"It's not that bad!" Sango assured, trying to pry the paper away from Kagome's face. Her best friend stared at it, the look of anguish plastered on her expression, and her fingers gripping the exam tight enough to crinkle the edges. "Let it go, Kay!"
"It's bad. It's so bad."
"No, it's not."
"This is the first test of the term!"
"But you didn't fail. Give it to me."
"How did I get that question wrong?" Kagome pressed, shoving her face a little closer to the exam paper as if it would make more sense an inch away.
"Ah, okay! I'm going!" The tone was defensive and forced, serving as enough incentive to gather Kagome's attention. Inuyasha pushed a guy their way down the corridor, continuing to give little shoves at his back each time he slowed down.
"Oh no." Sango grumbled, her lips curving in distaste as she gave a small duck of her head.
The two stopped just a few feet before them, Inuyasha holding his hand out in gesture to Kagome as he glared at his friend. The guy's cheeks were pink, and his dark blue eyes shifted between she and Sango uneasily, his shoulders stiff and raised.
"Get it over with, Miroku." Inuyasha pressed, his tone stern, almost disciplinary.
"When did we swap roles? I'm usually the one making you -"
"Just say it."
"Sorry." He sighed feebly, eyes drooping shamefully. "For, uh, spilling my drink all over you."
"It's okay." Kagome said, trying not to laugh. "Wasn't a big deal."
"You didn't get in trouble with your parents or anything, did you?"
"I threw the dress away, actually. Didn't want to chance it."
"Awe man, you threw it away!?" Miroku groaned, dropping his head back. "I'm so sorry! I'll replace it!"
"It's really not a big deal. The thing was old, anyway." She insisted, finally giving into her laugh. It was hard not to notice how is indigo eyes fluttered to and from Sango, and though she was curious how her best friend was fairing from the attention, Kagome didn't want to make it obvious by looking over. Instead, she flashed a humorous glance at Inuyasha, who stood there with little-to-no expression, arms crossed in what she would deem as typical Inuyasha fashion.
"You sure?"
"Positive."
"So, uh, what are you guys looking at?" Miroku cleared his throat, all former remorse gradually fading while he stepped to Kagome's free side to observe the paper in her hands. The damage was done before she could conceal it, his eyes growing large and brows raising high in total shock. "Woah, you got a 'D'? Yikes."
"Please, say it louder for the rest of the school to hear." Sango remarked sarcastically, a light scowl forming when she noticed Kagome try to hide her humiliated pout.
"Oh, sorry." He grimaced. "Was this your guys' first test of the year?"
"Miroku." Inuyasha, himself, seemed a little shocked at his friends lack of tact, golden eyes staring on in bewilderment as he tried to ignore the sinking expression on Kagome's face.
"No, no, this isn't bad at all!" Miroku said confidently, shaking his head incessantly. "First test is just the practice run! You can totally recover!"
Sango gave a reaffirming nudge against Kagome's shoulder, hoping she'd absorb the same amount of self-assurance that Inuyasha's friend currently harbored.
"Oh, I've got an idea! I've got a super idea! When you get a bad grade, what do you do?" He waited for an answer, eyes bouncing from one person to the next. They all looked unsure, distrusting even, and he knew it was all for good reason. Miroku was quickly losing all control over his better judgement, his nerves becoming jittery, his brain going completely haywire, and there was hardly any way to get ahold of himself now. He felt intoxicated, and knew he should stop while he was still ahead, but it was like whatever was left of his filter just flew out of the nearby window. The silence was tense, and his cheeks were hurting from the forced smile he maintained. When he realized he wasn't going to get an actual response from any of them, though, he unwittingly trudged forward. "You study. And you know who's not dumb?"
Kagome steadily folded up her test, over-creasing the lines with determined fingers. Was she being roasted by this guy? Was he legitimately calling her dumb, or was he just completely thoughtless? Her expression deadpanned, from her peripherals she saw Inuyasha drop his head to the side, and she could physically feel Sango's done energy. Miroku looked anxious, tense, but the smile kept on his face, even as he clearly realized his mistake.
"Not you." He said stiffly, as if to recover. "Because you didn't fail. I don't see an 'F' on that paper. Nope, I see a 'D,' and what does 'D' stand for?" More discomfort. More clenched sighs. "Definitely not an 'F'! Wow, that was intense. Anyway, know what guy's worst grade ever was probably a 'B'?"
