Much Ado About Something
Disclaimer: Not Mine
Chapter One – Planning
"It really would be nice if Kagome and Inuyasha finally stopped fighting for once," Sango Taijiya sighed ruefully, leaning against Miroku's shoulder.
Her boyfriend complacently agreed. "Naturally, it'd be a relief on our ears, but honestly; that's not likely to happen anytime soon."
Sango shrugged, idly twirling a blood-red rose – a gift from Miroku – between her fingers.
The tranquil scene was broken, however, by the angered yells coming from the other side of the college campus. Clamping his hands tightly over his ears, Miroku rolled his eyes at the other, who imitated his action. A few minutes later, Kagome Higurashi stormed towards them, her azure eyes snapping fire.
Nervously, Sango removed her hands from her ears. "Um...good morning, Kagome. How are you feeling today?"
"He really has gone too far this time!" the girl raged, ignoring her friend's greeting. "I can't believe that egotistical, arrogant, spoiled, imbecilic brat! How in the world did he manage to make it to Princeton when he probably doesn't even know the meaning of the word 'loser'?" She paused for a deep breath, presumably to continue her rant.
"Oh, I do know the meaning," a soft voice drawled from behind her. "It's quite simple. Would you like the definition?" Inuyasha smirked slyly, his golden eyes glinting mischievously. "'Loser', of course, is essentially the same thing as 'Higurashi'. Am I correct, my dear ignoramus?"
"Actually, no." Kagome spun to face him, assuming a complacent air. "Now, if you really want to know the meaning of 'loser', why don't you first learn the meaning of 'dictionary'? Or is that word too large for your monosyllabic vocabulary?"
"Monosyllabic? Obviously, your memory doesn't last for more that five seconds. In case you hadn't realized, most of my words are polysyllables." He grinned, enjoying the banter.
Ever the pacifist, Miroku interrupted placidly, "Could you two possibly stop fighting for one minute? You spoiled Friday already; don't do the same with Saturday, please."
Inuyasha laughed. "I don't see how my arguments with this wench have anything to do with you, but I'll leave." He turned, catching sight of a girl struggling under the weight of a pile of books. "Here, Leiko, I'll take those for you."
"Thanks," the girl panted gratefully, dropping her load into his arms, and they walked off together, chatting amiably.
"I don't understand it," Kagome groused. "He's so damn nice to everyone else." She watched Leiko bitterly.
"You are, too," Sango remarked casually.
"Well, he deserves my scorn," the other girl retorted, flipping back her mane of raven hair. "It's his fault, anyways." Checking her watch, she called, "I have homework. I'll see you guys later."
"Bye," Miroku offered, relaxing again in the somnolent autumn afternoon and closing his eyes again. "I don't understand how she manages to concentrate on her homework at this time. Honestly, it's the weekend...one should have better things to do."
"You should, too," Sango answered languidly. "According to what you mentioned yesterday, you haven't even begun your essay on Much Ado About Nothing that's due on Monday. Which, I might add, was assigned a month ago."
"I...what? Shit!" Miroku leapt to his feet hastily, pulling his girlfriend up along with him. "How could you not have reminded me sooner?"
"Didn't want to spoil your 'perfect Saturday'," Sango explained, idly toying with his hair.
"Please help me," Miroku moaned. "I don't have any clue what to write about."
"Well, what's the topic?" she replied calmly.
He considered that thoughtfully. "Um...at least ten pages..."
"How is that a topic?" Sango demanded.
"Oh, good point. Topic...topic..." Miroku scanned his mind. "Hmm. Topic...compare and contrast one of the couples in Shakespeare's play with two people who are currently attending this college."
"Well, isn't it obvious?" she sighed, rolling her eyes. "Miroku, think!"
He paused, considered that, and blinked. "Oh, right. We're a couple."
"No!" Sango wailed.
"We're not?" Miroku inquired. "You mean...you're breaking up with me?" He stared at her. "But Sango...I love you so much..."
"No!" she wailed again.
"I don't love you?" He was now thoroughly confused.
"Miroku, I really can't believe how you managed to get into college at all." She paused and took a deep breath. "What two people in this college always fight like Beatrice and Benedick?"
"Erm..."
"It's not that hard," Sango grumbled. "Come on, we just saw them."
His face lit up. "Inuyasha and Kagome!"
"Good. Now write your essay." Sango leaned back against the tree and regarded him impatiently.
"I can't, I'm too stupid!" he complained.
"You could at least try."
"Aren't you coming?" he demanded. "I won't be able to stand writing a stupid paper unless I have someone there to distract me from the monotony of it all."
Sango considered that. "Fine," she answered, and they moved towards Miroku's dormitory.
Fuming, Kagome growled at her calculus textbook. "Vectors seriously need to die," she muttered, tearing her newest sheet of completely incorrect answers in half. "Why should I care whether the determinant of the cross product of the first normal of the plane and the second normal of the other plane comes up with a vector orthogonal to the original one, anyways?" She paused to consider that. "I'm confused. Actually, the person who created vectors should die. Or should have died before he created them, if he's dead already."
Annoyed and bored, she flicked on the TV and stared at the screen. "Ok, I don't feel like watching the food channel; all that stuff's so fattening...scratch cartoon network, the anime's not on yet...aha! Jeopardy!" She leaned back to watch the game show.
'This play was Shakespeare's most famous comedy', the clue read.
"Oh, I know this one!" Kagome squealed. "Um...let's see...there's the Merchant of Venice, the Comedy of Errors, and...Much Ado About Nothing! Yes!"
"What is Much Ado About Nothing?" one of the contestants answered.
"I'm correct!" Kagome cheered.
A knock on the door alerted her to another's presence. Absently turning off the television, she pulled open the door. "Oh...hi, Kikyo." She couldn't decide whether she liked the older girl for her intelligence and kindness or hated her for going out with Inuyasha.
