AN: Well, I've finally updated. It only took me...three months? Gomen nasai. Anyway, I suppose to some people Kagome is OOC but, personally, I don't think she's that much off of the original Kagome. It's like mashing Kagome and a normal teenager together. By the way, this high school is pretty much based off of the one I'm going to. The class levels go Review, Normal, Honors, Gifted and Talented (GT), and then Advanced Placement (AP). I'm placing more sophomores in Honors than other classes.
Kagome: If there is even a pairing (which there isn't at the moment), it will most likely be Inu/Kag.
Moon Mage Goddess: Thanks for your support. ^^ I'm glad you like it.
Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to Blade01 for being my first reviewer for this story!
Snubbed
by
Iris
Fifteen-year-old Higurashi Kagome glanced at her surroundings nervously. The halls were filled with rowdy students each gossiping and joking as the new school year began. Dark brown eyes swept through the crowded hallway in an act similar to that of a laser beam in a high tech facility. Quietly, she made her way through Juuban High, in search for her first class of the day, History, an Honors class.
Glancing down at her new schedule and map for the umpteenth time that morning, she finally mustered up her courage and approached another student who stood leaning against the wall with both eyes closed.
"You wouldn't happen to know where Room 229 is, would you?" Kagome asked tentatively, unsure of whether or not it was safe to contact this apparently aloof student.
The maroon-eyed girl cocked an eyebrow as she surveyed the 'new girl', "Sure, follow me, I'm headed there myself."
Kagome smiled uneasily as she trailed behind the ebony-haired teen, silently comparing her new companion's hair color to her own lighter black. As they traveled the halls, Kagome noticed how several students immediately gave way under the girl's eye, parting to form some sort of pathway.
'She must have it easy.' Kagome herself had had to push and shove her way through while this girl just stalked self-confidently through the school.
At last, they arrived at 229 and Kagome shivered at the sudden blast of cool air from the room. Everyone in the classroom was wearing a jacket or sweatshirt of sorts, gods, how she hated being new and not knowing anything about the school and its classes.
The girl who had led her here smiled kindly, "You're new aren't you?" at Kagome's nod, she continued, "Hiraikotsu Sango."
"Kagome." before she could continue, a black-haired boy separated himself from a group and walked over.
"Sango-chan! What a pleasure it is to see you again!" he cried, violet eyes sparkling with emotion.
"The pleasure's all yours, you letch." Sango said stiffly, "Put that hand back, Kazaana-sama."
The boy laughed nervously as he withdrew his hand from where it had been hovering along Sango's backside, "Of course, and who's your new friend?"
Sango's eyes narrowed, "This is Kagome. She's new and off-limits."
Once again, the boy laughed nervously, "Of course, of course. Well then, Kagome-sama, I am Kazaana Miroku, tenth grade heartthrob. You should be delighted that I have graced you with my presence."
Kagome glanced at Sango who rolled her eyes and brought a fist crashing down on Miroku's head, "Ignore him, Kagome. Besides, bouzo, I think that title belongs to Inu." she added a casual kick to the already downed Miroku.
"That was harsh, Sango dear." Miroku muttered from the floor, "Very harsh and totally uncalled for."
"And totally true." Sango snapped as she set her bag down stiffly on a seat, "Find your seat, Kagome, we have name cards."
Kagome nodded and glanced around furtively before finally spotting her seat one desk in front of Sango. She pocketed the index card and sat down gingerly, carefully arranging her materials to her liking. Miroku, meanwhile, had found his seat as well; it was one desk to the right and one desk north of Sango's.
Sango frowned. Miroku grinned.
"Well, Sango-chan, it looks like the fates have seen fit to place me closer to you this year. This may be a hint." Miroku said happily as Sango fumed in her chair.
However, before she could reply, the door to the classroom slid open and the teacher walked in. Green eyes hard, she surveyed the class before walking to the front of the room. Instantaneously, all the students rushed to their seats and sat down, all talking ceasing as the teacher glared.
"I am Watanabe-san, your Honors History teacher." she said frigidly, her words hanging in the room like icicles, "I expect the best out of you but," her eyes narrowed, "I doubt my expectations will be met."
Kagome stared at the new teacher, heart pounding as Watanabe glared all around the room. Not even a paper rustled in the wake of her unnerving stare.
"Well then, now that we all know who I am, I will take attendance. I expect all of you to be here at exactly 7:15 sharp. If you are not, then you will be marked as tardy, no excuses allowed." she pushed up the half-glasses that she wore and picked up a clipboard, "Aino Sakura!"
"Here!"
As she called out each name, the students hastened to answer with the same sharp tone that Watanabe managed to do without trying. She went down the list and eventually, she reached Kagome.
"Higurashi Kagome!"
"Here!"
Kagome frowned as whispering broke out around the room. Several classmates glared at her with an open hatred that she had never experienced before. Behind her, she heard Sango gasp but when she turned, all her eyes met were another student who quickly ducked her head.
Kagome then turned to Miroku who was suddenly glaring at her with the same frigidness that Watanabe did. She slumped slightly, hunching forward in her seat, a natural instinct to become smaller when surrounded by hostility.
