Ears By: Skittlez and OtakuSailorV
Chapter ThreeKyoyume walked through the halls to her first class, wearing a different hat from the day before.
"Hey!" A familiar voice called.
Kyoyume half-turned toward the voice, only to see Ayame. She smiled brightly at her friend and greeted her in the same manner. "Hey."
"My friend said she saw you in the Java with Naraku and the Kotsu boys, that true?"
Kyoyume smiled weakly at her friend. "Yeah." She said in a downtrodden tone.
"Oh, that's cool."
"Yeah, I guess." Kyoyume frowned, not wanting to admit that she really hadn't had a choice in the matter.
She sighed. "Kouga got himself hurt, I was at the hospital with him, 30 stitches in the right arm. The idiot."
"That sucks." Kyoyume replied. "Is he ok now?"
"Yeah, him and Ginta and Hakkaku are staying home for a couple of days though."
Kyoyume laughed despite the seriousness of the situation. "Hope they enjoy themselves."
"Bah. They always do."
She giggled again. "Must be nice." She mused as she walked into the room, Ayame right behind her.
"You could say that."
They took their seats and continued chatting until the teacher came in and interrupted everything by starting on with a long, drawn out lecture that was quite boring. Kyoyume tried to keep awake by amusing herself with idle things.
The school and its lectures were particularly boring, Kyoyume found.
But she had her friends and that's mainly all that mattered to her. She had never much enjoyed school, so it never really mattered how boring anything got as long as she had something else to look forward to.
Finally lunch came, she didn't see Naraku at first and she was thankful for that. But she did meet someone else she decided she hated more.
He was tall, though not nearly as tall as Naraku and his silver-orange hair was pulled back into a tuft of a ponytail. His eyes showed golden and were slighted in a devious manner as he approached her. Kyoyume decided on the spot that the boy was one of those conceited jerk types and that she wanted nothing to do with him if she could help it. Then again, she assumed, maybe he was one of Naraku's messengers, ordering her to do something ridiculous lest he reveal her most dire secret.
"Well, hello." He greeted smugly.
Kyoyume's eyelids drooped as she watched him with little to no interest. Whatever he wanted he would have to say it and fast for her attention span was always short with morons like this. "Hey." She greeted casually enough.
"You're the new girl right?"
"Yeah. . ." She replied slowly, raising one eyebrow in slight question.
"I didn't expect you to be. . ."
"Yeah?" She asked, still raising the single eyebrow to show that she wanted him to go on with whatever he had to say.
"So. . .beautiful."
Kyoyume's eyebrow fell, and she just watched him for a moment, not impressed at all. She supposed she should be blushing, and on the inside the comment made her frantic, but for some reason this guy didn't sound very truthful to her. 'Must be cuz he looks preppy.' She thought to herself.
"So would you. . ." He started. "Hey back off Ichiyasha!" Someone growled.
Kyoyume turned her head slowly to see who had spoken. ". . . ?"
Naraku shoved Ichiyasha away. "Watch who you mess with, rapist." He snapped quietly.
Kyoyume's ears picked up the comment, but she kept to herself, watching everything with dull eyes, her head leaning on one hand as she munched on fries. Ichiyasha looked ticked before he stalked away, and Kyoyume briefly wondered why she had never seen him before.
Naraku shook his head and mumbled. Then he started away. "Later." He said, waving to her.
Kyoyume stuck another fry in her mouth before turning back to her meal, forgetting that the incident ever happened.
"What just happened?" Ayame asked blankly, sitting down with her lunch.
Kyoyume just shrugged. "Hell if I know."
"I saw Ichiyasha over here. What was going on?"
"He asked if I was the new girl and I said 'yeah' and he started to ask something, and then Naraku came over and started shoving him around." She shrugged again, leaving out Ichiyasha's little 'comment'.
"Damn, Naraku's bad but Ichiyasha's a nutcase, be careful."
Kyoyume laughed harshly. "Don't worry, the guys a major ass, I can tell." She smiled at her friend. "I'll be fine."
"Good."
"Kouga and them still out?" Kyoyume asked, wanting to change the subject.
"Of course."
"They must be really enjoying themselves." Kyoyume giggled a little.
"Watching TV and eating all the food in my kitchen?"
"Is that what they're doing?"
"Probably." She said, munching on pizza.
"Mmm, then they really must be having fun." Kyoyume joked.
"Hahaha, that's great."
Kyoyume cocked her head to one side. "?"
