Attention, everyone! *dings wine glass with a spoon... covered in cheesecake.^-^
If you thought the story had begun, well, I'm here to tell you something. Well, obviously because I'm writing a story... and an author's note for that matter... anyway! The character mental and physical descriptions are done, much foreshadowing has been imputed, and even some background information has been presented. This chapter has a MAJORLY important event, and so I readily, and finally, dub this the official beginning of the story! Well, of the plot anyway. YAY!!! Do you know how LONG I've waited for this?! *cries* I'm so happy! Anyway, yeah, enough of my babbling *does a happy jig anyway*; on with the (longer) chapter! Yay!!!^_^
Oh, and if you don't know who Ayame is in the anime, feel free to ask.^-^
UPDATE: Gha! This chapter took forever!^_^; Well, I scanned in all of my drawings for work and sent them out this morning meaning that I'll have more time to write.^_^ Also, since people came over and did stuff so often last week, I doubt that they will for a while. I'll probably be unable to write this weekend, but besides that, it should be clear sailing until I get my next work assignment.^_^ Oh, and this chapter is about 2 or 3 pages longer than usual.^_^ Heh, that's both a "thank you" type of reward for waiting, and an opportunity for me to get in what I wanted to this chapter.^_^
Thank you everyone! *hugs*
Soli- Lol yeah, but about Naraku, honestly, I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with him. I don't think that he's an important enough character in this story for me to focus on killing him, but he will be a catalyst occasionally; you know, just to help things along.^_^ Inu and Kag are the main characters here, so I'm going to be focusing mainly on them, especially when they start getting along.^_~*
Megera- Lol, I might've done the cliffhanger thing if it weren't for the fact that I needed to set up what is going to start this chapter, well, not the little bit at the front, but the main part of it.^_^ Oh, but aren't you sweet! Heh, I sound like an old lady saying that... creepy. *shudders* Anyway, yeah.^_^; Keep expecting the romance, humor, and random suspenseful moments because I tend to cycle them through a bit, so there's plenty more.^_^ Oh, and if you like romance, LOTS, I repeat, *L-O-T-S* of fluff coming in the future. I love being a romantic!^-^ Anyway, thanks so much for the comment and I hope to hear from you again, or at least that you'll enjoy the story; that's most important thing right?... um... besides me... you know, wanting to write it... okay, bye bye for now!^_^
Goku's Daughter- Yay! And yeah, I can't wait for the fluff too.^-^ Unfortunately, I have to. *pouts* Aww well, it'll come. Mmmm... fluufff... *hugs*
Lunemangelus- Lol, It's not a problem that you stopped commenting.^_^ In fact, I was thrilled that you even commented in the first place! *giggles* Secondly, no, the arrow had nothing to do with Kouga. Mentioning him was set up for this chapter. Most things happen for a reason, and that one was a dilly of a reason! What, you thought I was going to say pickle?^_~ lol Um, about the other stuff, you'll just have to see.^_^ I can't give you any explanation as of yet, but you get to see a little into that at the end of this chapter. Tell me, honestly, have I left enough hi... um, I mean, yeah, the end is... um... good. *nods and laughs nervously* And yeah, who doesn't love the ears? ^-^ Mmm... soft and cuuttee... But personally, I'm not so much jealous of her as urging her to hurry up. There are only so many episodes left and the sooner they get together, the more fluff we get to see.^_^ *giggles* Yay! Fluffy fluff! Okay, so that should be all for now!^_^ Thank you!!!^_^ Bye! *hugs you too*
Morlana- *giggles* More chapters I can do!^_^ And yeah, so much fluff to come. *drowns in the amount of fluff planned... happily* ^-^
CorruptedAngel- Can do!
DemonChic- Can do, and you'll just have to read this chapter to find that out.^_~*
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters in it. If I did I'd be rich, but I'm not... and if I had lots of money I'd probably spend it on anime anyway so pleeaasseee, don't sue me.^_^ lol
Oh, and as always,
_= thoughts *_* = sound/ italicized "_" = speech
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Miroku and Inu Yasha were both worried about Naraku, the girls were worried about each other, and everyone but Inu Yasha wondered just how he had managed to catch that arrow.
