A/N: ok. Well I think I left you all waiting in suspense for too long. So here's the update. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: apparently not weenies…

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Hard Knock Life

Chapter Two

TaintedMunkeyz

OoOoOoO

Just when you think you're all alone… here comes your prince in a Benz and a Polo shirt…

OoOoOoO

Inuyasha walked down his new school's halls, one week later, a Wednesday. Everything was getting a little better since he now knew where most everything was. He still missed his friends and old school, but the nostalgic emotions were to be expected.

He situated the straps of his black backpack further up on his shoulders, and walked down a hall, trying to remember where the vending machines were.

"Damnit!" he cursed under his breath.

Yeah. Things were getting a little better…

He picked a hall to go down, using his favorite guessing method, eeny-meeny-mino-mo, and walked down a hall to his right. He shrugged. At least it was lunchtime and he had about 50 minutes to pick his way through the halls of "hell" as Miroku so kindly put it.

The halls were pretty much empty, save for a few stragglers that didn't have cars or friends that could take them to have lunch off-campus. Everyone was in the cafeteria having whatever nasty concoction they were serving, or they were eating from their trusted bag lunches from home. Inuyasha was neither. He wasn't really hungry anyway. He just felt like getting a soda, then maybe heading to his next class. That's what you do when you don't have friends.

He sighed, as the hall he walked down seemed to stretch forever. He remembered seeing them, but now he was totally blank, and his beloved frosted carbonated beverage was so far out of reach. But he passed the time coming upon a subject he'd been stuck on forever. All week and all of last week, the only thing he could think about was Kagome Higurashi.

He didn't want it to seem that way, but to an outsider looking in, it would seem shallow that he wanted to get to know her, just from seeing her his first day of school. But it wasn't like that at all. Well, it sort of was. But just the way she carried herself, was interesting to him. He had a few classes with her. She always seemed eager to learn. Even at 8:30 in the morning, when most kids – including him – were still half-asleep. But that was one thing he liked about her. That she was smart and able to see her surroundings. He didn't know how in the world he knew all that by just looking at her, and hearing her speak, but maybe it was because he was like that too.

At his old school, his private school, he'd been at the top of his class. And he loved art. Anything artistic. Photography, sketching, painting, the works. But at this school, he didn't think that that was very important. It seemed as if all the school focused on was sports, which he didn't mind that much. He was even thinking about joining the football team when that point in time arrived.

Inuyasha glanced up when an electric buzz reached his ears. And then a perfect picture of a neon-glowing Coca-Cola can and a water bottle on two big black box-like objects filled his vision. He smiled triumphantly and pumped a fist into the air. Then he fixed his shirt, tugging it down, and looked around to see if anyone saw.

Thank all things holy that no one had.

After he situated himself he sighed and walked over to the soda-giving machine and fished into his pocket to find a dollar bill. He successfully found a few and pulled one out slipping it into the machine and searching the selection to see what his choices were. He finally decided on an orange soda, pushing on the button and waiting for his soda to come down into the compartment at the bottom. When five seconds passed and nothing happened he began to get impatient.

"You've got to be kidding!" he yelled and smacked the front of the machine with his hand. He was almost tempted to take off his backpack and take it on, just to get his damn soda out. "Come on!" he said hitting the side. He heard a giggle from behind him, and whirled around in surprise, rubbing his now red knuckle.

The girl walked up and kicked the machine on the side and a thump was heard as the soda can fell down into its compartment. Inuyasha watched with jealousy as the girl he'd been wanted to talk to just got his soda for him, when he had been trying for about ten minutes. She walked over to him and opened his hand, placing the chilled can in it.

"Sometimes the thing gets weird and steals your money or just doesn't give you the soda. Luckily you got that latter." She smiled warmly and shrugged.

"Uh, thanks." He smiled back, a little unnerved.

"So, you're new right?"

"Yeah. Name's Inuyasha."

"Cool. I'm Kagome." She stuck out her hand and Inuyasha nodded taking it and shaking.

"Yeah, you're in a few of my classes." He said shoving his hands in his pockets. Kagome's face lit up.

