DISCLAIMER: **insert witty remark about not owning Inu-Yasha and crew here**

A/N: I had the worst time coming up with a title for this stupid chapter. I even asked for suggestions. "I really don't have any suggestions for a new short piece title. If you want to think about it though, something about reflections and realizations, because that's what you have both Kagome and Inu Yasha doing in their own respective places. But she's in bed and he's in school." That's what Phoenix Cubed said after reading it. Inadvertantly, she named the chapter. So, here it goes: "Something about Reflections and Realizations". Phoe-chan, this one's for you.

**obligatory thanks to my wonderful betas here**

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Kagome still wasn't up to full steam the next day, so Mrs. Higurashi called Sengoku Jidai to tell them that Kagome would not be in school again. Kagome felt pretty bad asking Sango to pick up her assignments and leaving her alone with Inu-Yasha and four kids, but the older girl assured her that it wasn't a problem; she just missed her during lunch. Kagome promised to get better as soon as she possibly could.

Staying at home was boring, Kagome decided flipping through for the fifth time, a magazine that Mama had brought her. She wasn't supposed to get out of bed except to go to the bathroom; Mama didn't want to hear loud music, and she couldn't be watching TV either. 'There is NOTHING to do!' Kagome mentally whined. It hadn't been so bad yesterday, as she had slept through the entire day, but try as she might, Kagome couldn't get her body back into that blissful unconscious state.

A small tap on her door caught her attention. Mrs. Higurashi came in a second later with a tray. This time, there was soup and a bag of shrimp chips. "There's a letter for you today."

She took the envelope off the tray and held up for Kagome's inspection. It was decorated with coloured pencils and stickers. The envelope was rather thick too, indicating a long letter.

Excited, Kagome ignored her lunch and opened the envelope. "It's from Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi!!!" she cried. They were Kagome's old friends from her school in Osaka.

"Don't let your soup get cold," Mama warned.

Kagome just nodded, not really hearing her, causing Mama sighed and leave the room.

~Dear Kagome-chan,

WE MISS YOU!!!!!!!!!!! It's really boring here without you. How is Tokyo? Where do you go to school? Are there any cute guys there? Have you talked to them? Eri wants to know if you've seen the Tokyo Tower. She also says you have to go shopping in her memory (whatever THAT means). Have you made any friends? Are they better than us? Do you see any gaijins at the shrine?.....

You'll never guess what happened to Yuka. She FINALLY decided to go out with that guy Kuro, from math class. He slipped a romantic poem in her bag one day and just yesterday, he got down on one knee and gave her a rose. It was SOOOOO sweet! Guess what? I got a new puppy and I named it Gackt! That poor puppy….

Kagome laughed as she read the first part of the letter in Ayumi's handwriting, then Eri's commentary at the end. The letter went on to tell about how each of the girls felt and how sorry they were about Kagome's loss and how they hated that she moved and told Kagome what they had been up to and how much they hated school and the like. They included pictures of themselves and of the places that the four of them used to hang out at. Yuka even wrote a friendship poem and all the girls requested that Kagome write back.

By the time Kagome finished reading the letter, her soup HAD gotten cold, but she finished it anyway. After that, she got out of bed long enough to retrieve her writing kit. She snacked on shrimp chips as she worked out the reply letter. She told them everything about her first insecurities of school. Her first meeting with Sango; Miroku, the friendly pervert; Hojo, the soccer player. She described dancing with Kouga at her first Friday party and told them in detail of the rude boy who skipped school and stood in the hall all day. And when he WAS in classroom, he thought she was someone else. She told them more about her new school, of shoe lockers and gym class and math lessons from hell.

She didn't realize how much she missed her girlfriends from Osaka until she noticed how very different their lifestyles were. Instead of going to the local ice-cream shop or the park after school, Kagome now picked up Souta every day then came home to study and do homework and help with dinner. If it wasn't that, she was working in the shrine. Osaka seemed lifetimes away now.

Kagome wiped away the tears that threatened to spill as she licked the envelope and sealed it. It was early afternoon when she finished her letter. Mama came in with tea and vitamin C drops sometime later.

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MEANWHILE

"You don't think Kagome has the flu do you?" Sango looked over at Miroku, who was working on his history paper while he was eating.

The older student looked up and shook his head. "I don't think so, from the symptoms you've described to me, it sounds like she just has a nasty cold." He shrugged and went back to his paper. "By the way, wonderful wasabi, I didn't know you made your own."

Sango thanked Kami that he was too busy dipping the cold shrimp she shared with him in said wasabi and hadn't seen her blush. "Just an old family recipe," she answered.

They were sitting on the school steps during lunch. Actually, it had really been just Sango most of the time, but Miroku had joined her twenty minutes earlier instead of the usual soccer game, claiming that he needed to work on his history paper before it was due in the afternoon. They shared Sango's lunch since Miroku usually neglected to eat at noon in favour of a good soccer game.

Inu-Yasha came over two minutes before the bell was due to ring and sat down on the steps. Panting, he ignored Sango's protests as he emptied the content of her tea can. "You missed it, Miroku," he said grinning. "Ten to six. Beautiful, I'd say those pansies are starting to shape up. You're playing tomorrow, right?"

