Chapter Warnings :: Nothing big—but later chapters things start to heat up.

School Days

Created by: Reall-Goodchild

Re-written by: Melody Unwinding

Here they all were, lined up like they were about to go into battle. Bags on their backs, packed tightly with their supplies and necessities. Kagome had refrained from talking to the hot-headed jerk that she was forced to spend 2 nights alongside. She kept her eyes focused on anything but him. Inside her head she couldn't sop thinking about how blind she had been not to see what was happening during their twister game. She blocked out Riku and Tamika's instructions on their days out in the wild, and what the warnings were.

She shot a glance at Ayame who was staring into the forest with glazed eyes. She sighed and then looked for her other friend. At first Sango looked completely calm and serene standing there next to Miroku whose face seemed to be going red fairly fast, but then she knew that there was more to this picture. She looked down their arms to see Sango holding Miroku's hand—or that's what a quick look told you. Miroku's hand was twisted in an awkward way and she could make out Sango's veins popping out of her arm.

"Lecher..." She murmured to herself as she gave a slight laugh. She looked down at her clean hands and knew that she would miss all the cleanliness and hygiene that she had worked so hard to achieve.

"...and now, we'll call out your numbers and one group at a time will be sent off into the woods at a designated spot. So be patient and you'll be off as soon as we can!" Tamika concluded as she gave the cue for Riku to begin the countdown.

"We'll start off with number one, as obvious as it would be. Off you two go, and remember your safety tactics." He said in his low, rumbling voice. The blonde and the bald boy headed into the forest, chatting away lightly with their voices filled with excitement. Kagome heard the sudden outburst of quiet voices having their last conversation with their friends before heading off into the gloom of their camp-out. She made her way quickly through the crowd of teens to Ayame, still worrying about her state of mind. Kouga hung back a bit, finding his shoes fairly interesting.

"Hey." Kagome said softly, nudging her friend slightly to get her attention. Ayame snapped out of her daze and let her eyes wander to the slightly shorter woman. She gave her a half-hearted smile and nodded in recognition.

"So...how are you holding up?" She asked calmly, trying not to arouse any anger or rage. Ayame shrugged, lifting her eyes away from Kagome to browse along the other teens. Some were excited, some were upset, some were complaining, and some were just taking a vow of silence. She sighed, contemplating if she should share her feelings before she entered the woods with the topic of her thoughts. Even with him standing just behind her with his super-hearing.

"I don't know anymore—just a jumble of thoughts again." She said, knowing that it was impossible to voice her reasons. "I guess a little anxious because it's the great outdoors—then again I'll be away from you guys for a while." She failed to add in a certain wolf that plagued her every thought—every action.

"It's okay to worry, both Sango and I worry for you—you know that." Kagome said before lowering her voice and motioning over towards Sango and Miroku who were in the same position as before. "But I worry more for the sake of that poor lecher. I hope Sango doesn't do too much damage to him, I mean he needs his hands—for other things than groping I should mention." Ayame let out a laugh, one of the first ones in days.

"I think anyone would worry for the pervert, including himself." She said, her eyes smiling at her friend. "But Miroku's had his eyes—and hands—on Sango for a long time now; he could always get a lesson out of this." Ayame and Kagome looked at each other before bursting out laughing at her remark.

"Yeah right—him, change?" Kagome said as she regained her composure—though the smile never leaving her face. Kouga's ears focused in their conversation as he heard the light laugh of Ayame—letting it ring through his head like a song that would've leave his mind.

Riku continued calling the couples until finally Kagome's name was called. She froze up, staring past her friend at the hanyou who stepped forward with a casual face on like nothing was happening. She steamed up at the mere sight of his cocky attitude and said goodbye to her friend before she left, heading to her doom. On the outskirts of the forest the two headed towards the large and dark opening—the path which would lead them to their own demise.

"I'm going to hell." Kagome whispered lightly, knowing that he would clearly catch her words. He didn't look at her, but smirked at her statement.

"Welcome to the great outdoors princess." He said haughtily, a smirk dancing across his face.

"Jerk." She murmured.

"Wench."

::--::

It was down to three more groups when Ayame began to feel a little uncomfortable with Kouga just standing a few feet behind her. She had tried to shove the aspect of staying alone with the wolf, but she knew that it would come back to haunt her. It was a scary thought that she had always felt, but she never wanted to face it. It wasn't him—it was just the way her whole being—mind, body and soul—were betraying her to his touch, his voice, everything to do with him. It felt uneasy as she thought it over in her mind. They hadn't spoken a word and here they were—forced to spend a few nights together.

She wasn't sure if she should say something to him or not—try to make it less awkward in a way. Riku called out their number and Ayame took this as her chance to at least establish some sort of connection.

"That's us." She said, an awkward smile flashing across her face. He looked up from his shoes to her face, surprise shimmering in his azure orbs.

"I-I guess it is." He said swallowing the lump in his throat that had cause from the sudden burst of hope as her voice passed her sweet lips. He licked his own unconsciously before following her towards the opening.

"Have fun guys—but keep it pg." Riku said, lowering his voice for the last part. Both of them blushed madly, hiding it from one another.

"Now this is going to be worth our while." Tamika said, a large grin plastered across her face like a psycho Cheshire cat. Riku chuckled, crossing their names off the list that held all the teens.

"You have no idea." He said, giving the wolves one last look. "You have no idea.

::--::

A/U :: Okay...I apologize for the wait, but I had basketball tryouts AND basketball, so it was a little hectic. Then there's school and homework—not my fault. But 'tis a long weekend and I have it all off and I am doing nothing—save for basketball (try outs and practice). So I'll try to update soon. I will focus on each couple during the chapters, and maybe I'll de4dicate one whole one to one pair—we'll see what mood I'm in.

Once again, Reall-Goodchild, I appreciate any ideas. And if any of you readers are interesting in handing me an idea, then knock yourselves out. It's always good to hear what people say.

Arriverdici!

Melody Unwinding