Summary: Kagome Higurashi arrives at Shikon no Tama University with no expectations and no regrets, but things take a turn for the worst when Inuyasha enters her life. Or is it best?
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any other characters from the franchise/series/manga/anime. It is amazing and I WISH I owned it, but sadly, I'm only writing about it. I claim nothing other than my own, uh, sort of kinda but a little ripped plot line. Lol, so, on with it.
Chapter one
"I remember the first time I saw him as clear as I see the sky right now. The weather was clear, the wind was blowing ever so gently, and the petals from rose blossoms were filling the air with their fragrance and color. It really was a romantic sight, and one that I won't ever forget . . ." Kagome Higurashi
I was walking quickly, perhaps too quickly, my books wrapped up protectively in my yellow backpack. My head was down and I wasn't looking at anyone or anything; the people at this university were all like hungry cats, and I was the little mouse they were waiting to pounce on. I was the poor, unfortunate soul, and they were the higher class aristocrats.
The wind was blowing gently, and my unruly black hair was being tugged at by the soft tendrils of wind. It wasn't that I wasn't grateful to have been accepted into this unversity; I was everything but ungrateful. I was so happy I could split my face in half from the size of my grin when I'd received the acceptance letter in the mail. It was just that I was intimidated by the size of Shikon no Tama University, for one, and by all the rich folk walking about.
Not to mention, there was more than your fair share of youkai.
Youkai were widely acknowledged and accepted nowadays. They had only been publicly revealed a few years ago, and it had been enough time for them to weasel their way into society as if they'd always belonged there. I didn't have a problem with the demons; they had every right to be here just as we did. But I wasn't exactly trusting of them yet. Demons had brought a lot of trouble to humans, and murder sometimes suspiciously reeked of youkai, though you could never frame any of them for it. They were far too coy, and more than less youkai had their good looks, and that was enough to convince our petty, shallow society of their innocence.
Today was my first day here, and I was just concentrated on getting to my first class in the academy without getting lost. I could still remember my mother's reaction when I'd gotten the acceptance letter in the mail.
"Oh Kagome! This is wonderful! Never, in a million years, did I imagine you'd be coming here . . . You're already nineteen years old and so grown up . . . Shikon no Tama is a private, expensive University, full of high status youkai, and to think that you're going there . . . It's like a dream come true. I still can't believe you won a full blown scholarship! But I shouldn't expect anything less from my special girl!" My mom continued to babble on happily. . .
It was true. I'd won a full scholarship to Shikon no Tama University for four years to get a degree in culinary arts. I wanted to be a famous chef one day, since I had a soft spot for food, cooking, and making people smile with my creations in the kitchen. It only seemed fitting.
I could hear the snickers as I made my way down the sidewalk, snickers from humans and youkai alike, because I was poor, unlike them, and my clothes were simple, not the latest trends in fashion. A hot blush filled my cheeks, and I ducked my head lower, scowling angrily as I quickened my pace until I was almost in a small jog.
I glanced up a set of concrete stairs, leading up to another sidewalk which led to another set of stairs leading up to the university, and started up them. About halfway up the stairs, however, I had to stop, because a group of giggling girls stood in my way.
"He's so handsome!" one of the girls, a brunette, whispered.
"I've heard he's a wild one in bed." A blond replied suggestively.
"And rich too. I've heard he's got an attitude though, but, I'd be willing to put up with it for those looks and the money." a third one with black hair cut in. They were all looking up to the sidewalk at the top of the stairs we were on. I followed their gazes, finding myself a bit curious. And that was when I froze.
I knew immediately who they were talking about. He was a youkai, and that much was obvious, even from the distance between us. I wasn't close enough to see his face clearly, but, I could see enough to believe their claims that he was extraordinarily handsome. His eyes were expressive and colored golden, and his skin was tanned with a golden tint to match. his hair, completely straight, was long, far past his shoulders, and pure, light silver, blowing gently behind him in the breeze. His eyebrows were dark and serious, and there were two adorable dog ears on top of his head, as white and silver as his hair. He wore a red muscle shirt, showing off his toned body, and simple black jeans. A black backpack was slung haphazardly over his shoulder, and he paid us no attention.
