Series: Inuyasha

Universe: Modern Highschool AU

Pairing: Eventual SessKag, Onesided KagInu

Rating: PG-13 ( For now, susceptible to change).

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and its characters are the intellectual property of one Rumiko Takahashi. I only make bad fanfiction about it.

Author's notes: Thank you all so much for your patience, but most of all, for your words of encouragement and thoughtful critiques! Believe it or not, a lot of ideas came to me as I read some very interesting reviews, and this story just keeps evolving and changing, and just being buckets of fun for me! So keep those reviews coming, cuz you guys really do inspire me! Now, without further ado, here's hopefully something you guys enjoy.


Hentai High VII

888

It was raining heavily, and within seconds Kagome was drenched as if she had jumped into a river, but she didn't care. She just wanted to get away as fast as possible, from Sesshoumaru, from school, from Inuyasha, from her sister – from everything. The dejected teen walked around blindly, not knowing where she was going except that she just wanted to keep going. With the biting cold seeping through her thin uniform, Kagome hugged her arms closer to her chest, and set her face downcast, to try to escape the biting wind. At that moment though, Kagome would've have rather faced the elements and walk in a damn hurricane than face her own feelings.

Thinking back on it, perhaps Kagome had overreacted. She remembered Sesshoumaru's confused look, dripping with ice-cold water from head to toe, and she grimaced.

As much as she was angry at him, our how upsetting she had found his words, what truly got to Kagome was the infuriating and horrible fact that...he was right.

Her steps faltered and then slowed from their sprint as she withdrew inward into her own thoughts. Dammit, fucking Sesshoumaru was so right it hurt. For as long as Kagome could remember, she had always accommodated to Inuyasha's every single need. She had thought of their friendship as one of equality, but looking back on it, it was always Kagome doing him the favors and treating him with the dignity and respect any friend deserved. On the other side of the coin, Inuyasha was always brusque and quick to lose his temper with her. He would make fun of her ideas, call her names, and generally had a very angry attitude towards the world. He hadn't always been like that, Kagome remembered sadly. Not, at least, before his parents' deaths... Perhaps that was why Kagome had stuck around for so long. She had felt it was her responsibility to take care of this boy, to somehow come riding in and be his salvation from the demons that threatened to overwhelm him. She had been too understanding and too forgiving of his attitudes because, deep down, she had hoped to one day find that sweet and caring boy that she had befriended once upon a time. And, naively, she had wished that she could fix his problems with her love.

But she had never been enough.

Truth be told, Kagome didn't know how long she walked like that, a disoriented mess of tears and misery and anger, but she couldn't find it within herself to stop because she knew the moment she did she would collapse into a heap of sobs and screams. Kagome was alone, and just like that afternoon when she had fought with Inuyasha, nobody was chasing after her.

Funny. It was always her doing the chasing...

Just then, Kagome heard a car pull up beside her. Some protective instinct told her to look up and check if it was dangerous and she needed to run away. But upon spotting the vehicle, recognition blazed in her eyes, and her cheeks flushed for a completely different reason that had nothing to do with the cold. Kagome would be lying if she said she wasn't surprised to see the charcoal-grey Hyundai driving alongside her.

It was Sesshoumaru.

A part of her, infantile and destitute, sang at the thought that he had come for her. He had come, for her. Not even Inuyasha or her sister had done that. Though she was partially happy, she looked away, instantly upset again when she remembered his unkind words. Stubbornly, Kagome continued her stomped pace, water splashing with each marked step.

The sound of a car window rolling down pierced the heavy rain, and Kagome heard his familiar voice.

"Higurashi, get back in the car." Sesshoumaru demanded.

"No." she shouted back, and she knew how childish and ridiculous she sounded, a wet jumbled figure in the rain, but she didn't care.

"You're being absurd. Get back in, that's an order."

"Or what?" she snapped, whipping around and pinning him with a furious glare. "You'll give me more detention? Bring it, bastard, I don't even care anymore." She turned back to the sidewalk and continued walking away, leaving the man in stunned silence.