"That means I have to go shopping for more!" She replied laughing.
"Ah, I see. That sucks." Kyoyume agreed with a bright smile. Looking up, she noticed that the warning bell was about to ring. "Oop, time to go, Ayame." She informed the red head.
Ayame nodded, finishing off her pizza in one bite and standing up, straightening her old jeans and throwing her trash away. "Oh, I've been meaning to…give you my number..." she muttered fishing through a pocket, she pulled something out and handed it to Kyoyume. "There, call me any time!"
Kyoyume grabbed at a piece of paper in her backpack, and snatched a pen suddenly, and rapidly wrote hers down. She handed hers to Ayame with a grin. "In case I lose yours, here's mine." She said brightly.
"Thanks! I'll...remember to give you my e-mail eventually." She laughed going to her class.
Kyoyume headed in the opposite direction, still laughing at her friend. "See ya!"
She got to her last class Art and sat down. Naraku was already in class, looking rather grumpy.
This suited Kyoyume just fine seeing as she couldn't care less what he was feeling at the moment. As long as he didn't bother her, she could stay in her gleeful mood for hopefully the rest of the day.
Naraku found himself a good pastime by carving things into the desk with a pocketknife. Kyoyume noticed a few scratches on his arms, but she didn't care.
Today they were given the assignment to 'sit quietly and draw' for the period while the teacher 'graded' their work. However, the woman seemed to have fallen asleep before half the period was done. Kyoyume noticed and immediately rolled her eyes at the teacher's lack of attention to her pupils. Shrugging it off, Kyoyume went back to work.
Naraku leaned back and rubbed his arms absently. "Hey, Kyoyume." He whispered.
Kyoyume raised her head from what she was drawing and looked over at him. "Hm?"
"Don't let Ichiyasha mess with you, just tell me if he does." He replied, going back to his carving.
Kyoyume made a face, wondering what indeed was so strange about the boy that Naraku was even giving her advice for staying away from him. She had to admit, that strange gleam in his eyes had made her want to stay away from him, but she doubted he would ever approach her again after being run off like that. "Ok. . ." She replied slowly, confused but sure that if both Ayame and Naraku were telling her to stay away, then something was up.
He shrugged. "Life long rival kinda thing."
"Ah." She nodded, though she really didn't care about their relations.
He stopped talking and sighed, running a hand through his hair.
Kyoyume looked around for a clock. Spying one, she was relieved to see that there was but five minutes left in the class.
"Thank God it's almost over." He muttered to himself.
Kyoyume stretched in her chair and let out a sigh. Looking over what she had done for the day, she decided it was decent, though she didn't like it that much.
The bell rang and she jumped from her seat.
Grabbing up her bag, she filed out with the rest of the class, ready to get home and away from the worries and freaks at her new school.
She walked out and was greeted by Jakotsu. "Hey Kyo!"
Kyoyume smiled brightly at him. "Hi!" She called, crossing the mob of people to reach him.
He looked over the crowd and squealed. "Hakudoushi!" He cried, grabbing up a silver haired boy and hugging him.
The boy struggled in his arms, trying to push away from him. "Alright, Jakotsu! Give the boy some air!" Kyoyume laughed outright as she tried to help the little boy.
"I'm gonna have to drag him back to Naraku anyway." He replied hugging him. "Isn't he cute?!"
"I can't see him, you're smothering the poor guy!!" Kyoyume giggled as she tried to get a good look at the boy. Only briefly did she note that the boy was somehow connected to Naraku, and that he held the same name as Naraku's younger brother.
She finally grabbed him from Jakotsu's grip. He sighed in relief. "Thanks lady."
She smiled down at him, deciding that he indeed was cute, but in a childish way. "No problem, and the names Kyoyume." She replied brightly.
He smiled. Then Naraku came over and the kid decided to be smart and try to hide behind Kyoyume.
Kyoyume looked at him curiously, not quite sure what he was doing until she spied Naraku out of the corner of her eye.
Naraku laughed. "You've discovered Hakudoushi I see?" He asked her.
Kyoyume continued to watch the boy that was hiding behind her, watching Naraku from around her legs. "It would appear so." She replied flatly, never happy when he came around.
Hakudoushi finally smiled, running over and glomping Naraku's leg. "I can see Entei today right?" He asked him calmly, but with obvious hope. "You said you'd ground him from me."
Kyoyume watched with slight amusement, though none of it showed on her face. "Perhaps." Naraku sighed.
