Chapter Four: A Mile Long Indeed

"Brother."

Inuyasha cringed at Sesshomaru's use of the word. He had dropped the half portion of half-brother when he had asked the hanyou to come work at the Academy years ago. Inuyasha felt it would be churlish to insist that they weren't full brothers after Sesshomaru had accepted him as pack. Not that he was above being churlish; he was really kind of a churlish guy. But with Sesshomaru? It was safer not to comment on the change.

"Yeah. What?" Inuyasha continued sweeping the gym with his push-broom, a chore he insisted on performing himself at the end of every school day. He disliked the presence of janitors and hated feeling as though someone was cleaning up after him.

"How did you find the new students? Anyone with any aptitude?"

"A few. Japanese kid was pretty good."

"Excellent," Sesshomaru sighed and turned to walk away.

"Hey Sess," Inuyasha called out after him, using the nickname he knew his brother despised. Sesshomaru stiffened but turned to look back questioningly.

"Where'd you find that new teacher anyway? Miroku said she was powerful but I don't see it. Is she worth all the secrecy?"

"Her family tree," Sesshomaru calmly explained, "features some of the strongest mikos in recorded history. I myself battled with one of her ancestors."

"You're joking."

"I do not joke, Inuyasha. She could be very powerful. I thought it best to keep her on a tight leash here rather than let her run amok."

Inuyasha chuckled. "She's already running amok," he said, thinking about Kagome's coffee-spilled morning. "That girl is all legs and elbows. Clumsy."

"She is not the most agile woman I've ever met. But that's nothing a little training couldn't fix, should the time come."

Inuyasha sensed a trap, and refused to take the bait. Sesshomaru hesitated only slightly, and then went on. "She could train with you."

"No."

"Are you saying you are not skilled enough to train her?"

"I'm not suicidal enough. The kind of power you say she has mixed with the coordination I've seen? I'd be gone in a pink flash." Inuyasha said flatly.

"I understand. Perhaps I should ask Shippo." Another long pause. Inuyasha's face reddened slightly but he was no idiot. He knew when he was being manipulated, and after several hundred years close proximity with his brother, being manipulated was a fairly frequent occurrence.

"Goodnight brother." Sesshomaru said, turning. Before Inuyasha even looked up he was gone.

"Training?" Rin asked incredulously. "What kind of training?"

"Like, martial arts and stuff!" Kagome said, flopping onto the couch with her backpack still on her back. After a few seconds of hard work to extricate herself (a pretty common problem for one whose wavy curls tended to tangle in any nearby objects) she kicked her shoes off and curled up into a miserable ball on the end of the couch. "I can't believe this is happening," She said, her voice muffled by a pillow featuring prints of Frida Kahlo paintings, "This is sexual harassment."

Rin laughed loudly and got up to get her roommate a drink. Kagome had been working late all week long, only making it home after dark each night. She'd even skipped dinner a few nights, which worried Rin. Kagome had very touchy blood sugar; more than once Rin had forced her friend to eat so she wouldn't pass out. She figured the dark-haired girl could use a stiff drink. It was Friday after all.

"So tell me what happened," Rin called from the kitchen, pulling a bottle of Vodka from the freezer.

"Oh, you know, the usual. I'm a shitty teacher, blah blah blah." Kagome rolled over on the couch and divested herself of her work clothing, which she hated. "Thank GOD," She said and she pulled her tights off. "I fucking hate dressing for work. I miss my jeans."

"Kagome, really," Rin said, handing the girl her favorite drink, vodka and grapefruit juice, "You are such a moaner."

"I think I have a right to moan!" Kagome said, drawing a throw blanket around herself as Rin automatically went to the window to close the blinds. Unfortunately, Kagome undressing and/or being undressed in front of open windows happened far too often in their house. "Principal calls me into his office and suggests I might benefit from exercise? From training? What's that even supposed to mean?"

"That he thinks you're fat?" Rin supplied unhelpfully. Kagome flipped her off.

"And the worst part is, I can't say no because I NEED this job!"

"Sure, you could say no." Rin said, settling down on the couch. "Just tell him that's not what he hired you for."

"There's no way I could talk to Mr. Taisho like that. He's terrifying."

"Naw, he's not terrifying. A little intimidating, but I'm sure he's a sensible guy." Rin said. Kagome narrowed her eyes at her friend, who looked a little too flushed.

"You have the hots for him, admit it." Kagome said flatly.

"Freely. I have the hots for him. He's the hottest man I've ever seen." Rin said bravely, but then shrugged. "But whatever. Why would a guy like that be interested in me? I'm short and frequently covered in dirt."

"Oh, don't you remember Rin?" Kagome said devilishly, "He loves the smell of earth."

"Didn't you call him a creepy fuck for saying that?"

"No I called him a creepy shit, which he is."

"Well it doesn't matter. I've finished the landscaping for the garden anyway. I won't be going back there."

"Fifty bucks says he calls you back for some reason. I bet he wants to bone you just as bad. I bet his dick is like a mile long."

"Kagome, SICK!" Rin laughed, launching a pillow at Kagome, who spilled her drink in an effort to avoid it. Kagome snickered as she gathered pieces of ice from the folds of her throw blanket.

"Anyway, I start on Monday. Maybe you can stand up to that icy stare but I can't. At least it's not that gym teacher who's going to teach me. Taisho said the art teacher could do it."

"The gym teacher? Is this the guy you've been complaining about every night?"

"Only because he's a total dick. And every time I see him I seem to be dropping something or ripping a seam in my clothing. Today I caught him looking down my blouse."

"That's because you put your boobs on display. You should charge admission."

"Shut up. It was pervy anyway. He's always showing off in the courtyard. I swear sometimes I think he knows I'm watching."

"Of course he knows you're watching; that's why he's showing off."

"I can't help it. He's got a body like…..too bad every time I talk to him he says something rude to me."

"Men are so stupid."

Kagome silently agreed, then yelped when a piece of ice slipped down her back.