CHAPTER NINE
*
Kagome woke to the high-pitched beeping of her alarm clock. Groping for it with her eyes closed, she switched it off. Her hand felt like it was weighted down with lead, and her eyes were full of sand.
Algebra final, she remembered blearily. It was that day. The last thing she remembered clearly was being on the couch with Inuyasha. He'd been talking, but as hard as she tried to focus, she had fallen asleep. There were fragmented memories after that, a brief glimpse of the hall lights, the feeling of being held in his arms against his shoulder, his blunted claws poking at her back, the faint musky smell of his skin, and a blanket being pulled up to her chin.
He carried me upstairs, she thought, feeling warm. Wow... I didn't know he could be that sweet when I wasn't awake.
"Kagome?" a small voice said from outside.
"What is it?" Kagome said, forcing her eyes open.
Sota was standing in the doorway, clutching Buyo like a teddy bear. "What happened downstairs?" he asked in a listless voice.
"There was a burglar. Inuyasha beat him up for me," Kagome said, slithering out of bed and somehow getting her uniform out of the closet.
"A burglar?" Sota cried, clutching Buyo tighter. The spotted cat yawned and licked his paw, unconcerned. "Why didn't you wake me up?"
"It was a burglary, not a party," Kagome said, yawning. "Is Inuyasha up yet?"
"Nuh-uh." Sota dropped the cat and clutched at his stomach. "My stomach hurts."
"Hurts-hurts, or throws-up-hurts?"
"Throws-up-hurts."
Kagome groaned. Sota had faked stomach bugs before -- usually when she was babysitting -- but the faintly green tinge to his skin wasn't something he could pretend to have. "Okay, go back to bed. I'll call your teacher and tell her you're sick."
After hastily pulling on her uniform, she knocked on Inuyasha's door. "Inuyasha? Are you awake?" she called softly.
There was no answer. Kagome knocked harder on the door, and was rewarded by a muffled groan. "Inuyasha, get your butt out of bed!" she called, opening the door.
He was curled up on her mom's bed, with his face buried in his knees. His kimono had been yanked over his back, as a sort of makeshift blanket. Kagome crept over to him and began tugging at his arm. When he failed to react, she gave a lock of his long silver hair a sharp tug.
"Inuyasha?" she whispered in one drooping dog ear. "Wake up. I need you to babysit my brother. So get your butt out of bed."
Inuyasha tensed up further. So he was really awake, but was trying to pretend he wasn't.
After Kagome managed to roll him halfway off the bed, Inuyasha grudgingly agreed to watch Sota. "You owe me for this!" he shouted out the window as she ran out of the house and past the storehouse.
He watched the tiny speck of green and white dwindled down the street, then glumly put on his kimono. He hadn't admitted it to Kagome, but he had wanted to leave the house during the day because of her. When she scurried away to that strange school of hers, he felt more alone than before, strangely empty. It was even worse here than on the other side of the well -- every room, except her grandfather's stinking cell, was touched by her scent. It made him wish all over again that she was there with him.
As Inuyasha opened the door, he wrinkled his nose. The kid had been throwing up recently.
"Can you come get me a bucket?" Sota called from his bedroom.
*
"Kagome!"
"Hey, Higurashi!"
"Is it true? Are you okay?"
Kagome barged through the bustle of the school halls, elbowed past a pair of chatting teachers and made a dash for the math schoolroom. She was cut off by a gaggle of her classmates.
"Kagome!" Yuka said breathlessly. "We heard all about how you were robbed! Are you all right?"
"Because of that tapeworm, we thought you might have been too weak to do anything," Ayumi added.
Kagome hoped that, wherever he was, her grandfather got hit on the head by falling objects. "I'm fine, really," she said feebly. "Everything's under control, and nothing got stolen." Not unless you could all the furniture Inuyasha broke, she thought.
She flushed a little as she remembered him carrying her up the stairs.
"Are you okay?" a concerned voice said from behind her. "Are you getting overheated?"
Kagome almost choked when Hojo touched her shoulder lightly. "No, no," she said. "I'm fine, really. Just a little nervous about the math test, that's all."
Hojo smiled warmly. "Well, you always do well on this sorta stuff. Good luck to you."
Kagome could feel her cheeks burning as the students filed in. I'm not even sure why I feel so guilty, she thought. I'm not going out with Hojo, I'm not flirting with him... and even if I wanted to, it wouldn't be anyone's business but mine.
But the image of Inuyasha shouting "I care!" rose in her mind, made her pause.
"Who am I kidding?" she mumbled, taking out her pencils.
Hojo's concern and Inuyasha's jealousy rattled in her brain as she tried to remember anything involving Z and how it related to X. Lack of sleep took its toll. After four or five questions, Kagome could feel herself floundering. On the way home, she berated herself for letting the two boys get to her.
For the rest of the week, she thought, I'm not going to let Inuyasha or Hojo distract me.
When she opened the door, she saw a familiar sight -- Inuyasha hunched over the table with his face buried in the coffeemaker, breathing hard. "Are you okay?" Kagome asked. "You look a little green."
Inuyasha surfaced just long enough to glare at her.
TO BE CONTINUED.
