"Jeez. So /violent/."
Even though he deserves it, of course.
She shot a smile upward at Inuyasha, times like this reminding her how much smaller she was compared to the hanyou.
"Don't encourage her!"
Kagome's eyes closed as she heard the familiar snide call from the wolf youkai she knew (possibly) too well.
The sound of his approach was so routine she could probably time it.
One day – though she wasn't putting her hopes up – maybe he'd understand that she had absolutely no interest in him. But then, knowing Kouga, he'd think she'd been brainwashed and they would be back to square one.
Ah, and she was all about to go ahead and ignore him too. But the wolf was never one to be ignored. His personality defied every aspect of that hope that he would realize he wasn't wanted and go away.
Even now the sounds of countless fangirls sighing was remarkably audible.
Pathetic. But it wasn't in Kagome to tell him to go away.
"Inuyasha! Kouga! Stop it, the both of you!"
It took far too much effort to yell this early, when she'd overslept and still hadn't gotten eight hours of sleep – so her voice was a mothering annoyed sort of 'pick up your toys, damnit' sort of scolding.
"Kuso."
A smooth, cool whisper that definitely wasn't Kagome's was almost toneless with its lack of definition came to the far left of the group. It was clear that he could issue an extremely amusing comment in the same tone and you would have to speculate for about twenty minutes to figure out what exactly was funny.
There was a regality that was almost pompous, but not quite.
Sesshoumaru.
The tall male with hair longer then his brother's and a much more androgynous quality had his lips set into a firm line, disdain twinkling in his eyes from his seat at the edge of a flower planter, a thick history textbook in his hands that read 'Feudal Japan'.
He got up, and with a remarkable lack of interest, pulled the hanyou and youkai apart without much effort.
"If my studies suffer because of your persistent idiocy, I'll kill you both while you're sleeping."
Inuyasha took a few swipes at his brother, to no avail. It was more to prove he wasn't afraid of hitting the older youkai, rather than to /actually/ hit him. Kinda like those puffer fish they studied in science class the other day…
Not that he'd been paying much attention. It was just….the picture of that ridiculous fish tended to stick in your head.
He was a bit intimidated by Sesshoumaru's threat, if only because they lived in the same house. He hadn't used that trick in so long, the fear still sprang up when the elder said it. The hanyou locked golden eyes to golden eyes in a stalemate he knew Sesshoumaru would ignore, but it was interesting to try anyway.
Sango held a hand over her mouth, trying not to laugh. Inuyasha looked like a small child being pulled away from another kid by his parent. It was one of the downsides of the elder being that much taller. If he wanted, Inuyasha could be hovering from the ground right now.
Kouga turned white. He'd seen what this demon could do, and he didn't like it. It was worth giving up a fight with Inuyasha to keep his life, and Sesshoumaru usually followed through on his threats. He pulled away, finding his release was unusually easy, straightened his shirt, and walked away as if nothing was wrong. He might have been a bit intimidated, but he wasn't about to show it.
A bell rang out from the school, the announcement person's voice crackling over the loud speaker.
"Attention all students. In two weeks our school will be holding a New Year's dance." The voice, belonging to one Kagura-san, sounded none-too-excited. "There will be music and refreshments, and admittance is free. The dance will start at 8 and will last until 11. Reminders will be posted around the school, should you forget. Have a nice day."
The last line sounded pained and dripped with disdain. Then again, Kagura-san was always that way.
Fourth period.
Fourth period was always hell.
Unless there was something terribly interesting going on, the minutes ticked by like hours and she was forced to draw random pictures on her classwork as Boutousai droned about the importance of metalwork in the early 1900's. Kagome was uninterested in metalwork, although she /had/ finished the assignment in about ten-odd minutes.
The bell rang almost like a sign from the heavens and the pile of students smushed through the door as if they could congeal and compact so that everyone could get out in one skinny rectangle. Kagome was left behind, shoving odds and ends into her now strangely lumpy backpack, three girls hovering over her shoulder in a disturbing way.
