A/N: Hm, how does one follow up a chapter like the last one? Guess I'll just have to wait and see how it pans out…
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.
Chapter 7
"Kagome!" Sota exclaimed once she was nearly up the stairs.
"What is it, Sota?" she asked, exasperated.
"Who was that? That was such an awesome car!" He went on for another minute about the coolness of the car and how he wished he had one, etcetera, etcetera.
"It was just a…friend," Kagome said, not knowing exactly what to call Inuyasha. "Sota, I've got homework to do. You can talk about it later, okay?"
He sighed, disappointed. "Okay." He trudged off to his room and Kagome went to hers.
She flopped backward onto her bed, but soon sat up when she remembered the last time she had been in that position. She shook her head and took out a book to study from.
After about ten minutes of rereading the same paragraph, she decided she couldn't concentrate and went back downstairs to the kitchen. Her mother was there, cooking dinner. "Oh, hello, Kagome."
"Hi, Mom." Kagome wondered why her mother hadn't asked her about the black-out or anything. It had ended soon after she walked through her front door. Kagome sat down and watched her mother finish up their dinner, setting it around the table. Then her mother called for Sota and her grandpa, who both eagerly sat at the table, stomachs rumbling.
Kagome started to pick up some dishes when she finished and brought them to the sink. Once she finished them all, she went back to her room to try and concentrate on studying for a test she had the next day.
All the while, she was trying to figure out why exactly Inuyasha would express such an interest in her. He always went for the preppy cheerleaders, not the withdrawn, studious girls.
Then Kagome began to wonder if his reputation was rightfully built, claiming he was such a hit with all the girls. Maybe he just liked to date a bunch of different girls. It could be…even if it is fairly unlikely, it was a chance. And it made Kagome feel better.
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"Inuyasha! Dinner's ready!" called his mother.
Inuyasha sighed and stumbled down the stairs. He was trying to read the Internet's version of the Trojan War, but he couldn't think straight and kept having to reread things. He wished it were Kagome telling him the story, not the Internet.
He sat at the table, his mother and father already seated at the two ends. He looked at the empty seat across from him, and scowled. "What, is Sesshomaru too good to eat with us all of a sudden?"
Izayoi gave him a hard look and said, "No, he's out for the evening. I wish you wouldn't talk so poorly of him."
Inuyasha would have said something about how Sesshomaru's forte was talking down to others, but he thought better of it after Izayoi gave him a final warning glare. He looked back at his plate and ate his food, not really tasting anything thanks to his bad mood.
After he finished, he went to go back to his room but Izayoi scolded him about how he hadn't done anything all day so he had to clear the table, clean the dishes, and wipe the counters. He almost mentioned that going to school was something, but then he thought of what little he did there other than sit in a hard plastic chair and listen to teachers babble on about things nobody cared about.
After he sped through his chores he raced up the stairs, skipping steps, before his mother could think of anything else for him to do. He sat back in front of his computer and tried to concentrate on something about a wooden horse. After five minutes, he turned off the monitor and looked around his room for something that could hold his interest for a good length of time. He finally settled on calling Miroku to see how the party went.
"Hello?" answered Miroku, slightly too loud when he spoke. Apparently the party was still going judging by the loud music in the background.
"Hey, Miroku. How's the party?" Inuyasha asked.
"You really should've come, it's probably one of the best parties of the year," Miroku replied, practically yelling into the phone. Inuyasha held the receiver away from his head a few inches.
"I told you I couldn't because of a stupid history report that's due tomorrow."
"So, anything happen with that girl you had helping you?" Miroku asked suggestively.
"No, not really."
"What? Come on, something had to have happened."
"I'm tellin' ya, she's a lot different from the usual girls."
"She can't be that different. Are you serious, nothing happened?" Miroku sounded disgustingly disappointed. Well, he could stay disappointed for all Inuyasha cared.
"Yes, now give it a rest. She started helping me with the research and then it started storming and it blacked-out, so she went home early."
"Is that what happened earlier? It was storming?" At least he was easily distracted.
"Yeah." He paused, thinking warily about whether or not he was willing to ask his next distraction. "Anything interesting happen there?"
Miroku launched into a detailed story about how most of the girls were dressed skimpily, how he thought this girl or that girl was especially 'gifted', etcetera, etcetera. As long as he didn't mention Kagome again, Inuyasha was willing to suffer through a repeat of nearly every conversation he had with Miroku, the perv.