Just then, the classroom door was flung open with a bang and the tardy student strode into the room, seemingly without a care in the world. Watanabe glared at the intruder.
"Your name?" she snapped, annoyed that the student wasn't even fazed by her death glare.
"Inuyasha." the silver-haired boy smirked, "Taiyoukai Inuyasha."
"Take your seat, Taiyoukai." Watanabe snarled, pointing one rigid finger towards the back of the room, "You're late."
The uniformed boy shrugged, "No really, Watanabe? That is your name isn't it?" his golden eyes narrowed as he studied his teacher for the rest of the year.
"That is Watanabe-san to you, Taiyoukai. I will not tolerate such disrespect in my classroom. Get in your seat now or you'll have detention."
"Hai, hai, Watanabe-san." Inuyasha said mockingly as he sauntered over to his desk and plopped down unceremoniously, "Anything else I should know?"
Watanabe chose to ignore his question in favor of continuing roll call, "Hikatome Kachi?"
And so the attendance went on until it finally reached the end. Stiffly, Watanabe stalked over to her desk and slammed the clipboard down, causing the few students that weren't paying attention to sit upright immediately. Her green eyes swept the room distastefully as she flicked on the overhead and slapped a transparency down.
"These are the rules that ALL of you," a glare directed towards Inuyasha specifically, "will follow. Get out a pen and a sheet of paper and copy these down. I want two copies by the end of this class period, one on my desk and one in your binder. The one on my desk is to be signed and I will personally check to make sure you have a copy in your binder. Any questions?"
One unfortunate soul by the name of Ussoutaru Hojo tentatively raised his hand and voiced his question, "Ano, Watanabe-san, what do we do if we mess up? Pen isn't erasable."
"I am very well aware of that Ussoutaru," Watanabe snarled, "If you make a mistake you are to start over. Is that clear?" a hesitant nod from Hojo, "Any more questions?"
No one dared speak and Watanabe nodded, very satisfied with herself. She then moved over to her desk and sat down, eyes scanning the room for potential troublemakers.
"And no talking."
The whispers that had been circulating around the room immediately died as if crushed by some unforeseen force. In her own seat, Kagome flinched as she began to doggedly write, most of the talk had been about her. The soft scratching sound of pen on paper filled the room as each second passed by painfully slow. As the double period drew to an end, more and more people got up to hand in a copy of the class room rules.
Finally, Kagome got up as well, conscious of all the stares that were directed at her back. Hand trembling, she placed the sheet of paper onto the growing pile and turned to leave...only to be stopped by Watanabe's chilling voice cutting through the air.
"Higurashi."
"Ye-yes, Watanabe-san?" Kagome asked, turning around jerkily.
Green eyes narrowed at her and she shivered involuntarily. Finally, Watanabe looked back down at the growing stack of papers on her desk, "You may leave, Higurashi."
Shakily, Kagome walked back to her desk and slumped down, silently counting the minutes until class was over. She was relieved, to say the least, when the bell rung shrilly and everyone stood up in unison. As people rushed to the door, Kagome gathered up her books and turned to Sango who was still picking up her own.
"Sango-chan?" Kagome asked tentatively as she took a hesitant step forward.
"Don't call me that, Higurashi." the black-haired girl snapped, glaring at her.
"Seriously, Higurashi, how stupid do you think we are?" Miroku bit out, violet eyes flashing.
"W-what?" Kagome took a step back at the aggressiveness of the two.
"Leave them the fuck alone, Higurashi." the sharp voice spat out her last name like it was a curse.
Startled, she whirled to find that the late-comer, Inuyasha, had come to join Miroku and Sango. Under his harsh amber gaze, she gave way and turned to exit the room. Stopping at the door, she turned her head back to find the trio staring at her.
"Sorry to bother you, Hiraikotsu, Kazaana, Taiyoukai." her eyes hardened, "I hadn't realized it was a crime."
All she heard before she stepped out into the hallway was silence. Sighing, she hugged her books closer to her chest and slipped into the crowd. Her bottom lip trembled and she veered off towards a bathroom.
The chilled, tiled room was blindingly pink and it added to her growing headache. Stepping into a vacant stall, she closed the door and pulled the toilet cover down so she could sit on it. Kagome sighed and placed her books on a shelf to the side of her before sitting down and burying her face in her hands.
It was her first day. And she had already made enemies without even doing anything. This was too stressful for her...maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to come back to a public school after all. She distinctly noticed the late bell tolling but it wasn't until fifteen to twenty minutes later that she finally exited the bathroom.
The halls were empty of all students as she made her way towards Chemistry, an AP course. And, as she opened the classroom door, she realized that it was another little class from hell with Taiyoukai Inuyasha and his group.
The teacher looked up from the overhead when she slid the door open, an eyebrow raised at her obvious tardiness.
"I'm sorry I'm late." Kagome mumbled as she bowed and waited for him to speak.
"You must be Kagome." the teacher nodded and gestured through the room, "Find a seat."
