Author's Notes: Not many reviews, but I suppose I can't ask for miracles. I guess I have to wait for this story to catch on. Doesn't help that some people are getting tired of high school AUs. I myself am rather picky about which ones I read and I don't review nearly as much as I should. Right now, I'd like to recommend two of my favorite stories, also inspirations for this little work of mine: Sing a Song With Me, and Kinetics. Both are great stories and I highly recommend you check them out.
Also, in any future reviews, I'd appreciate any constructive criticism you can give me. In the meantime, this chapter will present us with a rather unorthodox situation and set us up for an equally strange couple which I hope you won't find too disagreeable. As I said, I'm trying to make this original, so I'm just playing around with ideas right now. Well, that's enough out of me. Enjoy the story.
Let the Music Be Your Master
Chapter 3: The New Girl
For Kagome, the weekend flew by. It ended all too soon and then it was back to school, the building where you either suffered or slipped into a coma out of boredom. She arrived to find the grounds packed with students. Apparently the doors hadn't opened for some reason. Not that she or anyone else was complaining. A lot of students saw it as an opportunity to hang out with their friends a while longer and get an extra cigarette in before the bell.
She pushed her way through the crowds, seeking a friendly face. At last, she spotted Sango, her best friend. Sango was the star of the girls' track team, and the eldest child of a family that ran a martial arts school. "Sango! Over here!"
The two girls shoved through the crowd to each other, knowing very well that no one would say anything to them. Kagome, being one of the most popular girls in school, was someone you simply did not talk back to, and Sango was just dangerous to cross, as many would-be suitors had found out. "Kagome! Where have you been all weekend? I tried calling you after we got home, but I didn't get any answer."
"Oh, I just wanted to spend some time with my family," she lied. Kagome had spent most of that weekend catching up on the homework she had fallen behind on. Apologizing to Inuyasha did not make her mother any more sympathetic to her plight, either. Nor did confusion over said boy help.
"You're lying to me," Sango said flatly. No one knew how she did it, but Sango could easily spot a lie on matter who it came from. Somehow, someway she always knew. "But I'll let it slide this time."
Kagome grinned nervously. It wasn't that she didn't trust her best friend, she simply wanted as few people as possible to know about her forced apology. A thing like that could do severe damage to one's reputation.
As if fate were conspiring against her, she saw the startled face of Inuyasha from the corner of her eye right before he came crashing down, bumping into her, causing her to fall against Sango, who lost her balance and fell over against a boy behind her, and so on with a rather comical domino effect.
As Kagome prepared to glare at Inuyasha, she heard him mumble an apology to her before Koga emerged from the crowd. "Just what the hell are you doing to Kagome?" he shouted at Inuyasha.
With what dignity he had left, the silver-haired boy picked himself up and scowled at Koga. "You were the one who pushed me," he snarled. "What justification do you have this time? Or is it another one of those lame 'you had it coming' things?"
Koga was silent for a moment. Inuyasha had managed to stop him cold with that one. "Shut up," he snapped.
Inuyasha simply smirked. "Real clever. I don't think it's possible for a human to be born as stupid as you are now. It had to have happened later on. Tell me, was it overnight, or a slow gradual process?"
Koga sneered and balled his hands into fists. "Shut your trap, mongrel!"
Inuyasha merely scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Feh! You're not worth the effort. Later, dude." With that he vanished back into the crowd, leaving a fuming Koga standing there like a fool as several students tried to stifle their laughter.
'Well,' Kagome thought, 'it looks like dog-boy won that round. Koga really needs some better comebacks.'
*************************
As it turned out, the school's wiring system had been munched on by mice resulting in a small explosion in the maintenance room. The staff managed to get the problem under control and let the students in at last, but for the sake of safety they all had to stay in homeroom until the lights came back on.
It was now an hour and a half into the school day, and a handful of students were openly praying for it to last even longer. The room would have been dark had it not been for the relentlessly cheerful sunlight pouring in through the windows. The teacher sat behind her desk boredly watching the students trying to goof off as much as possible while still staying in their seats (thus technically obeying the rule and not getting a detention for so many odd days or weeks).