"Please stop." Inuyasha groaned, almost pleading.
"This guy right here." Miroku gestured to his friend with a point of his thumb, whose amber eyes were squinting, chagrined. "You should ask him to tutor - what? No? Should I leave?"
"You really should." The half demon nodded.
"You know, I sensed that, because I feel like I'm holding a shovel and digging a very deep grave for myself. You - you look very mad at me." He mentioned to Sango, his smile finally disappearing. "It's, uh, it's pretty terrifying. Wow. You could probably break me in half. I'm gonna - yeah, I'm gonna go."
Kagome watched the boy stumble away in amazement, walking as if the soul had up and left his body and the words he'd just sputtered out were barely processing. When enough distance was put between them, she twisted back to Inuyasha.
"He's naturally like that!?" She asked, in reference to the hanyou's claim while they were hiding from the rain.
"No." He gently shook his head, still shaken by the experience. "It's never been that bad before."
"That was..." Kagome trailed off, trying to find the proper word for what had just occurred. "Surreal."
"Alright, let's just move passed it." Sango waved her hand, as if dismissing the entire ordeal, shifting her entire attitude to act like it had never happened at all. "So, you're smart?"
"Well, I've never been tested or anything, but I stay afloat." He shrugged.
"Good enough for me. Pressure from your weird friend aside, how would you feel about helping Kagome out?"
"Sango!"
"I mean, I would do it, but I'm a C-average girl, myself. I kind of think she needs a bit of an aggressive push, if you catch my drift. Like, really drill it into her head."
Kagome shoved her elbow into her best friend's side, swiftly shutting her up before giving Inuyasha an apologetic look. "You really don't have to do anything. I'll be totally fine. In fact, if you could completely forget about the grade I got, that'd be great."
"So, you got a 'D.' Big deal." His shrug was more careless this time. Though his expression wasn't necessarily one of compassion, nor one she suspected was intended to make her feel any better, it was the lack thereof that ironically seemed to settle her nerves. "It's not gonna set you back so long as you pick up from there. Let me see it."
With minor hesitation, Kagome passed her folded up exam into Inuyasha's awaiting hand, watching him unfold it and take in the mistakes. His brow didn't crinkle and his lips didn't twitch to laugh at her. His face was straight, golden eyes sweeping over the test nonchalantly.
"These are all little mistakes. If it was really bad, you would have failed. I mean, you still suck, but it's not horrible." He said, refolding the paper and giving it back.
"Gee, thanks." She snagged it, folding it a few extra times for good measure.
"But, we don't want you to become a lost cause or anything, so I guess I can help."
"Don't do me any favors because you feel obligated."
"I'm not. I'm doing you a favor because you looked about ready to cry earlier, and it was pretty pathetic."
"You know, you really have a way with words." Kagome remarked, cocking her head to the side. Inuyasha gave a small upturn of his lips, the hint of smugness rolling from it, giving a small wag of his fingers in gesture for her hand. Confused, she apprehensively put it out for him, surprised when he grabbed her fingers to turn it so her palm would face him. He pulled a pen out of his pocket, clicking the ballpoint out before connecting it with her skin. His hand was hot against the back of hers; large in comparison. He had a firm hold, but never hurt her, not even when he tightened his grip as she gave a tiny twitch because the pen had tickled the middle of her palm. Molten eyes flickered up to her, and an unnatural heat spread over her cheeks, one she hoped wasn't as evident as it felt. With another click, Inuyasha's pen was shoved back into his pants pocket, his fingers releasing her hand so she could see what he'd written.
"I'm sure you can figure out what to do with that." The half demon stated, shoving both hands in his pockets as he sauntered around them in the direction his friend had gone.
"How much longer do I have to keep my cool for?" Sango asked, her voice barely over a whisper as they both watched Inuyasha disappear behind the corner. She noted the redness of Kagome's cheeks, the way she kept her hand open so the ink wouldn't smudge or rub away, and then the way her expression easily shifted into a dirty look.
"You're on a friendship timeout." Kagome brushed passed her, heading back inside their classroom and toward her desk to fish her phone out of her bag.
"What!? I totally did you a favor!" Sango whined, following close behind.