Miroku's talking took up another half-hour before his reception cut out or his phone died, whichever one Inuyasha didn't know—or care. He grabbed a magazine off his bed-side table that was about cars and flipped through it. He glanced at the clock an hour later and decided it was the earliest time he could manage to go to sleep without feeling like a kindergartener.
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Kagome stared at the ceiling of her room, counting the number of glowing plastic stars for the fourth time—there were ten. She rolled onto her side and tried to grasp sleep again, but her mind was skipping around to different thoughts, both important and completely meaningless.
She sighed heavily and turned again, squeezing her eyes shut. She went over the algebraic equations she had studied for her upcoming test and hoped she could bore herself to sleep. She gave up on that before she started mixing them up, not wanting to fail the test from over-thinking them.
She was finally able to drift into a light, unproductive sleep. She wasn't looking forward to the dark half-moons that would shadow her eyes the next day, but at least she didn't have to think about anything for a couple hours.
She woke with a start the next morning as her alarm went off, blaring her favorite radio station. She quieted it and swung her legs over the side of her bed, stretching. She grabbed her uniform off the hanger and sprinted to the bathroom. She was ready too early, so she decided to make herself a bigger breakfast than usual.
She was finished just in time and she swung her bag over her shoulder, her big algebra book pressing against her back. Kagome headed out the front door and down the street to her school.
When she looked up from the walk, she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head fully to the side and stopped. "Inuyasha? How long have you been walking there?"
He stopped too. He looked like he was fighting back a smile. "You're not very observant of your surroundings in the morning," he said. "Are you?"
She narrowed her eyes at him. "At least I don't sneak up on people like a freaky stalker."
He grinned. "Touché."
"Did you want something?"
"No, I just thought I'd walk to school with you since you were walking alone." He paused. "What were you thinking about anyway?"
"Huh?"
"You were pretty deep into your own little world. You didn't even look up when I called your name before."
"Really?" Kagome couldn't believe she was able to block out the world like that. It made her wonder how often she did it…
"Yeah, really," he said. "So, what had you so distracted?"
"Oh, nothing really…" Nothing she wanted to tell him.
"It had to be something."
"Nope," she replied simply. She turned and began crossing the parking lot of the school, not wanting people to think anything of the fact that she walked to school with Inuyasha. She hurried to her locker and was the first person into her first class.
She wasn't too happy that she had her first period with Inuyasha. It was history. At least she would get to hear his excuse for not having his report.
Once the class was filled—and Kagome was utterly aware of Inuyasha sitting behind her—and the teacher walked in, he made an announcement that had Kagome's mouth hanging open. "Due to the black-out cause by last night's thunderstorm, your reports about wars across the world will be due tomorrow. I still expect them to be up to the same standards and requirements that I always expect—with no exceptions." He looked sternly at a few students who usually came up with the craziest excuses that they seemed to completely believe themselves every time.
Most of the class let out some sort of approval of the short extension, but Kagome was shocked. She thought for sure the teacher would say they should have had it done already.
Kagome glanced down at her desktop and a folded triangle of paper landed in front of her. It had come from behind her. It said her name on it in a messy-yet-elegant scrawl she vaguely recognized. She had an empty, nervous feeling in her gut. She unfolded the paper with trembling fingers and smoothed it out. She glanced up to make sure the teacher wasn't watching.
Come over tonight and help me finish?
--Inuyasha
She tried to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat. She scribbled out a quick reply—which was rather messy due to her still-quivering fingers. She folded it back up and held it out behind her. It was taken from her hands quickly, like it had been much anticipated.
Sure. What time?
He smiled to himself and wrote as quickly as he could—his hands were not shaking. He set the paper in her waiting hand.
I've got football practice after school today, so unless you want to watch, I can come pick you up at seven.
Kagome wasn't sure she liked where this was going. 'Pick her up'? That indicated that they would be farther away than a five-minute walk down the street. And she did not, under any circumstances, want to watch the pea-brains—en masse—as they ran around a muddy field and tackled each other over a stupid ball.
Seven it is.
Inuyasha grinned in anticipation and victory. Kagome slumped in her seat ever-so-slightly.
A/N: Mwahaha. She is being forced to spend time with him and get to know him—two things she does not want to do. Don't worry—she won't be so anti-Inuyasha for too much longer. Well…until Kikyo comes. I estimate one more chapter until Kikyo makes her next appearance. Which can mean one of two things: a) she appears halfway through/at the end of the next chapter, or b) she arrives in chapter 9.
Please review! I love to hear what you guys think! TTFN!