Kagome and Sango chatted away about the most unimportant things in the world, as most anyone would do in their situation. When Sango turned her back to see who had tossed a paper football passed her head, Kagome decided to risk a glance at Inuyasha. He was sitting with Miroku and Shippo, wearing his headphones and bobbing his head to the music while his friends talked away. Kagome supressed a smile that she really didn't want anyone to see right now and turned back just before Sango.
There suddenly was a knock at the door and the noise of the room fell to a soft buzz. The teacher got up and answered the door, making way for a young girl with maroon eyes and golden blonde hair. She looked relatively young, probably a freshman, and seemed a little nervous to be in a room lit only by sunlight and full of staring upper-classmen. She handed the teacher a small note and chewed her lip slightly.
The elderly teacher looked at the note for a minute before nodding and pointing to the desk in front of Kagome. "Take a seat there, miss."
The blonde girl nodded and walked over to her new seat, offering a hopeful smile to those she made eye contact with. She took her seat and looked around nervously for a moment before her eyes settled on Kagome.
"Hi," Kagome said politely. "I've never seen you before. Are you new in town?"
"Yeah, actually," the girl confessed. "Just moved in a couple days ago."
"What's your name?" Sango asked.
"Kirara. Kirara Michiba."
"I'm Kagome Higurashi and this is my friend, Sango Nanasawa."
"Nice to meet you both," Kirara said with a smile.
"You too," Sango beamed back. "So, what are you into?"
Kirara smiled softly, her nervousness visibly starting to melt away. "Well, I like computers, cats, and music in that order."
"What kind of music?" Kagome asked.
"Mostly progressive and classic rock, though Less Than Jake is my favorite band." She grinned, but looked disappointed at the two other girls' blank stares.
"Did I hear someone mention Less Than Jake?"
All three girls jumped in surprise as Shippo popped up out of nowhere with a big grin on his vulpine face.
Kagome growled softly to give the freshman a good slap upside the head when Kirara turned in her seat with a hopeful smile. "You like Less Than Jake?"
"It's only one of my favorite groups," Shippo replied with a grin. "I'm Shippo. You?"
"Kirara. What's your favorite Less Than Jake song?"
"Scott Farcas Takes It On the Chin, no contest!"
"I'm partial to Help Save the Youth of America From Exploding myself."
Kagome sat numb with shock. Someone was actually having a decent conversation with Shippo Matsumoto. There were only so many people in the school who could stand to be within fifty of him, let alone talk to him. Kagome herself swore that if she had to go through another lunch period listening to him chanting "Find the Lady!" as he conned the jocks out of their cash she would slap him silly.
And hear was Kirara the new girl, sitting there grinning ear-to-ear as she chattered away with the spritely little freshman. It wasn't possible, but there it was! This day just kept getting wierder and wierder.
******************************
The students were finally let out of homeroom in time for the lunch bell, though Kagome was far from pleased. No sooner had she stepped in the cafeteria than she was greeted with an obnoxiously familiar scene.
"Find the Lady! Come on! Dollar to play, a dollar to find the lady!" There was a fast-talking Shippo with Inuyasha and Miroku at his sides playing Three Card Monty once again. Somehow, he never got caught and his victims never wised up. Of course, his victims were almost exclusively stereotypical jocks, so it wasn't that big a surprise. What caught Kagome off-guard was when she saw Kirara at the table with three boys trying hard to hold in her laughter as another football player forked over a handful of singles and proceeded to be scammed.
"Oooh, tough break," Shippo smirked as he claimed the last of the bills. "Come on, next player! Find the lady! Where'd she go? Nobody knows! Find the lady! Dollar to play!"
"Haven't they figured out by now that they can't win?" Sango asked coming up from behind Kagome. "The little runt cons them out of a small fortune daily!"
"You were right, Shippo," Kirara laughed. "These guys are about as bright as midnight in a coal chute!"
"Why is she hanging out with those losers?" Kagome asked indignantly. "She doesn't seem like their type to me."
"Maybe she's on medication," Sango said hopefully.
Kagome, of course, seriously doubted that. Now they had to find a way of ditching Kirara if she got too close to them again. It would destroy their repuations to be associated with someone who hung out with the biggest losers in the school and was actually on the runt's side. Kagome thought her day couldn't get much worse.