"You did not!"
"Yes, I did! You got his number out of this!" She made sure to hush her tone, crouching next to her best friend's desk so no one else would hear their conversation.
"First of all, it's strictly business. Second, you put us both on the spot. Timeout."
"Strictly," Sango scoffed. "No one said you had to exchange phone numbers to study. He could have always said to meet him in the library after school. You - are - welcome."
Kagome pursed her lips, cocking a brow expectantly, waiting for her friend to catch the hint.
"Fine. How long?" She huffed, dropping her butt into the seat in front of Kagome's.
"Three minutes."
Unlocking her phone and appreciating the momentary lack of harassment, Kagome input Inuyasha's phone number as a new contact, her teeth softly raking against her bottom lip as she hit save. If it was strictly business, why was she excited to have received his number? On top of that, she was nervous and she swore she could feel her heart thumping behind her ribcage. She pinched her lips together, but there was no fighting the smile that began to grow on her face. The guy was intriguing to her; hot and cold, seemingly sheathing a soft side, caring while possibly covering it with brash words - all of which yet to be one-hundred percent determined. But, that was what Kagome really wanted to take the time to discover.
As she looked up from her screen, she noticed Sango grinning at her, shrugging her brows knowingly.
"Shut up." Kagome murmured.
Hastily, she typed in her message, hitting send before she could talk herself into waiting a while per teenage social conduct regulations.
Here's my number, too.
It wasn't until after school that she felt her phone buzz with anything, her eyes doing their usual, nonchalant sweep of the courtyard as she and Sango made their way out before drifting down to the screen she held.
Who's this?
She had to physically hold back her huff of vexation, not wanting to attract her best friend's attention to glance over her shoulder. Was this also typical Inuyasha fashion, or did he honestly not know? A subtle, paranoid part of her almost feared he'd given her a random number. But, he wouldn't do that. Would he? Or did he just give his number out to multiple girls and, depending on how quickly they chose to get back to him, it was hard to keep track of who was who? Oh god, did she even stand a chance? He was handsome as all hell, so who was she kidding? The guy probably had a leather jacket with HEARTBREAKER stitched on the back.
Strictly business. Studying. Not even a study date. Just pure, innocent, harmless studying. If she forced herself to keep up that mentality, there was no way she'd be bothered by any external forces threatening to send her overthinking abilities into hyperdrive. Who cares if she had a teeny, tiny crush on him? It was irrelevant to the cause; the cause being her grades. If she had to, she'd convince herself - someway, somehow - that she wasn't even attracted to him to begin with. She would travel far to meet a Jedi Master so that they could perform that mind trick hocus-pocus on her to make her believe that the person she would be working with wasn't anything special in the least.
Jerk.
Oh, Kagome. Got it.
Neither the quick response, nor the fact that he was probably playing with her made her smile at all. Not at all.
"I'm gonna do it." Miroku pumped himself up, bouncing on his feet.
"I wouldn't." Inuyasha said, his tone dull, eyes glued to his phone as he leaned against the tree.
"I'm gonna do it!" He repeated more persistently.
"I'm not saving you."
"I'm doing it!" His determination was admirable, even for him, fingers tingling with adrenaline, the flurry in his abdomen going into a wild frenzy as he power-walked his way toward the two unsuspecting girls across the street. Steady exhales left his lips, like an athlete exercising their breathing, totally prepared to work his magic like another ordinary day with the female specimen until the woman he particularly favored looked his way.
Miroku's mind blanked, his chest hitching painfully as his legs seemed to wobble pitifully, barely bringing him to his destination in front of the girls. She stared, blankly at first, her hand gently grabbing her companion's elbow to stop her trek, her attention, once fully devoted to her phone, flickering up to her friend then over to him. Their expressions mirrored one another's; mouths straight, eyes curious, brows cautious.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.
"Sango." He managed to say. It sounded almost confident, only a small waver noticeable.
The girl stiffened slightly, clearly waiting for him to continue. His mouth had shut, though. His smile fit uncomfortably on his face; small, strained, like a child obligated to sit there and hold a posed grin for four minutes straight until the photographer finally got their school picture taken.
"What?" She asked, tensely.
