You guys take yourselves for granted. I love you all so much and adore your reviews (so much to the point where I print out some of my favorite my reviews and have a wall of ones that I loved.) so when I take these hiatuses, I do so only because I need to. I'm a person who can't work well under stress and would have been dishing out angst ridden crap for half a year, so I've been straightening out my life as best as I can with those months I took off. Those who have been with me since Delightfully Disastrous know my whole 2005 summer keeps popping up this way and that and my home life hasn't been that great, but my New Year's Resolution is to finish all seven of these stories within '07. I hate to break my resolutions so you all won't see me taking another break for awhile.

And just for today, I'll play Santa. Merry Christmas! Here's my present to you all.

Thank you for the encouragement and support. I rely on you guys for that –wink- so in exchange:

Here's this chapter. Made extra long and with extra care (I had soo much fun with this lol).

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My Bitter Romance

Chapter Three

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Kagome sighed a bit, feeling somewhat guilty… That had been going too far, hadn't it?

It was cruel, even for her to make so many cracks at Sesshoumaru—especially when she just met the man.

But she just felt so frustrated and he egged her on.

She felt like she needed to vent and he was the only person who had the gall enough to start with her.

So in a way, he brought it upon himself…

It definitely was not fair to place all of the blame on herself. Kagome snorted. 'I love how that made me feel even more like a bitch.'

Kagome suddenly blinked, as she saw a large brick building ahead. It stood grandly at the corner of the street she was on. It seemed very…red.

"Tell me this isn't my school."

If the unpronounceable name was the same as what her mother had mentioned last night then she was there.

She smiled somewhat. At least she was not lost anymore.

'But you know the more I look at the school, the less I'm happy about that fact.'

Even though she had little knowledge in the area of school buildings in Japan, her school seemed quite intimidating. With tall gates and large trees, everything seemed so large.

"And red," she noted once more.

The bricks should have been enough, but no, they needed deep red framed windows. She shuddered.

"Hopefully the uniforms are blue or something…"

Kagome trudged up the steps to the school knowing that she was maybe fifteen minutes late at least. She had spent over ten minutes with Sesshoumaru and then the walk there took her some time too. How much, she had no clue. Not to mention she did not care.

Besides, there was no possible way to have been on time when her pick up time for the bus was seven thirty and she was fifteen minutes away from the school by car—so why stress on something she could not have helped.

And it was not like she was missing class. School started at eight thirty technically since there was a half hour meeting for announcements in the auditorium. Therefore, it was safe to say that she had missed that. Again, not that she minded.

From what her mother had told her, Kagome decided that the morning meetings were basically a half hour that she could use for sleep purposes. No one wanted to spend half an hour being told what clubs were going to meet, what should be reflected on during the day, or what team won or lost what game.

Kagome pulled open the doors to the school and looked around the foyer. It was a prominent school. Her mother was sure it would, "give her a very strong challenge." Whether it was challenging or not did not really matter, though as long as they never mentioned her acting career.

Kagome blinked as everything inside registered. The first thing she saw was a scowling brown-haired woman in the front foyer. She gave her a look, "Are you Kagome Higurashi."

Kagome nodded, "Yeah, and you are?"

The brunette pasted on a smile that did not reach her eyes in the least, "Sango. Nice to meet you."

Kagome had a sinking feeling that this was the exact same witch run buddy system that she had been fearing.

Her fears were reaffirmed when the uniform clad Sango extend her hand, "Hi, I will be your buddy for today."

Kagome pasted on one of her own smiles and shook the proffered hand and said with the same enthusiasm that Sango was giving, "Yay."

Sango frowned a bit before asking, "May I ask why you're late?"

A 'no' was on the very tip of her sharp tongue, but instead of the rude response, she said instead, "I missed my bus and had to walk." She shrugged. "Couldn't be helped sicne I just moved here."

Sango nodded, and some of her annoyance seemed to ebb away. She changed the subject, "I'm guessing I'm in a good portion of your classes if I'm your buddy. Do you have your schedule with you?"

Kagome handed over the schedule that had a few dozen creases in it from being folded to fit in her jean pocket.

She worried the sleeves of her halter top shirt as Sango looked at her schedule. That was not a habit of worry, but out of boredom. Whenever she felt the slight bit uninterested, she hands moved to her sleeves.

"We have three classes together, I guess. Our scicence, language, and gym slot are the same." She handed back the sheet of paper.

The comment did not sound enthused nor did it sound annoyed. It was just stated.

Kagome just said with the same tone that she used, "Oh." Kagome appraised the girl. Her first thought was along the lines of 'Dear Lord, more red.' Her second thought was a little more serious. She was probably a really smart person. If she was in two of the classes, that she herself was ahead in, then she must be one hell of a book worm.

