All previous disclaimers apply

I also don't own the song used in this chapter, Natalie Imbruglia's Pigeons & Crumbs.

Fusillade

"Guess it won't amount to much,

Seems to me I've lost my touch

I'll stand in line"

Chapter Two: Here

Sango's eye twitched as the irritating alarm on her clock wailed repeatedly. She reached over and slammed the buttons, silencing it. Groaning and rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she stretched back in her bed before throwing the covers over her and shivering as the warmth left her body. She pulled the shutters open, and the small room flooded with morning sunlight.

After the usual morning routine in the washroom, Sango held the high school uniform out in front of her like a rotten fish. When she put it on, it would mean that her life was truly changing now. Attending a new school, with new people, and forgetting everything about her past that had been altered so drastically in so little time.

She had it on now, and was standing on her tiptoes looking over her shoulder at the bathroom mirror, trying see if the outrageous green skirt would at least leave some part of her upper thigh to the imagination. Giving up, she straightened the red knot of her tie, and vigorously ran a brush through her hair. Before she left the washroom again, she looked at her sullen reflection in the mirror. She smiled faintly, but it looked more like a delinquent smirk. She stretched her lips even farther, until her smile looked sunshine rainbow quality. Finally, her teeth showed, her eyes were crinkling, and her cheeks hurt, and that, she decided, was the smile of a cheerful high school student.

It was an unusually warm spring morning, and light rain during the night made the air a bit humid. Sango decided to take the metro today, she wasn't that familiar with the area yet, and walking home from the league last night had taken twice the amount of time it should have. At least on a bus that stops right in front of the school, there was no way she could miss it.

There were some other students wearing her uniform on the bus, but they didn't give her much of a second glance, as her face was back in its expressionless state, and she was staring out of the window. Her restless fingers absentmindedly fidgeted with the buttons on her coat.

She felt a weight on the supposed empty seat beside her, and when she turned her head to inquire, that space was now filled with a person. A male person.

A male person who was peering at her intently, a lazy grin on his lips. Sango could feel the back of her neck get hot, and turned away from him. She could see in the faint reflection of the bus window that he was still studying her, except, his eyes were looking down towards...

"Excuse me," said Sango coolly. "But isn't staring at strangers considered...rude?"

"Please forgive me for admiring such great beauty," a rich male voice replied. "I should have asked you permission before I began delighting in your loveliness."

He smiled at her.

Sango looked at him warily from under her bangs, a bit disbelieving. She pushed away all thoughts related to how rather cute he was, with his uneven dark bangs and a tiny ponytail at the back of his neck. She quickly quashed more observations of his face, and opened her mouth to answer back smartly, but he spoke again, clasping her hands with his between them.

"You know, if you told me your name and I told you mine, we would not be strangers, and I could stare at your lovely face, and appreciate your even lovelier body even more," he said, leaning closer to her. He dropped her hands and instead held her thighs, and with a wide grin on his face, stroked them.

An older woman peered at them, shook her head, and looked away.

Before his hands reached the golden land that was the hem of the enticing girl's skirt, he was forcibly reminded of her other bodily appendages, such as the hand that struck his face. "What the- Wh- What are you thinking!" she sputtered at him. Her face was beet red and she had retreated as far away from him as was possible, which wasn't very far, considering that she was on the inside seat. He only had to move closer...she was trapped!

'Ah, quite the predicament,' the young man thought. The girl was quite pretty, with long chocolate colored hair and a captivating blush staining her face. 'I think she would be looking much prettier if she got that scowl off of her face though.'

To her horror, he was moving closer, closer, too close. She raised her hand again, and he flinched. "You're a wild one, beautiful lady," he said thoughtfully, a finger on his chin. He winked at her. "I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of each other. Strangers, huh? Not for long."

Sango folded her arms across her chest, fuming. Who did this guy think he is?

"Pardon me, but I hope I won't be seeing much of you in the future, you desperate pervert!"

The bus screeched to a halt, and the usual pushing and shuffling commotion followed. As quickly as he had appeared next to her he was gone, escaping out the automated back doors of the bus. Peering out of the window, she saw vaguely noticed a covering on his right hand before she realized what she was doing. Sango thudded her head against the window once before she got up and exited through the front doors, still steaming from her encounter with that odd boy. "Humph," she huffed. Hoisting her backpack securely onto her back, she set the incident in the back of her mind and focused on the matter at hand. With a nervous breath, she pushed aside the heavy doors of the school building and felt the cool air conditioning blow past her.

*

"Taijiya."

The school secretary was currently bending over into a large file cabinet.

"Taijiya, Taijiya, Taijiya."

Finally she emerged with a thick folder. She threw it unceremoniously onto her desk, exhausted with rifling through a barrage of papers. She motioned to Sango, who had been amusedly watching the situation from her position in front of the secretary's desk. "Follow me."

