DISCLAIMER.
Evening Lilacs -sniff- does not -sniff- own Inuyasha.

xdXbx

"So, how's everything going?"

Snort. "She can't shoot for her life."

Miyatsu nodded slowly. "And how are other... things... going?"

The demon felt a sudden urge course through him to dearly hurt the monk. His eyes narrowed dangerously, unseen by the elder of the two. Ooh, if Miyatsu wasn't the headmaster of the best school in the country...

"Other things? Such as?" Had he planned for his voice to come out strained? Had he planned for his chest to constrict? Had he planned for his head to spin?

"Oh... never mind... Maybe I AM a little early... Well, you've got some free time now, and I've got a survival course to supervise, so I'll see you around."

He left the confused teenager through the huge front doors of Elmsmagick. But they had barely shut before reopening, a very mad-looking Miroku entering the front hall.

"Inuyasha." A growl.

The other boy snapped out of his daze. "What do YOU want?"

"What do I want? I want to know why she was crying! What the hell did you do to her!"

"What--! ME? She did it to herself, sleazeball!"

"Like I'm supposed to believe that?"

"As a matter of fact, you are." The white-haired boy's eyes grew cold, hand moving to the hilt of his sword. "You'd be honored to face this blade, wouldn't you, Miroku? How about it, huh? The most powerful type of sword in all Japan, up and ready to face you..."

Miroku snarled. "I haven't got the time." He left for his dorm room without a second glance, leaving the demon fuming. Smart move, that was. Ooh, if Miroku's grandfather wasn't the headmaster of the best school in the country...

"Wow, Inuyasha. I never thought I'd see you in a fight over a girl."

He whirled at the voice behind him. "Shippou..."

"So how long have you been crushing on her, huh?"

Ooh, if Shippou wasn't two feet tall...

"Can it, Shippou."

"So it's true! HAH!"

"Shut up, Shippou!"

"Testy, eh?"

"SHUT UP, I SAID!" He took off for his own dorm room, feelings swelling in his chest, pushing up his neck and through to his eyes, squeezed into a salty, liquid form.

He reached the dorm and flung the door open. No one in there. Good. If there had been, they just might have had to die long, drawn-out, painful deaths. Either that or Inuyasha would have gone somewhere else to sulk. Collapsing on his bed, he let out a small moan.

What was WRONG with him? Why had he reacted that way to Miyatsu, Miroku, even Shippou's words? She was a GIRL, a wimpy, small, annoying GIRL. She had absolutely no business making him miserable.

He sulked.

About a half-hour later, his classmate Kouga entered the dorm room.

"Why the narrowed eyes, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha decided to ignore the inquiry, sending back one of his own.

"Where've YOU been, eh?"

"Making out with Ayame."

"Wa... gw... oo... yuh... WHAT!"

"Making out with Ayame," Kouga repeated just as calmly, wiggling out of his red uniform overshirt in order to be more comfortable.

"Since WHEN do you two-"

"Have a 'relationship?' Since about fifteen minutes ago."

This was followed by more spluttering from Inuyasha, and more calm, scary smiling from Kouga.

"If you hadn't ditched survival class for that new girl, you'd have seen the whole thing."

"I don't want to KNOW the whole thing," Inuyasha snapped, flipping over to face the wall next to his bed.

"Hey, it's a GIRL you're all wound up over, isn't it? Who'd have thought Elmsmagick Academy's pride and joy had hor-"

"IT'S NOT A GIRL!"

"Whoa there, no need to-"

'BRIIIIIZZ, BRIIIIIZZ, BRIIIIIZZ, BRIIIIIZZ, BRIIIIIZZ!'

"What the heck?" Kouga asked, jumping back as stinging noises resounded through the building.

"Baka! The place is either being attacked or on fire! Go get some lower-level twerps out; I need to get my ass to where the trouble is and help!"

Kouga hurried, though he smiled inwardly at how Inuyasha's potty mouth never failed, even in times of extreme stress.

Inuyasha ran to the academy's front entrance, the meeting place for the teachers and exceptionally powerful students of Elmsmagick in times of emergency. Which weren't all that frequent. Pupils were running about crazily, fright and terror showing on many faces, worried bravery on others.

Miyatsu and his right-hand, Kaede, were there, with them Miroku and Inuyasha's friends Sango and Kikyou. Next to Kaede stood swordmaster Toutousai.

"What's going on?" he demanded, rushing into the tight circle the six had formed.

"Inuyasha, you're here!" Kikyou exclaimed. "It's a demon attack!"

"Where?" he demanded, flexing his claws.

"Follow me, now that we're all here," Miyatsu commanded, leading Kaede forward through hordes of confused schoolchildren.

"There!"

Sango gasped at the sight of the school's entire left wing being completely demolished by what seemed to be a blade-sharp storm of... fans.

"Fans?"

"Apparently," Miyatsu confirmed grimly. "This is powerful magic, not your normal bounty hunter. We're dealing with real cunning here."