"Oh yeah! That's true. I'm actually pretty happy I ran into you. Not too seem too personal, but do you get good grades in our English class? I was just wondering because the poem we were looking at today confused me, and Ms. Taiji said that we'd be having a quiz or something on it."

"Oh, well, my grades are okay I guess. If you want me to help you sometime, I'd be willing…" he said leaving the invitation in the air. She smiled at him, and tilted her head.

"Yeah, I want your help. That's why I asked, silly." She laughed and walked down the hall, away from him, her hips swaying. She turned around and glanced at him while walking backwards. "Come and find me after school, and if you do then I guess I got myself a tutor." She called back. Inuyasha sat there dumbly for a moment before getting his demeanor straight.

"Wait, so you want me to chase after you?" he asked, the corners of his mouth tilted upward.

"Something like that!" she hollered when she got to the end of the hall and turned the corner, disappearing from his sight. Inuyasha rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at the tepid soda in his hands.

"Tutor, huh? That could be fun..." He raised an eyebrow and sighed, turning back to his next class. How exciting Gym could be…

(Hard Knock Life)

"So what? You invited him over to our house?"

"Yeah Sango. Don't sound so paranoid."

"You don't know him!"

"I talked to him today. He's nice and he's just going to help me with English." Sango rolled her eyes and sighed, shoving books in her locker and taking out the ones she would need for homework that night.

"That doesn't mean you know him, Kagome." Sango turned toward her best friend after slamming her locker shut and slinging her backpack over her shoulder.

"And those words never came out of my mouth. Give me a break, Sango. You know I don't let people close that easily. It's not even like we're going to be best friends. I just need help in English. That's it." she tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, wanted to get across the point that there wouldn't be anything romantic related with the silver-haired adolescent.

"Whatever you say, Kagome. I'm going to work. I won't be home late." She hugged her quickly and walked off down the hall, weaving through students standing around talking to their friends.

"Guess it wasn't as hard as you made it sound." A jovial voice said from behind her, and she jumped, spinning around to look at the friendly interloper.

"Didn't have to scare me," she said with a smile.

"I didn't try. Maybe you should pay attention to your surroundings more." He shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets, looking around the hallway.

"Maybe I should. Let's go. We're taking your car."

"How do you know I have a car?" Inuyasha said taking out his keys as they walked out the school entrance. He pushed the unlock button to his Mercedes Benz, and Kagome ran up ahead towards it, even though it wasn't that hard to find. The parking lot was pretty much getting empty.

"I'm physic." She smiled. "Plus, I just can't see you taking the bus or having to catch a ride with those invisible friends of yours." Inuyasha winced, then smirked.

"Okay, score for you, but it's only because I'm new. You can't blame that on me." Kagome laughed and shrugged as he started up the car, her hand running down the buttery smoothness of the leather interior.

"I wasn't. But I'll be your friend if you're desperate." She nodded reassuringly.

"What? I'm not desperate! I have Miroku as a friend, I'll have you know." He answered pouting. Kagome looked away from the window up to him.

"You mean that stalking pervert that's totally obsessed with Sango?" she asked with a giggle.

"You have a way with words." He raised an eyebrow, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes. "And yeah, that one."

"Well, he's nice and all. Only it's a little unnerving that he's in love with Sango."

"In love? I doubt it goes that far…" he trailed off. Now that he thought about it, it did seem kind of true. He always talked about her; the stalking was a little off, because he hadn't even gotten near her yet. "I think he just admires her beauty. Or something. Because he doesn't really stalk her."

"He stalks her from afar. And there is such a thing, before you go and try to correct me."

"Who said I was trying to correct you? Are you always this defensive?" he asked with a smirk and then stopped at a stoplight. "Well I guess it'd be important to ask. Where the hell am I going?"

"Oh, of course. Go straight and then take a left. Shikon lane." She rattled off and he nodded. He continued his trek in the car with the fiery raven-haired girl and when they arrived on her street, she pointed to an apartment building on the right side of the road.

"Nice neighborhood." He commented absently. And it really was. He wasn't just using that line to make conversation. All the houses looked homey and spacious and the apartment seemed to be kept in good shape.

