Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha… I do not own Inuyasha… I do not—I LOVE YOU, INUYASHA! Gosh, why must life be so cruel to me? Well, at least I own the plot. (HAHA, SUCK ON THAT!)
A/N: WARNING: SOME BAD LANGUAGE! This chapter may disappoint you because I might've rushed things, but that's just because I'm always nervous about posting up my work, thus wondering whether people or like it or not… Read "Life at Demon Slayer School", my other Inuyasha fan fiction story, if you wish to live…
Summary: Higurashi Kagome's older sister, Kikyou, dumps her boyfriend Takahashi Inuyasha once he decides to go study business and all that good stuff in an American college. When he returns, he sets out to win her heart and get back what they had. Despite his persistence, however, Kikyou is frozen, for he kind of sucks when it comes to romancing women. Kagome, being the kind butterfly she is and also remembering the times she spent with Inuyasha (and Kikyou), decides to help Inuyasha win Kikyou's heart, giving him hints on love and things. But things begin to backfire when Kagome finds herself slowly falling in love with the man who's infatuated with her sister. Will Kagome stick to her promise of helping him, or will she back out, ignore him/possibly try to win his affections? As their mission progresses and the steps become more clear, will Inuyasha realize that maybe Kikyou isn't worth it, and what he's wanted all along has been standing in the sidelines all these years...?
CURIOUS OF HOW KAGOME'S SCHOOL WORKS? GO TOimtc. gatech. edu/ i-irasshai/ 2/ 207/ 207a01/ 207a01. htm (WITHOUT THE SPACE) AND THERE SHOULD BE AT THE VERY TOP OF THE PAGE YOUR TYPICAL, WEEKLY JAPANESE HIGH SCHOOL SCHEDULE.
Globe Amaranth:
Unchangeable.
HOW TO LOSE THE BEST THING THAT EVER CAME TO YOU
Step 3: Argue With Him Like You Used To
"The couple that fights the most is the one most in love...
It shows they care enough to notice the other one screwed up
and care enough to mention it to the person so they can fix it.
When you stop fighting, it means you stopped caring."
—Shawna Waltemyer
"Inuyasha, you idiot!" Kagome screeched, grabbing a sharpened pencil and throwing it at him. Instead, it pierced the wall to his right, making her even angrier than before. "Look at what you've done!"
"What I've done? Look at what you did!" he screamed back, pointing furiously to the writing utensil she'd just thrown. His eyes were frantic and trying to avoid Kagome's rabies-infested glare. "There's a fucking pencil in the wall! Kikyou's gonna be pissed!"
"She's already pissed! This may be her room, but you're the moron who called her fat in her dress!" she yelled even louder than before. "Couldn't you see—no, even smell her tears, you butthole?"
"Stop calling me names, wench!" Inuyasha demanded, covering his ears. "And stop screaming like you just saw a kitten die!"
"Well, I just saw my sister's spirit die! Does that count for something?"
"Shut up!"
"'Shut up'? 'SHUT UP'?"
"SHUT UP! The dress made me want to barf!"
"It doesn't matter what color it was!" Wait, what? "How would you feel if I told you, 'Hey, your big, fancy car makes you look like a spoiled puppy dick' or 'Hey, that sweater makes your ears look fat and girly'?"
"What did you say, wench?"
"Just go apologize to her before you're girlfriend-less!" He grunted something about "irritating wenches" before stomping out of Kikyou's bedroom, apparently an old battlefield. Kagome rolled her eyes before jerking the pencil out of the wall. "Kami, when will he learn?" she questioned aloud, wondering why she always had to set him straight when he made a mistake.
—~*~—~*~—~*~—
"Inuyasha, you idiot!" I yell, waving my arms crazily in the air. At his glare, I go on to screech, "Look at what you've done!"
"Me? This was all your fault!"
"What're you talking about? The coffee's all over the floor just because you had to drive like a madman before slamming on the breaks!"
