A/N: Maddie, please stop bombarding us with your awful ideas.
NEVAH.
P.E Teacher
Chapter 1
Sleep, sweet, sweet sleep.
It was all she could dream about as she stood in line with the other girls. It was her first time coming home in weeks and her return was not even about taking a long, warm bath. Nope. It was not even about sleeping in her own comfortable bed either. Nope. It was all about a stupid running test she had to pass. It would determine her entire grade - and if she failed, she could miss graduation and have to start all over again. She had not been carrying heavy books around the Feudal Era just to not graduate high school. Her mission on the other side of the well was important, but her life here held just as much meaning.
"Alright, as you all know, Mr. Hatsumi is on a sick leave…"
She did not know. Then again. Wince. When was the last time she even showed up for P.E? It was the only class she skipped with full confidence that she was not going to miss anything.
"To replace him, we have Mr. Tanaka."
She tried to peek above the crowd, hoping to get a glimpse of the man who was about to determine if she graduated high school or not, but it was to no prevail. She was not tall enough and the crowd was too big and spread out, causing it block her entire field of vision.
"Kagome, over here!"
She turned her head only to see Ayumi waving at her from afar. Kagome gave her a shy smile and walked in her direction, a sense of relief washing over her; she would not be alone to go through this torture. It was surprising that after a year of constant disappearance, the girls remained her friends. She would have seen it coming if they had dumped her like old sac of potatoes. But they were loyal friends - even if she could not share parts of her life with them. Then again, it was nice sometimes to have a conversation that did not revolve around the feudal era or youkais. Sometimes, she just wanted to be a teenager.
"Hey."
"Are you ready?"
"Yea, are you better since — hm, what were you sick with again?"
"Pneumonia?" Kagome tried.
"Wasn't that last time?"
"No, I think it was this time."
Maybe she needed to be present at school a little more often. It was just that they were always traveling far from the well, and she did not want to be constantly asking for rides back to the well. It was a bother and it slowed everyone down. Sango and Miroku also had things to gain from Naraku's destruction and she simply could not drag them down with her. Getting revenge on the man who killed - slaughtered actually - your entire village seemed a little more important than I have a math quizz.
"I'll be fine," she finally said, hoping to divert the conversation in another direction.
Plus, she was always running for her life in the middle of the woods. How hard would it be to pass this little test? She was probably more in shape now than she had ever been before.
"Kasumi Taisho."
They were starting to call the girls. Kagome crossed her arms in front of her chest, hoping that changing her posture would help her stay awake. The moon had been quite up high in the sky by the time she had reached the well and part of her felt it was the sun that had been in the sky by the time she reached her bed. She had blinked and suddenly, it had been morning. It did not matter. All she had to do was get through this one exam and then, she could go home, get a bath, maybe a nice night of sleep. It all depended on how patient Inuyasha was going to be.
And usually, when it came to her schooling - he was not patient at all.
"Yuri Satoshi."
"That's me," Yuri chimed as she walked away from the ground.
Uncomfortable, Kagome pulled downwards her little burgundy short; did they have to be this small?
"Maybe we could go shopping after school," Eri suggested as she watched her friend get ready for her run.
"Oh, that would be a good idea," Ayumi pitched in. "What do you think Kagome?"
Bath. Sleep. Bed. Those were the only things she was thinking about right now. However, she had not been the greatest friend lately. Maybe she could satisfy some of her personal comfort for the sake of friendship. Plus, some girl time was a luxury she barely had these days. How could say no? "Sure, why not."
Eri threw her arms in the air, celebrating a rare yes from Kagome. "Wee! It's gonna be so much fun."
"Kagome Higurashi."
"My turn," she said with a frown. It was time to walk to her death.
"Come on, you'll do great," Eri said, hoping to encourage her. Their friend's health had been all over the place lately but every time they saw her, she looked fine. It was the weirdest thing.
Kagome dragged her feet slowly, all the way to front of the line. Apparently, she was not walking fast enough for the new P.E teacher. "Kagome Higurashi," he called out again.
She scrounged up her nose; she knew that voice no? "I'm here," she said as she pushed her through two much taller girls.
"K-Kagome?"
She raised an eyebrow while slowly raising her head. Was the new teacher a deaf old man? "Yes, I said I'm h-" And she found that she could not finish her sentence.
Two icy blue eyes were staring at her, lips parted, nearly gaping. It could not be. But…The long swaying brown hair wrapped into a ponytail. The brown sport bands around the wrist that reminded her of wolf fur. And that mouth - she would recognize it anywhere. The fact that he was also staring at her like he had seen a ghost kind of confirmed that it was… Kouga. Kouga in modern time. Not, traveling through the well Kouga who decided let's be a P.E teacher. No. No. Because that would be insane. No, it was actually five hundred years later Kouga. Standing in front of her - gaping at her as though he were a fish.
