P.E Teacher

Chapter 7

She might as well not have shown up.

Kagome was staring at her exam, listening to the clock ticking away. It did not matter how much she stared at the questions, she was completely and utterly unable to answer any of them. She hard tried to get her reading done but between keeping the peace between Kouga and Inuyasha and jewel shard hunting… She had been left short on time. And now she was paying the price for it. She had scribbled as best she could, but none of the answers made sense. She raised her head to stare at the clock, but she only found despair. Five more minutes to go before her nightmare was over. She scribbled as much as she could during the remaining time but her hopelessness stayed.

Once the buzzer went off, she found herself dropping her pen. She should have stayed in the feudal era. Inuyasha was going to throw a fit over it, and it had not been worth it. At all. She did the line to hand in her exam, defeat obvious in her face. At this point all she wanted to do was go home and hide in her bed. Unfortunately for her, before she could even make it past the doorway, her friends leaped at her and grabbed her by the shoulders. She was not about to go free; all she could do was put her best smile forward.

"That was brutal," Ayumi said before sighing. "It's like I knew nothing."

"I know what you mean," Kagome grumbled under the breath. It was a nigthmare.

"I saw we celebrate with some Wacdonalds." Yumi suggested as she walked ahead.

It was then that Kagome's glance landed on a familiar presence within the halls; Kouga. He was stopped in the middle of the hallway, talking to another teacher.

"Earth to Kagome," one of her friends said as she waved her hand in front of Kagome's face. "What is so distracting?" Yumi added as she turned around. At the realization, her friend could not help but laugh. "The new P.E teacher?"

Her tone was loud enough for Kouga's sensitive ears to hear and he immediately turned around. It took him no time to spot Kagome within the crowd and he grinned. She had slipped right by his radar and he had been none the wiser. He excused himself away from his colleague ad shifted his attention on her and her friends.

"Miss Higurashi," he said in his most professional voice. "Could you come to my office?"

Kagome did not need to look at her friends to know that they were all standing around with raised eyebrows. She was going to have to explain that one. "Yes." She swallowed hard before turning around to look at her friends. "Meet you there?"

Her friends smiled looking between her and Kouga. "Sure," Ayumi answered.

She was going to have many questions after this, she could already feel it. She kept her smile on and waited until they were far enough from her friends before speaking. "Really? You know they're going to ask me about this right? I think they think I have a crush on you," she admitted with a slight blush creeping upon her pale cheeks.

He could not help but smirk at the statement. "I see the roles have been reversed."

"Ha, ha…" she shook her head. ""I'm sure if I jump through that well things won't be."

"Ouch," he said, faking pain as he clutched at his chest. "Although you're not wrong." He palmed at his neck. "Sorry, didn't mean to make your friends curious. Hadn't seen ya in a bit. I just wanted to check up on ya." He did not really. He knew exactly what was up with her. After all, every time she went back, she created new memories that he had to relive through - it was hard to forget about it.

"We've been busy," she answered with a tilt of the head. "And you two are not getting along." Then again, she did not know what she expected exactly.

"Well, that's hardly my fault. I'm always on my best behaviour."

"I don't know how you just said that with a straight face," she said stifling a laughter.

"Because it's the truth," he replied with a smirk as they reached his office. "Do you have a minute or is your Wacdonald's date waiting for ya?" He knew it was hard for her to balance all aspects of her life and he did not want to impose on her.

She smiled. "I have a few minutes. Maybe you'll be able to help me figure out what the heck is up with you," she said as she opened the door.

He did not need to hear more to know what she was referring to: Girogashi. Although he had the answer she was looking for, he was not sure it was his place to tell her. If he knew himself well, and he did, he had some sort of gran reveal planned for her. "But then, I would be ruining the surprise," he replied as he followed her inside.

She arched an eyebrow. "The surprise?" She was not sure if that word choice made her worried or relieved. It was Kouga after all, meaning it could go either way.

He knew this trademark smirk at her. "I guess you'll have to wait and find out."

Kagome's eyes narrowed. "Or you could tell me!" It was strange to find herself on the other side. Usually, she was always the one with knowledge of the future, knowing where things were heading. This time, someone else had the upper hand.

"But then, I would I make you squirm?" For a brief second, his words took on another meaning, one he did not plan on, but he quickly dismissed it. He could blame that on recent flashbacks right? It was messing with his head.

She sat down on one of his chairs. "I think past you did that enough."

