FOUR

Pushing myself away from my too-tiny locker for last-period gym, I sighed, almost on the edge of jubliance. I loathed gym a great majority of the time, but this was something that I was actually good at; Resistance training. While the girls and some of the running, athletic boys did pilaties and arobics, I was lifting weights and doing pull-ups.

I thought to myself about Sesshomaru as I threw my top into my locker, exchanging it for my white, torn-all-to-hell white workout shirt. Kana had said that he was in most of our classes, but she wasn't in my gym, and I wasn't sure if he was, either. I wondered if Taisho would do toning or strength. With his body, I wondered. He was slim but fit, tall yet muscular. Probably a yoga boy.

"Higurashi!" Ms. Wong yelled from the doorway as I finished sliding my shorts over my old reliable skater shoes.

"I'm almost done! Christ." I pulled my ponytail tight and jogged out into the gym.

"You need to change faster, Higurashi. Every day you're the last one out of the locker room. This is the last time. The next time you're last one out, I'll be calling your mother." She turned her back and I gave her the finger.

As she moved I froze for a second. Sesshomaru had been standing on the other side of her. I was giving Taisho the finger.

Quickly sweeping my hand behind my back, I gave him a shocked look and a quick head shake. I heard a growl and his face scruntched up. He twirled the other direction, and I couldn't help but watch his silky hair as it fluttered around him. I shook my head as a light heat spread in my thighs. Stupid white, god-like child.

"Hey Higurashi!" Someone called from behind me. I resisted the urge to attack. Kikyo and Kagura slunked up to both my arms and wound themselves around each one.

"So, seems that you and Mr. Taisho have really hit it off, huh?" Kagura sneered.

I shook her off. "Shouldn't you be off sucking your little brother's dick somewhere?" She scowled, beaten. She had been caught blowing her little brother, Hakudoshi, piss drunk at a dance.

"And shouldn't you be injecting yourself with heroin in some dark corner?" Kikyo clipped.

I smiled sweetly. "And you could be sucking anybody's dick!" I pushed her off. "Now why don't you start with Onigumo's?"

"Everybody; a two minute run around the gym!" I sighed and started running. I would never sprint though. I did once in grade school and ended up making a gaping hole in the gym. But I was the fastest track runner in the school system, as you would imagine. It took me five minutes to run the mile. 12 miles an hour without breaking a sweat.

Kikyo and Kagura were leaning against the bleachers, whispering and glaring. I don't know why the bothered; they knew I always heard whatever they said. But in the gym, the pounding of feet kind of threw off my hearing, but not by much.

"Kagome is such a bitch! Who is she to think that she's better than us?" I was passing them by now.

"Because I'm not a slut," I whispered just loud enough for them to hear. I heard a snort from behind me. I couldn't really tell who it was, but I had a guess.

They hissed, effectively shut up. I ran around the gym six more times before the two minutes was up. I lapped almost everybody in the gym several times... Except for Taisho. He and I ran neck and neck, challenging one another. We even got in an occasional push or shove.

When we were done he leaned over a bit and whispered, "We'll finish this at a later time." I caught the small smile playing on his lips.

I gave a small yelp as something hot and sharp glided against the side of my stomach. Moving a bit of my shirt and looking at Taisho, I saw an angry red mark with hints of green glowing around it. Blood dripped. Sesshomaru's fingers had long claws, and were fading from green to a normal peachy color.

Quickly rubbing the wound to stop it's irritating burn, I caught up with him and pinched his arm with the tips of my own claws, drawing blood. He stiffened.

"Asswipe." He glared at me, and I saw the whites of his eyes almost bleeding red. "Don't fuck with me, and nothing bad will happen, kay?" I smiled and moved away, joining the group of teens huddled around Ms. Wong, splitting us into teams for pickleball (a game similar to tennis, but with small paddles, like ping-pong. Ball similar to a whiffle-ball).

Hojo and I were pinned against Sango and Miroku. We all smiled at each other and bumped fists. Taisho didn't have to play because it was his first day. I felt his eyes on me.

"May the best players win," Miroku announced, and we set to our seperate sides of the court, paddles in hand.