But that was not possible..
Of all the impossible things that was the most impossible of them all.
"It's my turn right?"
She turned away from him as rapidly as possible. Her heart was thundering. There were so many questions and none of them could be asked or answered in that exact moment. She wanted the crowd to disappear, to fade away but it remained present and loud. She had to ask him how and when - and oh my god who. She felt her face going through a million of emotions and yet, she had to keep it all bottled up. Instead of dwelling on matters she could not deal with immediately, she walked to the starting line with shaky legs. She could do that. This did not change anything. She simply needed to get through to the finish line and this moment would be over.
Easy peasy.
Then - then she could deal with this.
Except, fate was never kind to her, and her luck was not about to change today. Her mind was distracted, her attention was focused on something else. And so, Kagome never noticed that her shoelace came undone. As she walked to the starting line, she stumbled, landing face first on the ground. A loud thud echoed through and she could see nothing but the color of the ground. She did however feel a hand on her shoulder. It appeared that the sudden fall had snapped Kouga out of his trance. He had put a hand on her shoulder and was helping her up.
"Kagome, you okay?" He was talking to her too familiarly - but he did not care. Not yet.
She nodded as she winced. She managed to sit up - this time on her ass rather than on her face - and she groaned as she looked down at her knee; it was bloody. What a good way to make an impression.
The scent of blood hit Kouga's nose and he frowned. "Alright, guys," he said as he turned to look at the crowd. "We'll resume the tests tomorrow." Was he allowed to do that? He did not even fucking know. All he knew was that he was staring at Kagome and she was injured. Fuck everything else. Also, he had about a million questions for her. But they would wait - they had to take care of that blood first.
He swooped his arms around her - much like he had done many times in the Feudal Era - and he lifted her off the ground. "I'm taking you to the infirmary," he said, avoiding her eyes.
The close proximity allowed Kagome to notice that though it was Kouga, it was not her Kouga. This one was much older, much calmer and in control of himself. There were also some signs of time, a few wrinkles, a stray grey hair. Nothing that made him look in his late thirties or anything but still. He was no longer a sixteen years old looking cub. And it was strange. She hid her face away, hoping he had not caught her staring. This was strange and she did not know how to handle the emotions bubbling inside of her. Youkais had made it. Kouga had made it. It was not like they were close friends or anything but - but it did make her happy.
Kouga was here.
And he carrying her away to safety in his arms.
Some things never did change.
-P-
"A little scratch but that's it!"
The nurse was smiling as she applied the bandage on Kagome's head. She had cleaned the blood off in an instant, and now she was wrapping things up. The injury was not bad; Kouga should have probably never taken her in and yet he had. She had gotten worse injuries in the feudal era and she had lived through them. But, it was hardly his fault. He was already under an immense shock from seeing her and he had about a million questions for her. It was normal that he panicked slightly at the sight of blood. Perfectly normal. Which was why he was going to ignore the stare he was getting from the nurse.
Way to make an impression on the first day.
"There, you're good to go," she said as she pressed on the bandage one more time.
"Thank you," Kagome uttered as she avoided Kouga's glance.
What an entrance.
"I'll take her back to class," Kouga said after clearing his throat.
"Now, be careful where you step," the nurse teased with a smile.
"I will," Kagome shyly replied as she stood back up, forcing her to stand beside Kouga. "Thank you."
"My pleasure."
She turned around and Kouga followed her to the hallway. She could hear his every step echoing on the ceramic floor, his presence lurking near her body. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she was at a loss for words. What in the world could she possibly ask him? How it was possible for him to believe her? At least she had a better grasp on the situation than he did… although…. How it was that Inuyasha never smelled a single youkai in modern japan? She imagined that before she could even ask him any questions, he would have a few of his own. And she would answer.
"So." What was he supposed to ask first? "You look young for being five hundred years old."
She chuckled. A joke was always a good way to break the tension. "I wish." She was not used to be able to be herself on this side of the well. She had to constantly hide and lie. "Do you believe in time travel?"
"I think I'm gonna need to sit down for this one," he said as he opened the door to their left. "Maybe my office is a better place for this?"
She nodded as she glanced around the hallway, slightly nervous. She did not need people to think she was crazier than they already thought. Privacy was required for this one if she did not want to be locked up for being looney. She followed him inside of his temporary office and he closed the door behind her. And then the tale began.