If anyone had a portal into his mind, they'd see a tumbleweed passing through a desolate field of crusted land. "That's - that's all." Miroku said, trying to play it off though he was sure his mortification shined bright. Turning away, he sauntered back in the direction he'd come from.
Both Kagome and Sango watched him waddle across the street. Kagome, specifically, had to clench her throat shut to resist the fit of laughter that threatened to burst free, bringing a hand to cover the crinkled grin growing on her face. She didn't want to embarrass the poor guy more than he'd already done, himself, and she had a feeling Sango wouldn't appreciate it just yet. Not while they were still in the vicinity of the guy.
Inuyasha held a steady expression of total bewilderment having heard the whole thing, sparing a small glance the girls' way just as they started walking again, briefly locking eyes with Kagome, whose amusement never faltered, and then shot his gaze right back to what was left of the pride of his friend. "Dude..."
"What's wrong with me, Inuyasha? I've never done that in front of a girl, not even during my prepubescent days!" Miroku was shaken, blue eyes staring through the bark of the tree in total defeat.
"I told you not to."
"You don't understand, I can't function properly around her. I thought it was a temporary side effect of, I don't know, oxygen or something, but no! It's her! What sort of witchcraft has she conducted upon me!?"
"I don't know, but it's getting embarrassing to be associated with you."
"It's getting embarrassing to be me! I'm not like this! I'm not like you! I'm good with girls! I'm smooth as silk! Fine like wine!"
Inuyasha's grimace deepened.
"Once upon a time, I could sweep a girl off her feet with just a wink! Where has that side of me gone!? I mean, just two weeks ago I was fine! Enter Sango, Sango, and I'm pining like a little bitch boy!" Miroku's eyes were wide, riddled with absolute turmoil, fingers sweeping into his hair. "I'm - I'm like Hojo. Hojo. Good god, I'm a Hojo."
"And, on that note..." Inuyasha dropped his phone into his pocket, peeling himself off the tree to walk away and head home.
"Wait, you're just gonna leave?" Miroku asked, following. "In my time of desperate need?"
"What you need is to get a grip."
"Tell me how! What's a guy like me gotta do to get a girl like her?"
"Cutting off the rattail would be step number one."
Miroku gasped, horrified, clutching onto the tiny bundle of hair at the nape of his neck protectively. "Never! I will have you know that one day it's going to be as thick, long, and luscious as your own ponytail."
"Dude, it's like a fucking mustache. Just because you can grow facial hair, doesn't mean you should. It doesn't work for everybody." Inuyasha firmly stated.
"But -"
"Trust me, Miroku. You look like a classic nineties douche."
"Has anyone ever told you, you have a way with words?" He smiled crookedly, not offended by his friend's criticism in the least. Over the last year and a half or so, he'd learned the ins and outs of what the bastard truly meant to say. A good amount of his insults were heartfelt and intentional, but if you listened closely, you could hear the chime of his good-natured advice and shadowed compliments.
"Yes, actually." Inuyasha bobbed his head back and forth, as if proud of himself. "Kagome said the same thing earlier today."
"Oh-ho-hoooo, let's talk about that!" Miroku beamed, turning to walk backward just a few paces ahead of the hanyou so that he could focus on the expressions that were sure to wash over his face. It was one of the best ways to read the guy.
"What?"
"Did you think we were just gonna blow over this without revisiting? How you made me apologize to someone? How you made me apologize to someone? That someone being a girl. You made me apologize to a girl! What's the deal, dog boy?"
"Oh god, don't start!" Inuyasha groaned, rolling his eyes. "The one time I'm not at a party with you, and you fucking dump your drink on someone. It has nothing to do with her, and everything to do with you making an ass out of yourself."
"Not once have you ever -"
"Call me out already so I can deny the accusation." He rolled his wrist to gesture for his friend to pick up the pace.
"You like her!"
"No."
"You totally do!"
"No."
"You looked to the side when you said that." Miroku pointed, the cocky grin on his face growing.
"Stop staring at me, you creep. I hate it when you do that shit." The half demon frowned.
"What?" He shrugged. "She's pretty, she's sweet, and she's short - which is right up your alley since I know you love short girls. What are you, five-ten? Eleven?"
"Six."
"An even six. And I'd peg her at five-two, five-three."