That was, until he noticed we were all gaping at him with expressions that suggested we might have possibly just met God. His eyes skipped over the other girls, uninterested, but when his eyes met mine, they locked with my own, and I felt my heart skip a beat. My cheeks flushed, but for another reason besides being laughed at. His gaze was intense, as if he were staring right through me, and my heart was pounding harder than ever before. It was the most intense experience I'd ever shared with a boy before. I couldn't look away from him.
But then, he broke the contact. He looked away from me with a haughty expression, but I noticed there was a slight blush tinting his cheeks, as he walked up the next flight of steps and disappeared into the university.
Judging from the intensified giggles of the girls, I guessed they'd witnessed my being snubbed by the youkai. I felt a rush of embarrassment and anger. Who did he think he was, snubbing me like that? The nerve. I stormed around the girls and up the remainder of steps, ignoring everyone else, and stormed up the next level of steps and into the university myself.
I found my first class without much difficulty, luckily, and slumped down into a seat in the back so I wouldn't be noticed by all the higher, richer people who were sure to be filing in at any moment. I pulled a notebook out of my backpack, and focused on scribbling on the page with my pen to distract myself.
"Excuse me."
I looked up, beholding a beautiful woman with soft brown eyes and dark brown hair up in a high ponytail. She was extremely curvaceous, dressed fashionably, and she had a kind expression. "Do you mind if I sit here?" she asked, gesturing to the seat beside me.
"Oh no, that's fine. Go right ahead." I obliged, moving my backpack out of the seat so she could sit down.
"I'm Sango." She stuck her hand out to me once she got settled in, and I took it, shaking it.
"I'm Kagome." I returned, smiling at her.
"It's just, I noticed all those people giving you a hard time, so I figured you could use a friend since you were by yourself. You seem more down to earth than all these snooty rich people." Sango explained.
I laughed. "Well, thanks. And it would be nice to have a friend."
"Well, you have one." Sango and I exchanged smiles. "So, Kagome, where do you come from?"
"Tokyo." I replied, a little embarrassed to speak of my poor background. "I earned a scholarship to this academy with my good grades. I wouldn't have been able to afford it otherwise." I tried to laugh it off nervously, but I had a feeling Sango could guess that it bothered me, being so poor, surrounded by rich people, for she responded.
"Well, you earned it. The other people here at this university didn't. They just bought their way in." She said seriously.
Now don't get me wrong. I wasn't ashamed of not being rich. I wasn't ashamed of my position in life, and I rather valued my independence, and liked the fact that I earned what I had and it wasn't all handed to me. But the rich people here had a way of making you feel less of yourself, and it was beginning to rub off on me already.
"I'm proud of myself for getting in here." I admitted. "I didn't think it was possible."
"Well, I'm glad you got in here. It's good to have someone to talk to that won't look down their nose at me." Sango replied.
"Aren't you rich?" I asked bluntly, but when I realized how rude it sounded, I blushed and started to open my mouth to apologize, but Sango laughed and waved it off.
"Well, I am, to a certain degree." She admitted. "But, I don't let it go to my head, and I certainly don't look down on the people who aren't."
"I'm glad. I don't think I'd have any friends here if you hadn't decided to come talk to me." I said honestly.
"Another thing to remember is that there are a lot of youkai here in this university, and they sort of have everyone wrapped around their fingers. Youkai are dangerous, and they've intimidated, killed, and stomped people down to stay where they are in authority here. So, I wouldn't go messing with them. You're smart, so I don't expect you will, but . . . I figure I should warn you anyway."
"I figured something like that would be going on here." I replied. "Youkai are supernatural beings with supernatural powers; it only figures they'd be in the position of power. They'll crush anyone who gets in their way and little human girls like me are no exception."
"You catch on fast, Kagome." Sango's eyebrows lifted, and I could tell she was surprised by my quick wit. I blushed with embarrassment.