An hour.
It was how long it took her to catch him up on her life since the day she fell in the well. He remained mostly silent during her entire tale, listening with eyes wide open. She figured he was saving his questions for the end - although part of her was hoping that he would not have any questions at all. Once she was done, she let herself sunk into the chair as though a weight had been lifted off of her chest. It was different. People in the feudal era did not understand the modern era, so she could not explain it to them properly. And the only people she could tell on this side of the well were her family, and they did not know enough about the Feudal Era to understand either. Kouga… he was different. This Kouga belonged in both worlds. He understood. She searched his face for questions or worries but she found nothing.
"So, Inuyasha is also a time traveler huh."
She shrugged. "Not exactly." What was Inuyasha? "I don't know why he's the only one who can." She knew a lot of time had passed but for her, Inuyasha and Kouga were not friends. She figured things had changed over the years but still… Plus she had to tell him about Inuyasha. What if he showed up to her school like he had done many times in the past and spotted Kouga. That did bring forth a question. "Why couldn't he sense you? Or smell you?"
Kouga raised his right hand, showing her a metal bracelet clasped on his wrist. "Glamour spell."
That did explain the lack of fangs and pointy ears. "And can I ask how you ended up as a P.E teacher?" She pinched her lips, trying to hold back a laughter.
"Come on, I'm sure you didn't have time to forget that there ain't anybody faster than me." Granted the lack of jewel shards had slowed him down a bit but the fact remained that he was a tornado when it came down to speed. He chuckled. "That and, it's hard to find a good job that let's you fly under the radar." He did not like the smell of human food and he avoided it at all cost. He also made sure to change area once the years started to add up to avoid anyone asking any questions. He could not look young forever. "And here I am."
As he said these words she took the time to take a look at his apparel; black short with two grey stripes on the side and a simple white t-shirt that fitted him a little too snuggly. He had the trademark whistle around his neck, playing the part perfectly.
"It suits you?"
He was the first to break the silence with a laugh. "Sure." He ran his fingers through his bangs, not even sure where to begin. "So, time travel."
"Yup."
"How old are you?"
"17."
"How old were you when I met you?"
"15."
He winced. "Man."
She could not help the laughter that bubbled out of her throat. "Yeah."
"Wait - so it's been… two years for you?"
"About so." Two years that she had been dividing her life between two eras. Two years where she had been half-assing two things. It took a toll on her but, she was the one who broke the jewel and it was her responsibility to fix it.
Last time he had seen her…it was before the final battle. They had said their goodbyes, and he had never seen her again. He knew she had lived, he knew she had made it through but… except for that, nothing else.
"What's happening for you right now?"
Kagome sighed. "Well, let's see… Ayame tried to kill me not too long ago." He winced. "And we're still behind on the shards."
No final battle.
He could not possibly tell her that that it was over, that it went well. He was not quite sure about all the time travel rules but he was convinced he was not supposed to tell her the outcome of her battle. Instead, he decided that he would keep his mouth shut on the topic. Although he was sure that she never returned to the feudal era. After all, would he not have heard of it? He knew Inuyasha and him were not bonding buddies, and he had seen him a couple of times after the battle but… he had not heard about Kagome. He had never seen her again.
"Wait!"
"Hm?"
"You know what happens!"
He was sort of hoping it would take her a bit more time before she figured it out.
"I ain't telling."
She twisted her mouth. "That's not fair."
"We wouldn't wanna mess up the end result now would we?"
He had a point. Even though she hated the fact that he had all the answers while she lived in uncertainty.
"Plus, you go back all the time right? Maybe it already changes every time you go back."
"Did you ever see me again?"
How to tell her without telling her. "We said goodbye at some point, way before anything. I - I'm not sure what happened to you."
She should not be asking but a part of her always wondered; would the well keep working after it was all over. Apparently, Kouga would not be the one to provide her with this answer. Then again, it might be best if she did not know; if she did, it would affect her decisions and she could not afford to make any more mistakes.
"Since you won't tell me anything, what have you been up to for the last five hundred years."
He shrugged his shoulders. "It was hard. We had to juggle and adjust to a world that wasn't ours. A lot of us didn't make it, a lot of us didn't want to make it. I know some youkais who still live in hiding, they don't wanna adapt."
"And you didn't mind?"
"What was I gonna do? It was fake it and make it or die." His instincts would not let him perish, and it forced him to go with the only option he had left; morphing himself into a human, and pretending he was like the rest of them. Even if he was not. Although finding her was a pleasant surprise he had to say. He would be lying if he said it was not a bit destabilizing. For him, it had been a long time and she looked just the same as the day he kidnapped her. And the way she interacting with him - it was like not a day had gone by. Then again, for - it was the case.