"Who cares? She's got an attitude that could give even me a run for my money. No thanks." Inuyasha's tone was level, controlled. Very controlled.
"Sassy. She can handle her own. That's not such a bad quality if you think about it. No one likes a pushover."
"Knock it off." The hanyou ground. "There's nothing special about her."
"Oh man, you're just hand-feeding me material to go on and on about -" Miroku's hands rose defensively as his friend shot him a glare of warning. "- but I won't! Can I just say one last thing? There's nothing wrong with liking someone. It doesn't make you as vulnerable as you may think. I'm not trying to go all Doctor Phil on you or anything; I just think it'd be a good idea for you to let someone in. And, I know you're probably gonna say it isn't like that, but it can be if you just let it. Kagome seems pretty receptive to you."
"She's receptive to everyone. She's social."
"Not that social. I remember Koga tried to walk her home from a kickback last year and she did everything in her power to avoid it without having to slaughter his pride."
"Don't blame her. The wolf's disgusting. She should have wrecked him, truthfully."
"Oh, and just in case you didn't know, I'm not blind. I saw that little interaction you two had last week after school. The one where she was, 'being annoying.'" Miroku said, drawing air quotes with his fingers. "Except you were laughing, and she was flirting. It took me, your best friend, months to make you laugh for the first time!"
"Wear a skirt." Inuyasha joked, giving a one-shouldered shrug.
"Nice defense." Miroku smiled with smug implication.
"Don't you live that way?" The half demon asked, the hint of finality in his tone, pointing down the crossroad.
"Oh, look at that! Time to go!" He laughed, crossing the street, continuing in his backward motion as he had been. In all honesty, Inuyasha found him to be the luckiest bastard alive that not a single car was coming considering he hadn't even checked first. "I'm just saying, man, would it be so bad if she did like you?"
Without control, Inuyasha's lips curved into a soft smile. The thought of Kagome's small hand in his causing a swirl of warm delight to knock his normal defenses off-kilter. And, he knew his friend was going to cling to that for as long as he could. With a tense sigh, he rolled his eyes in smooth recovery and headed down his own route home, not wanting to give Miroku any more material to hold over his head. The guy wasn't much of a gloater, but Inuyasha never much liked his business out there for anyone to know in the first place.
His phone had vibrated a little ways back, but considering his friend's wild tangent, he never had a clear opportunity to pull it out and check the text. He had old messages from his uncle and another friend that had been sitting untouched for hours now. Still feeling no sense of urgency to even read them, his thumb fell on the recent text from Kagome.
So, what's the plan, oh wise one?
His fingers worked on their own, typing out the reply and hitting send.
Sunday around noon?
The screen hadn't even dimmed before the little, gray typing bubble popped up.
I'm free. Where?
Your place cool?
My place is cool. See you then!
Are you not coming to school for the rest of the week?
What? Of course, I am.
Then, I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Dummy.
Kagome felt a heat rush to her cheeks. What was worse was she couldn't even tell if she was embarrassed for the rookie mistake she'd just pulled, or if she suddenly found being called a dummy endearing. Was this the tragic path she was destined to go down now? One with half parts constant humiliation for stupid things she may accidentally say, and half parts smitten with little names that weren't quite insults but weren't quite sweet nothings either? Setting her phone to sit flat on her desk, Kagome huffed out slowly, allowing her book bag to sag to the floor while she settled into her seat as she'd just gotten home. Propping her temple up with her fist, she typed a mindless response with a single finger on her free hand.
Yeah, that too.
—
Inuyasha stood before the door, honing in on what he could hear on the other side of it while waiting to be let in. Stumbling feet bounded down what he guessed were a set of stairs, the soft hum of music came from somewhere on the second floor, and the gentle tick of a clock on the wall counted away the seconds. Surprisingly, that was it. Even from outside, he could pick up the scents of two other people, but from how quiet the house currently sat, he figured they weren't home.
The lock clicked and the door opened, bringing his gaze downward to land on the welcoming smile Kagome greeted him with. "You're early."
"Did you expect me to be late?" He retorted, walking through the threshold.
