-1It's A Species Thing
Chapter 1
Duckies Rox My Sox
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and company.
Extended Summary: Kagome's mother is a cheerleader against de-segregation. A good girl who's never gone against her mother, Kagome is going to have to make some tough decisions. And fast.
This story is based upon a group of women called the cheerleaders who were brutal to the little African American kids brave enough to enroll in an all-white school at the start of segregation. Although this story is about demons and humans, hopefully it will give you some insight as to the time period of the fifty and sixties.
Oh goodness. She had done it again. Making the morning headlines along with the rest of those women. Honestly, I'm not sure whether I should be proud or embarrassed.
Mother was a member of a group of women for segregation. Every morning they stood in front of the local school and heckled the demon students going in and out.
It could get pretty brutal. Mrs. Pearson once ruined a little girls dress with her eggs and Miss Smith once cut an older boy's arm open with her sign. They waved signs and yelled curse words like lunatics. But the police never did anything. They just turned a blind eye to what was going on.
Maybe it would be different if we had multiple schools. We live in a relatively small town so all grades are combined in one building. If the high school was separate from the grade school then maybe the little kids could feel safe.
As it was, some of the new demon students refused to eat their lunches because my mother told them she had poisoned them. Of course, I would never let her kill someone, but everyone knew that she could do it if she wanted to. She was the resident doctor, after all.
Finishing my juice, I grabbed my school bag and hopped out the door while still trying to pull one shoe on. I had to run to school because I left so late. I know I should leave earlier, but I also know that if I do I'll have to admit who my mother is. No way on earth would she let me in without making sure I knew what to do if a demon sat by me: pretend to have a seizure and then call her to come get me.
I would never do that so I'd rather she not mention it. I ended up getting to school late. Never should have had that extra pancake…
"Take your seat, Miss Higurashi," Mr. Olsen said as I entered the room, quietly trying to sneak in the back.
"Yes, sir," I sighed. They didn't call him Old Hawk Eyes for nothing.
Taking my seat next to my best friend Sango, I tried my hardest to look like I was paying attention. Math and I had never really clicked. But Mother was so convinced I would need it when I took over for her as doctor. Not that I wanted to do that, but try telling Mother that.
"Class, we have a new student today. He should be arriving any moment." Mr. Olsen did always have perfect timing. The evidence for that was seen when the door opened and a boy who appeared to be my age walked in. Oh boy.
The boy was a half-demon. If you thought demons were treated badly, imagine half-demons. In order to get a half-demon, a human would have to marry a demon. That sort of thing was only spoken of in hushed whispers between gossiping women.
He was handsome, I suppose it would have to do with his demon side. His silver hair reached his waste and he had two little puppy ears atop his head. But the other students would never let him off with the excuse of he was nice to look at.
Just as I suspected. A few girls blushed at the sight of him but almost every student started hurling insults. Mr. Olsen did nothing to stop them, only leaning back on his desk and smiling.
Luckily the boy seemed immune to the spiteful words. He walked to the back of the room and took the only available seat, beside me. He didn't look like he was prepared for class as he had brought nothing with him. A teacher would find this acceptable on the first day… unless you were a demon.
Smiling, I tore a piece of paper out of my notebook and grabbed my extra pencil before handing them to the boy.
"Here, you can use these." He seemed very reluctant to take them but didn't refuse.
The rest of the morning past without much happening. Our class stayed in the same classroom all day so the boy didn't have to worry about many incidents happening. A few people still cursed at him but it was nothing too bad.
When lunch came, I grabbed my lunch from my locker like I do everyday and went back in the room. But, unlike every other day, I decided to mix it up. Variety is the spice of life.
Seeing the boy sitting alone in the back corner, I made my way over and sat down beside him. He started getting up But I put my hand on his arm.
"Please, don't get up! I wanted to sit with you."
The boy gave a skeptical look but sat back down with an answering, "Keh." I took a sandwich out of my lunch pail and handed half to the boy who, it seems, did not pack a lunch.
"What's your name?" I asked.
"… Inuyasha." I smiled. He must be Japanese. So far I was the only Asian person in class.
"I'm Kagome. Pleased to meet you." Inuyasha gave a weird look.
"Yeah, you too." We spent the rest of lunch talking together. I don't know if Inuyasha saw the glares pointed our way, but if he did he chose to ignore them like me.
Getting back to class, I found myself being pulled aside by Sango. "Do you know who you were sitting with?!" I stared at her friend. Duh.
"Yes. Inuyasha."
"And do you realize that he's a half-demon?!!" I continued staring. I had to have known this was coming, right? No. I hadn't actually thought about it.
"Yes." Sango sighed and lowered her head.