"Something like that." I muttered, looking down at my paper.
Class started a little after that, and Sango and I passed notes the entire time. I was discovering that Sango was a lot like me, a fun lover and very smart, and very fun to be around. We giggled about all the rich, snobby girls in our class and the macho jock guys who tried to impress them when the teacher wasn't looking. By the time class was over I was in a wonderful mood, and I could see the beginnings of a strong friendship between Sango and me.
Unfortunately, Sango and I had to part ways after our first class, because my next class was on the opposite side of the university from hers. With promises to meet up later, we exchanged phone numbers and went our separate ways.
My next class, I didn't have such an easy time finding. I found myself wandering about the right wing of the building for a bit, and felt myself beginning to grow anxious, as I couldn't find my class anywhere. Everyone around me looked as if they belonged here, breezing to classes without even glancing at their schedules, and it only made me feel even more of an outcast.
Finally, I leaned against a nearby wall, lowering my head and sighing to myself. Looks like I'm going to miss my neck class. I thought glumly, about to give up.
"Forgive me Miss, but you look a little lost." a helpful voice said from my side.
"Eek!" I jumped because the voice was so close, and I hadn't even heard anyone approaching. The young man who had approached me raised his eyebrows at my outburst, and I took a moment to examine him. He was very handsome, with dark brown hair pulled into a short ponytail at the back of his neck. His warm blue, silvery eyes were filled with curiosity as he looked at me. He wasn't dressed extravagantly, but nicely, with a long sleeved blue shirt and blue jeans.
"Sorry for startling you." he flashed me a charming smile. "I'm Miroku." he lifted my hand and kissed it, and I blushed at the attention.
"Oh, well, nice to meet you Miroku. I'm Kagome. And, yeah, I think I'm a bit lost." I laughed nervously, sheepishly rubbing the back of my head.
"Well, I think I might be able to help you out. I'm going to guess you're a freshman. I'm a sophomore, so, I know my way around by now. So, may I see your schedule for a moment?" he held his hand out for it, and I handed it to him gratefully.
"Ah, well, that's no problem at all. Your class is at the end of this hallway to the left. I'll walk you down there, if you don't mind?" he offered, handing my schedule back to me.
"Oh, that would be wonderful. Thanks a lot." I said gratefully, as we started to my next class.
"So, Kagome, you have a pretty name for a pretty face. I heard a rumor you won a scholarship here for four years." Miroku said conversationally.
"Well, you heard right." I obliged. "I won a scholarship here, and, I wasn't about to turn down a scholarship to Shikon no Tama. A lot of my friends from high school would have killed to come here." I remembered my friends with a slightly sad expression, before I reminded myself I knew I was going to have to say goodbye when I moved here to the university campus. "What about you, Miroku?"
"Well, I, of course, didn't win a scholarship. I wasn't good enough at my studies for that." Miroku laughed. "And, being as fond of the ladies as I am, I didn't pay as much attention as I should have."
I smiled with him. "Well, I can see how the opposite sex can be distracting at times." I teased.
Miroku glanced at me, his expression suddenly serious. "Kagome, are you hitting on me?"
"Eh?" It was such a bizarre, random question, and I felt my cheeks flush with the blush that was becoming quite customary. "No no no! I just meant, that, I can see why you'd be distracted if you were paying attention to girls all the time."
We had reached my next class, and we stood outside the door, facing one another. Miroku looked into my eyes, and I was shocked when he took both of my hands in his, and said very seriously, "Kagome, I'm flattered at your obvious attraction to me. Would you do me the honor of bearing my child?"
My eye twitched. "What!"
"Oh, Miroku, come off it!"
I looked past Miroku's shoulder to see the silver haired boy from before, an indignant expression on his face. His voice was rough, but there was something sexy about his gruff voice. "You know she wasn't hitting on you. You just want an excuse to hit on her."
I sighed with relief when Miroku released my hands and grinned at the silver haired youkai. "Why, Inuyasha, have you taken an interest to Kagome here? I'd hate to put the moves on the female of your interest. That would be most awkward."
