Speak
Chapter 7: Making Plans
Time seemed to standstill as Kagome struggled through her second day of school. She hadn't really had a chance to speak to any of her friends, even during lunch. The teachers had been brutal with assigning homework and projects over the weekend, giving her little time for chit-chat. She couldn't understand why the administration would allow such things in the beginning of the year.
Sixth period came around and Kouga once again tried talking to her. Unfortunately for Kagome, he knew her name. Word gets around fast, obviously. Or maybe it was when the teacher checked attendance. Either way, she was screwed.
Throughout the class, Kagome sighed and ignored him. Too bad for her good nature, though. She refused to be rude and nodded her head at what she believed were the appropriate times.
The bell finally rang and the silent girl lunged out of her seat, anxious to get away from the blue-eyed wolf demon. Taking a few steps out the door, she mentally groaned as Kouga caught up to her. "Why'd you leave so fast, Kags?" he called, coming to walk beside her. She hated the nickname he had given her, preferring only her friends to call her that. "Do you need to be somewhere?" His voice held a flirtatious tint, but it had no effect what so ever on the brown-eyed girl beside him.
This shocked the football player. His charming smile and soothing voice always worked on every other girl, so why was Kagome different? His eyes narrowed, determined to find out. Grabbing her arm, he gently pushed her up against a row of lockers. Students passed by, but were too absorbed in their own thoughts to take notice. The few that did had come accustomed to Kouga's behavior and believed the raven-haired woman was just another one of his girlfriends.
Worry flashed across Kagome's angelic visage as she tried to tug out of his grip. The tan boy leaned one hand against the lockers, preventing her escape. "Now, Kagome," he breathed. "Tell me why you won't go out with me? You haven't even talked to me yet. Are you just playing hard to get?" He inched his face closer to hers, a sly smile spreading across his lips. His voice lowered to a whisper as he continued to talk to her, trying to encourage the frightened girl to speak.
Kagome smiled politely and tried unsuccessfully to move her body out from beneath him. She silently begged him to go away; to leave her alone. Inuyasha ... she thought, not realizing why she had called out his name.
As if he heard her, the silver haired half-demon came through one of the classroom doors and into the hallway. "What do you think you're doing, ya mangy wolf?" Anger resided in the man's voice as he watched Kouga rub his fingers up and down Kagome's arm in an alluring manner. A growl sounded from his throat before he took his hand and pushed him off of her. Seeing her chance, Kagome fled from the wolf demon's reach and cowered behind Inuyasha's towering form.
"What's it to you, mutt-face? This is none of your business." His smile vanished from his lips and his hands balled into fists at his sides.
"I'm making it my business," Inuyasha retaliated, glowering at the football player and readying himself for a fight. A gentle tug on his shirt sent his eyes downward to the girl beside him. Like this morning, he felt all fury dissipate as her eyes pleaded with him. "Come on, Kagome," he said softly, not wanting to upset her further. He swung his gaze to the angered wolf before him. "We have to get to class."
With that, the golden-eyed man put his hand on the middle of her back and led her down the almost deserted hallway to their classroom. Kouga's insults and rage could be heard behind them as he threatened them with everything in the book. Kagome glanced up at her savior, giving him one of her famous thank-you smiles. He returned the gesture and guided her towards their classroom, where they promptly took their seats.
"You alright, Kags?" the half-demon asked after a few minutes of silence. She nodded slightly, casting her eyes to the homework on her desk. "Don't let that bastard get to you. He thinks whatever he wants is what he's gonna to get." That made her smile and Inuyasha visibly relaxed.
She opened up her math book and began reading over the twenty problems they had to complete before Monday. It all seemed like a big mess to her and she squinted her eyes, reading over the instructions and the numbers. It looked like giberash to her.
"Math," Inuyasha suddenly stated, glancing up from his own work. "Keh, don't know why they bother to teach it. Not gonna use it anyways." She looked at him with amusement. He scooted closer to see her blank sheet of paper and the numerous problems she still had to complete. "Whose your teacher? Totosai?" When he received an affirmative nod, he shook his head and scoffed. "That old man would forget his own head if it weren't attached. Can't believe he's still around."
He shared a humorous story with her, involving Totosai, paper, and a vending machine. After he laughed and watched her smile brighten, he took it upon himself to work with her on the homework, seeing as how he took Geometry the year before. Because of her transfer, Kagome had to take some easier classes in order to meet the requirements for graduation.
Kikyo sat in the back of the room with Naraku. Envy flowed off her body in waves, although her posture gave no hint to her inner turmoil. She observed the new student and her ex-boyfriend as he quietly talked about algebraic expressions and obtuse angles. Although the girl resembled her, Kikyo could only see the flaws; her cheekbones too high, her fingers too thin, and her hair without shine. Add that to her heartache, and you've got yourself a very jealous teenage girl. Her cold eyes narrowed with each word that slipped from Inuyasha's lips.