"I'm sorry…"
The moment he showed her the bracelet, she knew it meant nothing good. And Inuyasha had never sensed a youkai in her timeline. Glamour spell or not, she was certain someone probably slipped at some point. She assumed it meant there were not many left. But, by chance, Kouga was one of them.
"It's fine, could be worse. A crazy wolf could kidnap me and claim me right?" He flashed his white teeth at her and waiting for her laughter, which quickly followed.
"Yeah." It was strange. It was not that long ago that Kouga was proclaiming his love for her, following her around and always grabbing her and trying to get her attention. This Kouga was much different. He had barely laid a hand on her and he was been quite respectful. Then again, what did she expect? A long of time had gone by for him and he had gotten older. Gone was his silly crush.
"Look, I'm not - I don't wanna be weird. I just - I can give you my number." He raised a hand and began scratching the back of his head. Why was he so fucking awkward? "In case there's anything."
It did not even take a second before she smiled at him. "Of course!" She did not have many friends she could vent to in this era - and honestly, she would not mind the company. Sometimes it was hectic and who knew - he might be able to come up with better suggestions for her constant absences. He might have been a little hot headed in the past, but he had never been a bad person and he had saved her a couple of times. She did consider him as a friend. They quickly exchanged numbers and she flashed him a smile.
"I guess I should be going."
"Probably. If not your friends might think you're dying."
"Yeah… and…" Her eyes widened. "The test!"
He slapped his hand over his mouth, slowly dragging it down. "I kinda made a sense. Wouldn't make much sense for you to go back now… at least not without it looking weird."
"I need this. Or I'm going to fail." And for once, somebody was going to understand the importance of this situation.
"Can you stay an extra day? You could do it tomorrow?"
She sighed. "Inuyasha is gonna yell my ears off, but I'll make it work. I can't fail."
"I think you should be fine. I heard the teacher is a pretty decent guy."
Joy bubbled from her chest and she joined him in his laughter. "I don't know, he's a little intense."
"I think he got older, wiser."
"We'll see about that," she teased as she headed for the door. "I'm really happy to see you Kouga."
"Yeah, me too."
-P-
"Sis?"
"Are you sure?"
"That's not possible."
"But - time travel?"
"No way."
"Are you sure it was sis?"
"Yes," he growled.
If they asked him one more question, he was going to snap their necks.
"Here? In japan? Now?"
He had meant to brush it off as though it was not an important news but - he had not been able to keep it to himself. The moment he had met up with Ginta and Hakkaku they had known something was up. First of all they had smelled a familiar scent on him, and - he had to give it all up. He gave them the gist of it and he had explained as best as he could. They were clearly quite excited.
"Can you believe, sis, after all this time."
"You mean after all the time he spent pinning after her."
His eyes narrowed. "That was a long time ago. And I had given her up."
"Yeah, because you thought she'd be with Inuyasha, in the past forever. But she's here. She belongs here. It changes everything."
"It doesn't change anything," he snapped. "It's been five hundred years. I gave her up a long time ago. It's not the same… and — she's just a student now."
Ginta was the first to snort. Kagome? Just a student? When had Kagome ever been anything but just something? He had changed their whole way of life for her and even after 'giving her up' he had stuck to the changes. Kagome had helped him grow into an even better leader and a better person. "Then how come you chased that lead way back then?"
"It was a mistake."
So he thought he had seen her. It had been a mistake. Plus, being happy to see her did not mean he had to be in love with her. She was just equally happy to see him and she was not in love with him. It had nothing to do with one and another.
"Come on, she's here."
"And she's still there."
She had not stopped traveling and her magical well had not closed behind her. It did not change the situation. She was still there and here and she already had found someone she wanted. It was Inuaysha. "It don't change anything."
"But boss…"
"Stop it."
They had to swallow back their grimaces - they did not like this. They knew why he had given up Kagome but - but this felt like an opportunity delivered by the gods. They were handing him back Kagome. How could he let this pass without doing anything? He had kept to himself for so long and Kagome was an opportunity to have someone who knew about him and who understood him. However, if his growl was any indication, it was best to drop it for now.
"If you say so boss."
"I do."
He was not the reckless pup he used to be. Kouga was older and more mature and he was not about to repeat mistakes from the past. This Kagome did not know this him and - yes, they would probably be friends, keep in contact but it would never be more than that. He had moved past that moment in time and they were different people. She was a friend from the past, his student in the present and that was enough.
Nothing more.
-P-
"And pass."