"Thanks…" she said slowly and got out of the car, grabbing her backpack and waiting for him on the sidewalk. He got out, after taking hold of his own backpack, locked the car and they headed up the apartment's stairs to her floor.

"Really, did you have to get one on the third floor?" he asked with mock tiredness. Kagome shook her head and laughed.

"You almost act as if I got this apartment intentionally so that one day we'd meet and I'd make you climb these stairs."

"No… not exactly what I was thinking…" she stopped in front of an apartment door and knocked, making Inuyasha just stair in confusion. The door opened and a middle-aged woman answered the door. In her arms was a baby boy, about the age of eighteen months, as far as it looked to Inuyasha.

"Thank you Ms. Sumaki. I hope he was a good boy today." She picked her baby boy out of the woman's arms, and taking his baby bag.

"It's really no problem, dear. He's an angel. Oh and I just changed him, so you don't have to worry about that, but he might be hungry." Kagome smiled and nodded her thanks once again, but before she could walk away, Ms. Sumaki's voice stopped her. "And who's this young man?" she asked with curiosity. She was casually leaning on the doorframe, an apron on, for she had just been cooking.

"Oh. Excuse me for being rude. This is Inuyasha. He's going to tutor me in English." She smiled warmly at the boy.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. It's nice that you're helping Kagome with her school work." Inuyasha nodded a bit uncomfortable and smiled uneasily.

"It's my pleasure." He said with a one-shouldered shrug. The woman waved and closed her door, and Kagome, Inuyasha and Tao walked down a hall a little until they came to another apartment door. This time, much to Inuyasha's relief, she took out a key and unlocked the door, pushing it open with her foot and holding it open for Inuyasha, as he scurried in.

"Want anything to drink?" Kagome asked as she walked towards the back rooms and set her stuff down in her room, before coming back out with the baby.

"Uh, no I'm good."

"Ok. Where do you want to do this? Living room or kitchen?" Inuyasha looked around the house, and decided he liked the fact that he felt comfortable. It just screamed home.

"Kitchen is fine." he set his book bag on the floor and sat down at the table. Kagome nodded and sat Tao in his high chair, scattering a mini box of Cheerios on the table in front of him, and then putting down a few of his toys.

"Okay, then shall we get to business?" he nodded and she smiled. "Okay, let me just go change and get my book bag." She stood up from the table and walked back towards the back of the apartment, leaving Inuyasha with the curious baby.

"So…" he said staring back into the wide brown eyes of Tao. "What's up?" he wanted to smack himself. The boy probably didn't even know how to talk, let alone understand what he was saying. "Don't answer that." Tao smacked his hands lightly on the table, making Cheerios jump around his hands. He had a wide grin on his face and he giggled, looking at Inuyasha with interest. "Well at least you don't hate me," he stated off handedly and pulled out his textbook, opening to the appropriate page the poem was typed on. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Tao with a Cheerio under his tiny chubby palm, pushing it towards him. Inuyasha turned his head fully to see the abandoned Cheerio in front of his textbook and he smiled. "Thank you." Tao smacked his hands on the table again.

"Looks like you two are getting along." Kagome came out with her textbook in her arms and a notebook with a pen.

"Very smart boy." Inuyasha commented and smiled up at Kagome. She smiled back.

"Learned from the best."

"Who would that be?"

"Me, you weenie." She laughed and smacked his arm playfully before sitting down next to him. "So where should we start first?"

"How about with the poem." He answered back sarcastically. Kagome sighed.

"Well duh."

"You're the one that asked the stupid question, not me wench." Kagome's eyebrow twitched.

"Excuse me?" Inuyasha looked innocently up from his textbook.

"Hmm?" Kagome smacked him again, only this time it wasn't so playfully, but it wasn't hard enough to make him say "Ouch". "That wasn't very nice, Ms. Higurashi." Kagome glared at him, but she had a small grin on her face.

"Can we get to work?"

"By all means." He looked at her book, noticing she was on the wrong page and rolled his eyes, before turning it back two or three pages. "Now we can start." She stuck her tongue out at him and huffed, looking down at the poem.