"He's MY horse anyway!" The boy persisted. "This your new friend?" He asked jerking a thumb towards Kyoyume.
'Well, he's very fast to change subjects.' Kyoyume noted.
Naraku glared at him. "Sort of."
Kyoyume made a face inwardly, not liking his comment.
"What happened to your arms Naraku?" Jakotsu asked, grabbing one of his arms and inspecting it.
Naraku snatched it away, frowning. "None of your business." He grumbled.
"Ah, the work of Ichiyasha I'm guessing?" Jakotsu asked, knowingly.
He smirked. "Yeah, but he's just a light-weight bastard."
"You might want Suikotsu to look at these, they look kinda deep."
Naraku shrugged. "I'll live." He replied casually.
"Hakudoushi make sure he gets those cleaned." Jakotsu whispered to the shorter boy, who nodded.
Hakudoushi gave Jakotsu a thumbs-up and a small grin before turning to Kyoyume, watching her curiously, though she did not notice his eyes on her.
Naraku laughed. "I guess Hakudoushi likes you, Kyoyume."
Kyoyume blinked, coming out from a slight daze she had been in and looked to the little boy, giving him a small smile.
He smirked back, very Naraku-like. "She seems cool."
Kyoyume blushed slightly, not used to such comments being said in front of her. "Oh, thank you." She replied.
Suddenly there was a hand on her shoulder, she tensed up just as suddenly, having a very, very bad feeling about it.
Her ears fought to stand straight up in surprise, but the hat was pushing them down too hard for them to even manage a slight moment of freedom. Turning her head, Kyoyume followed the hand with her eyes, all the way up the arm attached to it, right up tot he face of the owner of the hand. 'Ichiyasha.' She seethed, wanting to burn his hand from its place on her shoulder.
Naraku growled in his throat. "Hey, I thought I told you to back off?"
Kyoyume stepped away from his hand, narrowing her eyes on him in distaste. "Since when have I listened to you?" Ichiyasha asked, wrinkling his nose at Naraku.
Naraku narrowed his eyes. "I don't know, but now's a great time to start."
Kyoyume looked to Jakotsu for help, she was lost about what was going on, and didn't much like how close Ichiyasha was to her. "Why should i listen?" Ichiyasha asked, raising one slender eyebrow at Naraku.
"Because, I know every move you make. And if you lay a finger on her, either of my sisters or Jakotsu again, I'll know and you'll regret it from more than just one angle, my friend."
Ichiyasha sneered. "Tch. I'm so scared, Naraku."
Naraku's eye twitched a little and he ran a hand over his arm again. "It should."
They had a silent stare-down then, in which neither of them seemed to blink, their eyes narrowed on each other. Kyoyume watched curiously, still confused.
Suddenly, faster than a human could comprehend Ichiyasha struck out at Naraku.
Kyoyume's ears tried to perk up again, but still the hat held them in place. Stunned, she took a slight, shocked step back. She was equally surprised when Naraku dodged around the blow, still glaring at his rival. His red eyes had not blinked once.
Jakotsu pulled her back further. "They're dangerous when they fight." He whispered as Naraku kicked his attacker's legs out from under him easily.
Kyoyume looked up to him curiously, but soon turned her eyes back tot he fight. She had no real comprehension of the moves since they were going too fast, but her eyes followed as much as they could.
The last blow of the fight was delivered by Ichiyasha. He struck out again and hit Naraku the stomach, then walked away as if nothing had happened.
Kyoyume glared at his retreating back, adding him to her 'people I hate' list. Looking to Naraku, she wondered if she should be worried about him or not. She felt like it was half her fault.
He was hunched over a little trying to catch his breath; he closed his eyes briefly then smiled up at his onlookers. "I'm fine." He muttered standing back up straight.
Kyoyume was relieved that he was not hurt, though that did not diminish her distaste for him and what he was doing to her. Still, she had decided that Ichiyasha was higher on her 'hate' list than Naraku was.
"Stupid bastard." He cursed through tightly clenched teeth.
Jakotsu was also glaring, and Hakudoushi stood looking mild and uncaring as he watched what was going on around him. Obviously this happened enough that neither of them were frightened or alarmed by it like Kyoyume was. Aware that she was still quite the 'new kid', she decided she should try and pick up on things faster from now on. "He's all full of hot air, the lout." Jakotsu grumbled.
Naraku nodded. "Just watch your back, Kyoyume, he's not all talk."