"You may start... NOW!" I threw the ball up and served, bumping it high up. The games continued until Kikyo hit Jakotsu in the back of the head with a paddle for missing a serve, knocking him out.

I sighed and shook my head as I put the paddle away and went to go change. When Ms. Wong let Kikyo in to change, I was, of course, the last one. I watched her as she passed my locker.

"What are you looking at, elf?"

"Some clay-hearted whore, apparently," I clipped as I let my shirt slide over my head.

"So, how's that whole looking-for-my-daddy buisness treating you?"

I growled. "Fuck you, Kikyo. At least I have a mom, and I treat my sibilings like human beings. And how's the whole condemned-to-a-nurse's-life treating you? Slept with any of the patients lately?"

"No, but I fucked InuYasha yesterday." She finished putting on lipstick and popped her lips.

I raised my eyebrow and looked at her in the mirror. "So you went all the way out to NewYork just to give him some loose cooch?" I caught her flush.

I ruffled her hair and left the locker room, joining Miroku and Sango near the doors.

I smirked at the fresh red spot on Miroku's face. "After it again?" He nodded proudly. "Get any yet?" He smile faltered.

"Don't encourage him, Kagome." She looked around. "Hey, where's Shippo?"

"He, uh... 'Didn't feel well.'" Awareness came across their faces. They knew we did drugs and tried to overlook the fact. Whenever one of us got hungover or sick from something, we would say we didn't feel well.

Sango looked at her feet. "Have you taken any medicine lately?"

"... Some."

"And has Sasuke been at home lately?" Miroku asked. I sighed. "Ah."

Sango wound her arm around my shoulder and squeezed. She smiled weakly. "It'll get better. It always does." I looked up at her and smiled, rubbing her hand.

"I'll take your word for it... As always."

The bell rang and we headed out for the busses that took us to the middle school. They'd passed a rule recently that we could no longer walk to the middle school because people had been caught smoking in the woods(not Shippo and I; we're not that stupid).

So Miroku, Sango, Hojo, Onigumo and I all piled onto one specific bus (Hojo and Onigumo pretty much just followed me wherever, if they had the time to do so).

I tried to ignore the movement on the bus as Sesshomaru got on, sitting one seat in front of Sango and I.

"Hey, Miroku, do you want to head over to my house later with Sango, Kirara and Tanuki? I didn't get much homework today."

He thought it over for a second. "Will Ozo be allright with it?" I nodded. "And with brick-for-brains be there?" Again, I nodded. He smiled. "We'll be there at three."

"Oh, and InuYasha and Koga are coming home today."

Sango shook her head. "Why are those two living with you again? Doesn't it bring around the 'Artist'?"

I rolled my eyes. "That clay model won't be there as long as I'm there. And if she is, I'll just have to go play with her magic wand in the basement."

"That's still half the size of a normal house, Kagome," Hojo commented.

We laughed. "He's got a good point. But she'd still be away from me." I jerked as my cellphone rang in my pocket.

'Hey everybody! We're all gonna get laid! Yaaaaay!... Hey everybody! We're all gonna get laid!'

"Hello?" I blushed as Sango and Miroku suppressed their laughter.

"Hey Gome?"

"What's up Shippo?"

"Is it okay if I pick up a... package... at your house today?"

I sighed. "Shippo, the guys are coming home today and the others are coming over at three; in half an hour. It takes you twenty minutes to get to my house."

I heard his sigh, frustrated. "Then could you just give me the package tomorrow at school?" I growled. "Kagome, c'mon."

"I will keep it at my house so can pick it up tomorrow after school. I am not bringing drugs to school, Shippo," I whispered at the end.

"Thanks so much, Gome! I'll see you tomorrow!" I hung up.

"So what's up with Shippo?" Sango asked innocently.

"He's having someone drop off one of his special packages at my house. I'm holding it till tomorrow."

"Oh. What is InuYasha finds it?" I gave her a doubtful look. She knew that I always hid things that weren't supposed to be found well. She was the only one who knew where I kept them. "Oh. Right."

The bus stopped at the middle school and a few kids came on. Everyone else was on a field trip to somewhere that I hadn't gone. Sango and I giggled to each other for about five minutes until her and Miroku got off at his house, Onigumo and Hojo one stop after.