"Kind of. I always am." She said, shutting the door. Her feet shuffled along the wooden floor in their socks, like taking actual footsteps was abnormal in a place as comfortable as her own home. With a small wave of her hand, she ushered him to follow as she scuffled into the kitchen to their right, the sloppy bun on her head bouncing with her movements. Typically, it took a while for Inuyasha, or anyone for that matter, to feel relaxed in a place they'd never been, especially something as sensitive as another person's residence, yet watching her glide her feet along the floor like a weirdo provided a sense of easement.
While her back was turned to him, he allowed his eyes to wander over her, oddly lingering at the nape of her neck. Short, loose strands of hair fell from the knot at her crown, curling and waving free to decorate her fair skin nicely, and though he was willing to bet it was the natural splay of her baby hairs, Inuyasha couldn't help but feel the messiness suited her so well that it was modeled to look that way. The long-sleeve shirt hung loosely on her, the texture appearing extremely comfortable, and the color a pastel pink, while her leggings were straight black and hugged her body nicely. Very nicely.
Kagome grabbed an unopened bag out of the cupboards, the crinkling sound loud as she spun around to him.
"Sweet or salty?"
"Salty." He replied.
"Thought so. And cookies for me." She said, reaching toward the higher cabinet, her shirt rising to expose an inch of her midriff. Inuyasha looked off to the side, concentrating on the hanging aprons on the opposite wall. It was more out of habit than anything. He didn't enjoy taking the risk of making any girl feel vulnerable, and more than ever, he felt compelled to be mindful.
She'd shoved the snacks in the crook of her left arm, shuffling over to the fridge and pulling out two bottles of water, which she then skillfully carried in the crook of the opposite arm, gliding back his way, passed him, and toward the stairs.
"Let me carry something." He couldn't help but chuckle. She was fucking cute.
"No, no. Come, come."
"Give me the waters." Their height difference made it easy to reach over her shoulders to snag the tops to the bottles, robbing them from her grip just before she began her trek up the stairs.
Framed photographs scaled the wall the entire way up, giving the hanyou a brief glimpse into this family's past. Kagome as a little girl, a shapely, little boy, a woman propping a baby on her hip while a man supported a small girl on his shoulders, a hunched and elderly man with the proudest smile. It wasn't hard to figure out why he only smelled three different people and not five. She'd experienced loss. Just as he had.
She smiled more than him, though. She seemed to communicate better, as well. Was she good at covering things up? Had she healed? Or were her scars not as deep?
"Where's your family?" Inuyasha asked, coming off casual so it didn't seem obvious that he was prying.
Kagome led him into her bedroom, the music playing through her laptop speakers on her desk light and folksy. "Mom's at work, and she dropped my brother off somewhere, so no clue where he is. Make yourself comfortable."
The two men in her life were gone.
Her walls weren't very cluttered, just a few things hanging here and there. A cliche galaxy poster hung over her bed near the door, a cork board with polaroids and photo booth pictures, and interestingly enough, a knotted, red string of all things. She turned off the music and shut her laptop, bringing his attention to swing her way and observe the clutter on her desk. On top of an open notebook, decorated with little scribbles and doodles, sat a pair of reading glasses. His first thought was to dismiss them as a hipster accessory, considering the fad for glasses was pretty large with girls and he'd never once seen Kagome wearing them around school, but when he saw the very minor magnification through the lenses, he realized he was wrong. Kagome wears glasses. And, then he thought of Kagome in glasses.
A curious grin grew on his face as he sauntered over and set the waters on the desk's surface, switching out for the pair of spectacles. "Four eyes, huh?"
Her cheeks seemed to ripen in tint, just by half a shade, when he held them in front of her face. The frames were thick, slightly curved on top while round on the bottom, maybe even a size too large for her, and in that brown, tortoise shell design.
"Uh, yeah." She meagerly admitted, actively trying not to duck her head. "I just got them not too long ago. I only have to wear them when I'm on my computer."
"If that's the case, you're probably supposed to wear them while you're watching TV and reading, right?"
"I may have heard something like that."
"And, what are we about to do?"
"Oh, no."
"Come on." Inuyasha ushered, handing the glasses over. He really couldn't help how badly he wanted to see them on her. "You don't want to make your eyes worse."
"You know, I get the sense that you're just looking for ammunition to make fun of me." Kagome grimaced, apprehensively taking them by the temple of the frame.
"Me?" He shook his head. "Never."
"Yeah, no, it's not worth it." She decided, putting the glasses down on top of her laptop, intending to reach across for her notebook.