No one had even thought about Kouga.
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Do the Math
Chapter 13: Puppy
"Who, who are you? What do you want?"
An ivory mist swirled, as if a tornado, concealing the form of a young man within itself before slowly dissipating, allowing him to see the world around him. He stood in the middle of a forest clearing, surrounded by a dense fog of trees and dew, outlined only by the forgotten rays of the last sun, trapped and staring at the young girl who stood before him. Her raven hair, dancing amongst the leaves within the wind, contrasted greatly with her pale, delicate skin, and even more so with the clothes she wore. She was wearing some sort of outdated costume, one someone might be found wearing at a fair or a formal shrine gathering.
It reminded him of blood.
She seemed strangely familiar to him, this girl; she looked like someone he knew. She looked like...
"K... Kagome?"
No, it couldn't be. Her eyes were too dark, too distant; she was too... he never had the time to finish his thought before an arrow pierced the air, and his entire world went black.
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Keh, I suffered through that stupid dream for this?. Inu Yasha had been walking, glaring at the floor the entire way, since getting out of the principal's office. He had been late because of some stupid dream, but the principal didn't believe him and, because no one was home for him to call, he got detention for cutting. Frankly, Inu Yasha couldn't take many more cuts before he hit restriction, and that alone ruined his day. Why couldn't people be more trusting? Wait, was that ironic? As he gazed at the floor, he used the reflections around him to navigate through the people, none of which seemed worth his time to look at, at that moment. Heading towards an overhead light, Inu Yasha walked straight into its reflection from above, and was instantly blinded by its intensity. Looking up to escape the shine, he noticed, first, the large sum of feet, all shuffling around one place, then the amount of whispering and hushed tones that had, even though filling the air, escaped him previously.
"Who would've thought..."
"And right before the dance too."
"That poor girl."
Feh, looks like someone got dumped, hard. Shrugging his shoulders, Inu brushed milky-white locks behind him as he turned to walk away. His vision swept through the crowd on his way out, stopping only as something caught his attention through the corner of his eye.
Honeyed orbs flooded with obsidian as a young girl emerged from within the crowd. They parted for her, as of she were Moses and they the Red Sea, leaving only a slight space to view the scene ahead, but not enough for Inu Yasha to have an unobstructed view at any angle. Still only slightly interested, he approached the crowd, intent on seeing what was so important that everyone was going to risk detention for. The girl, traversing over the cold, abandoned tile floor in composed, somewhat briskly paced steps, raised her head, allowing flowing tendrils of molten coal to slide away from her face, and revealing a seemingly placid Kagome beneath. Mentally, Inu Yasha grimaced; if a pissed Kagome was something to beware of, what was a completely neutral Kagome capable of? Even more so, at that moment, she reminded him too much of Sesshoumaru for his liking... well, what he could see of her did anyway.
Her fists at her sides, Kagome strolled quickly away from the watching eyes, the gawking kids, and straight towards Inu Yasha, yet never once looking up, never once noticing that he, indeed, existed there. Her bangs hung down, covering her eyes and shading her face, leaving nothing to the naked eye save for her mouth, which was now drawn into a tight line. Her arms swung limply beside her as she walked, as if there was no life left in her to support them, and yet her movements showed unimaginable stores of defiance and strength. She was an enigma, a puzzle, but mostly, she was pissed, and with Kagome, that meant just one thing; get out of the way.