"Well, maybe if I had a better passenger who hadn't almost fallen out of her window, I wouldn't have had to stop!"
Oh, please. I wanted to wave at a classmate. "Are you kidding me? It was your fault we had to even—"
"We're here!" he announces too happily, yet his voice holds a dark edge. He hits the breaks, and this time, my water bottle flies to the floor. I glower at him, though it's swiftly ignored as he turns away. "Well? What do you say to the nice man, wench?"
"Thanks for the ride," I tell Inuyasha, trying to be as nice as possible. He just huffs and smirks, not responding as I pick up my water. "I'll see you Friday, okay?" He nods before zooming down the street, his Ferrari squealing in the process. I sigh heatedly. So much for being inconspicuous.
Gods. One of Inuyasha and I's past times was arguing with each other over the dumbest of stuff. I guess that hasn't changed along with many other things. And, believe it or not, for many reasons, I'm glad a lot has stayed the same. I wouldn't know how to deal with Fancy Businessman Takahashi like I know Fiery Bad-Boy Inuyasha. The only differences I'm really grateful for is how much older I am now. Maybe he won't think of me as a little sister, but his actual friend?
I grunge up the shrine steps to the courtyard where Jii-chan's sweeping some stray leaves. He spots me, his tiny eyes going wide in recognition. "Ah, Kagome!" he calls. "Did you have fun at your friend's house again?"
"Yeah, we had a lot of fun," I reply, wanting to get inside to just finish up my homework so I can take a shower and go to bed.
Jii-chan hammers more questions my way—though they sound like lectures—but I run into the house instead of answering. Souta's in the living room playing video games and Kikyou's probably upstairs doing… whatever it is that Kikyou does. I hear Mama singing and pots clinging in the kitchen; they must've not eaten yet. Then I realize I haven't, either. My stomach confirms this with a low growl. I walk into the kitchen, greet my mother, and check to see what we're having. She's making a variety of foods, from edamame, or soybeans, to tofu salad. She greets me with a cheery hello and I return it with a smile. I know for the last hour I've been wanting to get my homework done and go to bed, but with all these delicious aromas, it's kind of hard to focus on math and whatnot.
That could be an excuse, couldn't it?
I help Mama cook and set up our traditional-styled table that's so close to the floor, we have to sit on pillows for seats. I am forced to have dinner with my family, courtesy of Kikyou, who insists that it is "very unladylike to grab food and eat it in your bedroom when there's a whole family downstairs, ready for socializing". Gah. Her and her manners…
How she and Inuyasha stayed together, I will never know.
I stare down at my salad, and my mind wanders back to Inuyasha again, that darned hound. Him and Kikyou, that is. I wonder how things would be right now if he was still in business college, if he came back to Japan with that amazing degree that would blow his brother out the heritage window… If he turned out to be successful, would Kikyou have turned him down yesterday like she did? If he was never kicked out of university, would he have become an entrepreneur with a mature aura, like Kikyou is now?
If he stayed in America and continued to study business, would he even be Inuyasha anymore?
"KAGOME!"
"The wolf demons stole your suits and paperwork, I swear!" I jump, my chopsticks flying in opposite directions before I finally think about what I'd just uttered. Had I been thinking about Inuyasha so much that I'd just daydreamed of him being a bark orders and complaints at everyone CEO? I shake my head as everyone gives me weird looks. How Inuyasha even developed a fetish for hating wolf demons is beyond me. Him and Ayame wouldn't get along, anyways, though…
Wait, what am I thinking?
"Nee-chan's lost it," Souta says with a sigh. I still don't understand why I'm Nee-chan and Kikyou's Onee-chan. Why not call us by our names? Jii-chan, not hearing my mental ramblings, nods in agreement. Souta goes on to ask, "So, what were you so engrossed in that you didn't even bother listening to my soccer story, Nee-chan?"