"They're just glasses! What's the worst I could say?" He chuckled, his question stopping her mid-stretch.
"Knowing you, you'll come up with something."
"Try me."
Reluctantly, Kagome gave in with a disgruntled sigh, picking the glasses back up and sliding them over her ears. As she looked back at him, her brown eyes fully meeting his amber, it seemed as if he was painfully resisting to laugh. "Say it."
"What?" The word was tightly clenching in his throat.
"Just get it over with." She pouted.
"All you need is bifocals and you'll really be working those old man frames."
"They're not - they're cute!"
They really were. And, he really liked them on her. But, was he going to say that? Hell no. When she ripped them off and dropped them where they once laid, he swallowed his disappointment, chuckling as the sulk grew even more vividly on her face. She took her notebook and a nearby pencil, crossing the room to get comfortable on her bed where she'd dumped the bags of chips and cookies.
"Alright, what subject are you worst at?"
"I think it's easier to ask what subject I'm actually good at." She replied, almost too confidently for someone admitting they were a mess. The half demon cocked a brow inquisitively. "It's history."
"Jesus, what did I sign up for?"
"It's not too late for you to back out." Kagome smiled, shrugging. "We can always just eat the munchies, watch TV, and pretend nothing ever happened."
"Fat chance," Inuyasha dropped onto the end of the mattress. "I got nothing better to do, anyway. Math. We'll start there."
He could literally see the distaste on her face. It was like an an insult she was waiting for him to take back, and when she realized he wasn't going to, she reached for her bag on the floor next to her bed and pulled out the necessary book and homework packet.
—
"Wrong."
"How?"
"It's wrong."
"I haven't even finished the problem yet."
"Yeah, stop while you're still ahead, dummy. Did you even look at the way I solved this one?" Inuyasha pointed to the similar problem he'd made on her notebook, the long equation written out for her to examine as she took to her sheet of homework.
The irritated, reddened skin of his knuckles came into full view, and having resisted the temptation for long enough - considering she'd noticed the scabbed skin an hour or so ago - and having to have endured his abrasive ways of tutoring, Kagome went ahead and flicked the end of her pencil against the marred area with no remorse. The hanyou jerked his hand away, glowering spitefully.
"You got into another fight, didn't you?" She questioned. Her tone was more snarky than anything, like it was a normal question and it was absolutely her place to inquire.
"Remember what I said the last time you asked?" He sneered.
"Let's see, I saw you last Friday night and you had a black eye and a scrape on your face." She was talking with her pencil instead of her hands, bobbing it around as she continued on, completely ignoring him. "By Monday afternoon, there was no evidence of the fight, whatsoever. Obviously, that's because your demon blood gives you supernatural healing powers. Now, considering these marks weren't around this Friday during school, and they're still pretty bad at the moment, my guess is they happened between that night and yesterday."
"Good deduction, Watson." Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Just one question: When did we see each other on Friday?"
Kagome adjusted her position slightly to hide the way she'd almost tensed, playing things off as smoothly as possible. "We go to the same school, Inuyasha. If you'd pay attention to your surroundings for once, you'd probably see me, too."
"Right." He said, dragging out the word while maintaining a straight expression. "Funny how you see me from a distance, and you pay attention to my hands of all things."
"S-stop dodging the question." She stammered, her confidence steadily dwindling away.
"How wildly observant of you. What else do you stare at?"
"Woah, I don't stare."
"I mean, it's okay if you do. A little weird, but I'm still flattered." He shrugged, an arrogant grin on his face.
She groaned loudly, clenching her jaw as she refocused on the math equation she was working on. "Never mind. Just stop fighting already."
"And, I think you'll know what my response to that will be." It took viable effort to remain patient, despite his sarcastic jokes. Patience was not his forte. He was hotheaded, and liked being hotheaded. It made people back the fuck off, but a twinge in his gut held him at bay.
"Yeah, yeah. Mind my business."
"Good. Now, erase that shit and start -"
"But, you could seriously get hurt!"
Inuyasha was the one to groan this time, lolling his head back before snapping back up to glare at her with slight indignation. "Oh my god. Knock it off, Kagome."
"What's the point of it? What does it even prove? That you're a big, macho, tough guy? You could really get hurt, or even hurt someone else! Why would you want to do that?"