Too intrigued to argue, Inu Yasha stepped aside and watched her pass as if in slow motion. It was almost if time had frozen for him alone to watch her, to see past the false placidity and into her anger, her hatred, but in her face he could find none. Only in her body language did she convey these emotions, only to the outside world. If that was the case, what was she showing on the inside? Eye to eye, cheek to cheek, all he saw was one single, glistening tear, brightly shining against the darkness that seemed to have enveloped her that morning, flowing down her cheek to plummet, only to warm the cold, tile floor below. As much as he hated to admit it, hadn't she had enough? In his entire life living beside her, seeing her every day, he had never seen such misfortune fall upon her, or anyone for that matter. It went beyond cruel to make someone as happy as Kagome cry so often. Of course, he'd never admit it, and would kill anyone who even suggested that he felt as such, but he had some compassion too, despite what some others might've said about him, and a woman's tears could drill a hole directly to it, as if striking oil deep below the surface. What could've happened to do this to her? Was she still upset about the arrow incident? Did she have a fight with Sango? No, Kagome wouldn't cry over that, not like this, but if it had ANYTHING to do with that day what so ever, Inu Yasha would rip Naraku limb from limb! The jerk; he deserved it. Maybe Inu Yasha would do it anyway, you know, just to settle a few scores… the jerk.
As that final thought passed through his mind, time sped up, returning the world and reality as they knew it back to normal once again.
Kagome was past him in a flash.
She walked down the hall, pace becoming ever more brisk with each new step she took. Inu Yasha followed her fleeting form a little further down the hall before turning around to see what the problem had been. Curiosity had started his involvement in this, and now some odd hunger for knowledge fueled him on in his crusade. Inu Yasha pushed and shoved his way through the crowd, trying to filter out the gossip and make note of the small tidbits of information that were slowly accumulating. There was a dance coming up? Not important. So then, why was everyone mentioning it? His gaze darted around, eyeing and analyzing everything from the amount of people to who they hung out with, persistently venturing forth to where he was certain the problem lay, at the center of the mob. Suddenly, someone grabbed his arm and he was pulled back from behind.
"I'm not sure that you'd want to see this, my friend." Inu Yasha snarled and clenched his fists.
"What's the big idea Miroku? Sneaking up on me like that!" Houshi turned and walked away from the crowd, attempting to drag Inu Yasha along with him. Head down and voice low, he replied solemnly, facing away from the scowl he knew was set on him in favor of watching his friend depart, sending his love (friendship love people.^_~) out to her.
"Do not go, Inu Yasha. This wasn't meant for any of our eyes, and it would be wrong to pry further." Almost as an afterthought, Miroku continued once again; "It isn't worth it." It wasn't worth it? Wasn't worth it?! Wasn't Miroku supposed to be her friend? Was he just going to sit by and let something happen to her and try and forget it happened rather than get revenge... or anything? What kind of friend was he?! And you think you know a guy.
Miroku, being shoved aside, made no more effort to stop Inu Yasha, nor to appease his ever growing foul mood. Instead, he walked away, towards his friend in need, knowing full and well that in a matter of minutes all hell would break loose within Inu Yasha's soul, and that there was no longer anything he could do to stop it; fate would take its course and, who knew; maybe things would turn out for the best.
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I'll kill him. Inu's fist tightened until his palm began to bleed from the force of finger nails entering his flesh. That BASTARD!
Kouga sat, completely astounded, against a set of lockers in the center of the half-circle of people. To his left was a girl, glaring at the crowd and pulling Kouga to his feet. Her red hair shone crimson, reflecting only in her vibrant apple-green eyes as it swayed to and fro from either side of her head. The violet flower behind her left ear swayed along with her body, as its golden insides trembled with the force being set upon them. She wore the same uniform as every other girl did, meaning that she must go to school there, but Inu Yasha had never seen her before. From the crowd, he gathered that her name was Ayame; she was the new student.
"Come on Kouga-kun, let's get out of here."
"But... Kagome..." Ayame pouted, tears welling up within those lime orbs, and she yanked on his arm again.
"Is she so much more important to you? You're mine! You promised!" It was then that Inu Yasha chose to move. How dare he?! No matter how much he tried to deny it, even Inu Yasha had noticed how close he and Kagome had become, and he had thrown it all away for this... this... Anger surged through his body, causing every muscle to contract, ready for use. How could he make her cry; after all she had been through lately, how could he?! Didn't he have any compassion, any sense of morals?! The sound of blood began to pulse, pounding in Inu Yasha's ears as he approached, still unnoticed by Kouga who, unseen by Inu Yasha, was having a hard enough time of his own trying to get away from Ayame without hurting her. He hadn't even seen the punch that sent him into the lockers and out for the rest of the day.