'I had no choice in the matter, but I'm guessing this chick did that all on her own.'

Sango took a seat on the bench that she had been sitting on before Kagome entered the room, and gestured for Kagome to join her.

"I was told you were home-schooled. How was that?"

The question did not sound as if it were forced as everything else was, and there was some genuine curiosity.

Kagome sighed, "One on one teaching definitely has its ups and downs. It was difficult to fail, sleep, or not pay attention…"

Sango smiled a bit, "Here's kind of the same way for the last two. You could fail pretty easy though."

Kagome gave a small laugh.

It was quiet afterwards.

She was not sure, if she minded it, or if she could classify this Sango girl as alright.

She was sure though, that the guilt had not disappeared.

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(Tsuki)

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Rin walked into school in time for the first class' late bell to ring. Her clean pressed red uniform meshed with the straggling small group of the emerging students from morning meeting.

The high school female uniform was a burgundy red plaid skirt and a matching solid vest. The girls wore knee length red socks and a thin red head band. Pressed white long sleeved sailor shirts with butterfly collars finished it off.

Rin's brown loafers clicked into the similar rhythm of the students around her, and readjusting her black backpack, she made it into her first class: AP Environmental Science.

Anatomy, Environmental science, and AP Biology were for those who finished their major three sciences of Chemistry, Physics, and Biology. Each extra course was obligated to conduct a huge project that would become twenty percent of their term grade. It was meant to tie in at least two of the sciences together.

Rin sighed as she realized her fists were clenched. She was still more than a little upset from that morning's happening. However, she had all reason to be.

She shook with anger every time she recalled what that wretched girl kept saying to her brother. She had been listening to them the entire time and it made her boil.

That heartless person!

It churned her stomach how angry that girl made her.

Apparently, though, she could learn one thing from this experience: She was a very talented actress for was she able to hide her anger without notice.

She put a small apologetic smile for her teacher, "Sorry for being late, sensei, my brother was not feeling so well this morning." She frowned unconsciously in remembrance.

The teacher nodded in understanding and she was excused.

Rin took her seat next to the window. This was one of her best classes and so when she had those rare moments when she needed to be left to her thoughts, she could zone out and still not fail the quiz they had every other time their class would meet.

Even though he was her older brother, she could not help but feel protective of him… 'After all,' she thought bitterly, 'It was all my fault in the first place.'

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(Tsuki)

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It was only second period. Her first class had not been so bad. Even though she had been bored to tears, nothing big had really happened.

Kagome followed Sango into the Girl's Locker Room. P.E was the next class. It was held in the large auditorium and compiled of half the girls in the grade. The other half had Health during that slot.

Sango showed her to her locker. They were arranged by grades and in alphabetical order. A-M on the Top with N-Z on the bottom.

Kagome saw a brunette at the locker underneath hers and decided to wait before getting her things. She sat at a bench behind her locker.

The brunette stood abruptly with her things in her hands and turned to the bench. As soon as she saw Kagome, she dropped her things. Heads turned in the direction of the clattering noise and Kagome raised a brow when the brown-haired woman did not immediately collect her things. She merely stared open mouthed at her.

Rin's cute face distorted in anger and she pointed, "You!"

Kagome suddenly recognized the girl as the one who was with Sesshoumaru. She stood and lifted her palms in the air. "What? I'm not going to start anything." She held in a laugh, as the brunette looked ready to pounce. 'She really reminds me of a cat.'

Her attempts obviously did not work well. She cleared her throat. "Look, don't be stupid. I'm not starting anything so, please, get out of my face, and drop it."

Kagome would have wince if she had realized or cared how inconsiderate and provoking her phrasing and laughter had been.

However, she did wince from what came next.

Rin narrowed her eyes and slapped the other girl, her anger climbing as she saw Kagome roll her eyes. "Did you not hear me?"

Kagome rubbed her cheek, before returning the favor with enthusiasm in the form of a punch. She never liked to slap anyone…It hurt her palm.

This was not the first fight that she had gotten into, but it was probably the first fight that she had indirectly caused.

Rin tackled her to the ground, getting over the initial shock of the punch. "You punched me!"

Sango raised a brow at the fight, while the rest of the girls in the room stood shocked. "Clearly I missed something," she mumbled.

Rin was probably one of the quietest girls in the grade. To see her starting a fight seemed unimaginable.

Moreover, that it was with the new transfer….this would be the source of gossips for weeks.

Kagome smiled a bit as Rin knocked her into the lockers. She could not keep her amusement in check.

She had not expected the girl to be so strong.

Kagome kneed her in the stomach to stop her from resuming her assault before Rin was restrained.

Rin let out a vicious shriek before diving for Kagome again. Sango moved up to hold her firm.