Again, hew knew it was not meant to sound that way but…. Well. "Fair enough." He shook his head. "But I'm still not telling you. How are you gonna explain your lack of surprise to past me when he does his big reveal?"

"I can fake that I'm surprised!" It was not like knowing was like seeing it.

He could not help but laugh out loud at the statement. "Kagome, you're not a very good liar." Although he chose to be slightly oblivious in the past, it did not change the fact that her face was always betraying her, despite how nice she was always trying to be.

She sighed, defeated. "Fine. But if you end up pulling some last minute heroic stunt, I'm going to be really mad at you for almost letting me die."

He bursted out laughing before being able to nod. "That's a deal."

-P-

As Kagome climbed out of the well, she found herself highly regretting the Wacdonald's she had prior to leaving the modern era. As if climbing out of the well was not hard enough already. Once she was finally able to grip the wooden edges, she tossed her yellow bag pack onto the ground with a grunt. She then proceeded to less than gracefully throwing herself unto stable grounds. At this point she was missing having someone helping her out of the well. She was dusting off the dust off of her green school skirt when the sound of footsteps startled her.

At first, her body froze and she was quick to turn around. She did not have her bow and arrow but that did not mean that she could not defend herself. Fortunately for Kagome, it was not an enemy she found standing behind her but a friend: Kouga. His blue eyes were less visible than usual since he was squinting, his brows furrowed. She held her breath, waiting for him to say something since Kouga was not known for being the silent type. And yet…

"Hey," she said after a moment, breaking the silence he refused to disturb.

It was the second time that he found her at the bottom of that well. The first time around, he had not pressed the issue. Mostly because had bene more preoccupied with her well being and the whole Inuyasha situation. He had even ignored the fact that no one had been able to give him a clear answer and disclose her location. This time however, he refused to let it remain a mystery. There had to be a reason why his woman kept coming up from the bottom of a weird well.

"Why are you always in the well?" he asked as he stepped forward.

This question. The question she had been expecting ever since they teamed up and jointed their groups together. She found it a lot simpler to not share her true origins and it was not like Kouga had ever picked up on her unusual traits before. Of course, she had not quite expected that he would watch her come out of the well two times in a row. It was a bit of a problem. It was also true that at some point she would have to start explaining her frequent disappearance. The truth was a good explanation but… there were not guarantees that he would even believe her. Then again, he felt strongly for her, that it might help him believe in time traveling. He had to have at least notice that there was something slightly different about her.

"It's a long story," she finally said before letting out a long sigh.

He walked even closer to her, his curiosity triggered. He wanted to leap at her but he feared that it might make her change her mind so he opted for distance. "I got all the time in the world for my woman."

-P-

It lasted much longer than she anticipated.

Yet, it was not because of him. He sat there, quietly listening, while she babbled on and on. She meant to stop at some point but when the usually out spoken Kouga kept quiet, it made her nervous and she kept on talking. It was as though the more details she added, the less crazy and more believable her story would be - but it did not work like that. After a while, the brightness o the sky had faded and they were sitting on the wooden edge of the well. She exhaled one last time, nervousness escaping her body. Her darting eyes met his and she searched his face while she desperately waited for him to finally break his agonizing silence and react to her story.

But he did not. Instead, he blinked longingly. The future. Now that she pointed it out, a few things about her were indeed perhaps a little too strange for her to belong here. But the future? It did explain what she had been doing at the bottom of the well.. And why he always seemed to lose track of her scent. Plus, Kagome was his woman. If she told him that was the truth then he believed her - no questions asked. However, it did pose a problem. From what he had gathered, it was not open to everyone to travel through time. How was he supposed to protect her if he could not follow her?

"You're the only one who can travel?"

Of all the possible things he could have said or asked, she did not expect him to go with that… and now she could either lie after being honest with him or she could tell the truth. The problem was that if she lied to him… he would technically know about it - or at least one version of him would know. She had told future Kouga the full truth. If she lied to this Kouga… wait no. This had already happened for him. The odds that he would… Wait. She… if she had… when she saw future Kouga… he did not know…. He did not know about her time traveling ways. But… if she had just told him… he should have known.

This was making her head spin. He could have faked not knowing - for the sake of preserving the past intact but - no his reaction… he could not have faked that. But then, if she had never told him… wouldn't that mean that they never even traveled together? Could it be that none of this had happened? No that was impossible. Kouga would have told her about it if something was wrong… unless he did not know. No, he had to know about this. It would explain… how he showed up that night, when she came home upset because of Inuyasha. How could he have been so well timed when it had happened five hundred years ago for him? It was because it had not happened until very recently.