Wiping the blood from his hands, Inu Yasha growled fiercely at the bloodied form of his enemy below. Gripping his fist with his other hand, he spit next to Kouga's prone form and scoffed, sauntering away, not even realizing that the path he had chosen was in the direction that Kagome had gone.
"Keh, Wimpy Wolf, couldn't even take one punch; what fun is that?" He cracked his knuckles again as he strolled through the astonished crowd, ignoring the gossip now being spread by thinking of much more important matters; why wouldn't his hand stop shaking?
Meanwhile, Miroku had watched the scene from a distance and couldn't help but smile at his friend's obvious lack of control. Things were going to get interesting very soon, and he, for one, wanted a front row seat, preferably with a hot girl in the one next to him, but a front row seat nonetheless. Miroku watched as Inu Yasha passed him, completely oblivious to his being there, and felt a sort of cold chill roll down his spine, eradicating all sense of the humor and gayety that had been there only a moment before. Anyone could have easily seen the worry evident on Miroku's face, that was, if anyone had been around. Being nervous was one thing, but being alone and nervous was quite another.
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Kagome tore through the halls as fast as her legs would carry her. How could he have done that to her?! After so many years of "I'll always be here Kagome" and "I'll never disappoint you", how could he?! A few more hot tears ran down her cheeks, blazing a trail for others to follow. Reaching up, she wiped a few away, wincing softly as she felt how warm they were compared to her sensitive flesh.
Sure, she hadn't seen him all weekend, but she had been busy! She had practically *killed* her best friend! You'd think that she deserved even a weekend away! But still, Kagome hadn't explained why she was seen leaving the restaurant with Inu Yasha, his rival nonetheless, but why would it matter? He should've asked her, called her, anything but that! Rounding a corner, Kagome slowed down to a soft jog, and then to a walk, rubbing fruitlessly at her eyes the entire time, and trying to purge the sadness from her soul.
Why was she so upset? It wasn't like they were dating or anything, or like she really even liked him that much, but still, she felt... betrayed. She trusted him and he broke that trust. He had always been so kind, considerate, so sensitive to her needs, if a bit overbearing at times, but now she saw him for what he truly was, and she'd never be tricked like that again. Drawing her arm across her face one final time, Kagome sniffled and nodded firmly, never again.
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Damned Wimpy Wolf, I aught to... A sudden voice echoed through the hallway, breaking Inu Yasha from his thoughts.
"Who are you?!" He paused.
Is that... Kagome?
"Look, I'm not in the mood! Just leave me alone! I... wait, what did you just call me?!" *SMACK*
Oohh... Inu Yasha winced; that HAD to have hurt. Wait, Kagome! Within a second Inu Yasha was dashing towards the voice, ready for what ever decided to come his way. Sprinting around the corner, he looked up and came to a dead halt. In one direction, Kagome was being pulled away by one of Naraku's lackies, while in quite another, Naraku himself was making his get-away. What was he supposed to do?! Cursing his fate, he quickly began to try and judge the distance between each, seeing if there was a way, any way at all, that he could get to both, but luck was not on his side that day and, as he thought, the expanse between the three became further and further apart.
"Let me go!" Oh crap, just what he needed. Okay, okay, take it easy; what should he do? Should he a, rescue Kagome, b, go after Naraku, or c...A loud crunching noise was heard, immediately followed with a shrill, yet short, squeal of pain.
"You BITCH!" Growling, Inu Yasha shook his head at his own incompetence. Hell, when had he ever thought things through?! Screw it; enough stalling! Racing down the hall, he turned the corner and blindly pounced upon his prey, taking them both on an ever quickening journey to the cold floor beneath.
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"Who are you?!" Yeah, if things hadn't been bad enough, some creepy guy had to bring his little minion and confront her. What a couple of weeks! Kagome had just been walking, minding her own business, when these two guys came. Both wore school uniforms, but they were different from the other students... somehow.