Inuyasha's ears twitched, and he bared his fangs. "You've gotta be kidding me. Her? Feh. As if. Just leave her alone. She doesn't seem the type to roll around in bed with ya." Inuyasha walked past us into the classroom with his nose in the air, and I felt a rush of indignation.
"What's wrong with me?" I demanded, but he didn't hear me, or ignored me. I looked at Miroku, and he shrank back at my furious expression. "The nerve of that guy . . ." I stomped into class without a further word to Miroku, and all the way to the back of the room. I made sure to stare Inuyasha down as I made my way past him, but he completely ignored me and looked out the window, arms crossed over his well defined chest.
The only thing I could do while class went on was glare daggers into the back of the silver haired youkai's head. He never once looked at me, but his ears would twitch occasionally, so I think he got the feeling that he was being watched. He grew increasingly twitchy as the class went on, from tapping his claws on the desk to shifting his legs in his chair to glaring moodily out the window, all because I was staring him down. I got a sort of glee from it, which made me wonder how in the world I could have possibly experienced such an intense moment with him before, on the steps.
When the professor dismissed us from class, I was completely shocked when Inuyasha stood up, nearly knocking his chair over in the process, and stalked up to me, getting right in my face. He towered over me by quite a bit, and I had to tilt my head back just to meet his eyes. I glared at him right back, though I was slightly intimidated by him. He was youkai, after all.
"What the hell is your problem?" he demanded. "You did nothing but stare at me that entire class. If ya got somethin' to say to me, say it to my face!"
Well, wasn't he straightforward? "I have nothing to say to you." I sniffed, turning my nose up at him and trying to brush past him.
"Then explained why your eyes were glued to the back of my head for an hour straight." he ordered, his tone clearly pissed off.
"As if I'd explain myself to you." I said haughtily, without even looking at him. Refusing to say another word to him, I left the classroom with my head held high. We had attracted a lot of attention, and many people were whispering amongst themselves after witnessing our heated exchange. Even the teacher was staring, but I ignored them all, and left the classroom as if I was above all of it.
I was surprised to find Miroku waiting for me outside the door. "Well, Kagome, how did your class go?" for some reason, despite his behavior before, I felt as if he didn't have a genuine interest in me romantically, and was simply a flirt. So I decided to let his earlier behavior go.
"It was fine." I grumbled, annoyed beyond belief.
"I take it Inuyasha is the source of your distress." Miroku observed, eyeing me critically. It was not a question, but rather a statement. "I overheard some of your conversation with him a moment ago . . ."
I flushed a little. "Yes, well, he's not worth the time explaining to. So, I'd prefer not to speak of that arrogant brat."
"Arrogant brat!"
I didn't have to look over my shoulder to know who the voice came from. "Yes, Miroku, that arrogant brat." I felt my temper boiling, and Miroku looked a bit uneasy, as if he didn't want to be involved in the scene that was about to unfold.
Inuyasha stormed to my other side. "Let me tell you something, you stupid, pathetic little wench! You're just-"
"Hi Kagome!" I looked ahead and saw Sango approaching, a smile on her pretty face, waving at me. I smiled back and waved, completely ignoring Inuyasha as I jogged up to greet her.
"Hi Sango. You're such a lifesaver, you have no idea." I muttered secretly to her, and she looked curiously at Miroku and Inuyasha, who were just now arriving to where we stood now. Inuyasha was still fuming, and Miroku was looking at Sango with a slightly stunned expression, as if he'd never seen a more beautiful woman.
"Why, hello there. Sango, that's your name? Even lovelier than Kagome. I'm Miroku." He stepped forward and took her hands in his. "Sango, would you do me the honor of bearing my-"
Slap! Sango's hand made sharp contact with Miroku's cheek. Me, Inuyasha, and a few other onlookers stared in amazement. "I'm well aware of who you are, Miroku. You're a lech. And no, I won't bear your child." Sango said very calmly, rubbing the hand she'd slapped him with delicately.