"Hello, Kagome. I was wondering whether you finished your calculus homework yet?" the other girl inquired. "I simply can't figure out problem fifty- six. Let's see...what is the equation of the plane containing the three points (1,0,4) (3,4,2) and (4,8,2)."
"You're on problem fifty-six? Well, I can't help you. I'm still struggling on problem one." Kagome made a face.
Kikyo grinned. "And yet you're watching Jeopardy...I do admire your conscientiousness. Well, thanks anyways. Have fun with your game show." She closed the door carefully.
Kagome didn't notice that she wedged a small piece of paper between the door and the wall, thus ensuring that it wasn't securely closed. Completely unaware, she settled back into watching a triumphant game where the remainder of the questions were answered incorrectly.
"Sango, I need your help."
"Again?" Sango replied coolly, sketching a small picture of Kagome whacking Inuyasha on the head. Inuyasha was being bashed into the ground, bit by bit. She didn't know art could be so fun.
Miroku ignored her completely bored tone. "Yes. I don't see any difference between Inuyasha and Kagome as compared to Beatrice and Benedick."
"Well, that should be obvious," Sango answered, carefully adding a hint of blood on Inuyasha's rather lumpy head. "Inuyasha and Kagome aren't exactly getting married..." Her voice trailed off abruptly as she sat up, her eyes glinting with excitement.
Miroku didn't like that look.
"That's it," Sango breathed. "We'll use the ideas in Much Ado About Nothing to bring Inuyasha and Kagome together! It's perfect; neither of them are in English Literature, so they'll have no idea what we're doing!"
Ok, Miroku really didn't like that look.
"Um...Sango, in case you haven't noticed, it's not exactly the Victorian Era..."
"Of course not," she retorted. "Shakespeare lived during the Elizabethan."
"Oh, whatever. Well, it's not that, either."
"You think I don't know that?" Sango sighed. "It still could work, though. Please?"
"No."
"Miroku," she whined.
He turned to glare at her. That was a huge mistake. She was doing her infamous pouting position, making her eyes look extremely adorable and innocent.
"I really hate you sometimes," Miroku grumbled. "Fine. And how do you propose we do this?"
"It's not that hard," Sango explained. "All we have to do is manage to coerce both of them – at separate times, naturally – to stand in a certain position. Then we can pretend not to see them, while talking rather loudly about...well...the other's passionate love for whoever is currently listening."
Miroku groaned. "We're so screwed if either of them finds out what we're doing."
"I'll screw you if it works," Sango purred seductively, leaning slightly forward so that her shirt...loosened.
He didn't miss the inflections of that. "You will? Really?"
"No. But do it anyways." She resumed her sketch, smirking evilly. How she loved teasing her lecherous boyfriend.
"Oh." Disappointed, he typed down a few more lines on his essay. "If I rewrite this using size seventy-two font, do you think the professor will fall for it?"
"Common sense," Sango snickered. "Most college professors aren't as ignorant as you think."
"Ugh." He was seriously tempted to throw his laptop at his girlfriend, who was currently drawing a look of horror on Inuyasha's face, along with a few missing teeth. "Well, since I'm obviously not getting anywhere with this essay, why don't you explain a bit more about this plan of yours?"
"Intrigued?" she inquired calmly, now erasing one of Inuyasha's ears and replacing it with a mess.
"No, just looking for a way to relieve the boredom."
Sango growled but acquiesced. "Fine. All you have to do is this..." She outlined the plan as she sketched an evil glint in Kagome's eyes.
"Perfect." He grinned when the girl's door swung silently open. Carefully slipping in, using his rather acute nocturnal vision to avoid the heaps of objects scattered across the floor, he moved closer to his prey.
The moonlight was streaming in through the window, alighting upon the ethereal face of the slumbering girl. Kagome obviously wasn't aware of the intruder, her breathing coming evenly, her eyes closed peacefully. Her dreams were quite peaceful, and she seemed in all aspects removed from the world.
He smirked, raising the silver knife high above her. It glittered coldly in the serene beams from the celestial orb hanging in the night.
Carefully, he lowered the knife, closer, closer...
It was almost touching her now, almost cutting into that slender, white throat which tortured him so during the day.
Kagome moaned softly and rolled over.
Immediately, he leapt back, pressing against the wall. Kagome groaned and sat up, glancing around the room. She could not see him though, so carefully was he concealed in the deepest shadows.
Mumbling, she stood and made her way towards the bathroom. He cursed his lost chance, the knife glinting impatiently in his hand, but he was aware that there would be many more chances.
Slipping out the window, he climbed easily down the wall and leapt to the tranquil lawn, his dark eyes glittering, his footsteps indiscernible on the dew-covered grass.
Kagome groaned as the sunlight struck her in the face. "Agh...bad light...light should die..."
"You're speaking rather incoherently, you know."
"Hmm?" She sat bolt upright. "Oh, hi, Sango. How did you get in?"
"Your door wasn't locked correctly. You should really be more careful. Don't want to be murdered by an evil possessive stalker, do you?"
She yawned. "I suppose not. Anyways, why are you here?"
"Well, we – that is, Miroku and I - were wondering whether you wanted to go swimming in the lake. After all, it is somewhat of a hot day." She tried to conceal her nervousness.
"Sure." Kagome stretched and yawned again. "I'll be down in approximately half an hour. Give me some time to orient myself." She flopped back down on the bed and closed her eyes.
Sango grinned as she closed the door behind her. "She agreed, Miroku!"
"That's wonderful." Miroku flipped through his script. "Am I seriously supposed to remember all this?"
"Miroku, all you have to say is 'I know', 'Surely not', and 'You can't be serious'!"
"That's hard!" he whined.
Sango groaned. "Come on. If you can't memorize eight words, I'll have the dean expel you."
He sighed. "Well, don't forget that I have to know what places to say them in, too!"
"No, you don't. I'll signal to you, and any one of the three phrases works in every place."
"Damn you." He growled at her.