She led Sango down a small corridor stemming from the main office, and ushered her into another door. "Sit down here, and make yourself comfortable," she ordered, and the young student obliged.

Moments later, a man strode into the office, and by the way he presented himself, Sango could only assume he was the principal of the school. He nonchalantly flipped through the papers in her file, and his eyebrows raised.

"Taijiya Sango, is it?"

Sango nodded.

"You're quite an intelligent girl, from what I see here. Very involved."

He went to another filing cabinet, and drew out a thinner folder, and then flipped through that. "Your entrance exam scores are also up to par. This is excellent."

Sango smiled weakly, an upward curve of her lips. "Thank you," she said quietly. She looked at her hands and fiddled with the zipper of her backpack while the principal conversed with the secretary outside the room. She heard the door open and close again as he re-entered the room. "Well, Taijiya, I do hope you're successful here in this new school. You can leave, and the secretary will give you your schedule."

Sango stood and bowed quickly, and put her hand on the doorknob.

"And if there's anything...anything, that is bothering you, anytime, given your circumstances, I'm sure the staff here will understand, if you tell them."

She felt a sudden coldness at the implication, but murmured a quiet word of gratitude anyway.

*

Miroku was bored. Almost, painfully bored. Usually, he was quite attentive in his studies, and was a very good student indeed. However, this morning had been so intriguing and exciting for him, that finding his morning classes extremely fun was becoming a more and more difficult task with each passing minute.

To pass the time, he was doodling a very out of proportion version of the girl he had met this morning in the margins of his notepaper. He was just pencilling in the curves of her chest when there was a soft rap on the door, and their teacher had exited. When the door clicked shut, there was a wave of curious whispers among the class. The student closest to the door stood up and smugly proclaimed that there was a new student, and that it was a girl.

"Oh! A new girl!" Higurashi Kagome squealed excitedly. She twisted in her seat, turniing to the boy there, Inuyasha. "Isn't it exciting?" The receiver of this question simply scowled. "This classroom is full of enough wenches, we don't need one more!"

Kagome's expression darkened. "Inuyasha, you're going to be nice to the new girl." The way she was sweetly smiling, but was also surrounded by flames somewhat freaked Inuyasha out, and he agreed to the statement. Satisfied, Kagome turned to the other male two rows away, and made a demand out of him.

"And YOU, Miroku, are going to be POLITE and NICE to her, and not touch her ANYWHERE from the neck down."

Miroku looked over at Kagome, as if he had just noticed she was there. "What was that Kagome?"

"You are NOT going to grope her!" Kagome declared through gritted teeth.

"What is this nonsense Kagome? You know I wouldn't take advantage of an unsuspecting new stu-"

His sentence was cut short as the door opened again and the new student walked in. Her head was down, but he could already recognize the fine, brown hair cascading down her back. He looked at her with bated breath until her identity was confirmed. She held her face up, flashing a dazzling smile, and gazed around the classroom. Had she seen him?

Their teacher was currently writing the new student's name on the board. "This," he gestured to her, "is Taijiya Sango. She has just moved here."

The class chorused her a hello, and continued their curious glances. She smiled nervously. "Hi, I just -"

Then she saw him. That perverted boy from this morning. A vein popped out on Sango's forehead and suddenly the heat in the room rose ten degrees.

"If that is all you wish to say about yourself, then, by all means, take a seat."

Sango blushed crimson for the second time that morning, rushed off to the first empty desk she saw, and covered her face with her hands.

'That was really smooth Sango. They all probably think you're strange now. Great start. I hate this. I want...I miss...'

She immediately pinched herself to prevent those thoughts from filling her head. The last thing she needed was to break down and cry in the middle of the classroom when everyone was still staring at her.

*

Looking over the top edge of his textbook, Miroku stared nervously at the back of Sango's head. She was radiating heated embarrassment, and from what he could see, she was pinching herself. Another girl was staring at him from two rows over, only he thought that her stare would soon bore a hole through the side of his head.

The rest of the morning continued to pass agonizingly slow for Sango, that when the lunch period came, it filled her with both dread and relief. She was developing a headache, and she was sure she was probably distributing some sort of odor from sweating after her embarrassing moments. At least it would explain why no one had attempted to talk to her.

So that's where she was now, standing out in the middle of the courtyard, at a loss for what to do. The lingering feelings of loneliness she had been ignoring were starting to pour out in waves, but she fought them off valiantly. She wouldn't cry.

Kagome paced in front of a tree near the back of the courtyard, with an expression of concentration on her face. Occasionally, she would pause, and look at Sango. "We should ask her to join us!"

"Then ask her!" Inuyasha exclaimed, from where he was seated on a lower branch of the tree. "You've been saying that for the whole freaking morning!"

"If you would let me have the honor of asking her-" Miroku began from where he was sitting at the base of the tree. Kagome rounded on him. "Ask her what, Miroku! I don't think so! And you still haven't told me why she nearly had a stroke when she saw you today!"