"Lovely and feisty." Miroku's voice was filled with wonder as he held a hand to his now red hand-imprinted cheek.
Sango ignored him, and hooked her arm through mine. "And Inuyasha." she nodded to the youkai. He just harrumphed.
"You know him?" I jerked my head irritably in Inuyasha's direction.
"Everyone knows him." Sango replied, surprised. "He's the most well known youkai on campus, besides Sesshomaru."
"Sessohamaru?" I questioned, curious.
"No one important." Inuyasha snapped. "I wasn't finished with you, human."
I ignored him. "Well, Sango, you and I should go to lunch together now. I've got a lot of things to discuss with you, anyway. I don't have time for arrogant, pig-headed, empty-brained youkai." With that, I turned my nose up and forcibly pulled Sango away from them. I could hear Inuyasha cursing after me to Miroku, who just shook his head at the entire ordeal.
"So are you going to tell me what that was all about?" Sango asked when we were a bit of a ways from the boys.
I sighed. "Miroku hit on me before my second class and Inuyasha pretty much said I wasn't worth hitting on by his standards. And I stared him down the entire class, because he had that class with me, and he confronted me in front of everyone after class, and now he's following me around trying to give me hell. And now we're up to the present."
"I'm surprised he's even bothering." Sango replied. "There's been a lot of girls like you that have voiced their opinions about him and he hasn't paid them a bit of mind. Sure, he's cussed at a few here and there, but he hasn't ever really given them the time of day."
So what makes me different? I thought. But before I could voice this out loud, Sango started talking again.
"But, that's something I didn't consider . . ." Sango murmured, her voice turning thoughtful.
"What is?"
"Well, Inuyasha is a junior. Before you came along, he had a girlfriend named Kikyo. And, well, she looked exactly like you, to be honest. I mean, exactly. You two are identical in the face. The only difference is that your hair is a bit more curly and your face is more expressive. Other than that, the resemblance is uncanny. And, well, a year or so ago . . . there was an accident." Sango said quietly.
I felt myself intrigued by what she was telling me. "An accident?" I questioned softly.
"Well, that's what most people say, but I don't think it was an accident at all. There were a lot of full blooded youkai in the university that didn't like Inuyasha's relationship with Kikyo because she was a human and he was youkai. Humans dating youkai is highly frowned upon here, but not completely forbidden. And I think that a lot of higher class youkai got pissed off about him dating Kikyo, and . . . I think they killed her."
My eyes widened. "Killed her? But . . . why would they go that far? How did she die?"
"They say that she fell out of her third story window and broke her neck, and that was how she died. But I was there, with Inuyasha. I saw fingerprints on her neck, and I think the authorities were corrupted to keep silent. She was murdered, and I know it." Sango's voice was solemn, and I felt myself horrified by the thought of someone being murdered like that, just for being human, for being with the one they loved without caring about their race. "They were jealous of Kikyo, I think. She was a kind, gentle spirit, and they couldn't stand seeing her completely happy with Inuyasha, and him with her. It's sickening."
Silently inside, I agreed with Kikyo. "That's horrible." I said quietly. "And . . . that's why you think that Inuyasha is giving me the time of day? Because I look like Kikyo?"
"That's exactly what I think." Sango replied. "I can't really think of another reason."
At my expression, I think Sango realized how that must have sounded, for she ducked her head sheepishly. "I don't mean that you're not a wonderful girl, Kagome . . ." she started guiltily.
"No, it's fine . . . I should just go ahead and convince myself that that's the reason." I interrupted. "It would be stupid to think it was because of something else."
"I'm sorry Kagome." Sango said softly, and I could tell she meant it.
"It's fine. Really." I smiled at her, but it was a little forced. "It's fine. I don't care what that jerk thinks anyway."
Sango looked as if she was about to disagree, but she instead closed her mouth and decided to indulge me as we headed off to eat lunch together.
Well, let me know what you guys think of this first chapter. This is my first Inuyasha fanfic, so go easy on me please! Tell me things I should change, things I shouldn't change, and I'll be good to go. :)