"Boys, probably," Mama says, giving me a thoughtful smile. Oh, if only she knew…
"BOYS!" Jii-chan howls, slamming his feeble fist on the table. "THEY'RE POISONOUS! STAY AWAY!"
"Ew, why should Nee-chan like boys? Wait,why should boys even like Nee-chan?" Souta sticks out his tongue, and I answer with a grimace and glare. He shudders at my unhappy face, and turns to Kikyou. "Onee-chan, a little help?"
"No," she states simply, eating a little bit of her noodles. "I'm not going to get involved in you two's childish games."
I feel my frown set in a little deeper. I don't know why, but with this whole "adult" quality she's obtained over the last two or more years, she doesn't like to have any fun anymore. Well, I mean normal, actual fun. I don't see her smile when she's around us; just her fashion friends and adults. Gods, lately, that word's been more of a profanity than anything else.
The light in Souta's eyes dies just a fraction. I have the urge to tell Kikyou how big of a party-pooper she's being, but my twelve-year-old brother saves me from doing so. "Nee-chan, aren't you gonna tell us who's the unlucky guy?"
My eyes narrow, but my frown lessens. "None of your business," I insist, my face growing red. Then I cringe at using the word "business", paranoid that I've somehow given my little secret away. I look at everyone's curious faces and Kikyou's unmoved one. Well, at least they weren't suspicious.
"Sounds like you do have a boy to talk about," Mama says, and I give her a look that tells her she's not helping. She apologizes through her eyes before offering more noodles. I decline, because my blush isn't leaving and I'm already making a fool out of myself.
Pretending to be furious instead of nervous—not to mention embarrassed—I dump the remainders of my food back into their respective bowls and plates. "I don't have a crush!" I huff, setting down my silverware in the sink before stomping up to my room. I hear their family gossip behind me—of course—and Kikyou's irritation is pretty easy to pick up on.
Exhaling with relief, I shut the door after entering my room, then stare at the wall to my right, where a picture of our family three years ago hangs proud and true. I was fifteen in that picture, and Kikyou and Inuyasha had been dating for about a year—they were both third-years while I was in my last year of junior high school. It was taken at a baseball game for Souta's birthday; we're all standing outside the stadium in our jerseys and caps. Jii-chan's standing on the edge with his arms behind his back; Mama's towering over him with a bright smile and an eager Souta at her feet as she places her motherly hands on the two's shoulders. I'm down on my knees, my arms wrapped around the birthday boy, and Inuyasha also has the same joyful spirit; he's on the ground beside us, making a funny face and giving us both bunny ears with his fingers. He always did cheesy, kid stuff like that with Souta, despite the boy being ten and therefore, "a real man". Kikyou's standing a little bit behind us, smiling, though not as big and happily as us. It looks like she almost forced it; she even has her arms crossed, for Kami's sake.
I pull the picture away from the wall, and smile a little bit as my eyes take in the centimeter-big hole. I think back to the day when Kikyou made a green wedding dress—she was experimenting, okay?—and tried it on. Inuyasha totally freaked out when she saw it; when she asked if she looked fat in it, he hadn't even thought twice when he said "yes". Kikyou ran out and after a good yelling-at, he ran after her to give an apology. I giggle. Who would've thought a pencil could've done so much damage to a wall? Just imagine what would've happened if I'd hit my target…
I cringe. Now, what about that homework?
—~*~—~*~—~*~—
"MIROKU, YOU FUCKING PERVERT!" Sango screeches from in front of me as we, once again, ride her unsafe motorcycle to school. "WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT GROPING ME WHILE I DROVE?"
"BUT, SANGO!" he whines as she takes a deathly sharp turn. I give him a warning look, sending this telepathic message: If she screws up and we crash and die, I'm going to make sure to leave behind some sort of evidence that says you're the one responsible for our deaths. He catches on and sends a pleading look, which I ignore. He can control his urges; he just doesn't want to. If a situation involves Sango, he's even more stubborn than Inuyasha. It's obvious he wants to go on about her beauty like always, but after my glare, he'd decided otherwise. "SO, WHAT WERE YOU LADIES' TALKING ABOUT? SOMETHING INVOLVING THE ARCADE AND CYCLING?"
