Dokyusei
by Nana
Chapter 4
Games
"Sango-chan, do you know anyone named Kikyou?"
The question effectively made Sango pause, her spoon halfway to her mouth. "Kikyou?" she asked, her eyes wide. "You mean Kitahara Kikyou?"
"Kikyou-I-don't-know," Kagome said.
But based on how that creep Inu Yasha had so familiarly used that name, she could tell HE knew loads about that girl.
"Where did you hear that name?" was Sango's next question.
Kagome sighed, thinking it was inevitable that Sango would work her way to this point. She told her about her lunchtime encounter with Inu Yasha.
"Inu Yasha…mistook you for HER?" Sango sounded as though she could not believe it, then she leaned in more closely to take in Kagome's face.
"Well…you do look a lot like her, come to think of it," Sango said, slowly. "Only, it's pretty weird; you'd think Inu Yasha himself would make that mistake…"
She blinked as Kagome leaned in more closely, apparently impatient for her to continue.
"Well, it was all such a muddled affair," Sango said. "The only ones who really know the story are Inu Yasha and Kikyou. At the start, Inu Yasha apparently hated the girl--come to think of it she's not really his type. Too serious and academic and all that. But then, things progressed, and sometimes they'd be seen going out, you know? And then, one day they just weren't talking to each other anymore."
Kagome's could feel her eyebrow lifting at that account.
"I know, I know," Sango said, waving a hand as she resumed eating. "Like I said, it was all very muddled. You would never get anything out of Inu Yasha, and everyone's too scared of him to try, anyway. As for Kitahara, well…she's not the talkative sort, so…"
She shrugged. "Whatever happened, it was serious enough for Kitahara to ask for a transfer to another class."
"You mean, you guys were all classmates?" Kagome asked. That was indeed very interesting.
"Sure. She used to sit in front of me," Sango said.
"Well, is she here now?" Kagome wanted to know, looking casually around. Actually, she reasoned out, she was not particularly interested in seeing this Kikyou, but if she were here, she might as well take the opportunity.
"Umm, no," said Sango. "I don't think she eats lunch here."
Kagome lapsed into thoughtful silence, thinking of the scrap of sentence Inu Yasha had been saying before he realized SHE was not Kikyou.
…Why didn't you come this morning? I thought you wanted to talk at last…
He sounded angry, that was true, but weren't those words obvious enough? Wasn't he thinking of a reconciliation?
Curiouser and curiouser…and she, Higurashi Kagome, had to be sucked into the whole thing because she somehow resembled this mystery girl.
Well, Kagome huffed, trying to shrug the matter off. It's not really any concern of mine what happens between Inu Yasha and Kikyou. Especially Inu Yasha.
Yeah.
And after what he made me go through today..!
With that, Kagome lost no time in burying the troublesome problem of Inu Yasha into the back of her mind.
So it was just her bad luck that everything came undone, when she ran into the mystery girl herself after lunch.
She and Sango had dodged into the women's room to freshen up a bit before the afternoon's science lab class. Sango had gone into one of the cubicles, and Kagome was brushing her hair before the mirror when a girl went in.
"Sumimasen," she murmured to Kagome, and opened the tap beside her.
Kagome glanced at her, and did a double take as she took in the girl's appearance. There was something about this girl--and it was not just the fact she had dark hair as long as Kagome's--that was familiar. And it wasn't until Kagome glanced back at her reflection in the mirror that she noted the resemblance.
The curves of their faces, the color of their skin, their build-- almost an exact match. But there were differences as well. The girl, although she may have eyes the same color and symmetry as Kagome's, had this look of intense calm and quiet about her which Kagome could almost describe as cold.
Yes, definitely cold. Everything from the look in her eyes to her unhurried movements as she washed her hands in the sink.
The girl appeared not to notice Kagome watching. After using the sink, she turned the tap off, got out her handkerchief, turned away, and walked out the comfort room without so much as a look around.
"Kagome…"
Kagome could see Sango's reflection in the mirror.
"That's her, isn't she," Kagome said. It was more a statement rather than a query.
"Hai."
Kagome shrugged. "C'mon," she urged Sango. "We'll be late for class."
As they walked down the corridor to the laboratory, Kagome could sense Sango watching her quizzically.
"Right, Kagome! Snap out of it! So what about Kitahara Kikyou? Who was she to merit any space in your thoughts?" She told herself. "I'm sure Sango-chan's really confused."
They passed by the main bulletin board, and a name there immediately caught her eye. It was on top of the freshmen's honors list.
"Umm…well, she's our batch's number one student, too," affirmed Sango, sensing her thoughts.
So WHAT? Sowhat sowhat sowhat?
It was a good thing Sango could not read minds.