The car stopped following her, and dejectedly Kagome thought he had given up. Yeah, run away just like everyone else, she thought miserably. But then, she heard the sound of brakes and a car door opening. She kept her gaze obstinately forward, refusing to look behind her even as she heard his heavy footsteps catch up to her, out of fear that it was all her imagination. Abruptly, her view of the street was blocked by a massive chest.

"Get out of the way, sensei." Kagome bit out, declining to meet his eyes.

Sesshoumaru did not get out of the way. In fact, he stepped closer, and his figure was so tall and broad it shielded her somewhat from the rain and wind. Almost immediately, his button-up shirt and trousers were fully wet. Annoyingly, she felt guilty about it, even though the reason he was there anyways was his fault to begin with. Kagome mustered all her anger, revving for the anticipated argument that was sure to follow. She was ready. Was he there to make more fun of her? To reprimand her for her awful display at his friend's restaurant? To tease her some more about her relationship, or nonexistant relationship, with his brother? Bring it on.

They stood there for what seemed like an eternity, two unmovable figures trapped in a cycle of yearning and regret and guilt and rage. Kagome wanted to grit her teeth, scream at him, hit him, and she was about to do all of that and more when finally he spoke.

"I'm sorry, Kagome."

That had not been what she had been expecting at all.

Kagome looked up, and she didn't know if she was more surprised by the apology or by his casual use of her first name. In all the years they had known each other, he had never called her by Kagome before...

"Please, forgive me." Sesshoumaru continued, leaning down in an attempt to catch her gaze. His voice was loud and soft at the same time, trying be heard over the rain."What I said back there…it was out of order and cruel."

Kagome did look up then, frowning for all she was worth. Surprisingly though, she saw no ridicule in her teacher's eyes. He seemed pained, actually; remorseful, even. His expression, the most open she had ever seen from the usually expressionless man, grabbed her heart and clenched down hard. But despite the presumed sincerity of his apology, she was still too crossed to forgive him just yet. Suddenly, all the anger of the past few weeks, all the hurt and anguish bubbled up and out of her and Kagome could not stop the torrential wave of words that exploded from her.

"You know, that really hurt me, Sesshoumaru." she started, using his first name as well, her voice rising in volume. "You think I don't know? That Inuyasha doesn't give a flying fuck about me? That he'll never love me the way I love him, no matter how hard I try? That I will always be a cheap substitute to my sister?!"

"You are nobody's cheap substitute, Kagome." Sesshoumaru interjected quickly.

Kagome snorted, cleaning her nose with the sleeve of her uniform and looking away. "Yeah, right. Then why is Inuyasha not here then?" she spat. "If he gave a damn, he would be here, Sesshoumaru! He would be here!" she gasped out, pursing her mouth and trying to hold back a sob. Her chest trembled with the effort and Kagome had to look away from Sesshoumaru's pitying eyes.

"But he is not..." Sesshoumaru murmured, and Kagome could hear the words beneath the words.

He is not here.

But I am.

"No..." Kagome agreed, swallowing thickly, the rain falling down her cheeks in place of her missing tears. "I suppose he isn't."

They stood there in silence, the rain hammering all around them, the car humming softly a few feet away.

"Get in the car, Kagome." Sesshoumaru, said again, this time much more gently.

And Kagome was tired of always abiding orders, and trying to be the perfect girl while always falling short of her sister. Kagome was tired of following, but never leading or choosing for herself, because it would be selfish to do so, and she was sweet Kagome, the pure girl with the big heart. Always putting everybody before her, always taking the blame for others, always the shoulder to cry on. She had spent such a long time trying to be something she was not, keeping her own dreams and desires to herself, that she ached to be free. Kagome didn't want to obey anything else but her own heart, and her heart was telling her to walk away.

But, for one last time, Kagome nodded and walked toward the car. Not because she wanted to obey this infuriating bastard, or because she wanted to get out of the rain and into the dry warmth of the vehicle.

Kagome did it, because in that moment with her, Sesshoumaru sounded just as tired and sad as she felt.


AN: More to come! We're not done with this night yet! Stay tuned for the next chapter this weekend.