There was an immediate shuffling as people moved books over in one section of the room. Dejected, she looked towards the other side and her eyes lit up as she noticed a few people that she had known before being shipped off to boarding school, namely a few of Naraku's friend. One of them was the infamous Ookami Kouga. And he was already pulling out the chair next to him.
Smiling, she moved towards his lab table and sat down, eyes shining as she carelessly threw her textbooks onto the table.
"Kouga-kun!" she whispered excitedly as she slid into her seat, "It's nice to see you again."
"Hey, Kagome-chan, your dad and Naraku finally let you back into public school?" Kouga smiled warmly at the younger girl as she practically gave off vibes of happiness.
"Yea, except it's not as fun as it used to be..." her entire stature drooped as her eyes slid to the other side where Sango was talking in hushed whispers to Inuyasha.
Kouga frowned, "Naraku didn't tell you?"
"Huh?"
"Naraku didn't explain everything to you." now it was a statement and Kagome stared at him confused.
"Explain what?"
Kouga took a deep breath and was about to speak when the teacher rapped their desk with a long stick.
"Higurashi, Ookami, I'm sure there's plenty of time to talk in detention." the teacher said irritably.
"Sorry, Mitsurugi-sensei," Kouga said smoothly, "I was just telling Kagome what she missed."
"Very well then." Mitsurugi turned away and moved back towards the overhead.
Kagome quickly took a sheet of notebook paper and began belatedly scribbling down notes. A slip of paper slid onto her side of the desk with the word 'Later' scrawled onto it in pencil. Nodding ever-so-slightly, she pocketed the scrap and began to write again.
~*~
"Wait, so let me get this straight." Kagome stared at Kouga in disbelief, "There's a battle going on in this school between Naraku and the Taiyoukais?"
"Yes."
"And my first class just happened to be made up of Taiyoukai groupies?"
"Yes."
"I see." Kagome sighed and sat down again, loosely arranging her legs into a mutated form of the 'Indian/pretzel' style taught in kindergarten.
"Just a word of warning, Kago-chan," Kouga sat down next to her, watching her with bright blue eyes, "your year pretty much is Taiyoukai. No friends will be found there except for a select few loners, outsiders, etc."
"So I can only make friends with losers my age around here?" Kagome asked in disbelief, staring at him.
"No, losers tend to go with the flow. And that would be Taiyoukai in your grade." Kouga sighed and leaned against the tree behind him, "Stick to juniors."
His eyes slid shut and Kagome regarded her surroundings while he rested. There were a few clumps of people scattered around the school grounds, after all, it was a lovely late summer day. She had just closed her eyes to enjoy the sun when a shadow crossed over her, blocking out the warmth from its rays.
"Who the hell are you?"
Kagome's eyes flew open to find a pair of crimson ones that were currently filled with hate. Beside her, Kouga sighed and stood up, wrapping an arm around the slender female currently blocking Kagome's view.
"Kagura, meet Higurashi Kagome." he purposefully stressed her last name, "Kagome, meet Jiyuu Kagura, my girlfriend."
Kagome's eyes brightened as she practically jumped up, "Kagura! It's so nice to finally meet you!" Kagome chirped, "Kouga's told me all about you."
Kagura stared as Kagome grabbed her hand and shook it happily. This was the girl Naraku was always talking about?
"Ka. go. me?" Kagura glanced at Kouga.
Meanwhile, Kagome had dropped Kagura's hand in favor for tackling a new arrival, "Hiten!"
The senior grinned and ruffled her hair, "Hey, Kago-chan, long time no see."
Kagome grinned up at him, "How's Manten?"
Manten was Hiten's younger brother. He was younger than Kagome by a year and, unfortunately, was practically bald except for a few strands of hair and a small braid on the back of his head. Kagome had really met Hiten (of course she had met him before through Naraku) after she had beat up a few bullies that had been picking on the younger Ikazuchi brothers.
"Freshmen are fresh meat." Hiten sighed softly, "He's holding his own right now but high school's tough, you know."
Kagome smiled sadly, "I'll keep an eye on him if he's in any of my classes. He's smart, ne?"
Hiten nodded and was about to speak before a voice rang out from behind them.
"Hands off my younger sister!"
Kagome rolled her eyes and let go of Hiten to face her protective older brother, "Ani-chan..."
"What did I tell you about-" Naraku was cut off when Kagome punched him in the chest. Hard.
"You :punch: bastard! :punch: How come you didn't :punch: tell me :punch: anything? :punch punch punch:" Kagome yelled, eyes flashing.
The small group around them stared as Kagome knocked the punch her older brother, their 'leader', over and over again. Huffing, she stepped away and glared at him angrily.
"Well?"
"Tell you what?"
Kagome groaned and threw her hands into the air, "That is my answer?!?" she growled and shot daggers at her long-haired sibling, "About the Taiyoukais, dumbass."
Naraku frowned, "You didn't know?"
AN: If you didn't notice, Kagome has some mood swings. Don't we all though? Seriously, who wouldn't feel nervous their first day at a new school?
Don't forget to review. Leave a comment. It's good for my low self-esteem.
Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-Yasha.