The grimace on his face was strong, genuine surprise from her remarks overcoming his irritation. "Geez, you really are something straight out of Sesame Street."
"Wait, how did you - you heard that?" He pointed to the ears on top of his head in a duh manner. It was a paradigm to how much he actually did pay attention, no matter the disinterest he almost always had etched on his face. "Oh. Well, behave and I wouldn't have anything to lecture you about."
"Why do you assume the fights are my fault?"
"No, that's not what I'm trying to say. I would prefer to think they weren't your doing, but to be fair, you haven't given me any clarification to work with. I'm just trying to cover all bases. Behave could mean don't start fights or participate if someone tries to start one."
"So, don't fight back?"
"Right."
"Just let them hit me?"
"What? No."
"Well, what else am I supposed to do?" Inuyasha's tone was on the harsher side, agitated, his brow twitching inward in speculation.
"Walk away. Are you saying people come and start fights with you?"
"Drop it." He grunted.
"But, why?"
"I used to roll with a bad crowd, okay?" He fumed, fed up with her persistency. "Unfortunately, I've got some attributes that don't really allow me to go under the radar. Now shut up and get back to work!"
Kagome heeded his tone, sealing her lips, the space surrounding the two of them tense and awkward. She was sort of proud of herself for getting the truth out of him, or some of it at least, but she didn't like that he'd gotten so upset. He had a temper for sure. One that was maybe even worse than her own. Yeah, she was pressing for information that had nothing to do with her, and she could understand how that would tick him off, but the budding concern she had for him wasn't something she necessarily wanted to subdue. She wanted to know he was okay. To her, that wasn't such a bad thing. Depending on the scenario, Kagome would intrude on any one of her friends to make sure they were alright.
"Can I ask one more question, please?" She approached, her voice small and timid. She'd erased the entire math problem on her paper, the notebook propped on her knee, and her brown eyes were peaking up at him cautiously through her dark fringe. His scowl still lingered, mouth curved downward in clear disapproval, but he made no verbal attempt to stop her. "If you used to be such a bad boy, how come you excel so well in school? Not to sound totally judgmental, but stereotypically speaking, it's kind of contradictory if you think about it."
Ember irises fell down to focus on the scratch paper on her leg, his lips relaxing. "If you're such a goody goody, why do you suck so much in school?"
The rebuttal was fair. She couldn't even get upset about it, and there was no hesitation to her response. "For one, I'm not a goody goody. Two, I really don't have an answer to that, because I often wonder the same thing."
He chuckled lightly. "Then what would you say you are?"
"Average, probably." She shrugged.
"Is that what they're calling it now?"
"Hush. What's your excuse?"
"I'm smart. I don't have a problem focusing, which apparently you fucking do." He, once again, tapped his finger against her notebook, a little more aggression that time. Kagome laughed, going back to scribbling down the problem, and it irked him that the gratifying sound calmed his blood. He'd never once felt soothed by a noise, or comfortable with a person right off the bat, or compelled to hang around despite being aggravated. In the moment, it was enjoyable. Nice.
But, there was no way he'd allow an attachment to form.
It was a conscientious decision. One he didn't really have to remind himself of anymore. By now, it was habit to shut things down before bonds formed. He wasn't worried about things going too far with Kagome. It was a little disconcerting to recognize how quickly he, himself, seemed to unfurl to her, but he was sure that there was no possibility of either of them intending on making anything out of it. She was friendly, she was nosy as all hell, but that was about the extent of it all. He understood that she meant no harm.
What was interesting to him was how easy it seemed to be around her, to talk to her. Even after he admitted he'd made mistakes that have followed him to this day, she didn't seem to pull away or scorn him. Instead, she judged him for his good academic record, which was the exact opposite of what anyone would ever expect. Without overthinking, and without the effervescent pressing need to withhold himself, he decided indulging her with basic responses couldn't hurt.
"I made a promise to someone to get through school. That's all you're getting."
Kagome smiled. She had no intention on prodding for more. By him saying "someone," she could tell that he'd purposefully not given specifics, and she respected that. Additionally, this gave her a glimpse at his honest and loyal side. It was admirable.
And, the softness that took over his features when he said it was enough to warm her to the core.