"Hmph. It's been long enough since we saw someone with actual talent." The dog-eared demon ran forth with a yell, slashing through the already-damaged part of the building to locate their offender. Sango, Kikyou, and Miroku dove into action after him, Toutousai watching the boy's swordplay with interest.

"Much more aggressive today than usual."

Miyatsu watched, horrified, as a woman emerged out of the mist.

"My God, it can't be!"

"What is it, Miyatsu?" Kaede asked, a hand on the man's shoulder.

"If that's who I think it is, that boy's dead!" He made to jump forward, but was stopped by Toutousai.

"I think he can handle it."

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?"

"Probably."

"Care to tell me exactly who you two think that woman is?"

"Kagura of the Dragon Fans," was the mutual reply.

"Get him OUT of there!"

"No," Toutousai repeated firmly.

"Toutou..."

"There's something different about him today. The power emanating from that weapon is.. INCREDIBLE."

The thoughts of the boy in question were a bit different.

'What is she MADE OF! I'm going to get KILLED! Why is no one else HELPING!'

He was about to yell down to his 'friends' to get themselves over there or suffer dearly, when he saw her. Kagome was propped up against the back of a tree, bleeding. 'That's right, the girls' rooms are in the left wing!' Some mediocre fighter was bandaging her arm, Homo Ackupoki or something like that.

The teen felt a sudden wave of remorse for this fan-wielding lady. How DARE she hurt Kagome? HOW DARE SHE!

"OUT OF MY WAY, WITCH!"

He lunged forward, channeling all the power of his flaming emotions into his blade.

"Oh, my!" Kaede gasped, seeing it literally ignite. "Toutousai-"

"No, that was NOT in that sword's design!" The sword's maker looked equally stunned, if not more, at its performance.

"His EYES!" someone shouted, and all gazes fell upon his. Kikyou clutched her bow to her chest, terrified.

"Is he still... sane?"

Sango stood by her friend, her face reflecting the same fear.

"I'm... I'm not sure."

"GIRLS, LOOK OUT!" Sango blindly flung Hiraikotsu, hearing Miroku's deep bellow, and one of Kikyou's arrows shot clear through its path. The two females hugged each other close in cold distress, each of their weapons having missed their target—a not-so-nice looking, giant fan heading straight for Sango's forehead. She screamed, burying her face in Kikyou's shoulder, and waited for the final blow to her life...

It never came. Silence fell all around Sango, and she looked up timidly to see Miroku's back, a shield erected about the three teens.

"Miroku...!"

"Your boomerang is heading back; get ready to catch it! I'll open this thing when it comes, then we charge! Kikyou, get one of your arrows ready!"

They broke loose in a split second's flurry of activity. Sango grabbed her weapon, spinning it ably over her head and shoulders. She ran to catch up with the others, who carried lighter arms. She hadn't anticipated a root sticking out and tripping her, and hit the ground with a cry of pain as her right leg twisted under her.

"Sango!" Miroku rushed back to her, kneeling by her side. For barely a moment he felt a flicker of his old affections for her leap up within his chest, and he willed himself to calm down.

"What happened?"

"I fell on my leg, but get back there and help the others!"

"And leave you here? What if that those things decided to target you?"

"Miroku..."

"I can heal it temporarily so you can keep fighting, if you don't mind... um..." He blushed deeply, drawing back.

Sango, understanding what he meant, pulled her uniform skirt up to her thigh with a small smile at how cute he looked when he was embarrassed.

...WHAT was that! WHERE had THAT come from?

"Here..." He returned her smile, gently running two fingers down the length of her leg and murmuring a simple incantation. "You should be able to get up now." She took the strong hand he held out to her, allowing herself to lean slightly into his back before locking back onto the battle at hand.

The extremely bloody battle at hand.

Miyatsu, Kaede, and Toutousai had now joined in with the others, working in a natural formation perfected throughout their many years spent in harmony. Sango loved the beauty of it, always grasping an opportunity to watch the three teachers working together. 'Maybe one day, I can do that with Miroku, Inuyasha, and Kikyou. Maybe we can be like that.'

A shriek came from a tree nearby, and Sango whirled to see Kagome and a boy named Aki... something cowering in fear of a perfectly gigantic paper fan hurtling itself in their direction. This one was a giant patch of purest cerulean, putting spotless summer skies to shame. What a pity it wasn't on their side.

The girl darted forward, but before she could get there, Inuyasha bounded in, slicing it in half and turning to its controller. He bore his horrid fangs at the strange woman, and she hissed, backing away slowly until her feet came to rest on a large leaf. She and the leaf took off, leaving the Elmsmagick grounds a scene of complete chaos.

Miyatsu stared, dumbfounded, at the dilapidated left Elmsmagick wing.

"Just the left wing, Miyatsu?"

"Just the left wing, Kaede."

They stared for as long as they could bear at the smoldering remains of what had once been the girls' dormitories. Kaede's girls, her dear girls, to which she was somewhat of a second mother. Miyatsu pulled the woman close to him, and they continued to stare, Kaede through her tears.