**********************
Kagome sighed as their Science teacher went on to explain that for the upcoming experiment, they had to be paired into couples--boy-girl groups, no less.
"That way, we will facilitate the speed of the experiment, AND prevent the unfortunate incident of people being left off with no voluntary partners," Myouga-sensei said, his tone a little severe.
"So here we go," said the old teacher, digging into a box of papers with names for the boys, and another box for the girls. He started calling out names.
"Kami-sama," prayed Kagome, an unpleasant feeling starting to spread at the pit of her stomach.
Judging from the way her day was going, why did she have this weird, horrible feeling--
"Inu Yasha and Higurashi Kagome," Myouga-sensei announced.
Kagome dropped her face into her hands. When it rains, it certainly pours, she thought, sourly.
On the other end of the room, Inu Yasha was not looking thrilled himself. Kagome could feel her blood rising as she saw his dark scowl. How could he be so uncouth as to show the world he had a problem with her??? No, not with her, with somebody who looks like her????
Well, she wasn't going to sink to his level, she decided. She wasn't even going to complain to the teacher, as was her original impulse. She was going to let this guy stew.
As the class moved to their designated groups, Kagome affected an air of nonchalance.
"Well, we can start by cleaning the utensils," she greeted Inu Yasha as he reluctantly joined her.
Inu Yasha could not believe what she had just said, but before he could say anything, Kagome moved in, "you've got a problem with the grouping, I suggest you tell Myouga-sensei yourself."
"You mean you don't mind us being group mates?" Inu Yasha said, disbelievingly.
"I couldn't care less," said Kagome, opening her lab manual.
If it's a sparring match he wants, she thought, grimly, he's got one. Let the games begin…
************************
After classes, the two girls walked across the lawn slowly. The shadows were growing longer.
Kagome felt tired, but oddly satisfied, particularly with the afternoon classes. Perhaps her words had sunk in; Inu Yasha did not say so much as a single rude thing to her throughout the lab period.
"Well, I'm sure this has been a long day for you," said Sango as they came to the point where they had to go separate ways. "Don't worry, though, things will get better."
"Right," agreed Kagome.
"And don't worry about Inu Yasha or Kitahara--think of them as nothing," advised Sango.
"I'm not worrying," said Kagome.
Sango smiled. "Good. I'll see you tomorrow, then."
"Bye, Sango."
It was certainly a strange day, thought Sango as she made for the gymnasium and the track grounds behind it. Made all the more strange by the events clustering around the arrival of Kagome….
Up ahead, she caught sight of the lone figure making his way to the tracks, and she forgot about the day's events.
"Takagi-senpai!" She called, smiling, as she recognized an upperclassman who was also a fellow runner.
Takagi Toshiaki turned at the sound of her voice.
"Oy, Sango-chan," he greeted her, stopping to wait for her. "Ready for practice.?"
"Hai."
"I hope you've gotten over what that idiot Mizuno Naraku told you earlier," he said. "Let's just concentrate and do our best, okay?"
"Hai," said Sango, feeling more relaxed.
They had known each other since junior high school, and it was to Toshi that she had run to during lunchtime to unburden herself over what Naraku had implicated in the corridor.
"Well, let's meet here after we change costumes and let's go out for our usual run," said Toshi, as he branched off to the male dressing room.
"Okay."
He got back first, and waited outside the track oval for Sango.
"Hey, Takagi!" Somebody called from the other end of the oval.
Takagi grinned as he recognized the newcomer. "Hey!" He returned. "What're you doing here?"
The newcomer held up a notebook. "Thanks for your Math notes. I forgot to return them to you in class."
Sango emerged from the female dressing room, and started toward Takagi.
Takagi had company, and the person was partially shielded from view. It was too late then for Sango to retreat when she caught sight of who it was. Miroku noted her hesitation with a great deal of interest.
"Sango-chan!" Toshi said brightly. "I'm sure you know Fukuzawa Miroku here. He's my classmate. Fukuzawa, this is Mikagi-kouhai."
Miroku gave her a smile. "We've…met," he told Toshi, who was oblivious of Sango's struggles to maintain a calm face.
"Fukuzawa dropped by to return the notes he borrowed from me when he got sick," explained Toshi. "You guys wait here while I dump these in my bag."
Sango would have wanted to follow him, but Miroku was ahead of her.
"Sure. Take your time," he said as Toshi took off, effectively blocking Sango off.
He turned back to her, suppressing a chuckle as he noted she had turned red.
The game had begun…
*************************
Interesting thing about the social structure of Japanese high schools-- upperclassmen are called SENPAI (SEMPAI), and underclassmen are called KOUHAI--thanks for calling my attention to errors, everyone!
by Nana
Chapter 4
Games
"Sango-chan, do you know anyone named Kikyou?"
