I'm really really sorry for not updating sooner, but I've been drowning in endless essays these last three months… it has been a horrible nightmare T.T Needless to say, I flunked one (make that two… T.T) of my courses, and I kinda feel like crap because it (one of them) was an annual course. It really was a tough semester… so, please don't be mad at this late update.

By the way, thanks for all those kind reviews. Thank you very much: Angel, CaseClosed621, WezL, Inuyashalovergirl4ever, PriestessTeeTee, number-1-first-and-only, frozen water droplet, kawaiiemichan, and thanks for all those favorites and alerts, and really, just thanks for reading. I'm really sorry if I didn't answer any of them but really… I have the attention span of a drunk fly. (what's with me and the word 'really' today…?)

I have a tiny question; I should've split this long chapter into two smaller ones, right? I feel slightly nervous.

Sengoku Gakuen

*.*-*.*-*.*

"My dog, she looks at me sometimes with that look,
and I think maybe deep down inside she must know exactly how I feel.
But then maybe she just wants the food off my plate."

- Unknown.

*.*-*.*-*.*

Chapter VII- For the Love of a Good Dog

"Higurashi, got into a fight again, I presume? That's twice in your first week." Sesshomaru Taisho commented as he saw her enter the nurse's office clutching her slightly bloodied arm. He ceased his paperwork, moving to close –and lock- the door behind her. He turned to her and grabbed her injured arm in one quick yet careful movement; and after a few seconds of silence, spoke. "Jaken, go get me some hydrogen peroxide, some bacitration ointment to clean this wound, and some gauze" he said after inspecting the gash closely "it's just a superficial incision." She got hit by a sense of déjà vu, hadn't he said something remotely similar on Monday? Did he solve everything with that ointment? The toad demon hurried, barely yelling a 'Right away, Sesshomaru-sama!', and Kagome tilted her head to the side, vaguely thinking this frog really seems to venerate the school's doctor. Maybe they have some sort of…forbidden relationship? …Nah. Kagome shook her head, smiling to herself.

She heard him speak to himself, something about her lip being mostly healed; something clicked inside Kagome' brain as she remembered his previous comment and quickly snapped out of her daydreams, waving frantically her hands in front of her. "I-it was not a real fight Taisho-sensei, just Physical Education. I, uh… I've noticed Totosai-sensei can be very… liberal with his teaching methods." she corrected him politely; didn't want to get a wrong impression after all.

"Hm, he does have the most unorthodox methods," he said, nodding almost imperceptibly. "That was a really rough one, I see. Kuranosuke, along with other twenty wimps, came earlier with some minor injuries too." He commented casually as he treated her wound with professional precision, mechanically, as he had done for the last five years of his life. He first cleaned the cut with the hydrogen peroxide, the liquid making small white bubbles at the contact with her dirtied skin. Once the wound was clean and disinfected, he proceeded to carefully rub the ointment around the cut, and then flawlessly cover it with gauze.

Kagome sighed apprehensively, her eyes moving sideways to avoid eye contact with the toad demon due to the fact that he had moved to sit in a chair close by and was staring at her intently while the doctor finished bandaging her wound. Once he was done, he moved to his desk and opened one of the drawers, taking out a yellow file and staring at its contents thoughtfully. That simple act had drawn her attention back to him. There was a brief silence, in which she could feel the atmosphere getting heavy, something in the doctor's body language adverted her of something critical about to take place. Kagome fidgeted nervously as Sesshomaru raised his eyes to meet hers.

"Higurashi" he started, his tone demanding seriousness "I need to discuss some issues with you." Kagome froze, nodding hesitantly in understanding. An alarming red light blinked on in her head, warning her that this was something she wouldn't like. No, she was just imagining things, wasn't she? There was just no way he could know anything that would endanger her identity anymore, right? But then he uttered those dreadful words. "Your name, your real one, is Higurashi Kagome, isn't it?"

Curse my bad luck.

Kagome could've sworn her heart stopped beating for a moment, how could he…? Why was it so easy to discover all of her secrets, damnit! She opened her mouth to lie, to deny that horrible truth to hell, heck, just a simple no would do, but somehow nothing came out. There was no telling what he would do to her if he knew she was lying, besides, it had been a week since he'd discover her secret and he hadn't said a word yet. Perhaps he was helping her, so there was no need to lie… right? "H-how did you…?" she managed to stutter after what seemed like hours.

"I thought your face seemed familiar, so I did a little research-"

Kagome's eyes widened drastically as she waved her hands wildly, effectively gaining his attention, and even though he glared at her, he stopped so she could verbally express her disbelief. "Whoa, wait! You mean we've met before?" she asked horrified, T-that means…

That means I've met his brother before too…

"Yes, once but you were too young to remember. It was in our summer house more than twelve years ago."

"That means I've met your brother before too, right? How come he hasn't said anything about it? Wait! That would mean he knows I'm a girl too!" Kagome exclaimed horrified. What would it take to stop people from finding out!

The dog demon pursed his lips in contempt both, at the irritation of being constantly interrupted and at the mention of Inuyasha being his brother. "Half brother, yes, and while your scent might be familiar to him too, I don't believe he remembers you either, so calm down. Now, don't interrupt me." He said as he sat down on his desk chair and interlocked his fingers in front of his face, adopting a pensive look "As I was saying, I did a little background check" He took a few photographs from the file, along with a torn news paper article. "It says here that you died the same day Kentarou Higurashi did. I found that article rather intriguing, seeing as it doesn't state the cause of your death, just how devastating your family was at losing two of their members in one day." He gave her a piercing look and Kagome gulped. Yeah, leave it to her dad… his amazing 'foolproof' plan was full of loopholes! "What really caught my attention was a really interesting call I received a few days ago, stating that I should train you so that you could have better chances at surviving here. How-"

"So, are you going to be like… my mentor?" she interrupted once more, grinning slightly at the idea. That… wouldn't be so bad.

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes slightly "However, I would not be burdened with such activities." He said slowly, finishing his previous statement. "I believe I told you not to interrupt me Higurashi, and no, Jaken will be your instructor, I will be in charge of supervising you progress."

"…Huh?"

"Don't worry," he said, wrongly taking her confusion as skepticism "Jaken is qualified enough to deal with it. Besides," he added slowly, his eyes speaking volumes "he knows when to keep his mouth shut." She heard the green demon gulp audibly, an action that made her bit back a smile.