She grinned wickedly. "You know, at this rate we won't even be able to get down to the lake in time. Hurry up; you can memorize your eight words while we're walking."
"It's hard!" he wailed, but all his girlfriend did was laugh and tug him along.
Kagome stumbled blearily towards her closet in search of a bathing suit. "Oh, honestly," she muttered, tossing her clothes all over the floor. "This is a disgrace. I can't believe my I can't find my damn suit!"
Throwing everything in her room into disarray, she finally discovered the two-piece underneath her bed, along with six hundred dollars, the remains of her lost physics textbook, a distinctly fuzzy orange, and three socks.
Pulling on her bathing suit and forcing her hair into a stubborn ponytail, she picked up a stray towel and wrapped it around herself. "Good, it's only been about fifteen minutes later than I told Sango." She absently picked up the fluffy orange and dumped it into the trash can.
As soon as she stepped out into the sunlight, however, she froze. Because he was there, his golden eyes sparkling, his silvery-white hair immaculate, as always. His beauty amazed her, always caused her to wonder how this deity could be related – no matter how remotely – to the idiot Inuyasha.
Sesshoumaru – perfection in its highest form.
He was wearing his usual icy expression, the thin line of his lips and slant of his eyebrows plainly showing that he was not to be bothered. Apparently, however, he realized that someone (beyond his usual lot of fan girls) was watching him.
He turned his head slightly and saw Kagome.
Perhaps something in her innocent, unwavering gaze brought out a hint of his real self, because his lips relaxed – for however short a time – into a small smile.
Aeons passed...centuries...years...in that flickering heartbeat when his eyes clashed with hers.
In all actuality, it was only fifteen seconds.
To Kagome, though, it only served to heighten her idealizing of him even more.
Transfixed, she watched as he turned away again, his face reverting back to the mildly angry, slightly bored look it usually held.
Gazing after him until he was well around the corner of the campus, Kagome sighed softly and raced towards the lake. She paused, smiling at the serene picture of glittering sunlight dancing on the water. It really was a lovely sight, and she would have thoroughly enjoyed it if she hadn't caught the not-so-subtle talk of Miroku and Sango. Forget subtleness, they were practically yelling at each other in an effort to make sure she heard.
Fortunately, she did.
Sango motioned surreptitiously to Miroku when she caught sight of Kagome, pointedly ignoring the fact that her boyfriend was more interested in watching the exposed parts of Kagome's body than anything else. She immediately began talking as loudly as possible.
"Miroku, are you absolutely certain that Inuyasha is completely enamored of Kagome?" she inquired, perhaps overdoing it a bit.
"I know. Surely not. You can't be serious."
Sango glared at him. "Not all at once, you dimwit!" she hissed, before continuing her tirade. "After all, they do seem to hate each other in all outward appearances..."
"Better watch out, Sango. You're beginning to sound like Shakespeare himself." Miroku grinned slyly, then answered quite boisterously, "Well, I would have thought so too, but we are roommates, and it's very amusing, the way Inuyasha wakes up each night with Kagome's name on his lips."
"Oh, how sweet," Sango sighed melodramatically. "Such a pity that Kagome could never return his affection."
"Yes, isn't it? I do feel bad for him. I mean, he does try so hard."
"It really can't be helped, naturally. Inuyasha's own half-brother has the eye of almost all the girls in the school. I'm sure Kagome is susceptible to the elder Youkai's charms."
"Yes, really. I hope Inuyasha doesn't stop trying, however."
"It would be a pity, after those long years of waiting," Sango answered sweetly. "I mean, I've seen him scribbling her name all over his notebooks."
Attempting some humor, Miroku replied sarcastically, "And how did you accomplish that? His handwriting's quite illegible."
"Quiet! Do you want this plan to work or not?" she hissed. Loudly, she answered, "Well, name another girl whose initials are KSH."
"Good point, good point."
The couple walked in silence for a minute. After they circled the lake a sufficient number of times, Kagome decided that it would be safe to approach. She tried to conceal the horror and disgust on her face. Honestly; Inuyasha was a complete idiot if he really loved her.
"Hi, guys!" she greeted in somewhat of a far more cheerful tone than usual. "How's everything? Are you going in the water? It is unusually hot for this time of year; I mean, it's practically winter! I hope Inuyasha isn't near. He really is such a jerk. I mean, he keeps teasing me all the time! You won't believe what he did yesterday. He actually stole my calculus textbook! Not that that's not a favor, but of course I don't feel any kinder towards him at all, I still hate him, and..."
"Kagome, you're blabbing," Sango interrupted. "And about Inuyasha, too! Interesting, isn't it, Miroku?"
"I know. Surely not. You can't be serious."
Both girls cast him a deeply suspicious look.
"What I meant to say," he hastily explained, "was that it's very coincidental that you should bring up Inuyasha when we were just discussing him. You didn't happen to overhear our conversation, did you, Kagome?"
"Of course not," she assured them, looking distinctly uncomfortable.
"That's good," Sango interjected. "Let's go in the water."
Kagome eagerly hopped in, hoping to conceal her blushing face in the azure depths.
Out of the three, no one saw the fuming girl concealed behind a tree.
Inuyasha was having a perfectly wonderful day. All his homework was finished, his television was no longer malfunctioning, and his ramen was cooked to perfection.
Well, microwaved, actually. The masculine race usually knows nothing of a stove.
Therefore, Inuyasha was extremely surprised when his girlfriend stormed in through the door, her long hair tangled, her eyes flaming.
"How dare you!" Kikyo roared, her slender hands clenched tightly. "I thought we were this wonderful, this perfect couple! I even wrote about us for my fucking English Literature project!"
Inuyasha tried not to whimper. She rarely swore, and when she did, it usually meant someone was going to die. "Darling, what's wrong?"
"What's wrong? You have the audacity to sit there, looking perfectly normal, and inquire what's wrong? I had it firsthand from Ayumi that you woke up calling for Kagome, and that you were in love with her!"