"Don't worry," Naraku whispered. "Even with the little incident this morning, we can still proceed with our plan." He gave Kikyo a coy grin as the bell rang.
Inuyasha and Kagome left the classroom together and made it to her locker. Without them even realizing it, her locker had become the meeting place for them after school let out. "Hey, Kags," Sango greeted cheerfully as she walked up to them. Miroku ambled up behind her, wearing his infamous face mark. Amused by the red hand print even after two days of seeing it, Kagome smiled.
"Hey," Inuyasha replied, ignoring the lecherous grin on his friend's face. "What's up?"
"Actually," the brunette said, turning her attention to Kagome. "I was wondering if you wanted to hang out with us tonight? The boys and me usually go to Yash's house, swim and watch a few movies. We're always too tired to go home so we just crash at his place. Want to come?" The silent girl seemed to ponder the question for a moment.
Inuyasha watched her anxiously, feeling his breath halt in his throat and his heart miss a beat. When she gave a slight nod, he released a sigh. "Alright!" Sango shouted, clasping her hands together and smiling. Turning her attention back to the boys, it faltered. "I mean, if that's okay with you guys."
Miroku shrugged his shoulders, throwing her a look of indifference, all the while hoping she hadn't caught him staring at her bottom. "Keh, whatever," the half-demon said.
The athletic female, on the other hand, was ecstatic. "Great!" she screamed, throwing her arms around her new friend and bringing her into a tight hug. After a moment of trying to take the breath from the poor girl's lungs, Sango released her and Kagome inhaled a deep breath. For a moment, she had been briefly deprived of oxygen. "We'll just have to go shopping!" The dark haired girl winced at her high pitched voice. Sango glanced at the boys. "You want to come?"
Inuyasha and Miroku exchanged a look. They knew what would happen if you put Sango and shopping together: ultimate destruction. They turned back to the hyper-active teen. "Uh ... actually, Sesshomaru needs help moving some things around," Inuyasha lied.
"And Yash needs my help," Miroku chimed in. He gave her a sheepish grin as he fibbed through his teeth.
She knew they were lying, but waved it aside, too happy to care. "Okay, fine then. Kagome and I will go. Miroku, do you mind if I borrow your car?"
The man in question stared at her, the smile vanishing from his lips. "You think I'm going to let you borrow my brand new car?" He crossed his arms and shook his head in defiance. Miroku sternly chastised everyone about his car, and rarely let another touch it, let alone drive it. Sango batted her eyes and gave him the puppy dog pout. He seemed to strain under her gaze and, after a moment, he finally caved, dropping the keys into Sango's waiting hands. "Oh, alright, but there better not be a scratch on it."
She barely heard him as she grabbed her friend's hand and dragged her towards the exit. "Come on, Kags, we're going to have so much fun!" The dark haired girl gave a pleading look to the boys before the school doors slammed behind them.
Inuyasha glanced at his lecherous friend. "You are such a weakling." He crossed his arms and headed in the direction of the girls.
"What? Inuyasha, you should have seen the look she gave me. How could I resist?" Miroku trailed after him, offering up a bunch of poor excuses.
"How about this?" Sango asked, throwing another swimsuit in Kagome's direction. After a long car ride of Sango's chipper voice and a half-hour of shopping, the silent girl was already feeling the strain. Earlier, the brunette had asked if she had a swim suit. Shaking her head, Kagome didn't realize the girl would go ballistic. I can't do this ... she thought as Sango pointed out another two-piece. Her eyes flickered to her arms before returning to the racks of colorful swim attire. She couldn't let her new friends see the burns; they haven't had enough time to heal.
Sango, on the other hand, was getting frustrated. Either Kagome was very picky or she didn't want to try anything on. Voting for the latter, she shoved an ocean blue, halter two-piece into Kagome's hands. "Go try it on. Now." The raven-haired beauty stared at Sango, worry crossing her angelic features.
The athletic student stood her ground. When Kagome didn't move, Sango dragged her to the dressing rooms. She shoved her in and shut the door, leaning against it so she couldn't escape. "I'm not letting you out until you try that on." Kagome pushed against the door, but soon found her efforts futile as her captor dug her heels into the carpet for more support.
The tortured girl sighed in defeat. She knew the time would come sooner or later; she had just hoped it would have been later. Well, I might as well get this over with. Kagome slowly changed, taking as much time as she could, still unsure of what Sango's reaction would be. No one outside her family had seen the injuries.
When she finished, she lightly tapped the stall door. Sango, taking this as Kagome's white flag of defeat, gladly opened the door. "See, now that wasn't too hard ..." Her train of thought was lost. What greeted her chestnut orbs marked her speechless.
A/N: There was chapter seven. Hope you liked and please leave a review. Chapter nine is really going to get things moving so look forward to that. Thanks for reading!
New poll up!