Meanwhile, Toutousai found himself rather interested in other matters. He watched closely the wielder of his masterpiece blade.

Inuyasha flew across the grounds to a certain tree, one thought running through his head over and over.

'Get to Kagome, get to Kagome, get to Kagome..."

And he did, coming to a sharp halt next to Aki... dude. "Kagome! Kagome, are you all right?" He shook her, much to Aki's despair.

"Please, she's lost quite a bit of blood."

"I'M WELL AWARE OF THAT!"

"I... Inuyasha?"

"Kagome! How are you?" She was taken aback by the creases of concern that accented his face.

"I'm... fine..." She attempted to sit up, falling back as pressure was put on her bandaged arm. He caught her shoulders, easing her back against the trunk of the tree she lay under. Akiwhatever had left somewhere in between; he wasn't sure when.

"Are you comfortable?"

"Yes... Thank you."

The male of the two squirmed. "Uh... Kagome, about earlier, I really am sorry for insulting you like that. I... I realize now that it was... wrong. I'm sorry." He looked away, feeling his neck begin to heat. He shivered as she laid her hand on his, the act spreading goosebumps up his arm.

"I accept that."

Inuyasha found himself at a loss for breath, the warmth in his lower neck slowly sneaking upwards.

"Is there... any way I can make it up to you?"

"I think you just did."

Inuyasha turned in surprise to see the corners of her mouth angled upwards at a soft incline, her eyes wet.

"Are you... Hey, you're—you're crying! Was it something I said?" he asked, feeling on the brink of tears himself.

"No, no... I'm just so happy..." She started to sob, much to white-haired boy's discomfort.

"Wh-what?"

"You're s-such a good friend, Inuyasha. Thank you s-so much," Kagome sniffled, swatting a few sticky bangs out of her face. She snorted in agitation as they merely fell back over her eyes.

He gently lifted a hand to her forehead, using his claws to carefully brush the offending hair behind each of her ears. It relieved him to see her smile.

"Thanks."

He didn't say anything, just pressed her head further back to rest on his shoulder, putting an arm around her own, slimmer shoulders. She yawned, leaning into him. Dusk was falling by this time, and the night's first stars were beginning to appear.

A smirk spread itself over Toutousai's facial features. 'So that's why he had so much power today... Oh, he is never going to hear the end of THIS. Well, I'll give them some privacy.'

"Toutousai!" Good thing, too. If he hadn't, Miyatsu and Kaede would have seen them. As much as he liked to tease and torment the adolescent half-demon, he also liked just as much to be the only one able to do this. He would save THIS dirt for an especially good argument, and see how red that boy went. Oh yes, he had PLANS for this exclusive information, PLANS...

"Toutousai, can you hear me?"

"Miyatsu?"

"Toutou... The entire left wing is gone, nothing more... It cut off exactly where the front hall starts; it's like she was... making a statement, or... or something."

"What do you think, Toutousai?" an equally confused Kaede asked, coming up behind the headmaster-monk.

"I think... they're after something we have in that wing, and they don't care what happens to the rest of us."

"But... what do we have there?"

"Indeed..." Toutousai stole a last glance at the couple underneath their wide tree before giving his full attention to the two adults. "Indeed..."

Kikyou had helped Sango to a comfortable spot on the ground, and was taking a better inspection of her leg than Miroku could do in the fifteen seconds he had spent on it. Though she had to admit, he'd done a pretty nice job.

"That was so scary."

"Which part?" Sango asked dryly, rubbing her forehead with a sweaty free hand.

"Inuyasha. He looked... I don't know... Am I the only one that was that afraid of him like that?"

Sango surveyed her friend's face for a minute, then asked quietly, "You're in love with him, aren't you?"

Kikyou froze, unable to answer.

xdXbx

sings- "Love is in the air..."

XD

xSilverOtaku – Love your pen name. Very cooky, very kewl. Lol, I love blushing Inuyasha too. :)
xInsane Chipmunk – Woopsies, my B, my B. I have changed it. -spells- H-i-g-u-r-a-s-h-i. WOOT for the export feature!
xImCrazyAndProudOfIt – Yeshyesh he does, very much so. -sighs- Ah, demon/human love...
xAlex – Regarding the pairings, I think this chapter pretty much gave you a big hint. And yesh, he has to love her already, because with all that's going to happen to these poor tortured peoples, they won't have much time to do a ton of flirting for a WHILE. XD
xinu-dog-dem – Thankies!
xJess-chan of the Nya Nya Neko – WOOOOOOOT FOR KENSHIN! Oh yes, this is an Inuyasha fic, ain't it? Woot for Inuyasha. LOL. Thanks to you too!
xElectric Fire – Shippou's more of the "annoying little dude that forces Inuyasha to realize his feelings" in this one, not so much a matchmaker... yet really, I guess he kinda is... just... he isn't. O.O Yeah. And you too, thanks! -huggles-

More soon!
Peace-ouT