"Now, as I was saying, I will be in charge of your training. Practice will be held four times a week, I will choose the days that fit the best with my schedule, and I won't accept excuses for any absence, am I understood?" Kagome nodded meekly, already feeling the pressure of band practice, training sessions, and the long hours she'd have to devote to get decent grades. Sesshomaru moved to open the door once more. "Higurashi." He said, not bothering to look at her. "We'll start on Monday, maybe with enough practice you'll be able defend yourself. Gymnasium, eight pm sharp; don't be late." His hand gripped the doorknob as he paused momentarily to send her a warning look. "And, refrain from making this a public issue if you can."

She shakily stood up, nodding as best as she could while she begged her legs to move, and once she was close enough, she heard Jaken mutter disdainfully "It seems like your father has friends in high places, huh?" Kagome furrowed her eyebrows but kept walking, quickly leaving the nurse's office behind.

It… it seems like he does… She thought as she speed-walked far away from their disdainful glares, cold stares, and amazing deductive skills.

Once she was far enough, she paused to catch her breath. "Well… that… that was bizarre –to say the least." She muttered to herself as she returned to the gym, her stuff was still there after all. Once she located her satchel, she made her way to the –now deserted- changing room. Kagome quickly washed her face and changed out of her dirty –and slightly bloodied- P.E. uniform and into the school clothes.

But now I'll be able to defend myself she though grinning giddily. Though, I… really hope they don't kill me. Her brain added, quickly deflating her mood. Although, I'll have to take my chances if I want to become stronger –and, well, if I want to survive at all another P.E lesson or the Pandemonium thingy...

She felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. That's weird; no one ever calls me, unless it is… she glanced at the screen and grimaced, flipping the phone open. Yeah, she knew by heart that sequence of numbers. "Yes, Rin?"

"What, no greetings? How rude… how did you know it was me? As far as I know, that phone is new." She said, and Kagome felt her pout through the phone.

"Unlike other people I do memorize important numbers." She replied dryly as she left the school building behind, heading over to the dormitories with a lazy pace.

"How cute, you think I'm important!" she heard her cousin coo through the phone and she grimaced; Rin had a funny way of twisting words and change the meaning of whatever she heard.

"I didn't say that. Besides, you're calling me from your home number, that's the one I memorized"

"Never mind, I know that deep down you do love me. You still up for tomorrow?" her cousin asked in a chirpy voice.

Huh? Tomorrow? "Tomorro- oh! Yeah, I guess." She mustered, inwardly bringing a hand to scratch the back of her neck sheepishly. Thankfully Rin couldn't see that, scratch that, hopefully she wouldn't be able to detect her tiny slip.

"… You forgot, didn't you?" Rin asked flatly. It wouldn't be the first time, with the attention span she had, it was a wonder she was still alive.

Would you look at that, she did notice… I should really practice my lying skills.

"Well, Rin… forget… forget is a very strong word, you know."

"Kagome-chan" said girl flinched, quickly looking around, doing a 360 in search for any demon with super enhanced hearing. Oh dear Buddha, he cousin and her awful unconscious slips. Somewhat less paranoid – and telling herself demons couldn't have that good of a hearing (right?)-, and remembering most of the guys must've been in the cafeteria, none of them missed the little snack time after school after all. Well, she'll let this one slide; it was partly her fault Rin had recurred to use her real name. Real name… That thought send a shiver running down her spine. If Taisho-sensei found out so quick –and easily, it means anyone with good deductive skill could find out just as easily, right? No. No, I'm overthinking it-

Noticing the long silence, she quickly snapped out of her thoughts "Uh… Ok, fine. I forgot. Sorry, I really had a rough week." She said apologetically.

"Well, as long as you show up." Rin said with a fake warning voice, leaving Kagome to laugh at her sad attempt at being menacing. "Well" she started, trying to hold a laugh too; Kagome's laughter was always contagious –even if she was laughing at her. "I'll see you tomorrow then. Bye bye cycle"*

"Bye, Rin." Kagome sighed, smiling as she closed her phone, immediately ending the call. Well, at least now she'd get to watch some TV, maybe get some homewo –nah, she'd leave that for Sunday. It had been a long day, a long week at that, and she wanted to rest. She looked at her bandaged arm and smiled wearily. Yeah, today she deserved some rest.

*-*.*-*.*-*

Curse stupid people and their stupid rigorous training schedules! Hurry up, hurry up, hurry uuuuuup She repeated that mantra with the hopes that it would bring Inuyasha instantly. Teleport him, perhaps.

Kagome was, for once, impatiently waiting for her roommate to come back from his workout session. Why? Well, because rest hadn't come easy and so she had found herself paying attention to the little sounds coming from the balcony, needless to say… she had finally discovered what the mysterious noise she'd been listening all week was. Well, she thought smirking at least now I know why the balcony was off limits. She thought from her crouched position in the floor while staring at the prisoner in her hands.

She heard the door open and her eyes widened in suppressed excitement finally! "Wan-chan, you're back!" she said turning her head slightly so he could see her smirk.

Inuyasha closed the door and lean against it, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. Not good… I knew going easy on him during PE would spoil him! "Would you stop calling me that already?" Kagome ignored him, feeling too happy with having something to use against him. For once.

"I know what you were hiding" she said not turning to face him, her crouched body still facing the opened balcony door. Inuyasha's eyes did a double take, open balcony door! She just turned her head barely, glancing at him through the corner of her eye, and he gulped imperceptibly –or at least he thought he was being subtle, that theory went down the drain when Kai's smirk widened.

Oh, no. His eyes widened in terror; his darkest secret was exposed…. Well, perhaps not his darkest, but it sure would ruin his reputation if the other guys found out, IF he wasn't expelled first. "Oh, yeah?" he asked, nervously scratching his head. Oh shit, he found her… "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"So you mean this" she said showing him the puppy –who looked as happy as she had found it- and Inuyasha inwardly cringed "just came out of thin air, spontaneous generation, perhaps?" Kagome turned around to face him completely, a smug look adorning her face.

His chest constricted painfully as his heartbeat quickened, oh god, what the hell was happening to him? He'd never felt this flustered before, was this all because of the certain public humiliation he was about to face? "Uhh" He blinked, trying to come up with a plausible excuse. A plausible excuse would be great! "I don't know, would you believe me if I told you so?" he ended up asking meekly while shrugging. Inuyasha mentally scowled; was that actually the best answer he could think of?

Kagome raised an eyebrow, answering curtly "No. Now, would you please tell me why is there a dog in your room –our room?" she asked him curiously. It was her right to know, wasn't it? After all, they shared the room. Huh, and how come she hadn't opened the balcony door sooner, then?

"Keh, none of you business" he muttered, irritated over the fact that he had been busted so quickly.