Kyoyume nodded silently, her eyes glued on the dismal crowd still milling about around them. "I will." She assured in a wanton tone.
He nodded. "You might want to be heading home?"
She nodded again. "Yeah."
He looked over his shoulder. "I'll walk with you. Ichiyasha might follow you." He replied. Jakotsu muttered something under his breath sounding like 'paranoid.'
Kyoyume stiffened slightly, she didn't want Naraku to find out where she lived! Not like she had much choice though, he would probably just threaten to pull her hat off if she didn't let him walk her. Sighing, she nodded again. "Fine."
She started walking and he followed, Jakotsu promised to take Hakudoushi back to Naraku's house for him as they left.
Kyoyume had to direct him, since he didn't know where to go, and even when she told him it was by Jakotsu's home, he didn't seem to know the directions. Sighing inwardly again, she wondered how she had ever gotten such bad luck. 'Black cat ears. When a black cat crosses your path, you get bad luck! That must mean I'm cursed for life!' She mused to herself, though she knew the story was only an Old Wives' Tale.
He stopped a few yards away and waved good-bye, beginning off in his own direction.
Kyoyume walked to her door and opened it, sighing heavily as she walked in and closed the door back behind her. Leaning back against the door, she closed her eyes and went over everything that had happened so far that day. Why, oh why was she so cursed like this? Why hadn't she been born normal?! Grumbling and growling to herself, Kyoyume went to her room where she dumped her bag and pulled the hat off her head. Deciding that she wanted to change hats again, Kyoyume hunted around for her long lost skullcap in her drawers.
The phone rang suddenly, causing her to jump up in surprise and make a small cat-like noise.
Shaking it off, she went to the phone and picked it up. "Hello?"
"Hey, it's Ayame." The familiar voice greeted
Kyoyume smiled, though she knew her friend couldn't see it. "Hey, what's up?" She asked, trying to manage pressing the phone to her ear and talk at the same time, something that had always been hard for her thanks to her less-than-usual ear problem.
"A friend of mine said she saw that fight between Ichiyasha and Naraku, you were there right?"
"Yeah, I was there. Along with Jakotsu and Hakudoushi." Kyoyume replied, wondering how many friends Ayame had that had seen her in various places.
"Oh, who won?"
"I think it was Ichiyasha, since he swung the last blow, but I have completely no idea what happened, it went so fast."
Ayame laughed. "Tomorrow's Saturday right?"
"I think. I lose track of days. Hold on. . ." Kyoyume went into the other room, the cord of the phone stretching out behind her. Looking on the calendar, she followed along the lines with her finger. "Uhm, yep, tomorrow's Saturday." She confirmed.
"Hmm, I heard about a new club opening. Me and Kouga and the others are going, you wanna come?"
Kyoyume bit her lip, nervous about the proposition. "Sure, why not?" She replied, smiling, though she was still uneasy.
"Cool! Why don't we meet at my place?"
Kyoyume nodded. "Ok, but where do you live?"
"The biggest house on Youroukouzu Lane."
Kyoyume thought. The name sounded familiar, but she could only vaguely remember where that was. "Sorry, but how do I get to there from here?" She asked nervously, hoping she wasn't being a pest.
"Hmm, lesse, where do you live?"
"On Neko Street."
"Oh, that's easy, pull off onto Main and go right, turn left and my house is at the very end! It's the big white house." She laughed.
Kyoyume laughed back. "Thanks, see ya in a few then." She said, going back into the other room.
When Ayame had hung up, Kyoyume smiled. Someone had invited her to go somewhere with them, she had friends.
Gleefully, she went into her room and pulled on her skullcap tightly before putting on a jacket and heading out the door again.
When she finally got to the large white house Ayame was waiting at the door. "Come on in!" She greeted. "Sorry if it's messy, Kouga's a slob."
Kyoyume waved, smiling brightly at her. "Nah, I'm sure it's no worse than my room" She assured her.
They walked inside and true to Ayame's word, the house was messy, old clothes thrown all over the floor and such. "Why don't we hang out in my room where there's less...mess?"
Kyoyume shrugged, though she was giggling at the picture set before her. Kouga was a slob indeed! "Sure."
They walked up a set of mahogany stairs and walked into the room at the end of the hall. It was probably the Master Bedroom, it was neat, the white carpets were spotless as were the red linens on the bed. "Like it? I furnished it myself." Ayame laughed, flopping down on her bed.
