Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha… he owns me. *Bitch purr*
It's been awhile. ….Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've been a lazyass, I'll admit it. Between schoolwork, afterschool activities and a few unnecessary online projects, now is when I finally get around to updating. I'm crossing my fingers that this chappie turns out like I want it to. Thanks a million to those who've reviewed. This'll just be a short chapter... but still good. ^_~
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~Chapter 5- The Rumor Mill Spins~
A fuzzy, blue rubber-ducky patterned arm flipped over suddenly, wrapped itself lazily to Kiku, the stuffed white poodle. Kagome rolled around groggily in her bed. She shoved her head underneath her pillow, pulling Kiku to a death-grip just underneath her arm. ..."... Kikuuuu..." She mumbled in her half asleep state.
A few lazy thoughts floated into her head. Her eyes scrunched underneath the pillow, feeling the annoying warmth of the sunlight on her legs. ...Go awaaaaayy...
...Just a few hours more... that's all she wanted... Kagome pulled the battered and patched stuffed animal even closer to her and flipped the covers up over her head. "Kikuu..." She mumbled again, digging her fingers into its white furry head. ...She began to drift again underneath the covers, her hand still clenched around the poodle. "...Inuyashaa.." she gurgled. ...Thinking of the white hair.
The night before, Inuyasha had walked, or rather, carried her to the well, all the while complaining loudly about his missed dinner due to Kagome's insistence on being home that night. "Feh!" He had spat. "...You promised me Ramen. ...I'm not leaving you until you hand it all over, Kagome. Give it."
Kagome, though her mind was filled with many thoughts, wasn't about to be ordered around again. "You forgot the magic word," she said grouchily, becoming annoyed at Inuyasha's insistence.
"..Give it... wench?"
At the foot of the well, She had left him with a pack of Creamy Chicken instant noodles. Inuyasha gave a smug, though short-lasted smile.
"...Osuwari."
Kagome's hand squeezed the poodles head tightly. Had it been a real animal, she would've been woken up by grey matter running down her fingers. "...Stupid...Inuyashaa..."
She had very little time to enjoy her sleep-in, though. Hardly noticing the squeak of the door, Kagome gave a small grunt and turned over again. ...Souta was trying to hold back his giggles as he glimpsed his sister bed-headed and in blue-duck pajamas.
He pounced. Kagome gave a surprised yelp as a very large, and very bouncy something leaped into her bed and pushed her over. She rolled over her bed and landed on the floor with a thud, tangled in her blankets and suddenly VERY awake. ...Kiku the poodle flew out of her arms and landed evenly on a bit of roof just outside her open windowsill. "...WAKE UP, NEEE-CHAAN!" he sang.
Kagome held out her hand in front of her and peeled the blankets off her face, revealing a death glare that would've pickled Sesshoumaru. "Souutaa..." an unearthly growl escaped her throat as she reached out to grab something on her side.
The boy broke out into a large grin, and expertly dodged the flying teddy bear. "Mom says to get your butt downstairs now for breakfast. Then to hurry up and get ready for school." He bounced off the coverless bed and bounded back to the door, stopping before walking out to give his sister an angelic smile. "...Oh, and I've got the bathroom first." Kagome sat still in the floor, her eyes shooting ice picks as she visualized a few proper deaths for her brother.
...
"...Kagome, dear... You're don't seem very talkative today... did... something happen in the well...?" Her mother asked with slight concern as Kagome picked at her sausages down at the breakfast table. She mustered a tired smile and did her best to look sleepy. "I'm fine mom," she yawned. "I'm just a little tired." Mrs. Higurashi smiled softly at her daughter and wiped her hands with a cloth. "...You've been pushing yourself, Kagome. Try to get some more rest... Are you sure you're up to going to school today?"
What? Miss yet another day of school?! Kagome sat up straight and took a sip of her tea. "Oh yes, mom. ...Really, I'm fine." ....She sat still for a moment,., debating. ...Should she tell her mother about what had happened in the other world? No doubt she would understand... Her mother, to her, was the single most wise and understanding person Kagome knew. ..Then again... she glanced back at her mother, who began to busily clean the dishes. No, Kagome thought. It's not a big deal..Besides... Mom doesn't need to worry about anything else.