*
Kagome woke to the high-pitched beeping of her alarm clock. Groping for it with her eyes closed, she switched it off. Her hand felt like it was weighted down with lead, and her eyes were full of sand.
Algebra final, she remembered blearily. It was that day. The last thing she remembered clearly was being on the couch with Inuyasha. He'd been talking, but as hard as she tried to focus, she had fallen asleep. There were fragmented memories after that, a brief glimpse of the hall lights, the feeling of being held in his arms against his shoulder, his blunted claws poking at her back, the faint musky smell of his skin, and a blanket being pulled up to her chin.
He carried me upstairs, she thought, feeling warm. Wow... I didn't know he could be that sweet when I wasn't awake.
"Kagome?" a small voice said from outside.
"What is it?" Kagome said, forcing her eyes open.
Sota was standing in the doorway, clutching Buyo like a teddy bear. "What happened downstairs?" he asked in a listless voice.
"There was a burglar. Inuyasha beat him up for me," Kagome said, slithering out of bed and somehow getting her uniform out of the closet.
"A burglar?" Sota cried, clutching Buyo tighter. The spotted cat yawned and licked his paw, unconcerned. "Why didn't you wake me up?"
"It was a burglary, not a party," Kagome said, yawning. "Is Inuyasha up yet?"
"Nuh-uh." Sota dropped the cat and clutched at his stomach. "My stomach hurts."
"Hurts-hurts, or throws-up-hurts?"
"Throws-up-hurts."
Kagome groaned. Sota had faked stomach bugs before -- usually when she was babysitting -- but the faintly green tinge to his skin wasn't something he could pretend to have. "Okay, go back to bed. I'll call your teacher and tell her you're sick."
After hastily pulling on her uniform, she knocked on Inuyasha's door. "Inuyasha? Are you awake?" she called softly.
There was no answer. Kagome knocked harder on the door, and was rewarded by a muffled groan. "Inuyasha, get your butt out of bed!" she called, opening the door.
He was curled up on her mom's bed, with his face buried in his knees. His kimono had been yanked over his back, as a sort of makeshift blanket. Kagome crept over to him and began tugging at his arm. When he failed to react, she gave a lock of his long silver hair a sharp tug.
"Inuyasha?" she whispered in one drooping dog ear. "Wake up. I need you to babysit my brother. So get your butt out of bed."
Inuyasha tensed up further. So he was really awake, but was trying to pretend he wasn't.
After Kagome managed to roll him halfway off the bed, Inuyasha grudgingly agreed to watch Sota. "You owe me for this!" he shouted out the window as she ran out of the house and past the storehouse.
He watched the tiny speck of green and white dwindled down the street, then glumly put on his kimono. He hadn't admitted it to Kagome, but he had wanted to leave the house during the day because of her. When she scurried away to that strange school of hers, he felt more alone than before, strangely empty. It was even worse here than on the other side of the well -- every room, except her grandfather's stinking cell, was touched by her scent. It made him wish all over again that she was there with him.
As Inuyasha opened the door, he wrinkled his nose. The kid had been throwing up recently.
"Can you come get me a bucket?" Sota called from his bedroom.
*
"Kagome!"
"Hey, Higurashi!"
"Is it true? Are you okay?"
Kagome barged through the bustle of the school halls, elbowed past a pair of chatting teachers and made a dash for the math schoolroom. She was cut off by a gaggle of her classmates.
"Kagome!" Yuka said breathlessly. "We heard all about how you were robbed! Are you all right?"
"Because of that tapeworm, we thought you might have been too weak to do anything," Ayumi added.
Kagome hoped that, wherever he was, her grandfather got hit on the head by falling objects. "I'm fine, really," she said feebly. "Everything's under control, and nothing got stolen." Not unless you could all the furniture Inuyasha broke, she thought.
She flushed a little as she remembered him carrying her up the stairs.
"Are you okay?" a concerned voice said from behind her. "Are you getting overheated?"
Kagome almost choked when Hojo touched her shoulder lightly. "No, no," she said. "I'm fine, really. Just a little nervous about the math test, that's all."
Hojo smiled warmly. "Well, you always do well on this sorta stuff. Good luck to you."
Kagome could feel her cheeks burning as the students filed in. I'm not even sure why I feel so guilty, she thought. I'm not going out with Hojo, I'm not flirting with him... and even if I wanted to, it wouldn't be anyone's business but mine.
But the image of Inuyasha shouting "I care!" rose in her mind, made her pause.
"Who am I kidding?" she mumbled, taking out her pencils.
Hojo's concern and Inuyasha's jealousy rattled in her brain as she tried to remember anything involving Z and how it related to X. Lack of sleep took its toll. After four or five questions, Kagome could feel herself floundering. On the way home, she berated herself for letting the two boys get to her.
For the rest of the week, she thought, I'm not going to let Inuyasha or Hojo distract me.
When she opened the door, she saw a familiar sight -- Inuyasha hunched over the table with his face buried in the coffeemaker, breathing hard. "Are you okay?" Kagome asked. "You look a little green."
Inuyasha surfaced just long enough to glare at her.
TO BE CONTINUED.