Chapter 3

Inuyasha was in his favorite tree. For him lunch time started off as usual. He left class early to avoid the crowds. The teachers didn't care. They knew he avoided the cafeteria so they probably figured the food was safe. He didn't eat lunch because his mother didn't give him money to buy lunch nor did he qualify for free lunch. To drown out the hunger pains he fell into a light sleep.

oooooo

Kagome walked down the rows of cafeteria tables. Each one filled with noisy people. She held her tray of food close to her fear that at any moment the food would be taken away from her. She spotted two people she met briefly earlier in the day and walked over to them. "Excuse me?"

Why was she going up to them? This girl she briefly met in class seemed less intimidating than the rest of the students in the cafeteria. There was a friendly look on her face and her eyes held kindness especially when she defended the half demon. Maybe this girl stood up for the weak students. 'I'm so lame. They're not going to want me to sit with them!'

"Yes," Sango looked up at her. She smiled at the nervous girl standing in front of them. Miroku stopped at his attempts to get Sango's attention and glanced up at her. He eyed the poor girl all over.

Kagome fidgeted nervously as she asked," Can I sit here with you?" she prayed Sango would say yes.

"Sure go ahead. Hey! You're the new girl." Sango smiled. Sango loved meeting new people. Especially the ones she can convert into being nice to Inuyasha. In the back of her head she thought to herself, 'fresh meat!'

"Yea, my name is Kagome." She smiled. Relief flooded her entire being. She feared she would be the dorky kid eating in the restroom all alone. She was grateful she could sit with them. Everyone else in the cafeteria seemed intimidating.

"Sorry for what Miroku did earlier. Well, at least you know about the school's BIG secret." she said as cheerfully as she could manage although one could tell that she was the least bit happy about it. Miroku flinched slightly in his seat.

"Is there anything I should know about him?" She sat down next to Sango. "Well... I don't want to be nosey or anything." Kagome really didn't want to make a wrong impression on her first day of school.

Miroku suddenly grinned, "Yes, there is…" A roll made contact with his face.

"Shut it, Miroku!" Sango said angrily. She took a deep breath before calmly speaking to Kagome. "Kagome, there is some things you should know." Kagome nodded her head. "For one, Inuyasha is a mute. Two, he's timid and three; I ask that you not tease or bully him. He won't do anything to you." There was a tint of sadness in the reflection of her eyes which lingered in her voice.

"Does he ever fight back?" Kagome asked with concern. No one should have to bullied. Sango shook her head.

"No, even if he did he would get kicked out of school." Sango sadly spoke down at her food. "Don't forget this is an all human school. Having the slightest bit of demon blood in him makes it seem like he has an unfair advantage over the other students according to the rules."

"Oh." Miroku stole the words right out of Kagome's mouth.

"Where is he now? I don't see him in the lunch room?" Kagome asked silently. Her eyes were wandering over the student body.

"He's asleep in his tree." Miroku smiled, "He always goes there at lunch time."

"Miroku!" Sango reprimanded, narrowing her eyes at him.

"What?" He asked looking at her innocently. "It's the truth. He likes being in that tree at lunch. The teachers let him be there even though it is against the rules. He is out of their line of sight when they leave for lunch. You know the saying out of sight out of mind"

"Does he always sleep in a tree?" Curiosity was written in her face. Kagome was finding Inuyasha more interesting. They look he gave her earlier was stuck in the back of her mind.

"Pretty much, as far as I know he works after school to a really late hour." Sango took a bite of her food. "He's probably catching up on some sleep that he missed."

"Sango, how do you know this?" Miroku stuffed food in his mouth.

She furrowed her eyebrows in concentration. "Well, my house is a block away from his house. Every night I can see him walk to his house from my window before I go to sleep." She looked up at the ceiling as if in memory.

"Oh." Kagome and Miroku said curiously. They had no idea Sango lived that close to him. Wait a minute that means that Sango must know where he lived.

"I think he's a janitor or something…" Sango said avoiding eye contact with them. She really didn't want to stay on the subject.

"Why don't we go ask him?" Kagome smiled. Both set of eyes stared at her in disbelief.

"Are you serious?" Sango's eyes bugged out.

"He's mute remember." Miroku shook his head. "He couldn't talk to you even if he tried." Her smile changed into an embarrassed one. Sango laughed watching Kagome's face turn red.

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Another growl from his stomach woke him up again. Slowly he opened his eyes. The humans were doing the same routine they do every day. Talking, eating, and planning something or other. He didn't really care.

'Hungry,' he thought. 'Maybe I can sneak some food on the way to the restroom.' He silently jumped out of the tree. Everyone seemed to ignore him as he trotted to the cafeteria. He was like a ghost. They pretty much stayed away from him.

Of course he didn't know they stayed away from him because of the threat of Sango kicking their royal butts. She was one tough chick. No one messed with her unless they wanted a butt whopping.

On the table near the exit on the far end of the cafeteria was the new girl. She was sitting on the end completely ignoring her food. She was facing toward Sango. 'Stupid girl, sorry but I need this more than you do.' Silently he walked toward her.