She stealthily flicked a piece of sausage into Souta's hair. He didn't notice.
~~~~
Kagome's couldn't keep her mind clear as she walked down the street to meet up with Yuka-chan and the others on the way to school. "...Breathe, Kagome... Just breathe. ...Push it all out of your head." For the next few days, she was going to forget about the well... She was going to forget about youkai and bodies and shard hunting, and she was going to forget about a certain vulgar white-haired hanyou... And just enjoy being a normal teenage girl taking exams. Kagome stopped and let out a huge breath.
Yuka, Ayami, and a few girls she didn't recognize with matching uniforms were walking towards her. Ayami turned her head and caught sight of Kagome, breaking out into a surprised and happy smile. "Kagome-chan!" She alerted the others and they all quickened their pace to catch up.
Kagome felt almost relieved. There was nothing better to get her mind off things than her old friends. They met up and rounded a corner, turning towards the direction of school. Yuka seemed surprised to see Kagome there alive.
"Wow, Kagome..." she breathed, examining Kagome's body, "...You have the highest stamina of anybody I know!" Kagome turned to her. ....Huh? Ayami nodded her agreement. "She's right, you know. ...It isn't everybody who can overcome a bad case of gout AND get partially run over by drunk-driven semi-trailer while saving a baby carraige, and STILL show up for exams..."
Kagome immediately plastered a false, bright smile on her face. "Yes... well... This test was... very important... It was nothing." She forced out a light laugh.
...Damn you, grandpa. ..WHY can't you tell people I'm out with a flu?! ...Then she remembered the twenty or so times he'd used that one.
Yuka paused for a moment looking a little lost in thought, then looked up at her hopefully. "...Say Kagome... the Snowflake Ball is next week, you know..." Kagome's step bounced a little. That's right! She had totally forgotten about the dance. She heard two of the others groan. "...Ayami, Rei, Sorami, and I all signed up for the decorations committee-"
"...Decorations committee?.."
"...Yeah, AND Entertainment, AND Food preparation committee!" One of the unfamiliar girls, who Kagome presumed to be either Rei or Sorami, put in. The other piped up, "...We didn't sign up! You created them and forced us to join..."
...Ayami gave a sigh and a miserable look. "...Yeah. It was all Yuka's idea...She insisted that if we left the planning to the teachers this year, it would blow even more chunks. ...Personally, I don't see how four people in a week-"
"And I'm right!" Yuka looked a bit miffed. "...Really, guys... Do you honestly think I'm going to let triple-chinned Ishida-sensei down in the attendance office serve punch and cookies again? ...If she has her way, we'll show up in burqas and play musical chairs this year."
"-Oh, the horror." Ayami muttered.
"-What's a burqa?" quipped one of the others.
Kagome laughed inwardly. ...Yuka was absolutely right. She shuddered, thinking about the memory of last year's dance. ...The gym had been plastered with corny snowflake cutouts and ratty-looking streamers, dimly lit by a few lanterns. '...Budget-saving.' Ishida-sensei had argued. ...The punch and cookies had been mixed with cafeteria condiments, as well as rum, and had gone to two sophomore boys who'd started a betting pool on who could chug more. (...That was very successful.) Kagome meanwhile, had unintentionally downed a few cups of rum-spiked punch, which she ended up tossing over the gym railing and fertilizing the plants with. Of course, that was before she had aimlessly wandered into an... *ahem*... occupied janitor's closet.
She sobered up before you could say 'peepshow'.
"Anyway, Kagome... that's where, um... you come in." Yuka's fingers twiddled. Kagome perked up.
"...A part in the committee?" She guessed.
Yuka looked apologetic. "...I mean, really! ...If you don't want to do it, it's perfectly alright, with your gout and all-"
"I don't have gout!"
"-It wouldn't be much, just a few errands here and there, maybe a teensy part in the food preparation committee and probably box office and publicity-"
"-Are we the only ones working on this?"
"-I mean, really, won't it all be worth it? I'm trying to get my cousin Aya who has a friend whose buddies with the ex-boyfriend of the lead singer of SPEED..."
"Yuka!"
Yuka looked up. "So... um..."
"I'll do it!"