Kyoyume took it all in with impressed eyes. "Very nice." She said with a smile, though she felt out of place in the room.
"Sit down." Ayame insisted. "Don't be intimidated by my interior decorating skills." She added.
Kyoyume laughed again, Ayame didn't look like the perceptive type and it caught her off guard. She sat down next to Ayame and smiled. "You're really good." She complimented.
"Yeah, I guess. But I have one major pet-peeve...and it's so silly."
"Oh, come on! It can't be that ridiculous, Ayame!"
"I never know what to wear to special events or anything."
"Well that's nothing!" Kyoyume proclaimed happily. "A lot of people don't."
"Kouga cant either, it annoys me. I can dress everyone but myself for like dances and clubs and stuff."
"Need help?" Kyoyume giggled.
"Sure." Ayame teased back, giving Kyoyume a shove in the arm.
Kyoyume laughed, getting to her feet, she looked around. "Well, what'cha got?"
She walked over to her closet and opened it. "And that's about it."
Kyoyume's eyes widened at the selection. Smiling again, she shook her head. "That's all, eh?" She asked, walking up, still laughing to herself.
Ayame shrugged. "That's just the stuff I like, I got plenty of stuff I can't wear. You want it? I need to get it out of my house." She laughed.
Kyoyume laughed louder. "But where would I put it all?" She joked. "My neighbors would think I went and robbed somebody blind!" Teasingly, she winked at Ayame before pulling out a few things and looking them over. "Well, what do you feel like wearing?"
"White and black, like a silent movie star."
"Not what I meant, but still works." Kyoyume replied, shifting through some things. "How about. . .this, and. . .this."
Ayame looked on curiously. "Kyoyume you're strange." She giggled.
"I know. But would ya want me any other way?" Kyoyume asked in an angelic voice, though she was secretly thinking about her ears when Ayame mentioned the 'w' word.
"No. You're one of the coolest people I've met."
Kyoyume giggled, blushing in embarrassment. "You'd better stop, I'll go on an ego trip."
"Okay. Lemme see what you got." She demanded.
Kyoyume brought them both out, hoping that the combination looked good. "What do you think?" She asked with an awkward smile. "I'm new to this, so no laughing." She joked.
Ayame looked it over. "I'm gonna go see how it looks before I laugh." She replied walking into her bathroom and closing the door.
"Thank you for the vote of confidence!" Kyoyume called through the door.
Ayame didn't reply, then came out in what Kyoyume had picked out. A white tank top and casual black pants. "I like it."
Kyoyume smiled. "Good. Does that mean I did a good job on my first try?"
"Yes." Ayame nodded. "Now...you cant go in what you're wearing, no offense."
Kyoyume looked down at what she was wearing and laughed. "No, I guess I can't very well go like this, can I?" She asked, embarrassed.
"No...hmmm..." Ayame pondered.
"Oh! You don't have to dress me up!" Kyoyume said when she saw that that was Ayame's intention.
"Muhahahahahahaha!"
Kyoyume raised her eyebrows at her, her lips forming a thin line. "No, really Ayame! I'm fine!"
Ayame's maniacal laughter didn't cease and the gleam in her eyes was rather evil. She walked over to a dresser, opened it and pulled some stuff out, shoving it at Kyoyume and pushing her into the bathroom. She then fell over in a fit of giggles.
Kyoyume looked at what she had been handed from beyond the door and made a face. Changing, she kept her hat on the entire time. She walked back out to show Ayame, blushing madly in embarrassment. She definitely wasn't used to this at all and it was an uncomfortable situation at that.
"Blue is your color I believe." Ayame said trying to keep a straight face. "You look cute."
Kyoyume was still blushing, fiddling with her fingers. "Uh, uhm, thanks." She blurted out.
Ayame laughed again. "Keep the outfit, too small for me."
"Oh, thank you, but I couldn't Ayame-" Kyoyume stuttered.
"Take it." Ayame insisted, flatly. "Hmm, you hungry? I'm starved."
"Not really, but I'll have something to drink, thank you." Kyoyume replied.
They walked downstairs to find Kouga, Ginta and Hakkaku playing video games. "Pizza and drinks in the kitchen." Kouga replied instantly. "We'll leave when I beat these two losers."
Kyoyume giggled as she saw the determination in his eyes. He was completely concentrated on the game, for his eyes had not even left the screen when he had spoken.
"They'll be at it for a month." Ayame muttered walking into the kitchen.