Miroku nodded without looking up. "Yeah, I just had to finish this paper before it's due today." Inu-Yasha leaned over his shoulder to see what he was working on.

"Your HISTORY paper? Idiot, what are you doing it again for? You have a copy in your car! I saw this morning!"

Sango lifted a brow at Miroku who sweat-dropped and rubbed the back of his head.

He turned on Inu-Yasha. "How'd you know it was my history paper?"

Inu-Yasha snorted. "I had nothing better to do than read it when you were trying to flirt a free coffee from the cashier this morning at the gas station........ Hey, great wasabi, Sango!"

Miroku just grinned as Sango frowned.

"I can't believe you."

The bell rang before Miroku had a chance to defend himself (and we all know he would have done a stellar job, given the chance). However, he and Inu-Yasha stayed behind to help Sango clean up the remainder of lunch. Well, Miroku did, Inu-Yasha just stood and watched.

"It's been a pleasure, Sango, dear." Miroku placed a kiss on the girl's hand. "Have a wonderful rest of the afternoon."

Sango was a pretty shade of pink after that, but by the time she realized that Miroku had passed her with a more than friendly pat on her butt, he was too far ahead for her to retaliate.

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Inu-Yasha looked at the clock and groaned when he realized that he had three more hours of torture before they let the students go for the day. Of all the days to NOT skip school, he had to pick this one. He didn't even have any of his manga with him. 'Damn.' It wouldn't do any good to try to nap--Kaede-babaa would just make him stand out in the hall with the water buckets. With nothing better to do, the schoolboy smoothed out a crumpled sheet of paper in his desk and pulled his only pencil out of his pocket.

His mind didn't settle on anything specific, so he let his hand take over until he thought of something to draw: lines and nameless shapes mostly. There were a few squiggles in a corner of the paper that annoyed him, like they weren't finished. They almost looked like a person bending over a table or a desk. Inu-Yasha went to work on the squiggles, adding in shading for the hair and/or skin, working on the loose clothing, a line here or there for definition. Since Inu-Yasha had been going for a boy, he was greatly disappointed when the figure took shape of a girl, in shrine robes, and even worse, started to look like Kagome. Or perhaps it was Kikyou, he couldn't tell. She was leaning over her desk too far with her head down. Inu-Yasha glared at the picture. Why was it that he couldn't turn around without there being something about one of those two in his face? Even his own imagination was taunting him.

He tried to add detail, but the picture seemed complete as it was. The boy sighed and leaned back in his seat and let his mind wander (A/N: a very BAD idea boys and girls, considering this IS Inu-Yasha we're talking about).

Kikyou had been gone since after the first term had ended. How long had that been? 'About a month and a half now,' Inu-Yasha figured. They had gone out at the beginning of the year, much to the surprise of everyone, Inu-Yasha included. Three months they were together; she left just before the rumours had spread very far. She was lucky that she wasn't there for the worst of it. Naraku had tried to get Kikyou to go out with him the year before, but she wasn't interested. Naraku. That bastard tried to tear them apart, spreading rumours about Inu-Yasha and Kikyou, telling them lies about the other, which Kikyou thankfully never believed.

Then she left. Her parents sent her to go to Kyoto to discipline her miko powers. Or that's what Kikyou told him they were going to do before she left. It was plausible, after all, she DID come from a strong line of mikos and priests and she WAS the only shrine kid of the Sunrise Shrine. But, deep in the pit if his stomach, Inu-Yasha *knew* that wasn't the only reason she left. Kikyou was innocent and pure, but she wasn't deaf and she definitely wasn't stupid. She had to have at least been aware of the rumours even if she hadn't heard them (which she probably had), and the school-boy had a feeling Kikyou's parents knew what was going on between them. Kikyou never said anything about their relationship in front of her parents when he was over on the rare occasion, but they KNEW, and they probably didn't like the fact that their only child was dating someone like him.

It was a mutual agreement to part ways, to take a break from each other while she was gone. Or more like, Kikyou had suggested it and Inu-Yasha dumbly nodded. What else COULD he do? It wasn't like he could make her stay here with him-- that would just cause more problems. Besides, even if he wanted her to stay, it wasn't like she would have. Now she was in Kyoto, away from him and everything they had together… what little it was.

And he was stuck here with the bastard Naraku, Kouga, and a girl who looked like his former girlfriend. Well, she sure as hell didn't *ACT* like Kikyou. Kikyou never glared at him or ignored him or argued with him. But he had to hand it to her; Kagome did have spunk. The boy shook his head. Had she really affected him so quickly? As much as he hated it, Inu-Yasha had to admit, deep down, that she had.

Inu-Yasha looked back down at his picture and made as if to crumple it up. However, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Feelings and thoughts aside, it was a damn decent sketch, whoever the person was. He snorted and dated the paper before folding it up and shoving it in his breast pocket. And only two more hours to go.....

Sighing, Inu-Yasha folded his arms over his desk and rested his head on his forearms.

'Get back here, Kagome. Without you to pick on...what's the point of staying awake?'

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Idn't cute? That line has been paraphrased, but you kind find Inu-Yasha thinking it in the 3rd graphic novel on page 104. I just love the bored look on Inu-Yasha's face!

PLEASE: If you know anything about soccer---email me!!!! And review too, let's not forget that.