The taller one seemed to be the leader; his long, wavy hair spilt over his shoulders, the wild and untamed, though still beautiful, locks showering them with random curves of obsidian. Whereas his hair was almost ragged, his eyes were just the opposite. His cold, cruel, emotionless crimson orbs had a sort of knowledge in them, much more so than in anyone she had ever met. They were calm, calculating, and more importantly, they were focused on just one thing, her. Kagome shivered under the intense look and dropped her gaze slightly, noting other features in the process.
His skin was milky white and so pale that, in that aspect, he seemed to resemble the dead more than the living. Because of this, his purple eye shadow seemed to stand out even more forcefully against both his face and uniform. He stood tall, proud, and noble, every aspect you could see in someone confident of their own strength. In general, this guy was creepy, creepy and strong. His minion, on the other hand, when compared, fared worse than a garbage heap when compared to a castle. He looked like nothing more than a big thug, an average, run-of-the-mill bully. Other than the fact that he was massive in body size, he had little else out of the ordinary about him, and was, in short, rather uninteresting. (That's why from now on he will be referred to as "the thug". ^_^)
"It is not important who I am, but much more so who you are, Kagome." She shuddered. What was with that deep voice, and what was that supposed to mean anyway? With an eerie grace that she thought only Sesshoumaru capable of, the leader strolled off, practically floating back the way he came.
"What... what are you saying? Who are you? Hey, where are you going?"
"You may call me... Naraku..." Kagome watched him walk off, practically baiting her with the temptation of knowledge and mystery that only he seemed to bring, tempting her to follow, but before she could take a step, the other reached out and grabbed her wrist.
"Now be a good little wench and shut up." A large, beefy arm wrapped itself around her waist and began tugging her forward, down another hallway and towards a classroom. Infuriated, Kagome pushed it away and ducked, allowing the aforementioned arm to travel over her head and away from her body.
"Look, I'm not in the mood! Just leave me alone! I..." Realization finally sunk in and a fierce look passed over Kagome's face. "Wait, what did you just call me?!" Eyes widening, she puffed out her chest and narrowed her eyes, instinctively trying to make herself seem more formidable, as if an angry woman isn't formidable enough. Okay, let's look at this another way. Kagome plus big, creepy strong minion guy equals trouble right? So, what happens when you add insult to injury? Glaring, she reached a hand above her head and brought it down again, slapping him with all of the strength she could muster, creating a sound that echoed throughout the halls around them. For a moment, everything stopped, and they stared at each other, she with her hand raised and he with one hand to his bruised cheek, and the other hanging loosely by his side. The slapping sound returned to them at full force a few seconds later, echo traveling back the way it came and breaking them both from their trances, and into awareness of the world around them. Without a second to spare, Kagome took off, racing towards the end of the hall. Her heart was practically beating out of her chest and her breaths were becoming short, not from overexertion, but from fear. She tried harder, and gave it all she had, only to be caught within two seconds and forcefully shoved against the wall. A hand holding down both shoulders, and his body holding down hers, what was left for her to do?
Kagome couldn't think, couldn't breathe, and hell if she knew what had happened. All Kagome knew was that all rational thought was off, as if a light switch had been flipped within her mind, changing the room from "logical" lighting to the "what the hell are you thinking? Run bitch! I don't want to be molested!" setting, and that some huge, creepy guy was pinning her to the wall. Scared out of her wits, she used the only technique proven effective in situations as such, or in other words, the only one she could think of; yes folks, she kneed him in the nuts.
Well, that had gotten him off of her in a hurry. The sound of bone crunching sensitive flesh burned Kagome's ears, but gave her the perfect opportunity to make a break for it. No guy could run as fast as she could in that condition. Within the two seconds that it had taken for her to bolt from his curled form on the floor, she had reached the end of the hall again, adrenalin pounding in her veins. However, it seemed that the thug had regained his composure as well. Standing up, though still clutching his privates, he gave chase, painfully and quickly. No one let Naraku down and lived, no matter the reason, and he had no intention of dieing. Kagome had almost made it to freedom when he grabbed her arm again.