The question effectively made Sango pause, her spoon halfway to her mouth. "Kikyou?" she asked, her eyes wide. "You mean Kitahara Kikyou?"
"Kikyou-I-don't-know," Kagome said.
But based on how that creep Inu Yasha had so familiarly used that name, she could tell HE knew loads about that girl.
"Where did you hear that name?" was Sango's next question.
Kagome sighed, thinking it was inevitable that Sango would work her way to this point. She told her about her lunchtime encounter with Inu Yasha.
"Inu Yasha…mistook you for HER?" Sango sounded as though she could not believe it, then she leaned in more closely to take in Kagome's face.
"Well…you do look a lot like her, come to think of it," Sango said, slowly. "Only, it's pretty weird; you'd think Inu Yasha himself would make that mistake…"
She blinked as Kagome leaned in more closely, apparently impatient for her to continue.
"Well, it was all such a muddled affair," Sango said. "The only ones who really know the story are Inu Yasha and Kikyou. At the start, Inu Yasha apparently hated the girl--come to think of it she's not really his type. Too serious and academic and all that. But then, things progressed, and sometimes they'd be seen going out, you know? And then, one day they just weren't talking to each other anymore."
Kagome's could feel her eyebrow lifting at that account.
"I know, I know," Sango said, waving a hand as she resumed eating. "Like I said, it was all very muddled. You would never get anything out of Inu Yasha, and everyone's too scared of him to try, anyway. As for Kitahara, well…she's not the talkative sort, so…"
She shrugged. "Whatever happened, it was serious enough for Kitahara to ask for a transfer to another class."
"You mean, you guys were all classmates?" Kagome asked. That was indeed very interesting.
"Sure. She used to sit in front of me," Sango said.
"Well, is she here now?" Kagome wanted to know, looking casually around. Actually, she reasoned out, she was not particularly interested in seeing this Kikyou, but if she were here, she might as well take the opportunity.
"Umm, no," said Sango. "I don't think she eats lunch here."
Kagome lapsed into thoughtful silence, thinking of the scrap of sentence Inu Yasha had been saying before he realized SHE was not Kikyou.
…Why didn't you come this morning? I thought you wanted to talk at last…
He sounded angry, that was true, but weren't those words obvious enough? Wasn't he thinking of a reconciliation?
Curiouser and curiouser…and she, Higurashi Kagome, had to be sucked into the whole thing because she somehow resembled this mystery girl.
Well, Kagome huffed, trying to shrug the matter off. It's not really any concern of mine what happens between Inu Yasha and Kikyou. Especially Inu Yasha.
Yeah.
And after what he made me go through today..!
With that, Kagome lost no time in burying the troublesome problem of Inu Yasha into the back of her mind.
So it was just her bad luck that everything came undone, when she ran into the mystery girl herself after lunch.
She and Sango had dodged into the women's room to freshen up a bit before the afternoon's science lab class. Sango had gone into one of the cubicles, and Kagome was brushing her hair before the mirror when a girl went in.
"Sumimasen," she murmured to Kagome, and opened the tap beside her.
Kagome glanced at her, and did a double take as she took in the girl's appearance. There was something about this girl--and it was not just the fact she had dark hair as long as Kagome's--that was familiar. And it wasn't until Kagome glanced back at her reflection in the mirror that she noted the resemblance.
The curves of their faces, the color of their skin, their build-- almost an exact match. But there were differences as well. The girl, although she may have eyes the same color and symmetry as Kagome's, had this look of intense calm and quiet about her which Kagome could almost describe as cold.
Yes, definitely cold. Everything from the look in her eyes to her unhurried movements as she washed her hands in the sink.
The girl appeared not to notice Kagome watching. After using the sink, she turned the tap off, got out her handkerchief, turned away, and walked out the comfort room without so much as a look around.
"Kagome…"
Kagome could see Sango's reflection in the mirror.
"That's her, isn't she," Kagome said. It was more a statement rather than a query.
"Hai."
Kagome shrugged. "C'mon," she urged Sango. "We'll be late for class."
As they walked down the corridor to the laboratory, Kagome could sense Sango watching her quizzically.
"Right, Kagome! Snap out of it! So what about Kitahara Kikyou? Who was she to merit any space in your thoughts?" She told herself. "I'm sure Sango-chan's really confused."
They passed by the main bulletin board, and a name there immediately caught her eye. It was on top of the freshmen's honors list.
"Umm…well, she's our batch's number one student, too," affirmed Sango, sensing her thoughts.
So WHAT? Sowhat sowhat sowhat?
It was a good thing Sango could not read minds.