"They're that competitive?" Kyoyume asked, sneaking a peek over her shoulder at them.
"Sometimes Ginta and Hakkaku get bored and ditch out. Sometimes I have to unplug the XBox."
Kyoyume giggled again. "I'll take that as a 'yes.'"
"Yeah."
Kyoyume sipped on a soda as Ayame ate. They talked briefly of idle things, stuff they had seen on TV and music on the radio mostly.
"How do you like our little town?"
"It's. . ." Kyoyume searched for the correct word. ". . .different than all my previous homes." She finished, smiling. "But I like it better than those other places."
"Yeah, some weird stuff happens." She agreed thoughtfully.
"That's good though. It's much more interesting that way." Kyoyume pointed out.
"Yeah. Interesting people you meet. Though not all of them are good."
Kyoyume briefly envisioned Naraku and Ichiyasha, frowning at the thought of them. "Yeah, I know what you mean." She replied.
"Yeah." Ayame said, biting a piece of pizza.
Kyoyume finished her drink and sat back in her chair, sighing. "Thank you for the drink." She said.
"No problem." Ayame replied looking at her watch.
Kyoyume peered at her wrist as well, wondering what time they were planning on leaving.
"Kouga, are you done yet?"
There was no reply from the other room except the sound of protesting, frustrated groans of defeat every now and then. The sound of missiles being fired was heard in the background. "What?" Came Kouga's delayed call.
"Are you done?!" Ayame snapped at him. "I would like to beat the crowd."
The glowing TV lights were suddenly diffused in the other room, and with it came the sound of regular television before it was also silenced. "Fine, fine!" Kouga roared back, rounding the corner, Ginta and Hakkaku right on his heels.
Ayame stood up and was nose to nose with Kouga for a second before she leaned in and mockingly kissed him on the nose before walking away, Kyoyume following, she tossed Kouga a set of keys. "You're driving."
Kouga rubbed at the tip of his nose with the side of his arm, grumbling as he trailed after the two girls. "Whatever." He replied.
Kyoyume, Hakkaku and Ginta were piled in the back seat. Ayame and Kouga bickering in the front.
The three in the back were snickering at them silently as they were driven to the club. Kyoyume became increasingly nervous, sucking in her breath, she tried to banish her anxiety, but found that she couldn't.
They got there, and walked to the door. "Kouga watch your back. Renkotsu is the bouncer." Ayame laughed heading the group off. They flashed IDs at the bouncer who was, in fact, Renkotsu and walked in.
Kyoyume was overcome by the noises and lights, and gawked briefly until Ayame pulled on her arm. Following her friend, Kyoyume shied away from the amplifiers that were blasting too loudly in her sensitive ears.
It was rock music, the crowd was mainly rock. "Lets sit at the bar." Ayame insisted.
Kyoyume agreed and followed after her closely. Sitting down, Kyoyume looked about her curiously. This was all so new and exciting, though she was still anxious.
"So..." Ayame started, trying to think of ANYTHING to say.
Kyoyume smiled, laughing a little. "This is so weird, I've never been to a place like this before."
"Hehe, oh, I really pray Kouga doesn't get mouthy with anyone." Ayame said suddenly.
Kyoyume looked through the crowd, trying to look for the aforementioned boy. "Why?"
"Because when he does he gets in fights. When he gets in fights I have to take him to the doctor."
Kyoyume laughed. "Well, I hope he doesn't either then."
"Yeah. Too much hassle. Maybe he'll just play pool with Ginta and Hakkaku like last time."
"Hopefully." Kyoyume agreed.
"Hey, Kagome!" Ayame called over the crowd. A black haired girl pushed her way through the crowd and sat down beside Ayame.
Kagome smiled at them both. "Hey, Ayame." She greeted. "And. . ." She looked at Kyoyume curiously.
"Kyoyume." She greeted; suddenly a few more girls joined Kagome. "Hi." She said as they waved greetings.
"Hey, Kyoyume." Kagome said. "I'm Kagome, Ayame's friend, and this is Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi." She pointed them out in turn, each one smiling or waving in return.
"Oh...hi, I'm new in town, kinda." Kyoyume replied.
"I thought I hadn't seen you before." The one called Yuka said with a smile. "I didn't know there was a new girl around." Ayumi said airily.
"Ditz's...all of you." The newer girl on the scene replied with a kind smile. "Hey Sango." They all chorused patiently.