"Kagome?" Kouga finally said, worried that she remained silent despite his question.

He had lied to her! Was she changing everything? Oh god. She could not continue messing everything up like this… she had to confirm this truth. Finally she snapped back to reality. "Kouga I'm so sorry - I have to go back."

He arched an eyebrow. "In the well?" He had missed something.

She kicked her big yellow bag away, not needing it. "I'm sorry, I'll be right back." Those were her last words before she turned around and jumped into the well, a bright pink light engulfing her as Kouga could only watch it happen.

Once the light vanished from sight, he found himself staring at an empty well. He did not even hesitate before jumping himself, hoping to follow her. But he quickly found an answer to his previous question; he could not go through the well. He stood at the bottom of the well, his feet in the mud.

-P-

What's you address?

That was the text he got from her. He assumed it had something to do with her telling past him truth, but he could not figure out what had her in such a panic. He had offered to pick her up but she had turned down his offer. So now, he was left waiting for her to show up. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that he simply could not explain. After what felt like an eternity, he heard footsteps followed by a knock on the door. He immediately jumped to his feet and dashed to the door. Once he opened it, Kagome's expression almost told him everything he needed to know. She was pissed.

"You," she said as she pointed a judging finger at him, her hair tousled. "You lied to me," she finally accused as her eyes narrowed.

"Hello to you too," he replied with a smirk before moving out of her way.

"Don't hello me," she snapped back before walking in his apartment. "You lied to me," she repeated. "You didn't tell me."

The gut wrenching feeling he had since she texted him intensified. "Didn't tell you what?"

"Why didn't you tell me that I was changing everything?" she shouted.

Ah fuck. Wait. How had she gotten to that conclusion? He had been careful and he had not dropped any clues! "What do you mean?"

She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. "I just, well, I told five hundred years ago you about the time travels. But when I saw you here, you didn't know about it."

"Maybe - I pretended," he volunteered in a tone even he did not believe. How was he supposed to get out of that one?

"Kouga," she chastised. "I saw your face. You didn't know."

He let a long sigh drag out from his lungs before tilting his head forward in defeat. "I didn't know at first." This was not a conversation he wanted to have half way into the hallway with the front door opened. "Do you wanna talk about it inside?" he offered, waiting to close the door.

She walked in completely, knowing this would be a long conversation. "When did you know?"

"A few days after I guess?" He sighed. "It's not that clear. Usually you change something and then I get hit with these new memories - kinda feels like having a dream."

"Did I change a lot?" she inquired even though she was scared of the answer.

He was already found out. At this point - all he could do was tell her the truth. "We never traveled with your group… so everything that's going on right now…"

"Is new…" she finished for him. Oh god. She had changed everything. It was impossible for him to know anything. "Is- is that why you couldn't share anything with me?" How could he even tell her inoffensive things… If he knew nothing at all.

"Well…" he palmed at his neck. "Some things are still happening, they're just happening differently than before." He sighed. "Look, do you wanna sit or do you wanna eat or drink something?" Why did he not tell her himself? Why did he wait for her to find out on her own?

She shook her head. She wanted to fix this horrible situation. She wanted things to be as they were - as they were supposed to be. How did this even work? How come her going back in the first place did not do anything but knowing this, him, changed everything? It made no sense. "I think I need to sit." It was all she managed to say prior to dropping down on the nearby blue couch. She was screwing up everything. What if the ending Kouga knew no longer existed because of her? What if she had changed the outcome of the final battle with Naraku? She would never forgive herself for this. Already, panic seeped through her veins while her breathing rate accelerated. They were doomed.

"We're all going to die and it's all my fault," she said as she buried her face in her hands.

Her statement forced him to sit down beside her. "Kagome, everything is fin."

"Fine?" she repeated. "How can everything be fine?" she asked as she threw her hands up in the air. "And you didn't tell me," she said again before lifting a hand so that she could smack him on the shoulder, exasperated.

He almost flinched at the slap. "You know, you used to slap much harder." But that barely got him a smile. "Look, I didn't tell ya because I didn't know yet if it was a big deal. Ad I know ya. You take up everyone's problems and you assume all the blame. It's not like you could have known." He should have known thought.