"The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost." She stated.

"Now that we have that established." He grinned. "What part was it that you didn't really understand?"

"Most of it."

"What's most of it?"

"Okay, I lied. All of it."

"Gee…"

"Just help me already."

"Well I had to know what I was working with." A loud giggle cut their minor banter short and two pairs of eyes, chocolate and gold, looked over at the baby boy playing with his Cheerios.

"Tao, you're supposed to eat them." Kagome said in a semi-stern manner. Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"You have to use examples. Baby's learn in a hands on kind of way." Inuyasha leaned over and picked up a lonely Cheerio, and made sure that Tao's eyes followed it. The boy curiously glanced at him as he took the small piece of food and popped it into his mouth. Tao looked down at his pile and picked one up, glancing at Inuyasha for approval. When he seemed to have found hit, he picked it up with his chubby fingers and popped it in his mouth, grinning triumphantly when the piece of food had finished its journey. Kagome and Inuyasha both clapped enthusiastically and Kagome smiled, while looking at Inuyasha in a new kind of light. But she soon left it behind when he turned towards her with a smug look on his face. "Told ya so." He taunted and Kagome rolled her brown eyes looking down at her book.

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

--

Then took the other, as just as fair

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that, the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

--

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

--

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood and I--

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference."

She read it out loud, and Inuyasha followed along. He smiled when she finished and glanced up at her.

"Still a little confusing?"

"Yeah…"

"Okay. Oh and get your notebook out, so you can take notes." Kagome rolled her eyes.

"Yes, teacher."

"Okay, what Robert Frost is really trying to say is that neither of the roads is less traveled by. They are both worn down the same. It's also saying, that with the fork in the road, that we are free to choose, but at the same time, we really have no clue what it is we're choosing between. It's all determined upon chance and choice. The speaker knows that he will be wrong, at best, or hypocritical, at worst, when he holds his life up as an example. Actually, he predicts that his future self will betray this moment of decision as if the betrayal were unavoidable."

"So… the main them of the story would be what?"

"The poem is sort of about remorse. Actually not sort of, very much so… it's like, he's stuck between these two decisions and he has to choose, cause if he doesn't, well he'll be standing in the woods all day. But somewhere down the line, he might feel regret for not choosing the other path, like it was a mistake." Kagome bit the tip of her pen and smiled.

"Hey! I get it. Thanks. And I'm definitely keeping these notes as reference for the test. Thanks a bunch, Inuyasha." he shrugged and closed his notebook.

"It's no big deal. It was fun. Glad you understand." He stood up and stretched, looking at the clock on the wall. It was already six o'clock.

"Wow, time flew by fast." She voiced exactly what he was going to say.

"You must have read my mind." She laughed.

"Did you want to stay for dinner?" She didn't want to seem too obvious, but she liked having him there. Not that she was bored when it was just Tao and her, but his company was nice.

"I'd love to, but I can't. I told my mom I'd be home for dinner. But maybe next time." He left her with a sign of hope and she smiled and nodded, trying to hid her little disappointment.

"No, it's totally cool, another time sounds great." She picked Tao out of his high chair and watched as Inuyasha put his stuff in his book bag, then put it on his shoulder.

"I'll see you around school, okay?" he asked as he walked towards the door, Kagome following. He opened it just a little and smiled at her, a boyish grin. She bit her lip and nodded. Inuyasha's gaze shifted to Tao as he looked up at him expectantly. "I'll see ya later little buddy." He stuck out his pointer finger, and Tao grabbed it lightly, shaking it up and down. Inuyasha chuckled and pulled his finger away, looking at Kagome again. "Bye." He said quietly.

"Bye." She whispered as he walked out the door, shutting it quietly behind him with a click. Kagome sighed, locking the door, and then she turned around to face the kitchen again. "What do you want for dinner, baby?"

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A/N: well that was fun. I had the worst writer's block. And I don't even know why. Shouldn't it be easier to write when it's the first few chapters? Fucking brain farts. I'm slow because I've only had five hours of sleep… so don't blame me. Just enjoy the chapter. And then review, because you love me.