"So, you just what? Found it?" Kagome asked incredulously as she dropped out of the crouching position to sit in the floor cross legged, tilting back against her bed, staring at him intently.

"Her. Found her, and yes I was on my way to enjoy a bowl of ramen at a place down the street two week ago when I found her." He told her defensively, still watching her carefully.

"I never took you for someone who would pick up stray dogs." Inuyasha decided to ignore that last comment. "Are we gonna keep her, then?"

"Well…" he started, trying to look indecisive. Of course he was going to keep her; that was the whole point of inconspicuously getting the little puppy into his room. Yes, HIS room. "I suppose we could." He said, shrugging nonchalantly.

"Great, I've always wanted a puppy! But my dad was against the idea, so we had a cat instead, I used to take care of him, that obese ball of fur." She said smiling longingly while staring at the small puppy. I really do miss him, I hope Souta is really taking care of him… poor Buyo.

Inuyasha flinched, hoping that he was misunderstanding the whole situation. The last thing he wanted to do was console a cat-lover. "Uh… so what happened to him?"

"What are you ta-" Kagome's eyes widened slightly "Hm?" he's not dead, why am I talking in past tense? "I mean, we still have a cat. Buyo's still alive" She clarified, and Inuyasha quietly sighed. "Sorry, I'm still not used to the whole 'leaving the nest' thing." She muttered awkwardly, idly petting the puppy.

"Oh"

Great, another monosyllabic answer.

Why was she the one in charge of keeping the conversation going? She moved her eyes around the room, searching for something to say… or ask "How come no one has heard her yet?" she asked tilting her head slightly to the side.

"Easy. Every dormitory in this school has sound proof walls."

"Oh. I see, but what about the smell then?"

Inuyasha sighed, rolling his eyes "Can you not see this?" he pointed to his twitching ears, as if he was stating the obvious "People already call me dog-breath, dog-turd, flea bag," he glared at her pointedly "wan-chan, and… well; now I see this as one of the perks of being a half dog demon."

"What about me, won't that be suspicious?" Kagome asked, frowning lightly.

"You sleep with m- I mean, you share a room with me," he corrected himself shrugging and waving a hand dismissively, hopefully Kai hadn't heard that. "You can blame it on that. Besides, most of the guys here stink on a daily basis."

Ok, time to change the subject.

Kagome hummed, picking up the puppy and staring at her "What breed is she, anyway? I've never seen a dog so white and fluffy… and happy." she asked, eyes skeptically regarding the small dog in her hands. Looks like an Akita or a Shiba inu… but then again, she's so white and furry and her ears- she suddenly looked up to Inuyasha's own ears, noticing the uncanny resemblance. She stifled a laugh as he got closer.

"A Samoyed, I'm still amazed at the fact that someone would abandon her" he muttered, crouching to pet her between the ears. A few second passed in silence, in which Inuyasha focused his attention on the dog instead of the guy squirming uncomfortably.

This is so weird, I've never felt THIS uncomfortable. Kagome gulped at the sudden proximity, lowering her face to stare at the puppy instead. She had never been any good at close interaction, so she decided to break the silence; she bit her lower lip slightly as she pondered on what to say. "We should name her, right?" she finally said with forced enthusiasm.

What! "I found her, I should name her!" Inuyasha said narrowing his eyes.

"Please, you probably would pick a sucky, generic name like, I don't know, Yuki or Shiro or even Tsuki!"

"Oh, yeah? Well, you would pick something nerdy like Laika, Lassie, or… I dunno, Keiko… besides, those were good names!"

"Oh come on, everybody names their white dogs after something white" She whined, holding the puppy close to her protectively "–and I'm actually surprised you know who Laika is. Plus, Keiko was a whale, Inuyasha, not a puppy."

"A female one." He said through half lidded eyes, as if he needed no explanation.

Kagome shook her head, deciding to drop the subject. "I've never had a dog, let me pick the name please." She stopped and seemed to consider something for a moment before speaking again "I even promise not to tell anyone if you let me name her."

"Well, uhh" he said intelligently as he scratched his head, that was a reasonable deal; it was just a name, anyway "fine! I guess you could name her, but nothing stupid!"

Kagome grinned excitedly "Don't worry, I've got the perfect name." Inuyasha arched his eyebrows, silently urging her to continue, and she relaxed her lips into a pleasant smile. "Mochi"

He arched his eyebrows so high, they were now lost in his wild silver hair. "…Mochi? Are you kidding me?"

Kagome furrowed her eyebrows "What's wrong with it?"

"The meaning! Seriously, food? And not just any kind, it had to be 'rice cake.'?" He said dryly.

"I happen to like mochi it's sweet, and is rice! Everyone loves rice!" she said, gulping down a squeal when the little puppy wagged her tail enthusiastically while she licked her open palm. That would not be manly at all. "See? She likes it too!" she exclaimed, barely containing her happiness.

"Mochi" he said, trying the name. The puppy turned her head excitedly and ran toward him, her face frozen in a permanent smile. Inuyasha huffed in defeat, the puppy already answered to that name, anyway. "Fine, whatever. She can be called Mochi for all I care." He said dejectedly while petting the white dog in between her ears.

"Aww! Who's a nice puppy?" Kagome cooed, and even though the slightly sarcastic comment was directed towards Inuyasha –who scowled back at her-, mochi perked up and grinned ("would you look at that, this dog can actually grin!"), running back to her.

"I hope you're good at keeping secrets." Inuyasha said, wanting to have the last word.

Poor guy, he's got a dog and a girl in his room, he could easily get expelled. "Ah, don't worry" she said and Inuyasha noticed the weird smile on her face. "I promise I won't say a word about this." They remain in silence for a few minutes while Kagome happily played with Mochi's ears, too immersed in her thought to notice Inuyasha's constant fleeting glances.

"I" he started, but closed his mouth tightly once he realized he had nearly screamed the word. Kai looked up at him and he gulped. It had been almost five days, and if he wanted them –of course he didn't, this was just social etiquette- to be friends, he had to… he had to apologize. "I'm sorry –for the other day, I mean. I… I was wrong. I shouldn't have punched you." Or threaten to punch you later…

She looked up, finally! "Ah, don't worry about it. It's not that big of a deal" Kagome said smiling lightly at him. At least he apologized, he can't be that bad.

Inuyasha blinked twice. That smile...

That couldn't be a guy's smile, no one had ever smiled at him like that… well perhaps his mom, but he had blocked those memories away, no need to dwell on the past. What was wrong with that guy? He had ignored him, insulted him, and punched him, locked him out, all on the same day, yet he was smiling as if they were already friends.