His statement startled her to the point that she nearly fell forward. "What do you mean pass?"
"You passed."
She stuttered. "But I haven't run yet?"
He let a chuckle rumble through his chest. "I've seen you run, I think you're fine."
It was no longer a public event. It was only the two of them inside the gym; there was no point in making her go through the charade. After all, he knew she needed her strength for more important matter and honestly he did not know how she managed to pull off fighting youkais in the past and passing school in the present. He would not have been able to do it.
"Kouga, that's not fair."
"No, what ain't fair is that you have to split your life in two and that it's never taken into consideration."
His words hit home. She knew he meant that the school could not know about what she was doing in the past, and she agreed but it also held another meaning for her. How many times did she have to fight with Inuyasha just to gain one day home? How many times did she have to justify herself when she needed to return? And it was never enough. She felt like she was being pulled apart by two different sides and they were threatening to rip her in two. She did not like this cheating but, honestly, for once, she did not mind if something was easy. She let herself hit the ground, exhaustion claiming her body. Kagome closed her eyes, enjoying the quietness.
Talking to him was freeing and refreshing. He understood everything and she could tell him everything.
This… was nice.
"You okay?"
She nodded. "It's nice here, it's safe." She loved her life filled with adventures but sometimes it was nice to not constantly worry about the safety of her life.
"For humans," he added with a chuckle. It as surprising to him how well he had managed to adjust to life in a completely different era. She really was something else.
"Is it that bad?" She had not taken a moment to consider the hardship that involved spending your life in secrecy. She knew she had her own secrets to hide but at least she was still free to be Kagome.
"Is what bad?"
"Never being yourself."
It was a difficult question; it came with its ups and downs. Sometimes, it was difficult to hold back, to hide everything about himself and to shelter his life from the world. But at the same time, she had not been completely wrong; it was a much safer era. Even though he could not reveal he was a youkai, he did not have to worry about an attack coming, or fending for food. Sure, he had to come up with the stupidest jobs to make a living, but it remained better than it was.
"Are you alone?"
It was a question that had been burning her lips. If Kouga was still here… other people had managed to survive the hardships of the centuries.
"I'm not sure what happened to everyone. I have Ginta and Hakkaku with me… but I don't know… Not quite sure what happened to your kit." Somehow he felt like he was only giving her half of the answer she was looking for at this moment.
Shippo had actually not crossed her mind. She had mostly wanted to know if he had been all alone during this entire time. Kouga - well the Kouga she knew - was quite devoted to his pack, and he would do anything for them. She could hardly see him living in a world where he was alone.
There was someone else though.
"He's a hanyou."
"What?"
"Inuyasha. He's an hanyou. They don't live that long." He did not want to tell her flat out that he was dead but - it was the sad truth. Kouga did not have all the details concerning the when and how but he had heard of his death a few centuries ago.
"Oh." What else did she expect? "Yeah, I didn't think so…" She finally looked at him with a smile on her face. "I'm just happy you weren't alone during all these years."
Nobody should be by themselves.
"I don't think I could get rid of them even if I wanted to."
She jointed him in his laughter. The sounds echoed in the empty room for a moment before it died down.
"I should probably start heading back before Inuyasha storms the school and finds you."
"Does he do that a lot?" Seeing her was great but if Inuyasha was going to make her life difficult over it, he did not want to make her situation harder. He did not know how invasive Inuyasha could be. Then again, he did not know why he was surprised; back in the end, he did not let her catch her break. Clearly, the situation was the same - after all, it was the same Inuyasha from five hundred years ago.
"Sort of. He's known to be impatient." But really, it was not Inuyasha's fault. It was because he was in a hurry to put the jewel back together so that they could get rid of Naraku forever. He needed to take his revenge on the spider youkai for stealing his life from him - and his love. After all, Inuyasha did need to avenge Kikyo.
Although, she should not be thinking about that right now. This was the one thing in her life that she could not change - a lesson she had learned the hard way. If she could not control it, why be upset over it? She admitted that she would stay by his side, that she had feelings for him - and he loved Kikyo. Some things were supposed to stay the same.
Kouga's nose twitched. "Kagome?"
"I'm fine. I just - have to go. Thank you again."
"Let me know when you're back in the real world."
"Absolutely."
She gave him a small wave of the hand, and then, turn around to head back to her destiny, her steps slow and sluggish.
For a second, Kouga's heart squeezed. Every time he saw Kagome in the feudal era, she was happy and full of energy. Maybe she only allowed herself to be tired when she was shielded from everyone.
Apparently, he had a lot to discover about the real Kagome.
-P-