Dedicated to Teo: Happy Birthday!
The Square Root of 'C'
Or
Kagome's (Pythagoras) Theorem
By socchan
It was dark in the forest, and the only artificial light to be seen for miles—or, indeed, centuries—rested in the hands of one Kagome Higurashi. She was sitting up in her sleeping bag and leaning against a tree, a math textbook propped up against her knees. The light shone on its pages as Kagome dutifully took notes. Shippo was curled into a ball at her side, snoring gently. Sango and Miroku were a bit closer to the fire than was Kagome, but only just so. Sango had made a point of sleeping on the opposite side of the fire from Miroku. Seated in the tree above her—sleeping? thinking? keeping watch?—was Inu-Yasha. Kagome couldn't see him through the darkness and the tree's thick, leafy branches, but she knew he was there.
Because she was often on the road, and due to her active means of travel, Kagome rarely got a chance to study; even when the group stopped for the night it was often too noisy to concentrate. However, lately Kagome's grades had started to slip beyond a point even she thought was reasonable under the circumstances, so she had decided to devote time to study whenever possible. Quite frequently this meant staying up an hour or two after everyone else (or maybe not everyone? Who knew what Inu-Yasha did in that tree?) had gone to sleep, but she was making good progress.
Tonight, though, Kagome was finding it increasingly difficult to study. Too often would her mind jump from the paper in front of her to the hanyou in the tree above her. Sighing, the girl wrenched her mind back on task once again, the beginnings of a headache creeping in on the edges of her mind.
'Pythagorean Theorem,' Kagome read silently, 'The theorem states that in any right triangle, the sum of the squares of the two legs is equal to the square of the hypotenuse. Therefore, a^2+b^2=c^2.' There was a diagram of a triangle by where the theorem was printed, and Kagome diligently copied it down. She labeled the respective sides 'a', 'b', and 'c', then copied the formula down next to it. Then, on a whim, she re-named side 'a' to Inu-Yasha, side 'b' to Kagome, and scribbled a question mark where 'c' had been.
The question is, Kagome thought, if a^2 and b^2 equals c^2, what do Kagome and Inu-Yasha squared equal? I know that's what the theorem was designed to help me figure out, but I can hardly assign numerical values to either of us. And even if I did, how would I be able to tell what the answer meant?
So what would balance the equation? Kagome pondered the thought for a moment. Well, there's Kikyo… No, that's awful. For one thing, on the off chance that the two of us are the same, that would make Inu-Yasha equal zero. For another, I don't think you can put the two of us together and get her.
Naraku then? No, that's too depressing. Besides, you can't add two people and get just one. Not to mention that there's no way to combine Inu-Yasha and myself and get him. Could the answer be Miroku and Sango, then? She smiled, ruefully, and shook her head. Doubtless, when you put one person together with another you get two people, but in many cases there's more there than that. Somehow, I don't think people will complete the equation.
Maybe it's the well… Kagome mused. It certainly connects us. No; when you put two people together, you don't get a thing, that much I do know. It's closer, though.
Kagome thought a little while longer, and then, when she was about to drift off, the answer came to her. She scribbled it down, and smiled when it balanced. Finished with the problem, Kagome leaned back against the tree to rest her eyes a moment; math was tiring work. In a few minutes she'd get back to work, but right now… Kagome fell asleep before she could finish the thought.
Inu-Yasha listened as Kagome's breathing slowed and evened out, indicating sleep. He glanced down at the girl; contrary to popular belief, a dog's night vision isn't that bad, and is certainly better than a human's, and dog demons are no exception. He sighed when he noticed Kagome had forgotten to turn off her flashlight. She had already explained to him that it couldn't cause fires, but he saw no reason to take chances. He climbed down from the tree, jumping from the lowest branch to the ground.
Inu-Yasha shook his head at what he found. The girl had fallen asleep studying again! He took the flashlight from beside her, pushing the 'off' button as Kagome had instructed him. He then set her book aside, and moved her to a more comfortable position. He did his best not to disturb Shippo, but it was awkward work. Satisfied at last, he picked up the book again. Overcome with curiosity at what Kagome would be studying so late at night, he glanced down at the paper. Most of it made little sense to him, and he couldn't keep from scowling. However, his eyes softened when they found something near the bottom of the page.
'Kagome^2 + Inu-Yasha^2 = Love^2'
Smiling, he tucked the paper back into the book, closed it, and set it down next to the sleeping girl. He glanced around to make certain everyone was asleep, then bent over and kissed her on the cheek.
"Good night, Kagome," he said softly. Then, still smiling, he climbed back to his 'bed' in the tree.
=^-.-^= End =^-.-^=
A birthday present for Teo. Sorry if I'm late or early, but that only makes it an extended birthday ^_^. I have a hobby of applying supposedly unrelated concepts to real life, and this is no exception. Algebra has bugged me many times in the past, and it probably makes Kagome's life hell, too. Thankfully, I have met all of my graduation requirements for math, so I don't have to take any this year.
Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-Yasha, and Pythagorean Theorem is either Pythagoras, or his students' (there is some debate on this subject).
Any questions, comments, or flames can be directed to me via e-mail or review.
Thank you, and a very happy birthday (once again) to you, Teo!
-socchan