Huh? Wh-what the hell is this feeling...? His eyes widened as he felt the bizarre reaction from his insides, his hand automatically going to his chest. There must me something wrong with me… I seriously need to stop eating after training, it must've been that pork ramen, I knew I shouldn't have eaten those five cups. He thought frowning deeply while nodding to himself.

"You ok, Taisho?" Kai asked him tentatively

Inuyasha shook his head and felt something warm unfold inside his chest. Fold again, fold again damnit! "Uhh yeah… Here." He said taking some notebooks from his desk and shoving them into her hands "You can borrow these as an apology for that punch, but I want them by tomorrow morning."

"Thanks," She said grinning "you're not that bad, after all." Kagome couldn't help but add playfully, which earned her a nervous chuckle. "Let's start over, ok?" she said sticking out her hand. "Hi, my name is Higurashi Kai, nice to meet you. I'm sixteen and I have a cat named Buyo" she said grinning amiably.

Inuyasha hesitated for a second, feeling rather foolish. Finally, he extended his arm to grip Kai's in a loose grip "Uh, hey… I'm Taisho Inuyasha, seventeen… and I have a dog named Mochi"

"Waa, you're seventeen already?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm older than you. Grow up. When is your birthday anyhow, January?" he asked mokingly.

"September" Kagome grunted crossing her arms around her chest "Anyway, at what time are you waking up tomorrow?" she said, conspicuously changing the topic. That stupid dog just wanted to brag.

Inuyasha squinted, trying to remember at what time Myoga had told him to be ready. Oh right, nine. "Seven, eight maybe, why?" he said narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"Wake me up, will you?" she asked, deliberately ignoring his question.

Inuyasha furrowed his eyebrows even more. "Why?" he repeated his unanswered question.

"I have a date" she said dismissively, while moving to her desk with his notebook.

"A-a date! With who?" he sputtered, horrified. Kagome rolled her eyes at his over-dramatic response. Perhaps he felt his manliness being jeopardized. Oh, the horror, a guy younger than him had successfully gotten a girl (or girls) to go out with him. Guys.

"I'm going out tomorrow with some girls, actually, and I need to get up early to get ready." She articulated every word slowly and as clear as she could, enjoying the fact that he looked utterly shocked. It was fun to see how his eyes were like an open book, sometimes.

"Wha-? See, Miroku must be rubbing on you. I should've told you he was a bad influence. This is all my fault."

"Suck it up, wan-chan. Is not as if I'm going to a brothel or anything." She joked, raising a mocking eyebrow.

"Wha- what!"

*-*.*-*.*-*

She was finally there, that dreaded place. Kagome took a deep breath and lift her eyes, immediately resting on her cousin and what she assume were her friends, all gathered together in front of a little store with a neon sign that read: The Dessert Factory. Next to it was an old drugstore, and on the other side of the store was an arcade. "I have the feeling I'm not gonna like this…" she muttered to herself as she got closer to get a good look of the girls. She'd never hung up with so many girls before and now was starting to feel a bit nervous. Wow… that's a big group of girls Kagome thought, silently observing from a distance the group of ten girls chatting between each other happily. Unconsciously, she let out a sad sigh. Sometimes she wonder what would it be like to be as outgoing as Rin was, or as gregarious as Miroku. Both of them did have outstanding people skills. So consumed in her thoughts she was, that didn't notice the petite dark haired girl looking her way.

"Ka…. Kai!" God, when was Rin going to stop making the same mistake, Kagome thought grimacing as she reluctantly headed over to her cousin and her group of friends most of which were staring at her curiously and –eww a couple of them were even checking her out, if those roaming eyes were what she thought they were.

"Hey" she said awkwardly once she was within earshot distance.

"It's good to know you could make it Kai" Rin said grinning cheerfully as she hugged her. Kagome winced slightly when Rin brushed her injury, and probably she heard her because her grip on her loosened noticeably. Once she let her go, she took notice of her bandaged arm and heaved a sigh, rolling her eyes. "Got into another fight? All that testosterone is affecting your once uncorrupted soul. You're turning into a ruffian!"

"Rin, please." Kagome muttered, not knowing whether to be embarrassed or laugh at her cousin's wild imagination. "It was just P.E –and I'm not corrupted or a ruffian, Rin… so don't go telling my dad, ok?" She added, flicking her wrist in irritation. "The last thing I need right now is him calling me everyday to check on me-"

"That reminds me, you're coming over after this, right? I asked my mom to prepare oden; it was your favorite, wasn't it?"

"It still is" she said smiling lightly. This was one of the reasons why she loved her cousin like a sister –she'd never tell her, though-, even if she was clumsy, a blabber mouth, and well… Rin, she was always looking after the ones she loved and was a loyal person –when she wanted to be, that is. "And, yes, I'll go as long as you keep your mouth shut, you hear me?"

"Can't make any promises." She said while inspecting her fingernails, they sure had gotten a bit dirty on the way over, plus, it looked like she was actually pondering the subject.

Kagome rolled her eyes, she knew Rin was probably bluffing, but it was certainly wiser to be in her good books. "I'll even buy your silence, if it's necessary" she added inconspicuously.

"Fine, we'll discuss the price later" she said with an air of self-importance, waving the issue off. "Now that we're done discussing the horrible shift in your behavior, you young la… lad, I'll introduce you to my friends-" Before she had the chance to start with the introductions, the brunette standing next to Rin took a step forward and grinned affably.

"Hey, nice to see you again." she said grinning at her. She looked different, well for starters, she wasn´t wearing any sort of uniform. She was simply clad in black jeans, a dark red shirt with a black boomerang logo, and a pair of red converse. Her hair was up in a loose ponytail and her eyes had a bit of magenta eye shadow.

Kagome smiled politely and search her memory for a few seconds. Curses, she had her name on the tip of her tongue, what was it? … Sen… Senta? No. So…Songo, Songo. Sango! "Oh, hi. Sango right?" she uttered as quickly as she could, hopefully Sango wouldn't notice.

Sango stared at her with a dubious smile "Yeah, how do you know?" she said staring at him, in search for any trace that would identify him as a stalker. His clothes were nerdy enough; he was wearing a cream colored sweater vest, a short sleeve bottom up blue shirt, and dark blue jeans. His shoes… Sango frowned slightly, why on earth would he be wearing HI-TEC shoes? This was no hiking, and more importantly, he didn't seem like the hiking type.

Kagome paled considerably Oh, that's right; we haven't officially met yet… crap. "Rin has talk about you a few times, she's… she's my cousin." She said clumsily, staring at her shoes.

