"Of course not!" Kagome snorted. "I've been stuck with that asshole all day, and I'm not going to take any more of his crap!" At this uncharacteristic outburst, everyone at the table openly gaped at her. To which she responded with another snap, "What are you all looking at?"

Sango glanced over at Shippou. Both her and Ayame knew him from her numerous trips over to Kagome's house. "What are you doing hanging out with creeps like them anyway, Shippou?"

Shippou winced at this. "It's a long and very complicated story," he warned. "But they're actually not too bad at all when you get to know them. Besides, I'm definitely sitting anywhere Kirara is,"

"Kirara?" Sango repeated, looking confused.

Kagome, however, gasped, eyes wide. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry!" she nearly wailed.

"What's wrong, Kagome-chan?" Kuranosuke tilted his head to the side.

"Kirara..." Kagome slapped her hand to her forehead. "She must think I'm some kind of bimbo..."

"Will someone please tell me what's going on here?" Sango snapped. She didn't really like to play guessing games.

"Well, you see," Shippou rubbed his hands together. "Kirara is my girlfriend...And she was kind of sitting with me back there..."

"Oh," Sango frowned. "That could be a problem,"

"Uh...Yeah," Ayame sweatdropped. "Hey, could this Kirara possibly be blond-haired, crimson-eyed, wearing an extremely pissed expression and marching over here right now?"

Kagome paled. "That sounds like a pretty accurate description, Ayame-chan...."

"Fun, fun," Sango murmured sarcastically under her breath. Ayame became mysteriously engrossed with her chicken sandwich. Kuranosuke suddenly looked very interested with the floor underneath the table.

Shippou cast nervous glances around the cafeteria, refusing to look at any of them.

"Oh thanks, guys," Kagome hissed, looking up just in time to flash Kirara a sweet smile. The 'Oh-my-God-I-didn't-know-please-don't-kill-me' kind, to be exact. "Hey there! Kirara right? I'm Kagome! Shippou was just telling me all about you! We're neighbors you know..." Kagome promptly quit babbling when Sango kicked her under the table.

Kirara blinked. "Kagome, was it?"

Kagome nodded vigorously. "Yes, that's me!" she giggled nervously.

Kirara gave her a strange look, but sat down next to Shippou and extended her hand across the table. "Nice to meet you then, Kagome. Any friend of Shippou's is a friend of mine,"

Visibly relaxing, Kagome took the offered hand, giving it a brief but firm shake. "Nice to meet you too, Kirara,"

Silence descended upon the table for a few awkward moments. "So," Kirara spoke up, pleasantly, attempting to thaw the ice, "Have you told them yet, Shippou?"

Shippou looked confused. "Told them what?"

Kirara sighed in exasperation. "Your first big break!"

"Oh," Shippou blinked. "That,"

Kirara rolled her eyes, but smiled fondly at him. "Shippou here, is in a band, you see,"

Only Kagome didn't look surprised. "Really?" Ayame squealed. "That's so cool!"

Kuranosuke smiled, bobbing his head. "Agreed. What instrument do you play?"

"Guitar," Shippou cheerfully informed them. "Everyone in our band can play the guitar, but what instrument we play depends on the song, really,"

"How many people are in your band?" Sango curiously inquired.

"Officially? Three, including me. Unofficially, there are four of us, though. Our 'manager' occasionally jumps on the bandwagon, if he really feels for a song,"

"That's cool," Sango smiled. "I have a fondness for drum-players,"

Shippou smiled mysteriously at that last comment. He had heard from both Inu-Yasha and Miroku about their little run-in at Shikon Shoppe. That comment would come back to bite Sango in the butt...

"So, what exactly is your 'big break'?" Kagome piped up, smiling proudly at her neighbor.

"Well," Shippou grinned, arm snaking around Kirara's waist, happily pulling her into a loose hug. "Out of at least twenty hopefuls, our band got picked to play at the spring dance,"

"That's so great!" Kagome gushed, giving a little bounce. Sango and Kuranosuke grinned at each other, and Ayame eagerly nodded her head in agreement. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks," Shippou beamed. "That means a lot to me,"

"Aww," Kagome smirked, reaching over to ruffle his rusty-colored mop of hair. "Getting in some early practice for your award acceptance speech?"

"Hell yes," Shippou returned the smirk.

But their joyful gathering was interrupted much too soon by evil's incarnate: the bell. Well, that 'much too soon' depended on who you asked. Frankly, Sango was dreading going back to class. And who wouldn't, having to tote around that little pervert, who kept closer than her handbag?

A/N: Long time no update, huh? I was kind of slacking off. Half of this chapter was sitting on my hard drive since the last update, but I didn't know where to take it. From the humongous blob of reviews I recently received however, I decided it was about time for me to work on it. So here it is: the next chapter. Albeit short, but hopefully good. And now time to respond to my wonderful reviewers.

Xenophile & All Others Concerned: Oh, yes indeed. He will pay for that.

Katelynn: Thank you so much, oh-dearest-relative-of-friend-who-I-had-no-clue-liked-anime-til-a-few-weeks-ago. Glad I met you. You're one fun chick :D...

Ruby: Well...I hate to say it, friend, but they are only a supporting couple. But fear not, they'll have several more scenes coming up.

Mako: I noticed you brought back the 'o.o'...That's a very good thing! Reading a review from you isn't the same when you forget it xD!

Everyone Else: Thanks so, so much! I am only 21 more reviews away from reaching the goal of my entire writing career! I never thought the day would be drawing so near...::sobs happily::

Please Review!