"What? I never..."
"Is that why you asked me to keep her door open? I obliged because I thought you were planning to do something chivalrous, like return her textbook. Did you go in to visit her during the night?" She really had a strange opinion of Inuyasha's morals. Return her textbook? As if.
"I have no clue what you're talking about..." Inuyasha explained, as calmly as he could, given the circumstances.
"Right, deny it, you cowardly excuse for a man!" Kikyo's voice grew shriller. "I loathe you! I'm not putting the blame on Kagome – I'm well aware that she despises you too – but this is it, Inuyasha! I've turned the other way for all your various fancies, but it's over!" She tossed something to the ground and stalked away.
The room key.
"Kikyo..." he whispered, clutching the key. And in that moment, he felt as if she'd stabbed him in the heart with arrows of words.
There were quite a few people relaxing in the lake.
Kagome splashed playfully at Miroku, but it was obvious that her mind was on other things. She glanced around at those surrounding her, but her breath caught in her throat when she heard the soft, slightly mocking voice.
"Care if I join you?"
She turned, staring up at him. Was he really asking her? "Of course not, Sesshoumaru. Go ahead."
At least her voice didn't sound like she'd been inhaling large amounts of helium.
He slid into the water next to her. "My thanks. It's rather crowded up at that end. There seems to be an entourage of girls who pride themselves on following me wherever I go."
"I can't blame them," Kagome replied dreamily, smiling at him.
He glanced at her doubtfully, but said nothing.
"I mean...you're really an intellectual, aren't you? I really do need help on calculus; I'm such an idiot." Kagome tried to redeem herself in his eyes by speaking of something other than his looks.
He smiled wistfully. "I can't help you there. I very nearly let my grade go under a ninety-five last year. Calculus...it's really difficult at times."
"What are you taking now?" she inquired politely.
He blinked, as if struggling to remember she was there. "What? Oh, I'm taking multivariable calculus. I daresay you'll be taking it next year? It would be a horrid class, but the professor's capable...which is more than I can say for most."
"This doesn't look good," Sango whispered to Miroku.
"Really," he replied sarcastically. "I would never have guessed. I merely assumed that you wanted Kagome to already be head-over-heels in a crazy affair with Inuyasha's half-brother."
"Do be quiet." Sango groaned. "I don't know how I'm going to get this to work...I never dreamed they were sweet on each other..."
Miroku sighed. "You're wrong. Kagome looks like a lovesick puppy, but Sesshoumaru is merely indifferent. Perhaps he's smiling a bit more than he usually does, but that's all."
Sango shrugged, watching as Kagome stretched casually, giving Sesshoumaru a wonderful look at her perfect physique. Unfortunately for her, he wasn't watching her, but Miroku was.
Seeing where his eyes were riveted, Sango calmly shoved his head underwater and held it there until she could feel him thrashing. Finally removing her hand, she gave him a meaningful smile – more of an evil grimace – and turned back to where Kagome was conversing with Sesshoumaru.
"Do they talk about anything other than college?" Miroku groaned, after a few more minutes of listening to them discussing physics, violin, history, and French.
"Apparently not. Perhaps our plan will work after all."
They continued to listen, but since the two were now speaking in fluent French, it was rather difficult to understand.
"Je deteste Inuyasha," Kagome muttered to a rather sympathetic Sesshoumaru. "Il est tres bete; il est une chienne."
"C'est vrai, mais il est gentil quand il voudrais. Excusez-moi, je peux faire de la natation."
"Bien. A tout a l'heure."
"Did you understand any of that?" Sango inquired. "After all, you do take French."
"I only took it so I could get some sleep during school," Miroku explained. "All I heard was that Kagome hates Inuyasha and she thinks he's a stupid bitch."
"Oh." Sango blinked. "That's...a friendly statement."
Kagome moved over to them, beaming. "Isn't he adorable?" she sighed.
"What were you discussing in French?" Sango inquired, trying to act casual and innocent.
"Um...oh, right. Basically, our conversation went something along the lines of, "I hate Inuyasha, he is very idiotic, and he is a...er...female dog. Sesshoumaru said, 'It's true, but he is nice when he wants to be. Excuse me, I think I'll swim now.'"
Sango blinked. "You're being a bit hard on Inuyasha, aren't you?"
"Not really, why?"
Miroku laughed. "Well, calling him a bitch..."
"Not exactly complimentary, I suppose, but suitable nevertheless." She grinned.
Her expression changed suddenly. "Oh, honestly. Sorry, but I need to go." She was staring at something behind them.
"No, you've only been here a few minutes..."
"And spent that entire time talking to Sesshoumaru..."
"No, I need to go. Um...haven't finished...my chemistry homework." She veritably fled from the lakeside, beads of crystalline water flying from her soaked hair.
"She doesn't have chemistry," Miroku remarked, staring after her. In reply, Sango pointed to a certain very infuriated, upset, and anguished sophomore who was currently charging towards them.
Inuyasha stormed into the lake, his golden eyes flaring.
Sango smiled nervously. "Hello, Inuyasha. What's wrong...?"
"Do you know why Ayumi thinks I'm in love with Kagome?"
"Ayumi thinks what?" Miroku squeaked.
Inuyasha turned his glare on him. "Apparently, Ayumi heard from someone that I was positively enraptured with that conniving, greedy, supercilious slut and Ayumi, being the gossip-loving girl she is, went and informed Kikyo."
"No," Sango whispered, realizing why Ayumi was under that impression. A fleeting shadow, concealed in the trees...
"Twelve years, we've been going out, and now, because of some stupid rumor, she dumped me. If I ever find out who spread that lie..." His fists clenched, but his anger didn't even begin to override the pain in his eyes.
And suddenly, Sango was no longer sure if her plan had been a good idea...