"Kagome," Sango said putting her hand firmly upon my shoulder, "You can't be seen with him! It's a species thing. Surely you understand."
"Sango, I don't care about that. He's nice," I said seriously wondering what was wrong with her. Sango was wondering the same thing.
"Nobody cares if he's nice! That doesn't matter. Do you want this to get back to your mother?" I had to give her "the look". The situation just called for it. Of course I didn't want this getting back to my mother!
"I don't care." Or maybe I do. I don't know anymore.
And with that I stomped into the classroom. Might as well leave her with something to think about. "Kagome!" Sango called after me, but I refused to stop. Sango may be my best friend but she sure can be dense at times.
I sat down at my desk right as the bell rang. The rest of the day passed quietly as I was still refusing to talk to Sango. She should know better than to upset me; I was famously stubborn.
I walked home slowly today. I knew what the day had in store for me and I wasn't excited about it one bit. More medical training. Yippee.
"Kagome, come in here and start grinding some herbs," my mother called from the back room. One reason she was so famous as a doctor was that she practiced in her own home. She ran a hospital of sorts where she treated patients and then, if need be, let them stay in our home.
I walk to the back room and was greeted with the pungent odor of hundreds of dried herbs. That was the one thing I liked about this. Most people couldn't stand the smell but I couldn't get enough of it.
Meticulously I picked out a bright yellow plant and put it on the stone block. Grinding plants was hard work but it had to be done. You could always buy crushed plants at the market but they were never fresh enough for mother. She liked new so in return our backyard looked like a field.
The bell rang on the door signifying that a patient had entered. "I'm sorry. We can't serve you," my mother's voice said. What? She had never turned a patient down before. Mainly because all demons went to a demon doctor. The medicine there was out of date but it was the best they could hope for.
Walking out I saw a sight that immediately made me want to hurl. Inuyasha stood by the door holding a bleeding arm and huffing heavily. He looked like he had been mauled by a tiger!
"Are you Ok?!" I rushed over and started looking over him.
"Kagome, leave him alone. We don't want his kind here." Wow. I knew my mother was opinionated but I had never thought her to be cruel.
"Mom, he's hurt. He won't make it all the way to the demon doctor."
"I don't care. I want him out." What to do… what to do… I needed to appeal to my mother's vain side.
"If we don't help him, he'll die on your front lawn. Do you want all the neighbors to see that?" I could literally see the wheels turning in her head and the little men working to see how that would affect her reputation.
She sighed and inwardly I cheered. That was good! "Fine. Bring him in. But I'm not going to touch the filthy half-breed. You'll have to tend to him." She turned back inside as I blanched. Blood?
Well, blood or no blood, he needed to be taken care of. Pulling him so he leaned on me, I helped him stumble into the room and then helped him onto an examination table.
He was quiet, only growling when the antiseptic stung him. Almost as if he had been through this before and by the time I had finished he was asleep.
I shook him awake gently. "I have a room upstairs that you can stay in."
"I can get by on my own, Wench," he growled. He tried to sit up but clutched his side and grunted in pain.
"You aren't going anywhere," I said firmly, "You will be staying upstairs and that's final. I won't do all this work just to have you die on the way home!" Inuyasha glared at me but said nothing more.
I had to bring him upstairs quietly, a feat nothing short of miraculous when you consider his size. But Mother would have a fit and throw him out if he woke her from her beauty sleep -- heaven knows she needs it.
"Here," I said pushing open the first door at the top of the stairs, "You can sleep in here."
Inuyasha looked at it and gave a little shudder. "It's pink."
"Yeah, and tomorrow we'll learn how to count to ten." He was really starting to annoy me. Who does he think he is, the king of France? Inuyasha grunted and then staggered over to the bed. He fell asleep the moment his head touched the pillow. That's medicinal drugs for ya.
Oh, well… He is rather cute when he's asleep. Bad Kagome, bad! If your mother knew what you were thinking…
A Slice If The Author's Ridiculously Sweet Mind: My goodness, I must say this slice is delish!
Now, you may not have realized this but… you're at the end of the chapter!! Congratulations!!!! Why? Because you put up with my mind for longer than anyone before you (Unless you've lived with me…)
I do so ever hope you're enjoying this story. And you know what would make you enjoy it even more? If you reviewed! Yeah, it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside (especially if you flame. Who doesn't like to put others down? (;.;) ) Please be nice!
I'm ADDING HUMOR. I realize this wasn't funny. It was an intro. Next one will be funny as pie. Please read! Pwease.
The story will slowly progress further. I want to make it longer than planned but I don't know how…. I never was good at beefing it up. Any suggestions? Feel free to contribute. I will mention names accordingly. Now there's incentive. No pay but you get the feeling of a job well done!