Miroku scratched his head in false confusion. "I really wouldn't know Kagome. Maybe she was stunned by my good looks and was at a loss for words."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I am going over there and asking her to join us, okay? Right now! I'll be right back!"

With that, she stormed off.

Sango could see her approaching, but she looked kind of angry. Had she done something to her? But when she met eyes with Sango, the girl smiled pleasantly. "Hi! Do you remember me from homeroom this morning?" Kagome asked. "I'm Higurashi Kagome."

Sango returned her smile. "Yes, I do, even though I tried not to look around too much after my… introduction."

"Ah, don't worry about that. All new students have a right to be nervous," Kagome reassured. " It's Taijiya, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is, but since you're the first person whose talked to me all day, you can call me Sango, if you want."

Kagome smiled wider as if in triumph, and immediately went behind Sango and started steering her towards the large tree.

"Hi-Higurashi-san!" Sango stuttered. "What are you doing?"

"Well, Sango-chan! I thought it's only fair I'd help you out by introducing you to my friends!"

She steered Sango to s stop in front of the tree. Miroku opened his eyes and looked up at Kagome's companion.

"Look guys, it's Sango," Kagome said nervously. But her eyes had already focused themselves on Miroku.

"It's you! That perverted boy!" Sango accused. Kagome gave him a withering stare. "She was in shock from your good looks, huh?"

Of course, it's up to me to salvage this. Kagome moved in front of Sango, blocking Miroku from view. "Say, Sango-chan, why don't you give Miroku a chance? You know, though he doesn't act like it, he really is a kind and respectful person," pleaded Kagome.

Sango peered over Kagome's shoulder at the boy, who looked back at her with an innocent expression. "I guess I should," Sango sighed. "You are giving me one after all. Also, you hang around him, and you're a very kind person as well. I suppose that's proof enough for me."

"Great!" Kagome exclaimed. She grabbed Miroku's arm and hauled him to his feet. "Sango-chan, meet Houshi Miroku," she said, forcing their hands together.

Sango shook his hand with a small smile. "Hello, Houshi-san."

"Ah, Taijiya-san, I'm sorry if I did anything to offend you on your morning commute," he replied, still smiling innocently.

"I'm sure you are." Sango said, and dropped his hand, which he had been shaking longer than necessary. She noticed again, that it was covered.

"And this, " Kagome announced, drawing their attention back to her, " is Inuyasha!"

She appeared to be tugging on a foot hanging above them, and seconds later, Inuyasha tumbled to the ground. "What the hell did you do that for!" Inuyasha growled, but Kagome whispered back to him. "Shut up! We'll talk about this later! Now say hi!"

"Hello," Inuyasha tried to say politely, but it looked like he was trying to eat a hot pepper at the same time. 'Ah, screw this,' he thought.

"My name is Inuyasha and these morons, " he gestured to Kagome and Miroku, "like to hang around me. Since you've decided to join them, I hope it doesn't rub off on you. And I don't care for that honorific crap. My name is Inuyasha, so call me Inuyasha." He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down menacingly at his three companions. Kagome and Miroku were shaking their heads, while Sango simply looked stunned.

Later, when they had all calmed down, she looked around at the three of them. Kagome was alternating between arguing with Inuyasha and offering her more food, and Miroku would engage Sango in small talk, but occasionally get up and leave when a pretty girl walked by. They were all so different from each other, and in her heart, Sango knew that these were her new friends.

She smiled.

While lunch had certainly been eventful, when the bell rang the day returned to it's agonizingly slow pace. Meeting Kagome, Inuyasha and Miroku had lifted her spirits, and her afternoon classes had not been so bad.

The bell rang signaling the end of the day, and Sango returned to her locker to put on her coat and change her shoes.

When she slammed the locker shut, she saw Miroku there, leaning against the lockers, smiling invitingly at her. "Hello, Houshi-san, what are you doing here?" She had been surprised to see him there all of a sudden, and couldn't fight a small blush on her face.

"Since we take the same bus Taiiya-san, I thought I should at least wait for you."

Ah, that was right. They took the same bus home.

"Thank you, Houshi-san."

*

"Don't believe a thing they say, today

Turn around and walk away

Everything will go your way, I pray

Seems we all get lost amongst

The pigeons and crumbs."

I do hope the formatting on this one turned out better. Isn't this story BORING guys?! NOTHING'S HAPPENING. Don't worry, umm, I promise lots of angst, fights, character torture, etc. (crowd: yay!) but it has to start somewhere right? I think around the fourth chapter. Oh, and it is an S/M, just that I haven't thought of the right reason to have him hanging around all the time. Remember to review. I suck. Oh, and I apologize for the lyric butchering I did.

Next chapter: What happened after the fire, a conflict with Kagome, and Sango needs more money.

Fusillade Chapter 2, written and formatted March 6, 2004