Hello, it's Silverwolf. Please read and review this story, as well as my other one, if you get the chance. Thanks. -Silver
Disclaimer: Not Mine
Chapter One – Planning
"It really would be nice if Kagome and Inuyasha finally stopped fighting for once," Sango Taijiya sighed ruefully, leaning against Miroku's shoulder.
Her boyfriend complacently agreed. "Naturally, it'd be a relief on our ears, but honestly; that's not likely to happen anytime soon."
Sango shrugged, idly twirling a blood-red rose – a gift from Miroku – between her fingers.
The tranquil scene was broken, however, by the angered yells coming from the other side of the college campus. Clamping his hands tightly over his ears, Miroku rolled his eyes at the other, who imitated his action. A few minutes later, Kagome Higurashi stormed towards them, her azure eyes snapping fire.
Nervously, Sango removed her hands from her ears. "Um...good morning, Kagome. How are you feeling today?"
"He really has gone too far this time!" the girl raged, ignoring her friend's greeting. "I can't believe that egotistical, arrogant, spoiled, imbecilic brat! How in the world did he manage to make it to Princeton when he probably doesn't even know the meaning of the word 'loser'?" She paused for a deep breath, presumably to continue her rant.
"Oh, I do know the meaning," a soft voice drawled from behind her. "It's quite simple. Would you like the definition?" Inuyasha smirked slyly, his golden eyes glinting mischievously. "'Loser', of course, is essentially the same thing as 'Higurashi'. Am I correct, my dear ignoramus?"
"Actually, no." Kagome spun to face him, assuming a complacent air. "Now, if you really want to know the meaning of 'loser', why don't you first learn the meaning of 'dictionary'? Or is that word too large for your monosyllabic vocabulary?"
"Monosyllabic? Obviously, your memory doesn't last for more that five seconds. In case you hadn't realized, most of my words are polysyllables." He grinned, enjoying the banter.
Ever the pacifist, Miroku interrupted placidly, "Could you two possibly stop fighting for one minute? You spoiled Friday already; don't do the same with Saturday, please."
Inuyasha laughed. "I don't see how my arguments with this wench have anything to do with you, but I'll leave." He turned, catching sight of a girl struggling under the weight of a pile of books. "Here, Leiko, I'll take those for you."
"Thanks," the girl panted gratefully, dropping her load into his arms, and they walked off together, chatting amiably.
"I don't understand it," Kagome groused. "He's so damn nice to everyone else." She watched Leiko bitterly.
"You are, too," Sango remarked casually.
"Well, he deserves my scorn," the other girl retorted, flipping back her mane of raven hair. "It's his fault, anyways." Checking her watch, she called, "I have homework. I'll see you guys later."
"Bye," Miroku offered, relaxing again in the somnolent autumn afternoon and closing his eyes again. "I don't understand how she manages to concentrate on her homework at this time. Honestly, it's the weekend...one should have better things to do."
"You should, too," Sango answered languidly. "According to what you mentioned yesterday, you haven't even begun your essay on Much Ado About Nothing that's due on Monday. Which, I might add, was assigned a month ago."
"I...what? Shit!" Miroku leapt to his feet hastily, pulling his girlfriend up along with him. "How could you not have reminded me sooner?"
"Didn't want to spoil your 'perfect Saturday'," Sango explained, idly toying with his hair.
"Please help me," Miroku moaned. "I don't have any clue what to write about."
"Well, what's the topic?" she replied calmly.
He considered that thoughtfully. "Um...at least ten pages..."
"How is that a topic?" Sango demanded.
"Oh, good point. Topic...topic..." Miroku scanned his mind. "Hmm. Topic...compare and contrast one of the couples in Shakespeare's play with two people who are currently attending this college."
"Well, isn't it obvious?" she sighed, rolling her eyes. "Miroku, think!"
He paused, considered that, and blinked. "Oh, right. We're a couple."
"No!" Sango wailed.
"We're not?" Miroku inquired. "You mean...you're breaking up with me?" He stared at her. "But Sango...I love you so much..."
"No!" she wailed again.
"I don't love you?" He was now thoroughly confused.
"Miroku, I really can't believe how you managed to get into college at all." She paused and took a deep breath. "What two people in this college always fight like Beatrice and Benedick?"
"Erm..."
"It's not that hard," Sango grumbled. "Come on, we just saw them."
His face lit up. "Inuyasha and Kagome!"
"Good. Now write your essay." Sango leaned back against the tree and regarded him impatiently.
"I can't, I'm too stupid!" he complained.
"You could at least try."
"Aren't you coming?" he demanded. "I won't be able to stand writing a stupid paper unless I have someone there to distract me from the monotony of it all."
Sango considered that. "Fine," she answered, and they moved towards Miroku's dormitory.
Fuming, Kagome growled at her calculus textbook. "Vectors seriously need to die," she muttered, tearing her newest sheet of completely incorrect answers in half. "Why should I care whether the determinant of the cross product of the first normal of the plane and the second normal of the other plane comes up with a vector orthogonal to the original one, anyways?" She paused to consider that. "I'm confused. Actually, the person who created vectors should die. Or should have died before he created them, if he's dead already."
Annoyed and bored, she flicked on the TV and stared at the screen. "Ok, I don't feel like watching the food channel; all that stuff's so fattening...scratch cartoon network, the anime's not on yet...aha! Jeopardy!" She leaned back to watch the game show.
'This play was Shakespeare's most famous comedy', the clue read.
"Oh, I know this one!" Kagome squealed. "Um...let's see...there's the Merchant of Venice, the Comedy of Errors, and...Much Ado About Nothing! Yes!"
"What is Much Ado About Nothing?" one of the contestants answered.
"I'm correct!" Kagome cheered.
A knock on the door alerted her to another's presence. Absently turning off the television, she pulled open the door. "Oh...hi, Kikyo." She couldn't decide whether she liked the older girl for her intelligence and kindness or hated her for going out with Inuyasha.