"OH!" Sango says, remembering. "YEAH, I FORGOT TO TELL YOU— THE CYCLING TOURNAMENT'S BEEN MOVED AGAIN, SO WE WON'T BE ABLE TO HANG OUT SATURDAY MORNING. BUT WE WERE THINKING WE COULD MEET UP AT NOON AND HANG OUT UNTIL SIX!"
"SOUNDS GOOD TO ME!" Miroku yells back. Then he says very contently, "ANYTIME WITH SANGO IS A GOOD, PRECIOUS, SPECIAL TIME WITH SANGO!"
Sango rolls her eyes. "IDIOT," she mumbles, but still grins at him. He returns it childishly, and she flushes. That is, until a hand wanders near her backside, and she slaps him, jerking the motorcycle in the process.
Really. When are these two gonna get together? I'll die if they keep on flirting like this.
Once again, Sango stops at school, letting Miroku drive off on her humiliating—for my part—coral motorbike as we walk inside. We go our separate ways again; I slip on my stupid pink, inside-the-school slippers as I make my way to Class A. Once inside, I'm bombarded by Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi, who want to know the newest events of my life. Of course, I dodge their questions, trying not to give away anything big like my old friend who's also my sister's ex-boyfriend came back into the country and I'm trying to help him win back her heart. You know, stuff like that.
The girls disperse to their own seats before class begins. I gaze out the window, thinking of Inuyasha. I seem to be doing that more often than not. I wonder if he's really settling back in, if he's getting used to living in Japan again. Does he miss America at all? He said the friends back there weren't worthy of missing, but he enjoys twisting his words around so that they aren't true or false, or that they're indecipherable. Just because the people weren't worthy doesn't mean he doesn't miss them. Also, has he gotten a job yet, or is he going to continue mooching off his parents? How has he even dealt with them? I think I've met them once before, but I'm not completely sure. How are they even handling his not being in business school anymore?
"Higurashi-san?" an irritated voice says, slicing through my thoughts. I jerk back into the present only to see that my three friends are in their seats, looking at me with wide eyes. I stare back at our first teacher for Thursday: the mathematics nerd, Suzuki-sensei. He waves some papers in my face, and I grab them hesitantly before realizing it's my turn to take attendance. Yippee.
I say every name on the list, marking whether they respond or not. Meanwhile, Suzuki—I'm not even going to bother calling this jerk my sensei—reads off announcements. Our first-class and morning announcements are different from those at the end of the day; these announcements talk about events happening today whereas Class Meeting talks about small stuff and tomorrow's events.
"Some new student teachers will be here at any time during your first hour," he drones, "to follow you to your classes. They'll watch what you do and how we teach you so that they can prepare their own teaching styles and learn ways to deal with you." You, you, you. In other words, Suzuki doesn't know how to handle us, so we're delinquents, though barely any of us get in trouble.
Gods, don't you just love our math teacher?
"Also going on today… There's the volleyball competition afterschool"—Crap! I forgot about Sango's game!—"and whatever teacher students following you the next week will be your Physical Education teachers for the next two days, since Itou-san has a wedding to attend to in China." He raises his voice to talk over some ruckus going on in the hallway. "Higurashi-san, if you're done, would you please put the assignment sheet away and—"
Suddenly, the door busts open, and two people stumble in. They're grunting as they wrestle each other, constantly punching and kicking, shoving and pulling.
Eh, great. We get amateurs—
Wait, is that…?
"INUYASHA?"
Just like that, their battle stops. The blob of white hair looks up at me, and the moment our eyes meet, he jumps off the other male. "Ka…Kagome…?" he asks incredulously.