Kagome started laughing much to Rin's frustration and the girls that held Kagome had to increase their hold as she giggled, "I like that girl."

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(Tsuki)

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Kagome suffered from numerous cuts and many bruises from scuffle and her cheek had swelled where she had been slapped but she kept giggling even through treatment.

The girls had kept the scuffle under wraps, something at which Kagome was surprised at. Even the gym teacher decided to write the two of them off with gym related injuries.

Rin's face had flushed once she left to go to the nurse and she had gone home, claiming illness, much to Kagome's irritation.

It was not that she was looking for a fight, but she wanted to see what Rin would do next.

Kagome went to her next class a little disappointed for that reason.

Sango was not in her literature class but she said her boyfriend was. Well she did not exactly say that he was her boyfriend, but it could be read in between the lines.

A raven haired sat next to her, "By the bruises, I feel it correct when I guess that you're Kagome."

Kagome rolled her eyes, "And what do you know, you're not the first asshole to say that. Congrats." The nurse had said something similar to her, in the exact same tone, when she walked into the office. Kagome however had not given her as much snide as she would have had she not been cracking up every few seconds

The boy smirked, "Feisty, eh? Trust Sango to get the interesting buddies. She really knows how to pick them… Can I ask you a question?"

Kagome shrugged, "Only if you answer mine. Are you Mirouku?"

Mirouku grinned and took her hand. "Yes, yes I am."

Kagome smirked and referred to his 'knows how to pick them' comment, "Then I could say the same for Sango. Now shoot."

Mirouku pulled her in closer. "Would you care to bear my children?"

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(Tsuki)

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Sango glanced at her watch and counted down the seconds.

"Five, four, three, two, one…"

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(Tsuki)

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A loud slap resonated in the school.

"You perverted piece of unfaithful shit." Kagome looked in disgust at the dazed, violet eyed man.

He laughed a bit and rubbed his abused cheek, "Is it okay to take that as a maybe?"

Kagome pursed her lips together, "Dumbass."

Mirouku blew her kiss.

The teacher chose then to walk into the classroom, pushing a cart of laptops.

"Okay everyone, today we'll be covering the fifth poem you had to read from your anthology. I want a paragraph length analysis from everyone and one or two sentences on what you thought about the poem. Begin as soon as you get your laptop, and then feel free to work on your essays."

Kagome had been given the poems they were covering and bought the anthology from the school's book store. Her essay had already been written and the analysis had been rough drafted.

There was nothing to do at the shrine, so homework was her only option from going insane. There was really no need to point out how sad that was.

Creating conversations with anyone in that household was also out of the question. Her mother was nosy, her grandfather was insane, and her younger brother was an idiot. And as if was going to talk to her fat blob called a cat.

She started the edits on her analysis and was fairly absorbed in it until a window popped up on her screen.

-You Have Mail-

She clicked on the corner icon and it popped up the email.

MTahakimi08(a)mnhs(.)edu writes: So, Kagome-chan, what'dya do to piss off the Taisho girl—ya know the cute brunette?

Kagome shuddered… Kagome-chan? Since when the fuck were they on nickname terms?

She replied quickly to the email: I was my cheerful self to her brother. By the way, the last person who called me Kagome-chan died. Keep that in mind…

Not exactly true…it really had not been that serious, but Mirouku did not need to know that. Kagome did not want anyone making up nicknames for her.

MTahakimi08(a)mnhs(.)edu writes: I suppose that explains a lot… Are you two acquainted, K-chan?

Kagome scowled at Mirouku and turned her laptop so that he would see her close the window of their conversation.

He snorted.

A few minutes later, a new window popped up.

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(Tsuki)

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The rest of her day was uneventful. At lunch, Sango cleared up the misunderstanding that Mirouku was anymore than her…acquaintance-that was her over exaggerating apparently- from childhood. She had stressed the fact that she and Mirouku's parents had been close and now them so strongly that Kagome had merely taken it with a grain of salt. It was obvious that Sango felt something for the pervert.

She learned that Rin was Sesshoumaru's sister and he was a prominent alumna from the school, who had been in an accident the night he graduated from college at the start of summer.

Kagome reasoned that Rin had attacked her merely out of outrage for her callous attitude towards her brother.

But even including the incident with Rin, the day had been fine.

Kagome was the talk of gossip for the rest of the day, but she realized she was grateful that it was not because of Sakura Blossoms.

In fact, that had been one of her major worries. That she would have been recognized as a cast member from the show. Thankfully, however, Sakura Blossoms had not even reached the country. And well, to be honest, she was partially thankful…the rest of her was extremely put out.