"Kagooome-chaaaan…"
The vowels hung on for centuries.
"Hai?"
They grinned at each other, glad for the acknowledgement. Kagome ceased an eyeroll. They were okay unless they were all together (which was always) for when their peppiness was combined it was almost like they were a large ball of static electricity, attaching to you and zapping you at random intervals. Escape was always key if survival was on the line.
"Are you going to the dance?"
Kagome's pace quickened as she slid through the door, the girls following on her heels. "Don't know."
The dance seemed alright. Sango would probably go, if only to talk in a corner of the gym and sip punch. That was all that usually happened, anyway. Boyfriends and girlfriends would give each other the red envelopes with money or earrings or whatever they could afford .. it was just a cutesy event for those who didn't really celebrate the new year.
Oh, damn. They were still there. Grinning cheerfully. You could tell they were going to say something about who she should go with – literally smell the decisions they were going to make for her leak from their pores.
Sometimes it was not good to be a nice person.
Find a way to get away – where is Kouga when you could actually need him – she walked quickly through the hallway, making a sharp turn and losing the trio in the crowd. Pushing open the door with her shoulder, the quad shone lazy light over the campus, clouds thick like Cool Whip and refusing to budge.
It wasn't going to rain. It was just going to be extremely dreary for the next three hours or so.
At the lack of seeing any of the friends she wasn't currently avoiding, Kagome sat on top of one of the tables, legs crossed and feet settled on the decaying bench.
Fourth period.
Come to think of it, he hadn't stayed there for the whole period. Too many times had he been asked, "Are you going to ask someone to the dance? You know, since Kikyou…" That's about as far as they got until Inuyasha flashed them a death glare that could have been Sesshoumaru's. He'd gotten so sick of it he'd asked the teacher for a bathroom pass and never came back.
The hanyou looked out the bathroom, checking for the teacher. No sign of him. Good. Injecting himself into the mainstream of students, he let himself be swept along until he slipped outside. Spotting Kagome wasn't hard; she was the only one sitting alone. Inuyasha quickly joined her, reluctant to stay near the doorway lest his fourth period teacher watch him sneak away.
"Fourth period is hell."
He commented, saying more to make Kagome feel better about her equally hellish class. The hanyou leaned his head back, resting his weight on the heels of his hands against the table. He wasn't looking forward to the dance; too much trouble, too much loud, too much fake excitement. It made him sick just thinking about it. Of course Miroku would go for the girls, hitting on them whether they had boyfriends or not.
A boy with short brown hair and a permanently glued smile that gave him an air that was very irritating and cheerful was pushed towards the schoolgirl by two other females whose heads were wedged at his back to obscure their appearance. Sweatdrops rained down the back of his head, though he didn't seem so disinclined to enjoy the fact he was getting pushed towards the object of his affection.
Coming from another direction was Kouga – not this again – looking as determined as ever to do whatever it is he wanted to do. Inuyasha brought his head forward, knowing this could get sticky.
In this corner, we have Hoyjo, teacher's pet and overall annoyance. In that corner, we have Kouga, wolf youkai and hot-headed obsessor. Who will get there first?
Just like a bad boxing match.
Both made it there at the same time, and blurted something that sounded somewhat related to each other.
"Higurashi-san, would you-"
"Kagome, how would you like to-"
Both boys were red, Hoyjo from the stress and Kouga from the embarrassment of having to do this in front of his enemy, not to mention the fact someone else was talking while he was talking.
To Kagome, this must have come out as one big blurb. Inuyasha, on the other hand, could hear every word, and knew exactly what was going on. They were trying to ask her out. And in front of Inuyasha too.
Like that was ever going to happen.
Idiots.
The hanyou didn't really /want/ to go to the dance, but if he didn't give Kagome a reason not to go with one of the two blabbering idiots, she, being the nice person that she was, would be unable to refuse both of them. He turned to her casually, relying on Kouga and Hoyjo's blabbering proposals to drown out one another.
"Hey Kagome, you feel like going to the New Year's dance?"
Simple as that.
Now let's hope she heard him correctly.