"But none of this changes the fact that I've changed things." It was too late now.

"Maybe you've changed them for the best," he said, tilting his head to try and look at her face. "We're stronger now. How could that fuck up anything?" He did not want her to beat herself up over something she could not control.

Maybe he was right or maybe being a bigger group would be a downfall. "I just don't wanna make things worse. Do you remember how things should be?" He nodded. "Good. So maybe, I'll just - we'll talk. I'll try to come back as often as possible and you can tell me how badly I messed everything up." It was the only way she could come up with that could sort of limit the damages done to the timeline.

"Kagome…" He was not quite sure it was that simple to rectify the situation. "I don't got all the answers and I'm not sure actually getting involved in all this time mombo-jombo is gonna make anything better. If anything, it'll make it worse."

She sighed before letting herself fall backwards on the couch. What was she going to do? How was she even going to fix this? She had been doing this for a long time. She never thought that something like this could even happen.

"Let's try it," he finally said. He had never been given the opportunity to see this side of her in the past. Kagome had always been confident and fearless. At least, that was how he remembered her. Then again, until she changed things, their interactions with each other had been quite limited. They had been sort of friends. "You're Kagome. I had kidnapped you and you had no chance of getting away and you still stood up to me," he said with a chuckle. "Something this small shouldn't stop a girl who is fearless enough to slap a very powerful youkai."

This time, a smile broke on her face. "Well, I did walk away unharmed…"

"Are you saying I'm not a powerful youkai?" he asked with a cocked eyebrow.

At that point, he had not given her any reason to think that he was not dangerous and yet she had stood her ground. I just had a feeling that you weren't as much of a big bad wolf as you let on." And she had been right.

It was not like he could say she was wrong. Well - he could be sort of an asshole but not to her - never to her. He might have pushed past her personal boundaries, but he would have died for her. He would have done anything for her. Five hundred years ago, he would have been ecstatic for this. Kagome at his place, sitting on his couch, completely comfortable in his presence. "I guess I'm a big softie."

"It's the old age." Her chest rumbled from the laughter erupting from her.

"Now, I don't think that's any way to talk to your teacher," he chastised.

"I think that just made you sound even older," she counter replied.

"Not all of us can magically travel through time without aging." He snorted.

"I can't believe you actually told him. I didn't think you would."

"You kinda caught me redhanded. There are not many ways to explain why you keep finding me at the bottom of the well. But I thin I'm going to hold off on telling you that Inuyasha can go through the well. You two bicker enough as it is already." She did not need Kouga to try something stupid or dangerous.

He sighed. "Yeah, I don't think I would take it too well."

"You're probably standing by the well very confused right now," she added. She had kind of left in a panic without as much as an explanation.

"I can't tell you what'll happen when you get back since it hasn't happened yet, but I can tell you that I jumped in after you." No surprise there really.

"Well, since there hasn't been a city wide panic yet, I"m going to assume that it didn't work." If a loose youkai was by himself in modern time, she would know.

"Don't worry, I got stuck at the bottom. One of me here is enough."

"I should head back before Inuyasha comes looking for me." She did not need the other Kouga to see Inuyasha jumping through the well. One event per day was plenty for her.

"Let me know when you're back. I'll tell you if everything is on track." He would not give her detailed accounts of the events but he would try to ease her concerns.

"Thanks," she said as she slammed her hands down on her thighs.

Now she had to go back and face the music. Hopefully the final outcome would remain the same.

-P-

Not to Kagome's surprise, once the light faded, she felt an arm wrap itself around her waist. She did not need to see the face to know it was Kouga's. He leaped her out of the well and softly landed her on the ground. He let his arm linger on her for a beat before pulling away from her. He had been waiting for her this whole time. And she had yet to come up with a good excuse as to why she had almost ran away from him.

"Ya alright?" he had almost given up on waiting for her. However, she had such a terrified expression on her face when she left that he feared for her and her safety. He knew she mentioned the fact that she had yet to see youkais in her time, but it did not mean that humans should be blindly trusted. Kagome was different from most and she had a kind heart.

"Yea, I'm sorry." She felt like she had spent her day bouncing in between Kougas and it was making it difficult for her to create a distinction between them. "I had forgotten to do something." That sounded somewhat believable right?

"Is that why you have that smell?" he asked as his nose twitched. It was not the first time he smelled something without being able to recognize it.