"You BITCH!" Taking her arm in hand, he swung her behind him, away from her freedom, and away from any slight chance of help or rescue she may have otherwise had. With one smooth motion, he yanked her forward, and then whipped her sideways, her body making contact with the wall. Her head hurt and she was tired, but she couldn't pass out and leave herself open; she couldn't! She was dazed; the entire world seemed sluggish and blurry. As she struggled to sit up, Kagome's eyelids began to droop, ignoring her mental protests to stay awake. Her mind clouded with a fog of confusion thicker than any pea soup, and, as she noticed a beam of white streak towards her, she immediately relaxed. She didn't have to worry anymore; it was just like her dream. He would always save her. Those were her final thoughts before everything went black.
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The sickening thud of a body hitting a solid object was all that Inu Yasha heard before he struck. Pouncing on the man before him, they both fell to the floor and began rolling, and thus the bout ensued. Fists began flying as Inu Yasha landed above him, but the tides quickly turned and the thug threw him from atop his body. Landing on his feet, Inu Yasha rubbed the corner of his mouth and smirked, taunting the other to come at him. Fortunately, judging by how long the throw had taken, the guy was pretty slow, posing no real problem. Unfortunately, he was big, and that DID pose a problem. The thug stood, accompanying Inu Yasha in the middle of the hallway, and took a swing at him, missing him completely. Inu Yasha, on the other hand, had no trouble hitting him, so the thug had to change tactics. With a slight smirk, he drew back just enough to get a running start before flattening Inu against the wall and watching him slide down. Landing on his feet yet again, Inu Yasha lowered into a crouch and furrowed his brows. This guy wasn't half bad.
Making a quick move to dodge a blow to his shoulder, Inu Yasha ducked, bracing himself to strike back when he felt his foot hit something soft. Looking down quickly, he lost both his concentration and the color in his face.
Kagome lay there, unmoving.
In the split second that he saw her, he watched as her chest rose and fell slowly, too slowly for his liking. That wasn't good. Her closed eyes darted slightly under their lids, signaling that she was indeed alive and was probably going to wake up soon, both good signs, but still... He was too distracted to notice the next attack that flew at him, hitting him square in the jaw. Dragging his feet on the ground, Inu Yasha managed to stay standing and, spitting a bit of blood to the floor, readied himself for the next attack.
There wasn't time to waste; he had to take Kagome to the nurse, but the fact that she lay there hindered his fighting style. He couldn't hit her, and if left her open, the thug would probably go for her to get at him. Damnit, what was he supposed to do?! Snarling with rage at the feelings that began to stir within him, Inu roughly grabbed the thug by his throat and lifted him from the ground, leaving him to dangle in mid air. The thug, meanwhile, was trying his best to get out of Inu Yasha's death lock by attempting to wrench himself from Inu's hands. He had to get out of his grip, but how? It was then that he had an idea. He hadn't thought it would come to this, but he was just glad that he had prepared ahead of time. Sliding his hand behind his back, the thug reached into his back pocket and drew forth a switch-blade knife. If he couldn't convince Inu Yasha to let him go, then he'd have to make him!
The glint of metal was all that Inu saw before he leapt backwards, barely missing being slashed. Swearing his luck once more, Inu advanced just enough to be in front of Kagome's limp form, hopefully protecting her from harm's way. As he watched the bemused expression plastered on the thug's barbarous face, he could feel his rage returning full force, and slowly began to revert into the mood he had been in earlier. Eyes flashing red, he lashed out instinctively, initialing the final round of their battle. This was it; he couldn't prolong this torrid battle any longer.
To the thug, Inu Yasha looked nothing less than a demon from hell. With his eyes brimmed with a sort of feral, cold fury, the brazen boy had suddenly become ragged and more impulsive in his fighting style than before. The flames of anger smoldered within his sockets and burned straight through the thug's soul, causing his heart to beat faster and sweat to bead on his brow. What had happened? What had changed?
"H... hey, come on, look, I was just..." The abrasive, raspy voice that he received sent foreboding shivers down his spine, and he began to slowly back away. Turning to run, he was grabbed swiftly from behind. Inu Yasha had gotten a hold of him, and he wouldn't be freed so easily.