"Hello, Sango, I'm Kyoyume." Kyoyume said politely, smiling. Sango nodded, looking Kyoyume over for a moment.
"Hi." She added. "See, Miroku told me a new student was coming. Good to have a boyfriend in the front office I guess." She informed them nodding. "Did you guys hear, my brother is dating Sesshoumaru Taiyoukai's little sister?" She asked them smiling brightly.
The others exchanged glances and giggles. "Does Sesshoumaru know?" Yuka asked smugly, laughing.
"Yes."
Yuka's eyes bulged, like the other girls'. "Woah." She commented, blinking back her surprise. "Well, congrats to Kohaku either way!"
"Uh-huh." Sango nodded. "I had to talk Sesshoumaru out of sitting in on them hanging out together. Took hours."
"I'll bet." Kagome said, leaning back in her chair with raised eyebrows, though her eyes held no interest in them.
Yuka stood up. "I'm gonna hang out outside for a little while okay? I'll be back in after a bit, just need some fresh air."
The others allowed her to go with nods of understanding. Kyoyume watched her until she disappeared than turned back to the others, kind of lost in the conversation.
Ayame raised an eyebrow. "She'll come back mad or won't come back."
Kyoyume raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?"
"Renkotsu is out there. They hate each other. At least they did last time I checked."
"Ah, I see." Kyoyume said, frowning. She wondered if that was good for a student and a teacher to hate each other openly like that.
Kagome and her friends eventually drifted off. Ayame looked bored. "So..."
Kyoyume smiled lightly, her eyes wandering over the great crowd. Her poor ears were pounding to the beat of the music. "Yep."
"Wanna go spy on Yuka?"
Kyoyume cocked her head to one side slightly. "Why?" She asked, blinking. Why would they wanna spy on Renkotsu and Yuka fighting?
Ayame laughed. "I dunno, because I'm bored."
Kyoyume shrugged. "Sure then, why not?" She agreed, though she was still uncertain about what was so interesting.
"It's not really fun, but it's something to do."
Kyoyume hopped down from her seat. "Hahaha, whatever you say."
There was a small lobby just outside the main room, there was a small dusty window, and they peered out of it and saw Yuka talking to Renkotsu boredly.
"Looks like they're having as much fun as we are." Kyoyume commented with a giggle.
Ayame furrowed her brows. "Are they now..."
"Hmm?" Kyoyume raised her eyebrows and turned back to the window.
"This isn't natural...they never just talk."
"Maybe they've learned to tolerate each other?" She suggested, her ears trying to stand up underneath her skullcap.
"Tolerate..."
"Yeah. . .Hell, I dunno." Kyoyume shrugged.
"Take a look." Ayame prodded, moving over so Kyoyume could get a better view.
Kyoyume scooted over, blinking against the strange change in lighting. Her eyes widened though when she spotted Yuka and Renkotsu. "?!"
Ayame fell over laughing. "What am I missing?!"
Kyoyume fell back, leaning against the wall. "I think my eyes are bleeding."
"Tell me!"
"It's wrong!!!" Kyoyume told her.
"TELL ME!"
"You look!" Kyoyume said, pushing her friend toward the window.
"I don't want to!" Ayame argued slamming her eyes shut.
"Then I'm not going to tell you!"
"Please just give me a hint!"
"Well, what do you think they're doing?! Use you're imagination!!" Kyoyume said, laughing at her friend by this time.
Ayame peeked out the window. "Dear, tell me I'm seeing things." She begged Kyoyume slamming her eyes shut again.
"Unless we're both hallucinating the same thing, I believe it is quite real." Kyoyume assured her, patting her shoulder understandingly.
Ayame whimpered. "Ew."
Kyoyume giggled to herself. "Agreed. But whatever floats your boat I guess."
"But do they have to...right in front of...why!?"
Kyoyume shrugged, playing with the rim of her hat. "Hell if I know." She used one of her favorite tag lines.
"Why him? Why her? Why them together? That's just..."
"Wrong?" She suggested.
"Yes."
Kyoyume giggled again. "Shall we leave before we scorch our vision?" She suggested.
"Nah...I wanna see what happens now."
Kyoyume shrugged, sitting against the wall still. "Go ahead, I'll sit here." She laughed at Ayame's perverse curiosity.
"Maybe we should head home though, I'm tired."
"What about Kouga and them?" Kyoyume asked, yawning.
Ayame walked back into the main club and found the boys, telling them shortly that they were leaving, so they crowded back into the car and drove home.