That… didn't make much sense. Sango tilted her head, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Really?" she asked skeptically "Up until now the only male cousin she has ever mentioned is Souta" Sango stared at Rin accusingly. Clearly the fact that she hadn't confided in her such an important bit of information had their friendship hanging from a thread. Kagome's eyebrow rose slowly.

"I-I was abroad!" Kagome suddenly yelped, hurrying to Rin's defense. "For a few years, actually… and when I came back my family moved to Kyoto. We just recently got back in contact, so please don't blame her." Both girls stared at her in bewilderment and then turned to face each other raising their eyebrow while mouthing –at the same time, how could they do that?- 'where did that come from?'. Kagome's cheeks tinted slightly red. Perhaps… perhaps she had misunderstood Sango's body language.

Her mind clouded with a hundred excuses, but none of them seemed to find its way to her mouth. Besides… that was an honest mistake! "I just- I thought that y-"

"Jakotsu! Over here!" the two girls cease their glances of bewilderment in order to stare at the new comer, and Kagome let out a breath she was holding. Who would've known? Saved by Jakotsu.

Said boy (?) grinned while walking to them "Girls, how nice to see you all here. I was actually on my way to a shirtless Inu-chan, but I guess that can wait… a few second, at most." He said, raising one of his eyebrows suggestively. "I'm sure you girls won't mind me tagging along"

"Not at all! Maybe we can do some 'sight-seeing together" one of the girls said a little too quickly, while most of them nodded effusively, while others giggled giddily. Sango, Rin, Souten and another girl she didn't know were the only ones not giggling over her roommate, and seeing as she wasn't either, she moved closer to Rin again.

Jakotsu grinned, greeting all of the girls with a friendly hug and waved cheerfully at her. Wow, he was even perkier outside of school "Ah, Jakotsu-san, wasn't it?" she said, bowing politely; it was the first time they'd met out of school and she felt slightly awkward. "How are you doing?" she extended her arm intending to shake his respectfully, but Jakotsu merely laughed.

"Oh, aren't you a polite little cutie. Call me Jakie." Jakotsu said with a wink, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and some of the girls squealed; surely a few yaoi fantasies were fulfilled...

Kagome smiled nervously, her lips twitching ever so slightly "Ha… I'll try." She muttered while trying to shrug his arm off, yet Jakotsu's grip was relentless.

Rin cocked her head, staring at them curiously "You two know each other?"

"Yeah, we're in the same class" Kagome replied silently, feeling out of place –and still trying to shake Jakotsu's arm off.

"Yes, you should have seen how my inu-chan defended him on his first day!"

"You don't say" Rin said smiling a little, but her eyes were dancing with… well, something Kagome didn't like at all.

"Yes, I think that's because you look all frail, and in need of help" he said squeezing her harder.

"Wow he's right, you could pass as an underdressed girl!" Souten, one of the girls, said raising her eyebrows in surprise.

"…W-What?" she squealed horrified, she was hating this even more with each passing second.

"Yes, yes, but only if you squint" added Sango helpfully. Seeing her horror-struck expression, Sango patted her encouragingly on the shoulder "Don't be so shocked, it's really nice to see a guy with delicate features."

Jakotsu nodded too, "It is, though to tell you guys the truth, at first I didn't know if you were, like, gal or guy –I mean, your face is absolutely gorgeous!-, but then I saw the brand of your jeans and I totally knew you were a guy. Well, that and the fact that Sengoku Gakuen is an all-boys school." Most of the girls nodded in agreement.

Ha… what kind of friends does Rin have?

"Uh, thanks… I guess." Well, this conversation was getting weirder and weirder… anything else?

"Fancy meeting you here, ladies."

I just had to say that. This day is full of surprises… Kagome turned to the familiar voices, and found the ever expressive Shippo and Miroku, who had both of his hands covered, the right one with his customary purple glove while his left one was clumsily wrapped in white gauze. Shippo send her a wave along with a 'Hey, Kai' before turning to search for his dark haired friend, once he had located her, he sent Miroku a wave and slipped away.

"Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Sango, that wounds me, this was just a mere coincidence I assure you."

Sango snorted, turning to regard him for the first time "Yeah ri- what the hell happened to you?" Kagome opened her mouth to praise him, but Miroku shook his head briefly, unnoticed by the rest.

"Oh, this?" he said, cheerfully raising his wounded arm and pointing to his black eye. "This is the result of a rather vicious P.E lesson. I'm fine, my dear Sango, don't you worry"

"W-who said anything about being worried! I just asked what the hell happened! Stop twisting my words, Hoshi." Sango exclaimed, red with what seemed like indignation.

"Oh, Kai" Rin blurted, effectively changing the topic "I haven't introduced the rest of the gang, come here!" not waiting for an answer, she grabbed her cousin by the –wounded- arm and dragged her away.

"Ouch, come on Rin, let go, that's my injured arm!" Kagome cried, trying to free her arm, but Rin only held tighter, nonchalantly giving her the peace sign with her free hand. Kagome rolled her eyes, but winced, shutting her eyes tightly when Rin squeezed her.

"Don't be a baby, suck it up!" Rin grinned back at her while Kagome sneered mockingly. Once they were in the middle of a crown of girls, she let go, and Kagome immediately cradled her arm tenderly, taking one cautious step away from Rin. "Well," her cousin started, oblivious to her previous action. She pointed at the closest girl "This one here is Momiji, she a first year as well as Botan here. They are sisters, if you were wondering" She said, pointing at a brown haired girl, and then to a black haired one. Momiji, the brunette was wearing a light red shirt with a white skirt while her sister was wearing a blue botton up blouse with white bermudas shorts. They both waved back at her while smiling in a friendly manner.

"This one here is Souten" Rin hugged the little girl around the shoulders "she's still in middle school, so she's the youngest one here. Please take care of her!"

"Stop saying that to everyone I meet, it's embarrassing!" she said through clenched teeth, her cheeks slightly tinted red. She then turned to Kagome and offered her an apologetic smile "Hi, sorry 'bout that. I know you from somewhere, right?"

"Yeah, the other day at The Coffee House, you're very talented by the way" she said smiling politely. Souten's cheeks tinted pink as she waved her hand casually, simply muttering "It's nothing, really"

"Stop rubbing her ego, she's the gloating time" her cousin whispered rather loudly, grinning as Souten spluttered indignantly, her cheeks turning rosy again. "Well, moving onto a more humble person," she said placing a hand on pretty dark haired girl, as Souten could still be heard in the background whining. The girl nodded politely, her straight hair cascading on both sides of her face. Kagome noticed she was dressed in a grey vest, a nice white blouse and a discreet plaid skirt. "this girl here is Kikyo, and as Miroku, she's in third ye –wow, you two look identical. If you weren't my cousin I would say you two are twins or siblings at least!" Rin sputtered, gapping from one girl to the other.