Pounding him into the wall, Inu Yasha gathered all of his strength and heaved the thug into the next hallway, almost hitting a few other students in the process. Before the shock could wear off of the boy sprawled across the floor in front of him, Inu Yasha looked down and, paying close attention not to jar her too much, tentatively picked up Kagome's limp form and bounded off towards the nurse's office, leaving little more than a few splatters of blood and two or three shocked bystanders behind.
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"Mmmm... wha?" Chocolate pools opened, introducing the girl who lay there to just how bright a flurescent light could be. Covering them once again, she brushed back a bit of hair that had fallen over her shoulder, and, cringing from the effort, attempted to lift her arm high enough to reach the back of her head. "Oooowww... geeze, that hurts." Having reached its destination, Kagome's hand was immediately yanked back as a wave of throbbing pain filled her senses, causing her entire body to plead that she lay down and let it pass. As she waited, Kagome's eyes lingered on this and that, whatever they could find and, realizing the unfamiliarity of the room, she sprang to a sitting position, instantly holding onto the side of her head again.
She lay on a cherry red couch, probably leather from what she could feel, and cold as well. To her left was a semi-translucent screen, and behind that another set of chairs and what seemed to be a teaching desk. As her gaze continued going right, she noticed a row of three small, wooden chairs lined up against the far wall with a small table separating each. Above them hung a copy of some cheesy painting consisting of a vase filled with a few flowers. It hung with your typical household wire and nails connected to a frame that looked as if it were made in a woodshop classroom. The wall to her right held not but a door and a single chair; obviously, the room wasn't very large, and would probably look even smaller when someone was actually in it. With a soft sigh, Kagome lay down once more and stared blankly at the ceiling. Well, let's see, she had already acquainted herself with the lights above, albeit painfully, and looked at the rest of the room, so what was there left to look at? She couldn't reach the magazines across the way, and she doubted that she had the strength at that particular moment to attempt to go and get them, so now what would she do? A slight shuffling to her right attracted her attention, and she sat up, whipping around quickly and holding her aching head before looking up and gasping.
"This is getting to be a common thing with you isn't it?" Groaning, Kagome rolled her eyes and laid back down, crossing her arms over her face to shield herself from the world around her. Great, just great, this was just what she needed, a lecture. Groaning softly, she realized that she'd better get this over with sooner or later, and, squinting slightly, turned to look up at the boy with the ivory hair beside her.
"Where are we?"
"Nurse." At the sound of her name, the school nurse strolled over and smiled enthusiastically.
"Well hello there Kagome!" Kagome blinked.
"How did you..." The nurse waved the question away with a single motion of her hand.
"Oh, that was easy! I just looked it up in the computer." Kagome sweatdropped as the nurse gestured towards her old computer in the corner as if this were some kind of game show and it a brand new car. Clapping her hands together, the nurse looked sternly at Kagome and shook her finger. "You should be more careful! You never know who you'll meet out there!" Before Kagome could get a word in edgewise, the nurse had already started talking again; "You should be just fine, but to make sure I'm sending you home for the day. I've already called your parents and told them that this young man will drive you home." She pointed to Inu Yasha who simply stared blankly at her for a second before erupting.
"WHAT?!" The nurse just smiled brightly.
"Well, you are her neighbor aren't you?" Gaping, Inu Yasha could barely stutter a "H.. h... how..." before she gestured to her computer once more. "Computer!" Giggling happily, she continued, ignoring the look of utter annoyance plastered on Inu Yasha's face. "Anyway, who better to take her than someone who lives next door? I've signed both of you out for the rest of the day, so don't worry about it and get lots of rest!" Helping Kagome off of the couch, she lead the astounded teenagers to the door and shooed them out, waving dramatically from behind them. "Buh bye!"
The two stood outside of the nurse's office in the dark, empty hallway. Seconds passed, then minutes, and a few crickets could be heard in the distance, along with various other sounds one would normally hear in a school. Kagome's gaze drifted from the floor towards Inu Yasha, and his to her, causing them both to turn away as quickly as possible when their eyes met.