"...Really?! Oh, Kagome! Thank you!" Yuka couldn't have looked more pleased had you shown her a drunken Ishida-sensei. Kagome nodded. This was the perfect way to get her mind off of things!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The girls all walked on in idle conversation the rest of the way to school. Kagome was looking forward to her first class. ...For one thing, it wasn't math.
"Um..." One of the unfamiliar girls poked Kagome shyly in the back. She turned around. "...I forgot to ask you... Are you... by any chance... Higurashi Kagome?"
...Ayami rolled her eyes. "...Is there another Kagome in the school, Sorami?"
Sorami's eyes widened. "Well...um, of course, not. ...It's just that, you know, I wanted to wish you luck... for Winter Queen, of course." ...Kagome's brow furrowed in puzzlement. "Queen...? Who said I was running for Winter Queen?"
Sorami looked just about as confused as Kagome. "But... you mean you're not...? I would've thought you were, after all half the school was talking about your nomination... especially after... well... you know..."
Kagome had no idea. From the way Sorami had raised the tone in the end of the sentence... Was there something she knew that Kagome didn't?
"'You know', what...?" She blinked.
Sorami looked uncomfortable, as if the topic at hand was something she shouldn't be talking about, and Kagome would be angry for bringing it up. "Well.... after... your night with Tetsumora Kanade... you know? ...After the party two nights ago...? ...I'm sorry... I know it's really none of my business and all, but people are buzzing about it. ...About how you are now a shoo-in for Queen..."
...NANI?
...Kagome blanched. What the hell was she talking about? "....My night with Tetsumora Kanade?"
Ayami and Yuka stopped in their tracks. They gaped over at Kagome. She turned bright pink and stuttered. "It's... It's not true!"
"...Kagome... I thought you could tell us everything..."
"I didn't do anything!"
Yuka's eyes were as big as saucers. "...Kanade... The most popular guy in school... HOW, Kagome?"
...She screamed silently.
Rei, who'd been standing next to Sorami, nodded. "You know.... I heard the same thing, but thought for sure it was just a rumor... It was yesterday in last period. They said you got smashed at some party that one of his empty-headed jock friends threw, then disappeared upstairs, and Kanade went with you. ...The girl who told me swore on her mother's future grave that she heard... you know... noises."
Kagome didn't know whether to feel mortified or flattered. ....Who on earth would start such a stupid rumor?! For that matter, who'd be stupid enough to believe it? She glanced again at Ayami and Yuka, whose eyes were frozen open. ...She groaned.
"...No. No, no NO!" She said, stamping her foot a little. "...You guys are NOT believing that." Kagome threw her hands on her hips.
Sorami started uncertainly, "Well...half the school was gossiping about it..."
Ayami hesitated. "But Kagome would never..."
"-Of COURSE I would never!" She interrupted. "Guys, two days ago, I was in the we- ...I was sick with the gout and bruised bones. ...How could I have been at a party?"
"But..."
"- ...For that matter. Why would I do it with some guy I don't even know? C'mon... Don't you guys believe me?"
...Yuka gazed for a moment, and began to relax. She breathed in relief. "Of course I believe you, Kagome... It was just...."
"...When so many people talk about the same thing..." Ayami finished. "But... who'd make up such a far-fetched rumor?"
Kagome turned to Rei. "Hey... you said somebody in your last period told you the story and swore her life on it..."
"-mother's life."
"Whatever. ...So...Who is she? ...You think maybe she mistook me for somebody else...?"
Rei looked up in thought. "....Actually, I don't know... She's just some girl who sits a way in the back of the classroom... I've never talked to her before. ...I didn't believe her for a second, though. ...She's seems like a real bitch." The group approached the front of the school and walked up the steps.
Kagome tried again. "Well... do you at least know what she looks like?"
...A thought flickered across Rei's face.
"Hmmm... yeah, come to think of it... She's got blue eyes...And blonde hair."
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It was a short chapter, yes... But I just had to update. The plotline's getting a little thicker, no? Someone's out for Kagome's reputation, and she isn't playing very nice. ...But what about the Stud-master himself? ...What does Kanade have to say about all of this? I'm working on posting as fast as I can...
Today's dictionary~
(It's not Japanese, but...)
Burqa- ...Ever seen those veiled women in Afghanistan? Just picture the entire Inuyasha cast in one of those. ::tries to hold back laughter:: (^_~)