"Hello, Kagome. I was wondering whether you finished your calculus homework yet?" the other girl inquired. "I simply can't figure out problem fifty- six. Let's see...what is the equation of the plane containing the three points (1,0,4) (3,4,2) and (4,8,2)."
"You're on problem fifty-six? Well, I can't help you. I'm still struggling on problem one." Kagome made a face.
Kikyo grinned. "And yet you're watching Jeopardy...I do admire your conscientiousness. Well, thanks anyways. Have fun with your game show." She closed the door carefully.
Kagome didn't notice that she wedged a small piece of paper between the door and the wall, thus ensuring that it wasn't securely closed. Completely unaware, she settled back into watching a triumphant game where the remainder of the questions were answered incorrectly.
"Sango, I need your help."
"Again?" Sango replied coolly, sketching a small picture of Kagome whacking Inuyasha on the head. Inuyasha was being bashed into the ground, bit by bit. She didn't know art could be so fun.
Miroku ignored her completely bored tone. "Yes. I don't see any difference between Inuyasha and Kagome as compared to Beatrice and Benedick."
"Well, that should be obvious," Sango answered, carefully adding a hint of blood on Inuyasha's rather lumpy head. "Inuyasha and Kagome aren't exactly getting married..." Her voice trailed off abruptly as she sat up, her eyes glinting with excitement.
Miroku didn't like that look.
"That's it," Sango breathed. "We'll use the ideas in Much Ado About Nothing to bring Inuyasha and Kagome together! It's perfect; neither of them are in English Literature, so they'll have no idea what we're doing!"
Ok, Miroku really didn't like that look.
"Um...Sango, in case you haven't noticed, it's not exactly the Victorian Era..."
"Of course not," she retorted. "Shakespeare lived during the Elizabethan."
"Oh, whatever. Well, it's not that, either."
"You think I don't know that?" Sango sighed. "It still could work, though. Please?"
"No."
"Miroku," she whined.
He turned to glare at her. That was a huge mistake. She was doing her infamous pouting position, making her eyes look extremely adorable and innocent.
"I really hate you sometimes," Miroku grumbled. "Fine. And how do you propose we do this?"
"It's not that hard," Sango explained. "All we have to do is manage to coerce both of them – at separate times, naturally – to stand in a certain position. Then we can pretend not to see them, while talking rather loudly about...well...the other's passionate love for whoever is currently listening."
Miroku groaned. "We're so screwed if either of them finds out what we're doing."
"I'll screw you if it works," Sango purred seductively, leaning slightly forward so that her shirt...loosened.
He didn't miss the inflections of that. "You will? Really?"
"No. But do it anyways." She resumed her sketch, smirking evilly. How she loved teasing her lecherous boyfriend.
"Oh." Disappointed, he typed down a few more lines on his essay. "If I rewrite this using size seventy-two font, do you think the professor will fall for it?"
"Common sense," Sango snickered. "Most college professors aren't as ignorant as you think."
"Ugh." He was seriously tempted to throw his laptop at his girlfriend, who was currently drawing a look of horror on Inuyasha's face, along with a few missing teeth. "Well, since I'm obviously not getting anywhere with this essay, why don't you explain a bit more about this plan of yours?"
"Intrigued?" she inquired calmly, now erasing one of Inuyasha's ears and replacing it with a mess.
"No, just looking for a way to relieve the boredom."
Sango growled but acquiesced. "Fine. All you have to do is this..." She outlined the plan as she sketched an evil glint in Kagome's eyes.
"Perfect." He grinned when the girl's door swung silently open. Carefully slipping in, using his rather acute nocturnal vision to avoid the heaps of objects scattered across the floor, he moved closer to his prey.
The moonlight was streaming in through the window, alighting upon the ethereal face of the slumbering girl. Kagome obviously wasn't aware of the intruder, her breathing coming evenly, her eyes closed peacefully. Her dreams were quite peaceful, and she seemed in all aspects removed from the world.
He smirked, raising the silver knife high above her. It glittered coldly in the serene beams from the celestial orb hanging in the night.
Carefully, he lowered the knife, closer, closer...
It was almost touching her now, almost cutting into that slender, white throat which tortured him so during the day.
Kagome moaned softly and rolled over.
Immediately, he leapt back, pressing against the wall. Kagome groaned and sat up, glancing around the room. She could not see him though, so carefully was he concealed in the deepest shadows.
Mumbling, she stood and made her way towards the bathroom. He cursed his lost chance, the knife glinting impatiently in his hand, but he was aware that there would be many more chances.
Slipping out the window, he climbed easily down the wall and leapt to the tranquil lawn, his dark eyes glittering, his footsteps indiscernible on the dew-covered grass.
Kagome groaned as the sunlight struck her in the face. "Agh...bad light...light should die..."
"You're speaking rather incoherently, you know."
"Hmm?" She sat bolt upright. "Oh, hi, Sango. How did you get in?"
"Your door wasn't locked correctly. You should really be more careful. Don't want to be murdered by an evil possessive stalker, do you?"
She yawned. "I suppose not. Anyways, why are you here?"
"Well, we – that is, Miroku and I - were wondering whether you wanted to go swimming in the lake. After all, it is somewhat of a hot day." She tried to conceal her nervousness.
"Sure." Kagome stretched and yawned again. "I'll be down in approximately half an hour. Give me some time to orient myself." She flopped back down on the bed and closed her eyes.
Sango grinned as she closed the door behind her. "She agreed, Miroku!"
"That's wonderful." Miroku flipped through his script. "Am I seriously supposed to remember all this?"
"Miroku, all you have to say is 'I know', 'Surely not', and 'You can't be serious'!"
"That's hard!" he whined.
Sango groaned. "Come on. If you can't memorize eight words, I'll have the dean expel you."
He sighed. "Well, don't forget that I have to know what places to say them in, too!"
"No, you don't. I'll signal to you, and any one of the three phrases works in every place."
"Damn you." He growled at her.