"…Eh?" was Kagome's very eloquent reply. They weren't remotely similar! For starters, this girl was really pretty, and well, her hair was perfect, not to mention she had a nice girly aura that she horribly lacked. Besides, the eye color! This girl had grey eyes while she had a plain tone of blue. Yeah, they were nothing alike, at least physiologically speaking… though it didn't look like her personality resembled Kagome's either…

"Whoa, she's right! How come we didn't notice that before?" said Momiji –or Botan, she couldn't really tell- and her sister nodded vigorously, her jaw still slightly ajar.

"Um, well, hi then." She said, waving awkwardly, deliberately ignoring the whispers all around them.

"Nice to meet you, I hope we can get along." Kikyo replied smoothly with a petite smile on her face.

"Y-yeah, me too." Kagome nodded again –just for the sake of doing something.

"Any way, you two can get to know each other later. You four, stop gossiping and come here!" she said to a group girls standing a few feet behind her. They quickly moved to stand in front of Rin and Kagome, three of them grinning in enthusiasm while the last one merely yawned. "these girls here are Yuka," she waved in the general direction of the only brunette out of the four girls, "Eri" the girl had an easily recognizable yellow… what was it? A diadem? A tiara? Well, whatever, if she wore that thing she could recognize her, Rin continued, oblivious of her musings "Ayumi" she said, pointing at the only girl with curly hair. She smiled kindly and Kagome returned the greeting along with a wave "and Satsuna, all second year students like Sango" she finished, while the last girl waved half-heartedly. Kagome pursed her lips into an awkward smile and tilted her head, noticing something rather interesting, all of them had short hair. They were dressed with light colors and, with either a summer dress or a skirt. Rin… did have a great variety of friends.

"Can we get in please, I'm starving and I'm in the mood for some brownie with mint ice cream and extra whipped cream." whined Souten once the introductions were over. She nearly rolled her eyes when Jakotsu threw a dramatic sigh, clearly expressing his disagreement. He would prefer to wait outside for his current obsession to appear, of course.

"Forgot the cherry on top, didn't you?" Jakotsu sneered mockingly, though Souten didn't take his action to heart, and simply exhale through her nose, pointedly looking away –in the general direction of the food. "We could stay out here a lil' bit longer and just… chat"

"What! No, I'm hungry!"

"Suck it up, don't be a baby-"

"I'm NOT a baby! Just because I'm the youngest one, it doesn't mean I'm-"

"That's not what I meant!" Jakotsu cried rolling his eyes.

Sango glanced from Souten's famished appearance to Jakotsu's slightly annoyed pout, and mentally sighed. Time to be the voice of reason… "Right, right, you two. Souten's right, I'm a bit hungry myself, actually. Oh and look, Jakotsu" she said swiftly as she nodded at the few tables outside the eating place "we can even sit in one of these outside tables and, you know, admire the magnificent work Mother Nature has done." She finished, shrugging nonchalantly. Both parties looked up, staring first at Sango and then at each other for a few seconds in scrutiny. Almost simultaneously the pair nodded, ill feelings forgotten, and grinned in agreement. Problem solved. Sango smiled, pleased with the outcome, sometimes it was just so easy to solve mundane squabble merely by uttering the right words. She grinned to herself; just the right words. It was such a shame not everybody could live through that particular mental attitude, so many petty arguments could be avoided. Of course, that didn't apply to her bizarre relationship with certain "charismatic" guy.

The brunette blinked her way back into the outside world once she heard a scoff. "Please Jakotsu, you just want to droll after that stupid half-breed" grunted one of the girls (Sakana, was it?) and Kagome frowned slightly, action that didn't go unnoticed by Miroku. Sango dropped her shoulders slightly and sighed heavily. Ah, all her work at maintaining the peace had gone to waste. Rin, who was right beside her, bumped her shoulder sympathetically, taking the proverbial baton.

Kagome shook her head slowly in disappointment, with society in general. Most of the girls that looked insulted only felt that way because it was their crush being badmouthed, but they surely wouldn't act the same way if Jinenji –a nice, gentle and bullied hanyou she had met a few days prior in the library while she avoided her roommate- had been the one being victimized. Even now people still discriminate hanyou(s). First Hojo and now this Sakana girl, no wonder wan-chan's s so… Kagome frowned, searching for the perfect word, her eyes drifting to study the ceiling, bitter –that and the fact that he is an anal retentive, passive aggressive jerk with anger management issues, of course. She almost nodded to herself in agreement, but haltered, mentally smacking herself. If she nodded they would think she was agreeing with Sakana or something along those lines.

"Satsuna! That's a bit harsh, don't you think?" Rin reprimanded, as most of the girls –and Jakotsu- looked flabbergasted, although this wasn't the first time Satsuna would make rude comments about Inuyasha or other demons. Shippo raised his eyebrows in surprise –and tried to make himself as small and invisible as he could, least he wanted one of those comments thrown his way too- and Miroku simply stared at Kai, who'd look almost impassive if it weren't for that little frown on her face. He saw her make a few faces a cocked his head pensively, squinting his eyes as if trying to read her; what was really on her mind?

Said girl nodded solemnly, agreeing with her cousin Yes, it was indeed. She thought, unaware of Miroku's actions.

"Might as well be, but I'm not lying, he is a half-breed." She muttered staring at the floor stubbornly.

That's not a passport to treat him with disdain, you know…

"Inuyasha is actually a decent person once you get past his attitude issue. You don't have to judge him based on something so shallow. I know you have some issues with demons since your grandfather's passing, but not all demons are rampaging idiot or cold-blooded murderers, you need to come into terms with that, Satsuna." Sango stated, her voice announcing the end of the argument. Satsuna, now feeling embarrassed, simply nodded, muttering an honest apology, her eyes fixed on the floor. Sango sighed, managing a half smile. "Just be careful with what you say, Satsuna, he's our friend too. Now," she said, her tone suddenly light and amiable once again "Souten and I are hungry" she proclaimed, wrapping an arm around the smaller girl's shoulders "so, if you don't mind..." she nodded toward the store conspicuously and grinned at Souten, both already walking quickly to the entrance.

Kagome grinned too, feeling her chest swelling with pride and esteem, she really hoped one day she could be good friends with Sango. Still grinning she glanced over at Miroku and he was staring after Sango with a dreamy look on his face. Shippo snickered and slapped the back of his head muttering a mocking "Snap out of it already, Hoshi, she's too good for your questionable ways". Miroku shook his head and, after coming to term with what he had been doing, grinned apologetically a hand rising to scratch the back of his neck self-consciously.