She learned a little late, however, that not only was she grossly exaggerating, but she had also just jinxed it.
Also, in any future reviews, I'd appreciate any constructive criticism you can give me. In the meantime, this chapter will present us with a rather unorthodox situation and set us up for an equally strange couple which I hope you won't find too disagreeable. As I said, I'm trying to make this original, so I'm just playing around with ideas right now. Well, that's enough out of me. Enjoy the story.
Let the Music Be Your Master
Chapter 3: The New Girl
For Kagome, the weekend flew by. It ended all too soon and then it was back to school, the building where you either suffered or slipped into a coma out of boredom. She arrived to find the grounds packed with students. Apparently the doors hadn't opened for some reason. Not that she or anyone else was complaining. A lot of students saw it as an opportunity to hang out with their friends a while longer and get an extra cigarette in before the bell.
She pushed her way through the crowds, seeking a friendly face. At last, she spotted Sango, her best friend. Sango was the star of the girls' track team, and the eldest child of a family that ran a martial arts school. "Sango! Over here!"
The two girls shoved through the crowd to each other, knowing very well that no one would say anything to them. Kagome, being one of the most popular girls in school, was someone you simply did not talk back to, and Sango was just dangerous to cross, as many would-be suitors had found out. "Kagome! Where have you been all weekend? I tried calling you after we got home, but I didn't get any answer."
"Oh, I just wanted to spend some time with my family," she lied. Kagome had spent most of that weekend catching up on the homework she had fallen behind on. Apologizing to Inuyasha did not make her mother any more sympathetic to her plight, either. Nor did confusion over said boy help.
"You're lying to me," Sango said flatly. No one knew how she did it, but Sango could easily spot a lie on matter who it came from. Somehow, someway she always knew. "But I'll let it slide this time."
Kagome grinned nervously. It wasn't that she didn't trust her best friend, she simply wanted as few people as possible to know about her forced apology. A thing like that could do severe damage to one's reputation.
As if fate were conspiring against her, she saw the startled face of Inuyasha from the corner of her eye right before he came crashing down, bumping into her, causing her to fall against Sango, who lost her balance and fell over against a boy behind her, and so on with a rather comical domino effect.
As Kagome prepared to glare at Inuyasha, she heard him mumble an apology to her before Koga emerged from the crowd. "Just what the hell are you doing to Kagome?" he shouted at Inuyasha.
With what dignity he had left, the silver-haired boy picked himself up and scowled at Koga. "You were the one who pushed me," he snarled. "What justification do you have this time? Or is it another one of those lame 'you had it coming' things?"
Koga was silent for a moment. Inuyasha had managed to stop him cold with that one. "Shut up," he snapped.
Inuyasha simply smirked. "Real clever. I don't think it's possible for a human to be born as stupid as you are now. It had to have happened later on. Tell me, was it overnight, or a slow gradual process?"
Koga sneered and balled his hands into fists. "Shut your trap, mongrel!"
Inuyasha merely scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Feh! You're not worth the effort. Later, dude." With that he vanished back into the crowd, leaving a fuming Koga standing there like a fool as several students tried to stifle their laughter.
'Well,' Kagome thought, 'it looks like dog-boy won that round. Koga really needs some better comebacks.'
*************************
As it turned out, the school's wiring system had been munched on by mice resulting in a small explosion in the maintenance room. The staff managed to get the problem under control and let the students in at last, but for the sake of safety they all had to stay in homeroom until the lights came back on.
It was now an hour and a half into the school day, and a handful of students were openly praying for it to last even longer. The room would have been dark had it not been for the relentlessly cheerful sunlight pouring in through the windows. The teacher sat behind her desk boredly watching the students trying to goof off as much as possible while still staying in their seats (thus technically obeying the rule and not getting a detention for so many odd days or weeks).
Kagome and Sango chatted away about the most unimportant things in the world, as most anyone would do in their situation. When Sango turned her back to see who had tossed a paper football passed her head, Kagome decided to risk a glance at Inuyasha. He was sitting with Miroku and Shippo, wearing his headphones and bobbing his head to the music while his friends talked away. Kagome supressed a smile that she really didn't want anyone to see right now and turned back just before Sango.