Now I'm mad. How am I supposed to keep this guy a secret if he's following me around at school? He must see the fire in my eyes, because he takes a few steps back, hands raised. I ignore him, gaze moving to the guy on the floor. It's a wolf demon with blue eyes, black hair in a high ponytail, and about the same physique as Inuyasha. He gets up, brushes himself off, looks at me appreciatively, and growls at Inuyasha, who gladly returns it. I step in-between them, shoving them both a good distance away from each other. "Knock it off, you two!"
"Don't address or treat your superiors in such a manner! You are not their equal!" Suzuki screeches at me, sending yours truly an annoying glare. "Now, put away the attendance sheets and go to your seat." I glower at him. "NOW!"
Without replying, I do as he says, cutting down Inuyasha with my stares all the while. He shoots me an apologetic smile, which I frown at. Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi seem to be extremely curious of how I know the student teacher. I guess we kind of just gave ourselves away by acting so familiar with one another and saying each others' names. Ayumi's eyes plead: Do you know him? Yuka's wonder: Do you like him? Eri's scream: ARE YOU DATING HIM?
None of the above should be "yes" answers. None.
"Students, this is Takahashi Inuyasha-sensei and Ookami Kouga-sensei. They will be following you around for the next week or so." Suzuki's gaze pierces into my skull. "I suggest you not call them by their first names, either." I return it happily, but he turns to Inuyasha and Kouga. "I am Suzuki Akita-sensei, their math teacher. Some teachers have many papers to grade, so these two, despite their differences—" He gives them questioning glances at to why they were fighting, which neither of them answer. "—will be carrying on some classes today. Luckily for you, I have most of my grading done, so I will have the pleasure of teaching you."
I don't get why he's a teacher when he can't even stand students. It just doesn't make sense. I silently plead for Inuyasha to pull me out, though I'm still stunned. So this was the job offer he was talking about yesterday? He wants to be a teacher at this school? Or does he just want to come here to see—or pick on—me, as strange as that sounds? Either way, Inuyasha just smirks and leans against the window counter with Kouga, who follows his gaze and sneers at him. Inuyasha gives him another glare, and does a low growl. I roll my eyes. I should've expected as much from a male wolf demon being near him.
"Do you find my lesson boring, Higurashi?" Great to know Suzuki doesn't want to do honorifics on me, either. "You've been gawking at the two men by the window for the past five minutes now. Would you rather be by the student teachers instead of learn today's lesson properly?"
No! If I don't get today's lesson, I'll be screwed when it comes to homework later on tonight! I shake my head furiously. At this, Suzuki grins merrily as he points to the counter. I mentally groan and close my eyes, leaving my stuff as I go to sit by them. Inuyasha smiles again, and Kouga grimaces at him. Now I have to deal with these two as well as try to follow the lesson? This should turn out well.
"How do you know mutt face, Kagome?" Kouga whispers to me, tone ostensibly annoyed. I turn to him; his eyes remain glued to the board, as if he's paying attention to Suzuki, and his lips barely moved.
I copy his tactics. "He was almost family," I mumble, but of course, Inuyasha's listening in on the conversation.
"Stop talking to the damned wolf," he mutters. I glance into his eyes, the little gates to the valley of his emotions, and see he's not liking me even looking at Kouga. Why? I honestly have no idea.
"She can talk to whoever she wants, dog breath," Kouga fires back none-too-quietly.
"HIGURASHI!" I squeak at Suzuki's voice. "Since you can't pay attention over there either…" At this pause, he sends me a very dirty look. "Why don't you go spend the class period in the principal's office?"
Wait! WHAT? NO! He can't do that! Well, I mean, he can, but that's so unfair!