Kagome laughed openly while Shippo and the now composed Miroku stared at her in awe; it was the first time they had seen "Kai" genuinely happy (and it not being induced by a caffeine over-dose), and that brought a slowly creeping smile to their faces, somehow her laugh was contagious. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up" Miroku threw half-heartedly, still perplexed. Even dressed as a boy and "acting" as one, her laugh was absolutely enchanting; he realized that, behind that mask, she was still a girl after all. An unusual girl with a really complex life, but a girl after all.

Kagome's eyes danced with mirth as her laugh slowly faded. "Oh, I hadn't laughed this much in ages. You guys are so fun" she said honestly, unaware of their stares or the things that were now going through their minds. Perhaps there is still a chance for us to be real friends…

"It's nice to know you find my discomfort entertaining" Miroku said grinning, both ignoring Shippo's still baffled state. The dark haired boy discreetly bumped Shippo's foot with his own, effectively snapping the boy from his trance. He laughed loudly and blurted a quick "You're right Kai, it IS fun to laugh at Miroku's misery!" he busted into that obnoxiously loud laugh once again, his eyes glinting with a peculiar glint.

"Aren't you guys coming?" Rin asked from the door, only her head showing. A mild trace of annoyance in her face, but her eyes merely stared questioningly at the trio.

"Coming!" the three of them said grinning, all from different reasons.

*.*-*.*-*

They had finally gotten their treats and now, after organizing themselves in three different tables, they moved them close enough to hold a conversation; Kagome had chosen a seat in one of the corners and had a full view of the other thirteen occupants and the street. Along with her Sango, Rin, and two dark haired girls were in her table. She was so absorbed in her food, tuning out most of the conversations around her 'who was dating who or who broke who's heart', 'Takeda almost died in yesterday's dorama! A real tearjerker', 'Sango dear, do you mind if I move to seat besi-'(well that one was never finished), 'Where did you buy those- blah, blah, blah'. Who cared about that when you could enjoy this! She ignored them once again to take another spoonful and nearly squeal, this thing was absolutely –god, Souten was right when she drooled all over this!

"Goodie! He's finally here!" Jakotsu grinned with barely suppressed excitement. Kagome reluctantly looked up from her delicious treat; yeah, once she'd seen Souten's brownie with mint ice cream and extra whipped cream… she'd promised herself she wouldn't ever fall into temptation, but she was only human, and now a very similar brownie lay in front of her. They had barely started eaten when Jakotsu squealed in delight, thirteen pairs of eyes raised grudgingly to see what all the commotion was. Almost out of sight she could make out a mass of silver hair in a messy ponytail, and sweat dropped, yeah that was wan-chan alright. He was clad in some horrible brown jumper, using the sleeves as an improvised belt around his hips and a white tank top. He had a huge black garbage bag in his left hand and some kind of trash-picking devise on his right one. Oh, and let's not forget about his trademark scowl on his face.

"Wa-" it was an unconscious act, really, being so used to only calling him wan-chan, and the name was in her mouth before she could actually process the thought, just why had she been about to say his name? Nick-name, whatever. Inuyasha threw her a piercing look and she haltered, quickly rephrasing her prior comment "what is he doing?" she hesitantly asked, still staring at him with her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, could he really hear her? He was at least a couple dozen meters (around 22 yards) away… well, he does have those awesome dog ears "I thought he was in detention." He turned to grab more garbage with a funny looking stick and threw it into the bag mechanically, yet she noticed how one of his ears remained turned in their general direction.

"This IS weekend detention; usually it means helping around the school and neighborhood doing community service; you know, picking trash, helping in the cafeteria, tutoring dumb kids, all those bothering tasks nobody wants to do. It is 'supposed' to be Sengoku Gakuen's way to contribute to society, but we know is just a way to torture us with public humiliation." Miroku answered helpfully from the table next to her, while Shippo nodded sagely from beside him, stretching on his seat so she could see him.

Her hand moved to stroke her chin pensively "I see" I better stay on my best behavior then…

"Have you ever been in detention?" one of the short haired girls asked expectantly, the remaining stared at Kai intently. Well, that one came out of nowhere, and do I really look like a guy who's ever been in detention? Girl, I meant girl… this is getting way out of hand.

"Uh, no." she answered, a little uncomfortable with sudden the attention she was getting. Weren't the just speaking about Inuyasha just now?

The brown, short haired girl –Eri, was it? yeah she was pretty sure of this one, so the other must have been Yuka- lifted her chin proudly "Inuyasha has, quite a few times actually, his bad boy persona is absolutely dreamy, not to mention he has the most adorable smile." Oh, so this is where this was going…

Kagome hummed thoughtfully, taking another spoonful of brownie and mint ice cream "…Have you ever seen him smiling?"

"well... no, but I bet he has!"

"Yeah, I bet he does" Kagome said dismissively, already bored with the topic at hand. Why were girls always speaking about "cute guys this, and cute guys that"? She sighed unenthusiastically, something the girl next to her didn't miss. She took a big bite of her treat, almost unable to chew it and her eyes drifted to her roommate's mechanical actions, how more boring could that get? She thought, slowly chewing, making sure to enjoy the delightful combination between chocolate and mint… and melted traces of whipped cream.

"He's cute, don't you think?" Kagome heard the girl –Kyoko if she wasn't mistaken- asked; and even though her eyes were glued to Inuyasha, her head was directed in Kagome's direction. Eh? She almost spat, barely avoiding leaving Rin's face full of brown and green spots. Was that question really directed at her?

"Kikyo!" oh, so that was her name! Yeah, she was the one who –in Rin's opinion- looked like her. "That's not something you should ask a guy." Sango said, staring at her expectantly nevertheless. Traitor. What, were they actually waiting for a reply?

… Apparently, yes. Feeling helpless, she quickly looked at Miroku, who merely shrugged and mouthed 'improvise' at her. Great.

"Uh, right. Well, I don't know how to answer that." She moved her eyes to where the hanyou stood unnaturally still. He was as good looking as all the other guys –with some exceptions, like Manten and a few other demons- , so what was the big deal? Being good looking didn't mean you had to like him, there were other factors that had to be taken into account. "He's quite cute-" she noticed one of his ears flicker; oh, so he was eavesdropping? "…for a mongrel, that is." She finished, grinning slightly when his shovel or whatever he was carrying fell out of his hands. He could be really funny when he didn't want to.