Kyoyume yawned again as she got in next to a weary Ginta and Hakkaku. Kouga was the only one who still seemed wide-awake.
Ayame was still laughing. "Kyoyume, lets tell Kouga what we saw!"
Kyoyume grimaced. "You tell him. It's still making me sick to my stomach."
Ayame looked at Kouga. "Ya know that rumor about Renkotsu?"
Kouga snickered, though he was raising an eyebrow in question. "Who doesn't?"
"Well it's true." Ayame laughed.
Kouga's eyes bulged and both of the boys in the back stood to attention at the proclamation of this. "Really? Who is it?"
"Yuka."
"W-what?!" Kouga fell back, Ginta and Hakkaku moved with him as if he they were one being. "You have to be kidding!" Ginta cried. "Yeah they hate each other to death!!" Hakkaku added.
"So we thought..."
"You saw this too?" Ginta asked, looking to Kyoyume who nodded, rolling her eyes.
"They were like...all over each other..." Ayame groaned.
"Please!" Kyoyume cried, though she was smiling. "Refrain from mentioning such disgusting incident!"
"Okay."
Kyoyume sighed wearily, shaking her head. "Hoo, what a night."
They got home, Kouga went to sleep Ginta and Hakkaku went to sleep, Ayame threw Kyoyume a blanket and pillow on the couch and they both fell asleep.
The next morning, Kyoyume was unusually groggy, and it took her a moment to remember why she wasn't in her own room. Shaking her head, she reached for her skullcap and pulled it tighter down over her head. Her ears protested to the all night stay underneath the smothering hat, but it couldn't be helped for now. So she would have sore ears the rest of the day, big deal.
Kouga was in the kitchen cooking breakfast; Ginta and Hakkaku were with him.
Shyly, she wondered if they had seen her ears or even guessed at what lay under her hats and hoods.
She got up finally and walked in. He was cooking pancakes and bacon. "Shh...it's for me and Ayame's anniversary.." he told her.
Kyoyume smiled knowingly, trying to hide a laugh. Nodding silently, she watched with interest, hoping that she wasn't a pest.
Kouga finished and walked upstairs to wake Ayame.
Looking about, Kyoyume took the room in, putting everything down to memory so that she wouldn't feel so foreign to the area when next she visited. It was very nice, and Kyoyume wondered if she should get going soon. She had been out all night, away from home, and she was worried, of course, for she had never been away from home for so long in all her known life.
She decided she would leave sometime after breakfast, if everything went right.
Shifting in her seat, she tried to act inconspicuous as she saw Kouga ushering Ayame down the steps.
Ayame smiled. "You remember!" Which was only half-true, Ginta and Hakkaku had reminded him that morning, he just didn't want to be strangled.
Kyoyume smiled a little at the expression on Ayame's face. "Of course I remembered!" Kouga said, smiling smugly. "You think I'd forget?"
"Yes, actually." She replied sitting down.
Kouga made a face at her. "Well, I didn't." He said, giving her the breakfast he had prepared.
She thanked him and they began eating, it was very good. Kyoyume assumed Kouga could do things he put his mind to, breakfast for example.
The whole time, they talked of idle things, but Kouga mainly wanted details on Renkotsu and Yuka from the night before, probably so that he could have some dirt on the teacher, Kyoyume figured. She stayed relatively quiet the entire time, only speaking up to verify something that Ayame had said, or to add her two-cents to the whole thing.
They finished breakfast around noon and sat around idly, wasting time talking, laughing, acting stupid.
Kyoyume was nervous still about her home, but was in no rush to leave her friends by this point. Smiling, she laughed at something Ginta had just said about Kouga's bad habits. The boy had received a clout on the head, but still Kyoyume was humored by it, as was everyone else.
They stopped laughing briefly, looking around bored.
Kyoyume stood, figuring this was her cue to leave. "I had better get going now." She said with a small smile.
"Oh...okay! See ya Monday I guess!" Ayame replied.
Kyoyume waved to them all, smiling before going to the door and letting herself out with a final call of 'goodbye.'
She got home, no new messages on the answering machine and nothing on TV...what a life.
Grumbling, she let her ears free from their prison, groaning as they tingled. They had fallen asleep in their flattened state and little pinpricks were now rushing through them.
She was tired, so she flopped down on her couch for something of a cat-nap, falling asleep, her mind buzzed of the fun she had with her friends.
End Chapter