"Hm maybe?" Nope, it was himself that he could smell all over her, but that tidbit of information she would keep to herself. "My nose isn't as sensitive as yours. I can't tell." Despite the fact that he had quite a bit of time to process all of this today, he would not sure he had observed it all yet. His Kagome was from the future. "Anyways, we should head back," she said, slightly uncomfortable from the silence.

It was strange to alternate between one Kouga with whom she could talk and one who felt a little bit like a stranger. She wondered if despite his crush on her, she would be able to talk to him like she did with his future self. After all, now he almost knew everything minus one or two secrets. She shook her head, chasing away the idea before bending down to retrieve her bag; it was silly. Before she could actually pick up her bag, Kouga swooped in and picked it up for her, throwing over his shoulder as though it did not weight anything. "I'm not gonna let ya carry this," he said as he led the way.

Usually he was the first to speak but he was currently lost in his own thoughts. Something was different with his woman but he could not figure out what it was. The way she acted with him and around him? The way she spoke to him? Maybe it was that weird scent free smell that seemed to coat her skin. He still could not put his finger on it and he knew it bothered Inuyasha as well. He had been sniffing around Kagome almost every day.

"Kouga?" It was strange for her to be the one to break the silence. "What I told you earlier… I- I need it to stay a secret." The extend of Naraku's reach was unknown if Kouga existed in the future… who else. Originally they defeated Naraku but what if that had changed? He might make it to her era and if he knew to look for her, that could have catastrophic consequences for everyone involved. Since the future was now uncertain, it was more important than ever now that her secret was kept… well a secret.

He stopped in his tracks, nearly causing her to collide with his back. He let her bag fall to the ground, creating a loud thud, before he turned around. "Kagome, you're my woman." It was not long before he wrapped his hands around hers, enveloping them with his natural warmth. "I'd never do anything to put you in danger. You can trust me." Using his hold on her, he brought her closer to his own body. "I'd never lie to you."

She cared for him, she really did, but it did not stretch past the concept of friendship. She felt as though she had shared that with him more than once, but the message was not getting across. It only seemed to make him more determined. It was the complete opposite of what she wanted. "Kouga…" she trailed. "I-I really value your friendship - but - I can't. I can't be what you want me to be."

"I know you love him." He had told her last time and he was telling her again. He did not care how long he had to wait or what he would have to do to prove himself. He would show her that he was the better man and the better choice for her. "I told you - I'll wait. Eventually you'll see." Inutrasha could not win forever. Eventually, the way he treated Kagome would catch up to him, and she would see the truth.

She tugged her hands away and to her surprise, he let her do it. It was clear that Kouga would eventually get over her. She needed to give him time but she would never lead him on. She could not do that to him. "Kouga. You don't know a lot about me. You know, where I'm from - people try being friends first and then they take it from there." It was not always true but he did not need to know that. This was enough to take a step in the right direction. Of course, she might hear a comment or two from the other Kouga but she would let future Kagome deal with that at the appropriate time.

"Friends?" He had not considered that the way of doing things had changed in the future. There were things he still needed to know about her. Things he wanted to know. "I wanna know more about the future."

She resisted the urge to cringe; she could not really overshare. But, maybe a few things - inoffensive things? "Well, talking is something friends do." She was perhaps putting a little too much emphasis on the word friend but…

"Friends." Obviously Kagome was more than a friend to him. She was a part of his pack and she was his woman. Friend did not highlight how much she meant to him. But his woman was not only a human but she was also from the future. Courting meant something different to her. Something he had never really realized. He could do it, he could adapt to doing things her way if it meant proving to her that he was the better choice for her. "Friends it is," he finally said. "Anything for you, Kagome." This was far from meaning that he was done with pursuing her. He was simply willing to listen and try it her way.

"Friends," she repeated, slightly relieved. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him. It was best if things were clear between them. She was not an idiot. She knew he would not simply switch off his feelings. But if they slowly worked towards building a friendship, she was certain that he would eventually see the truth and agree with her that them being friends was a better fit for them.

He offered her his signature smirk before he picked up her bag pack again. She was smiling and that was enough for him now. All he had to do was show her he could do this courtship of friendship. Not being forward, especially when he was right, was not exactly his cup of tea. But for Kagome, there was nothing he could not do. He was the better man, the better choice. He would give her everything she deserved, no matter what it would cost him. He could feel the tingle of power surging through the palm of his hand.

He was ready for this.

-P-