She grinned wickedly. "You know, at this rate we won't even be able to get down to the lake in time. Hurry up; you can memorize your eight words while we're walking."
"It's hard!" he wailed, but all his girlfriend did was laugh and tug him along.
Kagome stumbled blearily towards her closet in search of a bathing suit. "Oh, honestly," she muttered, tossing her clothes all over the floor. "This is a disgrace. I can't believe my I can't find my damn suit!"
Throwing everything in her room into disarray, she finally discovered the two-piece underneath her bed, along with six hundred dollars, the remains of her lost physics textbook, a distinctly fuzzy orange, and three socks.
Pulling on her bathing suit and forcing her hair into a stubborn ponytail, she picked up a stray towel and wrapped it around herself. "Good, it's only been about fifteen minutes later than I told Sango." She absently picked up the fluffy orange and dumped it into the trash can.
As soon as she stepped out into the sunlight, however, she froze. Because he was there, his golden eyes sparkling, his silvery-white hair immaculate, as always. His beauty amazed her, always caused her to wonder how this deity could be related – no matter how remotely – to the idiot Inuyasha.
Sesshoumaru – perfection in its highest form.
He was wearing his usual icy expression, the thin line of his lips and slant of his eyebrows plainly showing that he was not to be bothered. Apparently, however, he realized that someone (beyond his usual lot of fan girls) was watching him.
He turned his head slightly and saw Kagome.
Perhaps something in her innocent, unwavering gaze brought out a hint of his real self, because his lips relaxed – for however short a time – into a small smile.
Aeons passed...centuries...years...in that flickering heartbeat when his eyes clashed with hers.
In all actuality, it was only fifteen seconds.
To Kagome, though, it only served to heighten her idealizing of him even more.
Transfixed, she watched as he turned away again, his face reverting back to the mildly angry, slightly bored look it usually held.
Gazing after him until he was well around the corner of the campus, Kagome sighed softly and raced towards the lake. She paused, smiling at the serene picture of glittering sunlight dancing on the water. It really was a lovely sight, and she would have thoroughly enjoyed it if she hadn't caught the not-so-subtle talk of Miroku and Sango. Forget subtleness, they were practically yelling at each other in an effort to make sure she heard.
Fortunately, she did.
Sango motioned surreptitiously to Miroku when she caught sight of Kagome, pointedly ignoring the fact that her boyfriend was more interested in watching the exposed parts of Kagome's body than anything else. She immediately began talking as loudly as possible.
"Miroku, are you absolutely certain that Inuyasha is completely enamored of Kagome?" she inquired, perhaps overdoing it a bit.
"I know. Surely not. You can't be serious."
Sango glared at him. "Not all at once, you dimwit!" she hissed, before continuing her tirade. "After all, they do seem to hate each other in all outward appearances..."
"Better watch out, Sango. You're beginning to sound like Shakespeare himself." Miroku grinned slyly, then answered quite boisterously, "Well, I would have thought so too, but we are roommates, and it's very amusing, the way Inuyasha wakes up each night with Kagome's name on his lips."
"Oh, how sweet," Sango sighed melodramatically. "Such a pity that Kagome could never return his affection."
"Yes, isn't it? I do feel bad for him. I mean, he does try so hard."
"It really can't be helped, naturally. Inuyasha's own half-brother has the eye of almost all the girls in the school. I'm sure Kagome is susceptible to the elder Youkai's charms."
"Yes, really. I hope Inuyasha doesn't stop trying, however."
"It would be a pity, after those long years of waiting," Sango answered sweetly. "I mean, I've seen him scribbling her name all over his notebooks."
Attempting some humor, Miroku replied sarcastically, "And how did you accomplish that? His handwriting's quite illegible."
"Quiet! Do you want this plan to work or not?" she hissed. Loudly, she answered, "Well, name another girl whose initials are KSH."
"Good point, good point."
The couple walked in silence for a minute. After they circled the lake a sufficient number of times, Kagome decided that it would be safe to approach. She tried to conceal the horror and disgust on her face. Honestly; Inuyasha was a complete idiot if he really loved her.
"Hi, guys!" she greeted in somewhat of a far more cheerful tone than usual. "How's everything? Are you going in the water? It is unusually hot for this time of year; I mean, it's practically winter! I hope Inuyasha isn't near. He really is such a jerk. I mean, he keeps teasing me all the time! You won't believe what he did yesterday. He actually stole my calculus textbook! Not that that's not a favor, but of course I don't feel any kinder towards him at all, I still hate him, and..."
"Kagome, you're blabbing," Sango interrupted. "And about Inuyasha, too! Interesting, isn't it, Miroku?"
"I know. Surely not. You can't be serious."
Both girls cast him a deeply suspicious look.
"What I meant to say," he hastily explained, "was that it's very coincidental that you should bring up Inuyasha when we were just discussing him. You didn't happen to overhear our conversation, did you, Kagome?"
"Of course not," she assured them, looking distinctly uncomfortable.
"That's good," Sango interjected. "Let's go in the water."
Kagome eagerly hopped in, hoping to conceal her blushing face in the azure depths.
Out of the three, no one saw the fuming girl concealed behind a tree.
Inuyasha was having a perfectly wonderful day. All his homework was finished, his television was no longer malfunctioning, and his ramen was cooked to perfection.
Well, microwaved, actually. The masculine race usually knows nothing of a stove.
Therefore, Inuyasha was extremely surprised when his girlfriend stormed in through the door, her long hair tangled, her eyes flaming.
"How dare you!" Kikyo roared, her slender hands clenched tightly. "I thought we were this wonderful, this perfect couple! I even wrote about us for my fucking English Literature project!"
Inuyasha tried not to whimper. She rarely swore, and when she did, it usually meant someone was going to die. "Darling, what's wrong?"
"What's wrong? You have the audacity to sit there, looking perfectly normal, and inquire what's wrong? I had it firsthand from Ayumi that you woke up calling for Kagome, and that you were in love with her!"