I feel tears begin to pool in my eyes. I've never gotten in trouble before, not even came into class late or missed a homework assignment. The only problems I've ever had is with a certain teacher named Suzuki who, for some reason, enjoys my misery. Oh, gods, why is it so, I don't know, horrible when you get in trouble? For some reason, I'm tearing up, my throat's lodging, and my guts are churning like I'm about to throw up. I feel so sick, as if the world's ending and I'm about to have a very painful death.
Inuyasha sniffs the air and grimaces. What, can he smell tears now? "Lay off, Suzuki," he says, and us students almost faint at his retort. "Wolf-butt and I were the ones talking, not her." I gaze at Inuyasha through my tears and smile, thankful. He tries to ignore looking at me, though, because he hates girls crying. He couldn't even comfort Kikyou when she stubbed her toe or slammed her fingers with her—now my—bedroom door.
Ignoring Inuyasha, Suzuki barks, "Principal's office. Now, Higurashi. Escort her, Takahashi."
"YES, SIR!" Inuyasha booms too formally. Suzuki glares at him, but the students chuckle silently. Kouga, all the meanwhile, has a glare set on turning Inuyasha into dust. I wonder, besides Inuyasha's weird hatred for wolves, what's going on between them.
Once we're outside in the hallway, I can't handle it anymore.
"INUYASHA, YOU IDIOT!" That is always my prime line in an argument between us. The fight just can't exist without me saying that. "Look at what you've done!" That's also a requirement in all of our quarrels.
"What I've done? Look at what you did!" He points frantically to the door, and through the window, I see Suzuki shooting us glares. "We're fucking standing around, not doing anything! Suzuki's gonna be pissed!"
"He's already pissed!" I screech. "I may be the 'bad pupil', but you're the idiot who's disrespected him—"
Wait. Why does this all feel so familiar?
Seeing at how I've cut myself off, Inuyasha thinks he's won the argument. He fehs, and crosses his arms victoriously. Then I do something that really scares him.
I laugh.
Inuyasha's in panic mode, giving me a weird look. His eyes tell me he's confused and freaked out, which makes me laugh harder. He growls, "What's wrong with you, wench?"
I turn my laugh into a chuckle, though I can't help smiling at the memory of our argument over Kikyou and her feelings about that ugly green dress. I remember how we acted then, and how we've been acting ever since he's gotten back, or more specifically, since we began that dumb fight over who spilt his coffee all over his priceless car.
The moment I grin, Inuyasha must see that I mean well, because he calms down, though still looks baffled. I finally tell him, "Things never really change, do they? We're the same as we were two years ago, Inuyasha." I gaze down the empty hall, feeling comfortable with this situation, despite us both being in trouble yet not punished. "I'm glad, in a sense, that we're still ourselves, that we haven't changed or matured all that much." I sigh contently before smiling up at him again. "You're still Inuyasha, I'm still Kagome, and we're still an odd pair. But we're odd in a good way—we're good together."
He blinks, his face turning pink. Why? I want to ask what's exactly going through his mind, because all I can see in his eyes is embarrassment, surprise, and I think happiness. Then he smiles, which rarely ever happens—if it does, it's a smirk. But this is a genuine gesture, meaningful and real. My heart skips a beat at it, probably from shock. Yet I quickly recover and return the gesture with my realest, brightest grin.
As we run down to another part of the building to avoid Suzuki realizing we haven't gone to the principal's office, we're mostly quiet, except for my giggling and breathing, and his chuckling and saying two sentences. Because once I begin running ahead of him, he whispers more to himself than me,
"Yeah. We are good together."
A/N: Did I disappoint you by moving too fast? Yes, they've known each other for a long time and are good friends, but I was afraid maybe people would think they were reconnecting too quickly or thought Inuyasha shouldn't get a job so fast. Anyways, the next chapter will be focused on the rest of their day together. And no, her classmates won't find out that they're really close—yet. Also, I've changed my profile: now, I'm adding extra info to stories on there, and saying when it'll be next updated. Now you'll know what day to expect it being up, okay? REVIEW AND FAVORITE, please!