Kagome had decided to walk home again, taking a different route that would not lead her towards the Taisho household (she basically found the street that the Taisho lived on and chose to walk down the adjacent block.).

The walk home gave her something to think about, and helped her to get to know the area further. Who knew when she would have to walk to school again?

She and the early morning did everything but mix.

She hefted her backpack onto her shoulders and began her walk.

Kagome saw another girl exit from the school, their uniform a beacon of red. She wrinkled her nose at the prospect of that being her by the end of the week.

Kagome suddenly reflected on the day, feeling odd. She leafed through her contacts of her phone. She had about twenty something numbers which were the essential emergency numbers, family numbers and school numbers (there had been about forty more, all relating to her previous vocation, however she had spent her time before her flight deleting them), but the two new numbers she added were the focus of her concern.

It was strange being asked to exchange numbers. With a frown, she realized that was the first social exchange that she had gone through in a long while with some sort of classmate.

She tucked her phone away with a reminiscing glint to her eyes.

Kagome walked along an empty and quite street. Or at least she thought it was empty. A small flurry of movement. A black dog bolted into the air and into her uneager hands. She shrieked.

A feminine shout of, "Keys!" made Kagome cringe, "Why. Fucking. Me?"

You try to avoid someone and their dog tackles you.

Great.

Rin turned the corner onto the street that Kagome was currently wobbling on, trying to get the dog off of her.

Rin set her lips into a grim line, her eyes were rimmed red, and she was trying to sniff as quietly as possibly.

Kagome shakily placed the dog on the ground. She did not mind dogs completely, but she was deathly afraid of them when she was unprepared to see one.

She shook a bit before leveling her gaze to Rin's. She gave a crooked grin, "Wanted to pick up the fight where we left off?"

Rin scooped up her dog with a frown, "You're not worth a fight."

Kagome laughed, "It's been awhile since anyone actually tried to assault me. You are really making my day. You and your brother definitely have balls."

She stretched her arms behind her head and walked past her.

"By the way…speaking of your brother," Kagome paused, "Tell Sesshoumaru that I apologize."

Rin whirled around, her voice momentarily lost.

By the time she was able to let out a breathy, "What?" Kagome was gone.

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(Tsuki)

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Souta booted up his laptop and clicked on the TV.

"Man… this much homework on a Monday. My Lit teacher's such a bitch." The front door opened and then slammed closed.

"I'm home!"

"..Speaking of bitches." Souta's lips curled a bit. "Hey, sis."

Kagome flopped down on the couch and picked up a book, "Hn." Souta rolled his eyes a bit before flipping through the channels while he waited for everything to start up.

Kagome suddenly gripped his arm, "Go back."

Souta gave her a look, but complied.

Kagome glared at the screen, "No. Fucking. Way."

(Tsuki)

Souta was a little surprised when his sister ran out of the house. His surprise gave way to pity as he immediately recognized what make his sister parallel to a track star at that moment.

The television blared the current conversation. "And now we are proud to premiere the very first episode of what we hope to be a hit…"

Souta's eyes widened, "Sakura Blossoms?"

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(Tsuki)

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Why she was running, she did not know. Where she was going… she did not know that either. She just wanted to get away.

Kagome let a frustrated growl.

This was all on Kagura. Just to flaunt the fact that she was no longer a part of Sakura Blossoms anymore, she had probably gone out of her way to make sure that the show would air here as well.

Just so Kagome could see what she was not able to be a part of anymore.

She ran a hand through her hair and closed her eyes.

"Mother fucking bitch!"

She doubled over to take in a ragged breath.

"She completely screwed me over."

"Maybe I should really call the cops this time."

Kagome looked up at the familiar drawled tone. She scowled and yelled hoarsely. "The middle of the street doesn't count as your fucking property."

Sesshoumaru leaned against a light post, "Glad to hear that your tongue has not dulled since this morning, Kagome."

Kagome stood, "Leave me alone. Let me wallow in my frustration in peace."

Sesshoumaru shrugged, "How conceited. I'm merely taking Keys out for exercise." To emphasize his point, Keys yipped happily next to his feet.

Kagome furrowed her brows together and all she could say was, "Hn." She drew in a strangled breath.

They stood in silence for a moment. The only sound was Kagome's light wheezing. It went on for awhile before Sesshoumaru continued walking with his dog. Keys seemed a bit reluctant to walk, however.

Kagome stayed in the middle of the street, trying to catch her breath.

It felt so difficult to breath.

She coughed a bit, before wavering.

Her chest painfully heaved before she fell limply onto the pavement.

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(Tsuki)

Whoo! Longer Chapter I'm dishing out tonight! Poor Kagome. I wonder what's wrong (No I don't… I have I third of the next chappie already types out.)

Lol Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays,

Mikazuki Tsuki