There suddenly was a knock at the door and the noise of the room fell to a soft buzz. The teacher got up and answered the door, making way for a young girl with maroon eyes and golden blonde hair. She looked relatively young, probably a freshman, and seemed a little nervous to be in a room lit only by sunlight and full of staring upper-classmen. She handed the teacher a small note and chewed her lip slightly.
The elderly teacher looked at the note for a minute before nodding and pointing to the desk in front of Kagome. "Take a seat there, miss."
The blonde girl nodded and walked over to her new seat, offering a hopeful smile to those she made eye contact with. She took her seat and looked around nervously for a moment before her eyes settled on Kagome.
"Hi," Kagome said politely. "I've never seen you before. Are you new in town?"
"Yeah, actually," the girl confessed. "Just moved in a couple days ago."
"What's your name?" Sango asked.
"Kirara. Kirara Michiba."
"I'm Kagome Higurashi and this is my friend, Sango Nanasawa."
"Nice to meet you both," Kirara said with a smile.
"You too," Sango beamed back. "So, what are you into?"
Kirara smiled softly, her nervousness visibly starting to melt away. "Well, I like computers, cats, and music in that order."
"What kind of music?" Kagome asked.
"Mostly progressive and classic rock, though Less Than Jake is my favorite band." She grinned, but looked disappointed at the two other girls' blank stares.
"Did I hear someone mention Less Than Jake?"
All three girls jumped in surprise as Shippo popped up out of nowhere with a big grin on his vulpine face.
Kagome growled softly to give the freshman a good slap upside the head when Kirara turned in her seat with a hopeful smile. "You like Less Than Jake?"
"It's only one of my favorite groups," Shippo replied with a grin. "I'm Shippo. You?"
"Kirara. What's your favorite Less Than Jake song?"
"Scott Farcas Takes It On the Chin, no contest!"
"I'm partial to Help Save the Youth of America From Exploding myself."
Kagome sat numb with shock. Someone was actually having a decent conversation with Shippo Matsumoto. There were only so many people in the school who could stand to be within fifty of him, let alone talk to him. Kagome herself swore that if she had to go through another lunch period listening to him chanting "Find the Lady!" as he conned the jocks out of their cash she would slap him silly.
And hear was Kirara the new girl, sitting there grinning ear-to-ear as she chattered away with the spritely little freshman. It wasn't possible, but there it was! This day just kept getting wierder and wierder.
******************************
The students were finally let out of homeroom in time for the lunch bell, though Kagome was far from pleased. No sooner had she stepped in the cafeteria than she was greeted with an obnoxiously familiar scene.
"Find the Lady! Come on! Dollar to play, a dollar to find the lady!" There was a fast-talking Shippo with Inuyasha and Miroku at his sides playing Three Card Monty once again. Somehow, he never got caught and his victims never wised up. Of course, his victims were almost exclusively stereotypical jocks, so it wasn't that big a surprise. What caught Kagome off-guard was when she saw Kirara at the table with three boys trying hard to hold in her laughter as another football player forked over a handful of singles and proceeded to be scammed.
"Oooh, tough break," Shippo smirked as he claimed the last of the bills. "Come on, next player! Find the lady! Where'd she go? Nobody knows! Find the lady! Dollar to play!"
"Haven't they figured out by now that they can't win?" Sango asked coming up from behind Kagome. "The little runt cons them out of a small fortune daily!"
"You were right, Shippo," Kirara laughed. "These guys are about as bright as midnight in a coal chute!"
"Why is she hanging out with those losers?" Kagome asked indignantly. "She doesn't seem like their type to me."
"Maybe she's on medication," Sango said hopefully.
Kagome, of course, seriously doubted that. Now they had to find a way of ditching Kirara if she got too close to them again. It would destroy their repuations to be associated with someone who hung out with the biggest losers in the school and was actually on the runt's side. Kagome thought her day couldn't get much worse.
She learned a little late, however, that not only was she grossly exaggerating, but she had also just jinxed it.