"He's mute remember," Miroku shook his head. "He couldn't talk to you even if he tried." Taking advantage of the distraction, Inuyasha swiped Kagome's sandwich off her plate. He stuffed it in his shirt and kept walking without looking back.

He was out of the exit doors when he heard a cry, "My sandwich is gone!"

"You probably ate it." A student he didn't know spoke.

"Yea." The voice became softer the further away he got from them.

He walked silently into the restroom. He locked at the door behind him, 'Sorry about that Kagome' he thought as he sat in the far corner and devoured his stolen sandwich. Inuyasha's demon heritage gave him an excellent memory. He remembered her name. 'Well she can afford to lose a few pounds,' he thought.

The dripping noises from the sink gave him a clam feeling. It reminded him of the times that he would listen to the dripping in the dark room. Looking at the now empty sandwich wrapper he sighed. He still had a long day ahead of him. The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.

'Here I go again. I wonder if she is in anymore of my classes,' he thought to himself. There was something about her that was bugging him. It could just be his imagination, or had he seen her somewhere else before.

Silently he unlocked the door and slipped out. The last of the stragglers were running to their classrooms. He was lucky that his class was around the corner, and that he can walk faster than a human. Mrs. Sanchez was his history teacher. She was a short tan skinned woman with black hair. She had almond shaped eyes that were dark brown. She looked as though she was in her early fifties. She loved to give her classes atrocious research projects though she did go easier on the class if Inuyasha was in it.

It was a well know fact that Mrs. Sanchez was fond of demons; after all she was raised by them. She hated the segregation between the two species. Inuyasha opened the classroom door and received one of the rare smiles she gives. He couldn't help but smile back at her. Slowly he entered the room, ready to take his seat at the back of the class. To his surprise there in the middle sat the girl he stole the sandwich from.

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An occasional drip could be heard echoing off the walls. A big obese rat decided to take a nap on Inuyasha's lap. The noises and people had long since left. The lights have all been turned off. All was quiet above him.

The rat was putting his good leg asleep and the soft breathing and occasional twitching of the rat's whiskers were the only indication that the rat was alive. He didn't mind though, at least he had company. His leg felt numb as long as he didn't move it. He hated to come back into consciousness. A tear streaked down his cheek. Somehow he knew his mother had forgotten he was in there. It would be a while before she remembered.

"Mommy," he whispered. The only thing he could do was close his eyes. His small hand patted the fat rat in his lap. The same rat would always stay with him when he was down there. He had named the rat Fatty. "Fatty are you as hungry as I am?"

"Squeak!" Fatty replied before falling on to her back. Unconsciously Inuyasha gently scratched the white rat's belly. He smiled at her. Sometimes the rat would play with him even though it was odd for a rat to do so.

"I wish I had more food. I wonder how long it will be before mommy takes me out. I'm afraid though. She said I was bad so I have to be punished." he whispered. Fatty's red eyes stared up at him. Fatty watch Inuyasha's sad face fall back asleep and the strokes slowed to a stop.

A couple of days passed before Izyoia decided to go and retrieve Inuyasha from the cellar, aka, the dark room. She rolled away the carpet and neared the lock on the door. She rolled down the ladder and waited till she heard it hit the floor. She then climbed down. "Inuyasha, where are you?" She stepped lightly over to her son. "Time to get up, I do not have all day!" she glared at the boy. Inuyasha slowly opened his eyes and notice his mother's new pair of shoes.

"Mommy," he whispered. He could tell that his mother was not happy. He didn't want to displease her.

"There is someone I wish for you to meet. Go upstairs and get clean up, or I will go through with your punishment." Her face was stern and her voice was cold. She meant business.

Groaning Inuyasha crawled over to his mother. She watched the slight limp in his gait as he painfully stood on one leg. No doubt she figured that the bone in his leg was now merely a fracture. The light pouring down from the room above graced down on Inuyasha's dirty feet. His left foot was swollen and was covered by yellow bruises.

"Hurry! Get up the ladder!" she was beginning to grow impatient. She watched him climb out slowly. He winced and whimpered every time his injured leg was forced to hold his body weight. She studied his torn and dirty clothes.

She was sure her half demon child would make a good impression on her guest after clean clothes were put on him. Inuyasha's shadow ran across her impassive face, indicating he had crawled out of the cellar. Gracefully she followed after him.

oooooo

Once upstairs he crawled in the hot water his mother prepared for him in the tub. It was too hot and it made his leg ache even worse. His skin turned red from the temperature and he was sweating.

He got himself clean as quick as he could and carefully dried himself off and unplugged the tub. He saw the clothes his mother had laid out for him. They were really nice material. They were silk. This person he was supposed to meet must be very important. He never wore silk before.

"I better be careful not to get it dirty." He whispered. His mother came up behind him in a fancy business suit. She placed her hands on her hips and tapped her foot.

"Are you finished?" She grabbed a brush and began to brush his hair. Little Inuyasha nodded his head. He didn't say anything in fear his mother would hit him. "Good. Now Inuyasha be on your best behavior and don't talk."

"Yes, Mommy." She nodded at his response. She took him by the hand and led him downstairs to meet the awaiting guest.

A/N: Read and review!

TTFN!