**********************
Kagome sighed as their Science teacher went on to explain that for the upcoming experiment, they had to be paired into couples--boy-girl groups, no less.
"That way, we will facilitate the speed of the experiment, AND prevent the unfortunate incident of people being left off with no voluntary partners," Myouga-sensei said, his tone a little severe.
"So here we go," said the old teacher, digging into a box of papers with names for the boys, and another box for the girls. He started calling out names.
"Kami-sama," prayed Kagome, an unpleasant feeling starting to spread at the pit of her stomach.
Judging from the way her day was going, why did she have this weird, horrible feeling--
"Inu Yasha and Higurashi Kagome," Myouga-sensei announced.
Kagome dropped her face into her hands. When it rains, it certainly pours, she thought, sourly.
On the other end of the room, Inu Yasha was not looking thrilled himself. Kagome could feel her blood rising as she saw his dark scowl. How could he be so uncouth as to show the world he had a problem with her??? No, not with her, with somebody who looks like her????
Well, she wasn't going to sink to his level, she decided. She wasn't even going to complain to the teacher, as was her original impulse. She was going to let this guy stew.
As the class moved to their designated groups, Kagome affected an air of nonchalance.
"Well, we can start by cleaning the utensils," she greeted Inu Yasha as he reluctantly joined her.
Inu Yasha could not believe what she had just said, but before he could say anything, Kagome moved in, "you've got a problem with the grouping, I suggest you tell Myouga-sensei yourself."
"You mean you don't mind us being group mates?" Inu Yasha said, disbelievingly.
"I couldn't care less," said Kagome, opening her lab manual.
If it's a sparring match he wants, she thought, grimly, he's got one. Let the games begin…
************************
After classes, the two girls walked across the lawn slowly. The shadows were growing longer.
Kagome felt tired, but oddly satisfied, particularly with the afternoon classes. Perhaps her words had sunk in; Inu Yasha did not say so much as a single rude thing to her throughout the lab period.
"Well, I'm sure this has been a long day for you," said Sango as they came to the point where they had to go separate ways. "Don't worry, though, things will get better."
"Right," agreed Kagome.
"And don't worry about Inu Yasha or Kitahara--think of them as nothing," advised Sango.
"I'm not worrying," said Kagome.
Sango smiled. "Good. I'll see you tomorrow, then."
"Bye, Sango."
It was certainly a strange day, thought Sango as she made for the gymnasium and the track grounds behind it. Made all the more strange by the events clustering around the arrival of Kagome….
Up ahead, she caught sight of the lone figure making his way to the tracks, and she forgot about the day's events.
"Takagi-senpai!" She called, smiling, as she recognized an upperclassman who was also a fellow runner.
Takagi Toshiaki turned at the sound of her voice.
"Oy, Sango-chan," he greeted her, stopping to wait for her. "Ready for practice.?"
"Hai."
"I hope you've gotten over what that idiot Mizuno Naraku told you earlier," he said. "Let's just concentrate and do our best, okay?"
"Hai," said Sango, feeling more relaxed.
They had known each other since junior high school, and it was to Toshi that she had run to during lunchtime to unburden herself over what Naraku had implicated in the corridor.
"Well, let's meet here after we change costumes and let's go out for our usual run," said Toshi, as he branched off to the male dressing room.
"Okay."
He got back first, and waited outside the track oval for Sango.
"Hey, Takagi!" Somebody called from the other end of the oval.
Takagi grinned as he recognized the newcomer. "Hey!" He returned. "What're you doing here?"
The newcomer held up a notebook. "Thanks for your Math notes. I forgot to return them to you in class."
Sango emerged from the female dressing room, and started toward Takagi.
Takagi had company, and the person was partially shielded from view. It was too late then for Sango to retreat when she caught sight of who it was. Miroku noted her hesitation with a great deal of interest.
"Sango-chan!" Toshi said brightly. "I'm sure you know Fukuzawa Miroku here. He's my classmate. Fukuzawa, this is Mikagi-kouhai."
Miroku gave her a smile. "We've…met," he told Toshi, who was oblivious of Sango's struggles to maintain a calm face.
"Fukuzawa dropped by to return the notes he borrowed from me when he got sick," explained Toshi. "You guys wait here while I dump these in my bag."
Sango would have wanted to follow him, but Miroku was ahead of her.
"Sure. Take your time," he said as Toshi took off, effectively blocking Sango off.
He turned back to her, suppressing a chuckle as he noted she had turned red.
The game had begun…
*************************
Interesting thing about the social structure of Japanese high schools-- upperclassmen are called SENPAI (SEMPAI), and underclassmen are called KOUHAI--thanks for calling my attention to errors, everyone!