"What? I never..."
"Is that why you asked me to keep her door open? I obliged because I thought you were planning to do something chivalrous, like return her textbook. Did you go in to visit her during the night?" She really had a strange opinion of Inuyasha's morals. Return her textbook? As if.
"I have no clue what you're talking about..." Inuyasha explained, as calmly as he could, given the circumstances.
"Right, deny it, you cowardly excuse for a man!" Kikyo's voice grew shriller. "I loathe you! I'm not putting the blame on Kagome – I'm well aware that she despises you too – but this is it, Inuyasha! I've turned the other way for all your various fancies, but it's over!" She tossed something to the ground and stalked away.
The room key.
"Kikyo..." he whispered, clutching the key. And in that moment, he felt as if she'd stabbed him in the heart with arrows of words.
There were quite a few people relaxing in the lake.
Kagome splashed playfully at Miroku, but it was obvious that her mind was on other things. She glanced around at those surrounding her, but her breath caught in her throat when she heard the soft, slightly mocking voice.
"Care if I join you?"
She turned, staring up at him. Was he really asking her? "Of course not, Sesshoumaru. Go ahead."
At least her voice didn't sound like she'd been inhaling large amounts of helium.
He slid into the water next to her. "My thanks. It's rather crowded up at that end. There seems to be an entourage of girls who pride themselves on following me wherever I go."
"I can't blame them," Kagome replied dreamily, smiling at him.
He glanced at her doubtfully, but said nothing.
"I mean...you're really an intellectual, aren't you? I really do need help on calculus; I'm such an idiot." Kagome tried to redeem herself in his eyes by speaking of something other than his looks.
He smiled wistfully. "I can't help you there. I very nearly let my grade go under a ninety-five last year. Calculus...it's really difficult at times."
"What are you taking now?" she inquired politely.
He blinked, as if struggling to remember she was there. "What? Oh, I'm taking multivariable calculus. I daresay you'll be taking it next year? It would be a horrid class, but the professor's capable...which is more than I can say for most."
"This doesn't look good," Sango whispered to Miroku.
"Really," he replied sarcastically. "I would never have guessed. I merely assumed that you wanted Kagome to already be head-over-heels in a crazy affair with Inuyasha's half-brother."
"Do be quiet." Sango groaned. "I don't know how I'm going to get this to work...I never dreamed they were sweet on each other..."
Miroku sighed. "You're wrong. Kagome looks like a lovesick puppy, but Sesshoumaru is merely indifferent. Perhaps he's smiling a bit more than he usually does, but that's all."
Sango shrugged, watching as Kagome stretched casually, giving Sesshoumaru a wonderful look at her perfect physique. Unfortunately for her, he wasn't watching her, but Miroku was.
Seeing where his eyes were riveted, Sango calmly shoved his head underwater and held it there until she could feel him thrashing. Finally removing her hand, she gave him a meaningful smile – more of an evil grimace – and turned back to where Kagome was conversing with Sesshoumaru.
"Do they talk about anything other than college?" Miroku groaned, after a few more minutes of listening to them discussing physics, violin, history, and French.
"Apparently not. Perhaps our plan will work after all."
They continued to listen, but since the two were now speaking in fluent French, it was rather difficult to understand.
"Je deteste Inuyasha," Kagome muttered to a rather sympathetic Sesshoumaru. "Il est tres bete; il est une chienne."
"C'est vrai, mais il est gentil quand il voudrais. Excusez-moi, je peux faire de la natation."
"Bien. A tout a l'heure."
"Did you understand any of that?" Sango inquired. "After all, you do take French."
"I only took it so I could get some sleep during school," Miroku explained. "All I heard was that Kagome hates Inuyasha and she thinks he's a stupid bitch."
"Oh." Sango blinked. "That's...a friendly statement."
Kagome moved over to them, beaming. "Isn't he adorable?" she sighed.
"What were you discussing in French?" Sango inquired, trying to act casual and innocent.
"Um...oh, right. Basically, our conversation went something along the lines of, "I hate Inuyasha, he is very idiotic, and he is a...er...female dog. Sesshoumaru said, 'It's true, but he is nice when he wants to be. Excuse me, I think I'll swim now.'"
Sango blinked. "You're being a bit hard on Inuyasha, aren't you?"
"Not really, why?"
Miroku laughed. "Well, calling him a bitch..."
"Not exactly complimentary, I suppose, but suitable nevertheless." She grinned.
Her expression changed suddenly. "Oh, honestly. Sorry, but I need to go." She was staring at something behind them.
"No, you've only been here a few minutes..."
"And spent that entire time talking to Sesshoumaru..."
"No, I need to go. Um...haven't finished...my chemistry homework." She veritably fled from the lakeside, beads of crystalline water flying from her soaked hair.
"She doesn't have chemistry," Miroku remarked, staring after her. In reply, Sango pointed to a certain very infuriated, upset, and anguished sophomore who was currently charging towards them.
Inuyasha stormed into the lake, his golden eyes flaring.
Sango smiled nervously. "Hello, Inuyasha. What's wrong...?"
"Do you know why Ayumi thinks I'm in love with Kagome?"
"Ayumi thinks what?" Miroku squeaked.
Inuyasha turned his glare on him. "Apparently, Ayumi heard from someone that I was positively enraptured with that conniving, greedy, supercilious slut and Ayumi, being the gossip-loving girl she is, went and informed Kikyo."
"No," Sango whispered, realizing why Ayumi was under that impression. A fleeting shadow, concealed in the trees...
"Twelve years, we've been going out, and now, because of some stupid rumor, she dumped me. If I ever find out who spread that lie..." His fists clenched, but his anger didn't even begin to override the pain in his eyes.
And suddenly, Sango was no longer sure if her plan had been a good idea...
Hello, it's Silverwolf. Please read and review this story, as well as my other one, if you get the chance. Thanks. -Silver