A/N: Thank you for the reviews LogicalGoth, Inu'sgirl4ever, and starfire1994. For those of you who've added this story to your alert or favorites list, my thanks also. Now that I've plugged the plot hole, let's see if I can stop from making more. Inuyasha going to school with Kagome was never part of the plan. I can't wait to see what you all think of this.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Inuyasha characters, manga, anime, movies etc. They belong by copyright laws to Rumiko Takahashi et al.
Her Knight
Ch. 11
Tuesday morning dawned clear and bright, accompanied by the usual noises of a household rising for the day. Two teenagers and a young boy took turns in the bathroom getting ready for school while the mother cooked breakfast and packed lunches. The grandfather of the group sat at the kitchen table reading the morning paper and sipping tea. Everything appeared normal and yet nothing about the group living in the house of Higurashi Shrine was.
A young miko dashed about trying to dry her hair and pull on socks while her silent protector mentally snarled at the uniform he was being forced to wear. The priestess' younger brother was trying to split his time between getting dressed and helping his half demon hero transform into a ninth grader. The matriarch of the family hummed under her breath, enjoying the idea of the two teens upstairs getting ready for their day like an old married couple and contemplating what her hypothetical grandchildren would look like. And the priest of the shrine kept out of the way of the activity buzzing around him, not wanting to get run over by his granddaughter, grandson, or the half demon bent on protecting said granddaughter from anything and everything that he perceived as a threat to her.
"Breakfast is ready, dears! Come get it before it's cold or you're going to be late for school." Kagome was the first one to the kitchen, Inuyasha trailing her. Souta scooted in, grabbing the closest chair to the door. "My, don't you look handsome, Inuyasha, dear." The hanyou raised an inquiring brow, not for the first time wondering if she was really insane.
"Ah, thanks." A small moan of pain whipped his head around to Kagome. "Take it easy, wench. Did you take any of that pain medicine?"
"Yes, but it hasn't started working yet. Jeez, Inuyasha, I'm not stupid."
"Maybe not, but you are stubborn." He got a look that told him not to call the kettle black. "Keh, just eat. I want to get there early and check the place out."
"Never thought you'd want me to go to school." Kagome merely grinned at the glare he gave her as he sat down.
Mama listened to their light hearted bickering with a smile, knowing neither was truly angry at the other. She breezed out of the room and came back before anyone noticed she'd left. In one hand she held a heavy duty brush and a band so she could secure the braid she was going to make in Inuyasha's hair. A white ear turned towards her approach, but he didn't object when she began brushing his hair. Expecting it to be tangled, she was surprised the still damp mass was snarl and knot free.
"Such pretty hair."
"Keh, if you say so, Higurashi-san."
"And you take such good care of it, too. There's not a knot in it anywhere."
"He doesn't take care of it, Mama; that's just the way it is."
"Really?" Finished braiding, Kagome's mother put the black band around the end of the tail. Giving his ears a light rub, she giggled when both flicked out of her reached.
"Yeah, must be nice not to have to worry about rats' nests." Kagome's complaint was met with a smirk. If her wrist hadn't been cracked she would have hit him for the silent gloating he was doing.
"Done!" Souta shouted, breaking the moment between miko and hanyou. "Catch you later, Mom. Bye, Sis, bye, Inuyasha. See ya, Gramps." The youngest Higurashi dashed out the door, leaving the two shard hunters alone with the adults.
"Eat up, you two." Breakfast proceeded in a calm fashion after that and the only sounds heard were the "please" and "thank you's" when someone asked to be passed something.
Mama watched as they left and couldn't prevent the sigh that escaped. Grandpa Higurashi shook his head but didn't comment. Sometimes he thought that his daughter-in-law lived in a different world. "Well, that's that. What do you have planned for today, Father?"
"Same old, same old. They'll be fine, you know."
"I do," she answered on a smile.
Half way to the junior high school, three familiar faces appeared to intercept Kagome and Inuyasha. "Kagome!" they chorused loudly, causing the dog demon to flatten his ears in annoyance. Did they always have to make so much noise?
"Yuka, Eri, Ayumi!" the miko shouted back, waving her good arm. Hearing the sigh beside her, Kagome glanced over at the disgruntled hanyou. "What's your problem?"