Perhaps, she had thought her answer rationally, because some of the girls were staring at her with an unreadable glint in their eyes.

Some of the girls gasped, one of them being brave enough to ask "Kai, could it be that you…?"

"Hm?" she muttered taking another spoonful.

"That you're one of those guys… who can't… who can't love women?" asked Kikyo, blushing slightly.

Can't… love women?

Kagome tilted her head "Huh?" she said at the same time Miroku and Rin tried to stifle a laugh –snorting loudly, how tactless-, while Shippo's eyes widened drastically.

Are they trying to ask if-

"She's trying to ask if you're gay." One of them, she wasn't really sure who, added 'helpfully'. Wait, that face... oh right, Satsuna, that face she could remember.

Kagome's expression morphed into one of sheer mortification. Oh sweet, merciful Buddha…They are.

Oh! Then how should she answer? She'd seen a few girls winking at her, and she didn't know if she should be amused, maybe even flattered, or freaked out by that. But if she said she was gay, then there was Jakotsu… she sighed, looking absolutely miserable; better be on the safe side then. "I –uh, I'm a bit confused right now. I –er, I've never experienced love, so I'm… I'm still not sure. You know… like when you are about to taste ice cream for the first time. You don't know if you'll like vanilla or strawberry… not until you taste it, right?" she stuttered, felling utterly foolish as she scratched the back of her neck thoughtfully while Miroku stared at her in fascination and the girls –and Jakotsu- with a glint in their eyes that left her feeling apprehension.

"Oh, quit gawking you two!" she said in irritation to Rin and Shippo, who kept opening and closing their mouths.

*-*.*-*.*-*

A few hours later and the whole business had been forgotten, thanks to Yuka, Eri, Ayumi and their amazing gossipy powers, now most of them were absorbed in a heated debating about who was hotter, Hojo and his intellectual looks or Koga's badass persona, or even better: Inuyasha and his careless appearance. Oh wow, the debate of the century… Kagome's eyes wandered to her two male companions, both of them engrossed in what looked like a card game, were they playing poker? More importantly, where had they gotten playing cards? She was about to stand up and join them when she noticed Kikyo, who was seating next to her froze, as well as the short haired trio held their breaths.

"Oh, he's coming over, he's coming over, what should we do?" Kagome hear one of the girls squealing and didn't have to look back to know they were referring to her dog eared roommate. She rolled her eyes and got to her feet anyway as she faintly heard Inuyasha yell "Oi Sango, I need to talk to you. I got a call from my old man, he wants me to ask you something, come 'ere!"

"You lazy ass, you come here!" she yelled, standing up nevertheless. They kept their petty argument going for a few seconds before she tuned them out.

"I'm, uh, gonna get something to drink." she announced nodding towards a curve that led to some vending machines she'd seen on her way here. That city sure was full of vending machines.

"Why don't you just order something?" asked Kikyo –she was finally starting to get her name right!- raising her eyebrows.

"They don't have iced green tea, and I'm in the mood for some"

"But they have iced tea."

"Not the same. Besides," she said stretching her arms as high as she could, a few joints popped and she smiled lazily. "I need to stretch my limbs."

"I'll go with you" Miroku said quickly, earning a few surprised looks from the majority of the female population, including the slightly distraught Sango, while Shippo –for some reason- stared at Kai intently. He stood up, taking his poker hand with him, "No cheating" he warned Shippo, but the boy merely grunted, his eyes fixed on his cards once more.

"God, I'm tired!" she exclaimed once they were far enough. She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths trying to relax her body; a task nearly impossible, seeing as Miroku was making weird sound between snorts and giggles (how is that even possible?) "We've been here for hours! Aren't they tired?" being met with silence was not something Kagome anticipated so she opened her eyes once again to glance at Miroku, who looked ready to burst. She sighed, good thing they had found the vending machine quickly, and so, had a few minutes to kill. She decided to wait until she had her drink safely in her hands before she said the words that would make Miroku release all the crap he had to say. She quickly introduced her hand in her pocket, grabbing a few coins and inserting them into the slot in the vending machine, Kagome pressed the button labeled 'Iced Green Tea' and crouched to grab the bottle. Well, she'd made him wait long enough.

"You only came along to torture me, didn't you?" she turned her head in time to see the expected giddy nod, she rolled her eyes, preparing herself.

"You're very popular with the chicks, huh?" Miroku said grinning wolfishly, his eyes barely containing all the amusement he found in the subject. "I bet you're more popular with them as a guy. Ha, you're truly a genius! You little Casanova, and how about that little comment back there? That was pure gold! Man, you have them involuntarily eating from your palm. I forgot how girls like sensitive, insecure guys –you know, there is just something about people who are 'unattainable forbidden fruits' that makes people really want them! I can't believe I realized this from you, you're a genius!" he exclaimed, elbowing her slightly, while his other hand rose to slap his forehead. "I need to make a mental note, maybe I can use it later with Sango." He muttered to himself quietly, yet loud enough for Kagome to listen.

Kagome took a gulp of tea and then closed the lid before commenting lightly. "Miroku, why are you telling me this? You, of all people, should know that this outcome was completely unintentional; I didn't want them to think like that. I'm not… exactly like you, remember?" Miroku laughed, shaking his head as he shrugged.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I keep forgetting you're not a real bo-" Miroku suddenly froze, his jaw clenching tightly as his eyes faintly widened. Feeling a little wary, Kagome furrowed her eyebrows, her eyes slowly moving to where Miroku was silently staring.

Her bottle of green tea slipped from her hand, loudly hitting the floor, while her pupils contracted and her lips parted as she exhaled dejectedly.

No. No no no…Oh god, not again! Kagome groaned mentally, her left eye slightly twitching, as she saw the person in front of her gap.

*-*.*-*.*-*

Ah, a mystery person! I wonder if he/she discovered Kagome's secret…

Barely finished a few minutes ago, I'll read it more carefully later… it's almost 3 am here so, I'm gonna get some rest. Happy weekend everyone.

*bye bye cycle: nerdy greeting they use as a joke in Nobuta wo produce, a dorama I saw recently, as a good bye.

By the way, Laika was the first dog in space, a female dog.

Here's a Samoyed:

www. dogbreedsaz. com/ samoyed. html (take off the spaces)

Hope you all liked this chapter; it's my longest chapter ever! (more than 11k words) So any doubts, grammar mistakes or anything, you know what to do. Oh, I almost forgot I only have like two weeks left of vacation and then 5 months of excruciating hell… so I can't promise anything, sorry. T.T I'll try my best, but I have a tiny writer's block.