"Ahh... Inu Yasha?" The grumpy boy turned to her and huffed.
"Yeah?" Kagome tapped her head nervously.
"What just happened?" Blinking, Inu Yasha turned away and sighed.
"I have no idea." A few seconds passed before Inu began to walk away. "Feh, come on, I guess we're free for the day." Nodding, Kagome jogged up and, upon reaching his side, matched her steps to his, following him, almost blindly, towards freedom.
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Before they exited the building, Inu Yasha called his father, making sure that he knew why Inu was coming home early so that he wouldn't have to deal with it later. Mr. Khioto wanted a bit of an explanation when he got home, but that could be taken care of quickly. Inu Yasha just wanted to relax. As for Kagome, she waited patiently while Inu was on the phone, and was soon led to the passenger seat in Inu Yasha's car. It wouldn't be a long ride home, but for Inu Yasha, it would be long enough.
Keh, why does she keep glancing at me like that? What did I do? Do I have food on my face or something? Inu Yasha watched Kagome from the corner of his eye, noticing quite often how she kept watching him, almost as if worried or scared. What could he have done? All he was doing was driving, and he was going slower than normal to boot! After about five minutes, Inu couldn't stand it any longer and pulled over to the side of the road. Jerking to face her, he scrunched up his face and glared.
"What is it already?!" Kagome turned and looked at him, her caramel eyes enlarging and sparkling dramatically to add to the innocent effect she was trying to produce.
"What?" Balling his fists and rolling his eyes in aggravation, Inu Yasha looked to the heavens for help before turning back to her.
"Why do you keep looking at me like that? What, do I have food on my face, or is it just something growing out of my head?!" Looking away sheepishly, Kagome tapped her index fingers together and mumbled softly.
"Well, now that you mention it..." Before he could realize what he was doing, Inu Yasha reared back. Getting himself together, he turned and was relieved that she apparently hadn't seen that, but was still incredibly nervous about what she had meant. How many ways were there to take that? She couldn't... no, it wasn't possible... so then, what had she meant?!
"W...What?!" Kagome simply sighed and rubbed her head.
"Never mind. Are you sure I don't have a concussion or something?" Inu Yasha eyed her warily.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure."
"Mmm..." After studying her for a few more seconds, Inu turned away and, with a "Keh", pulled away from the curb to begin the drive home once more. As Kagome watched the buildings and the streets go by, she couldn't help but wonder why she, of all people, was attacked. She hadn't even known that creep, and what's more, had never seen him in her life. Sighing softly, she returned her gaze to the boy sitting next to her. He still had that scowl on his face, something that made Kagome smile slightly. No matter how tough he pretended to be, she knew that he was just a puppy underneath. With a small giggle, she looked to his snow white hair and the ears beneath, swiveling towards the noise she had made. He was definitely a puppy, a loud, obnoxious, arrogant, jerk of a puppy. Rolling her head back towards the window, she looked to the people outside and shivered. Quickly turning her gaze to her lap, Kagome's nervousness dissipated slightly, and she smiled softly as a strand of silver hair grazed her cheek. Briefly, she wondered why, of all of the people she could see, his change didn't bother her so much, and had actually made her more comfortable, but let it off with a shrug; she just needed some sleep and she'd be fine. Everything would be back to normal again tomorrow. Kagome reached down the side of her seat to pull the handle and set it to lie back. Lowering both her gaze and her head, she smiled once more and closed her eyes, her consciousness slowly slipping away to fall into a peaceful slumber.
As the car drove on that afternoon, Kagome napped silently in her seat while Inu Yasha watched, entranced with this simple act after all that had been happening as of late. As his gaze returned to the road before him, he wondered what she had meant by that comment earlier, but decided not to worry about it too much; she had probably just been tired. Rolling down his window, he smiled contently, fore atop his head stood two beautiful, snow-white dog ears, twitching as the wind flew through the window to delicately graze the fine hairs that resided there. He certainly was a puppy after all.