"Do they have to yell?" She saw how his ears were laying and offered a small smile of apology.
"I'm sorry. They are rather loud all together, aren't they?" She slipped a hand around his and squeezed his fingers.
"Che, let's go, wench." Some of his bad mood went away at her actions and his blood beast practically purred when she nuzzled his arm and agreed without protest.
None of this had been missed by her friends and they immediately zeroed in on the fact that he was wearing the boys' uniform for their school. "Inuyasha-san, you're going to our school now? I thought Kagome said you had a private tutor."
"His brother is giving him a chance to see what public school is like, in case he decides to go to high school. His tutor is retiring."
"Oh, that's so cool. How long are you going to be visiting us?"
"A week, maybe more."
Inuyasha watched as the girls bought the story hook, line, and sinker. They fell into step on either side of the shard hunters and chatted for the rest of the way to the school. A hesitant hand stopped him from entering with Kagome when they got to the entrance. Looking down at one of his miko's friends, he spoke his question with his eyes.
Ayumi gazed up at Kagome's boyfriend in worry. "You're really here to protect Kagome, aren't you? That's why you brought your old sword."
He debated about telling the truth and decided it would be a good idea if at least one of her friend's knew the truth. "Yeah, the rest of the gang that hurt her is still at large. I'm not leaving her alone until they're caught." The girl beamed, granting him a smile.
"I like you. You're good for Kagome. She's always hesitant to hurt people's feelings but you're not. You tell it like it is." It took a minute to sort out what she meant but when he understood, Inuyasha grunted an assent before moving pass her to catch up to Kagome.
The young priestess turned to him after slipping on her school sneakers. "What was that about?"
"The long haired one knows the truth."
"Ayumi; what truth?"
"About why I'm here." Did she really believe he'd spill the whole truth? This was him they were talking about. He had trouble admitting when he was hurt, never mind opening up to strangers.
"She'll keep quiet." Kagome tried to bend over to tie her shoes but the stitches in her abdomen pulled, letting her know it wasn't going to happen. "Ah, Inuyasha, can you help me?"
"Can't do anything without me, can you? You're hopeless." To show he was teasing, he tossed her a cocky grin. She watched the quick smile turn serious. "Are you in pain?"
"Only when I bend over."
"Wait for me next time." Once he completed the task, he offered her a hand up. Without comment he picked up her bag and followed her to her classroom. Her three friends caught up quickly, their faces contorted into funny expressions.
"Kagome, that was so romantic." Eri sighed and looked at Inuyasha. "I don't suppose your brother's single."
"Far as I know but he's like twice my age." The school girl wouldn't last two seconds in his brother's company. Kagome tried to suppress her snorted laugh but Inuyasha heard anyway.
"All the good ones are either taken or too old," Yuka lamented. Inuyasha couldn't hide his snicker at the thought of his elder brother being "too old."
"That's one way to look at it," Kagome agreed around her laughter. The other girls merely looked confused at their amusement. She waved them off, not able to tell them the reason why the idea of Sesshoumaru being too old was funny. What she wouldn't give to see the expression on the demon lord's face.
Too old, indeed.
Kagome's classmates gathered in their room, the separate groups whispering amongst themselves while they tried to figure out just who the mysterious newcomer was. Normally transfer students were introduced once everybody was present. To have the stranger with them was odd. And what was even weirder was that Kagome and her other close friends seemed to know the boy.
Inuyasha tried in vain to ignore the whispers and speculation but the topics under discussion were nothing like how he'd been talked about in the past. The boys wanted to know where'd he gotten his antique sword and how he got away with carrying a weapon around school. And the girls, well the girls wanted to know a whole heck of a lot more than that.
"Do you see how shiny his hair is? How did he get it that color? It's so cool."
"I want his eyes. I wonder how much it would cost to get gold contacts."
"Isn't he dreamy?"
"He seems to know Higurashi. Do you think she'd introduce us?"
"What I want to know is if he's got a girlfriend."
Kagome heard the whispers too and wanted to slide under her desk. Why hadn't it occurred to her that his being in class with her could start something like this? The girls in her class were ready to go to war over a stranger and all because of silver-white hair and gold eyes. She could just imagine the riot if they discovered his furry ears.
Sighing, she gazed out the window. It was going to be a long week.
