
"Why don't you just quit and save yourself the grief?"
"Tempting as that would be, I need this paycheck, and you're not going to stop me from getting it. I will get you to learn, and I will help you pass this final!"
Kagome's voice rose as she spoke until she was practically shouting the last sentence and slammed her hands onto the table to emphasize her words, something that scared people around them and collected "shh's" and nasty looks from the librarians. Two strikes. They waited for a third and final reason to throw the crazy girl out.
Sitting down again, she composed herself and looked straight at Inu-Yasha.
"So, let's work this out to both our satisfaction. I am told you need at least a 65% on the final to pass this class and that the final is to be in three weeks. Now, you are a senior in your high school, correct?"
"Yeah, what about it?" Inu-Yasha couldn't help staring at this girl who suddenly adopted a calm, rational attitude when just minutes before she was almost choking him in her frustration.
"If I remember correctly, Arami High holds their Senior Prom the weekend after finals. I trust you are going to go?"
"So what if I am?"
"Fukashi Inu-Yasha, I am offering to pay part of your prom expenses depending on how well you do on your final. If you pass it, I will pay half the cost. Anything higher than 70% I will pay that percentage of your expenses. Do you agree to that?"
Inu-Yasha looked at her for a long minute. This girl was...different. Even without her eccentric personality, she felt different than his other tutors. He looked into her determined face and eyes sparked with energy, and decided to take her up on her challenge. He wasn't caving in; he was looking for an extravagant prom at her expense. All he'd have to do was get a good score in history and Kikyo can stop nagging him about being cheap with her "big night."
"Alright wench, you're on."
Kagome smiled triumphantly and held out her hand to shake on the deal.
"Great. Now that we have that settled, our session is over. Read the first three chapters of this tonight and meet me here tomorrow, same time, to discuss the beginnings of the Feudal Ages. And just for your lack of compliance today, I expect you to tell me just who Oda Nobunaga was. Please elaborate on your, 'he was an idiot' phrase tomorrow as well."
"Wench," Inu-Yasha grumbled at her as she stood to leave. Kagome just turned and smiled.
"And by the way, the name's Kagome. I suppose you might have had to invent a name through this session since I didn't introduce myself. I'm terribly sorry for that inconvenience, but I am growing tired with 'Wench' as a replacement."
Inu-Yasha scowled at her back when she turned and walked away. But the scowl turned into an amused smile. Suddenly, this girl interested him.
~*~*~
When Kagome got out of the library, much to the librarians' relief, Kagome sighed her own release. Her first tutoring session from hell was over, and she had made peace with the devil in disguise. Kagome considered the sacrifice of part of her wages a small price to pay for the cooperation of the unruly teen. With a happier countenance than before, Kagome faced a brighter day and walked home, worries gone from her mind. After all, with the agreement, it should be smooth sailing from here, shouldn't it?
v^_^v First chapter finished! I hope you all enjoyed reading that as much as I enjoyed writing it. Another chapter should come soon since summer vacation is just around the corner. I just have to get through one more week, and then, FREEDOM!!!!! *sigh* It's wonderful to be free...
If anyone is wondering about Kagome's deal with Inu-Yasha (the "why is she paying for his prom expenditures if she needs her paycheck" question), let's see it this way. Kagome is going to tutor him for three weeks. Let's assume she's doing it everyday (I might make exceptions) for oh...two to three hours a day. I'm going to make Kagome's fee high (she's being paid by both the college and Inu-Yasha's parents, they really want him to pass ^^) so let's say she gets paid 35 dollars an hour. This comes to about 1,500 to 2,000 dollars for the whole job. From what I gathered about prom (my senior friend just had his), he spent only about 600 dollars, maybe 700. So I'm guess Kagome would have to pay, at most, half her salary to Inu-Yasha if he passes to final. But that's only if he gets a perfect score and she has to pay for the whole thing. And I don't think Inu-Yasha is going to become that smart that quickly.
Anyway, please send in comments and suggestions about the story by means of a small button on the bottom left corner of this screen. They will serve as fuel for my muse and fingers so I can get chapters out more quickly. ^^ I have no shame. But, please, review!!