I am SOO sorry, everyone! I just finished my midterms (stupid schedule managed to stretch it over three weeks – and I only have five classes!) so I didn't get this out before Halloween like I wanted. My original plan was to do no less than one a month, but that was without taking 16 credits of class and 20 hours of work and the sorry thing that passes for my social life into consideration. But now, I don't have any big exams or papers until after Thanksgiving, hallelujah!

I've actually had this first part written for a very long time, just never had time to type it up and finish it off. Hopefully the flow of this crazy thing isn't completely ruined. Thanks for your wonderful reviews and again, so so sorry for the wait!

Also, I've kind of forgotten what/if I've listed everyone's full schedule. I don't think I have, aside from the classes they have together, but if I add a class or something, sorry. I'll work on fixing it.

Disclaimer: Still don't own any of Rumiko Takahashi's characters!

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Chapter Seven

Boxed In

Inuyasha had to be very careful with his next move. His wake-up call had to be big enough to show that girl that he wasn't intimidated, but not so big as to get her to call the truce off. Because frankly, the girl scared him. Bleaching a guy's hair three days after meeting him can do that to you.

So, once again, Inuyasha roamed the halls of the dorm in search of inspiration.

He wasn't quite so lucky this time. After an hour of meandering, all he had to work with was an empty mind and empty pockets. Not to mention the headache from that crazy kid practicing his bugle. Soundproof walls? Yeah, right.

It wasn't that he didn't have any ideas…it was more that he didn't really have any money. Those ideas (involving hacky sacks, a ridiculous amount of yarn, and duct tape) had to be discarded when he dug through his pockets and only produced lint, and an old McDonald's receipt, no matter how appealing the idea was. That was hardly enough to work with.

He retreated to his room, feelings rather disappointed. Resigned to having to work with the measly means of what already resided in his room, he slumped onto his bed to survey his surroundings.

"I see dirty clothes. Possibly clean clothes. Socks. Boxes. Thrilling." He sighed and glared as the offending belongings. There's no way he'd use his clothes for anything – there was no telling what she could do to make that backfire tremendously. And what would he do with boxes, pretend he was five again and build a fort?

The bugle "music" from a few floors down could still be heard through the stupidly thin walls. Muffled, okay yeah, but still annoying as all get out.

Wait a minute…bugle…fort…

An evil grin graced Inuyasha's features. This was going to be fun after all…

ooooooooooo

Kagome, standing in her pajama pants and a white camisole, rummaged through her closet, picking out her outfit for the next day. With the way things were going, she figured she wouldn't exactly have an abundance of time to get ready in the morning. After finding satisfactory clothing (jeans and a pink top) and hanging the hangers on the closet doorknob, she readied her backpack.

She'd actually had homework this time, since she was repeating Monday's schedule. Not much, just introductory reading, but she made sure to get the right notebooks in her bag.

With her bag by the door and her clothes ready to go, she was ready. She eyed the door, debating whether or not to lock it. No one really locked their doors in this place. And she had a suspicion that Inuyasha would probably manage to pick her lock anyway. She saw a boy a few doors down open his with his ID card and a paper clip when his roommate accidentally locked him out.

She sighed and left it unlocked, heading to the bathroom to wash up for bed. Once that was complete, she glanced at the clock and peeked into Sango's room. The girl had disappeared after dinner and had yet to return at 10:00.

"Why doesn't that girl have a cell phone…?" Kagome muttered to herself, "or better yet, why don't I have a cell phone?" She knew it wasn't exactly late by campus standards, but where could she have gone?

Deciding to wait up for her roommate, Kagome climbed into bed with her Health textbook. Might as well get a start on tomorrow's homework, right?

An hour and a half later, she was shaken awake by her truant roommate. "Psst, Kagome!" Sango whispered, shaking her gently. "Kagome, wake up!"

Kagome raised her head up from the cool textbook pages and looked around groggily. "Sango? What's up?" She asked, confused.

Sango tried unsuccessfully to hide her smile, "I think you fell asleep while attempting that Hefi homework." Kagome shook off her sleepiness with a couple shakes of her head and took stock of herself. She had been lying on her side, reading, and waiting for Sango. Oh yeah.

"Where have you been?" Kagome demanded, sitting up, and looking at the girl with accusing eyes.

Sango only laughed and leaned against the bed. "It's only 11:30, Mother. I was walking around campus a bit, getting my bearings, and there's a party or something going on out in the lounge, and I got…deterred."

"In other words, you were wandering around lost, came home, and got accosted by Miroku."

Sango half laughed, half groaned. "In so many words, yes. I've never met someone so determined to take me out. Well, me and every other girl in the building."

Kagome laughed and set her book on the floor. "Well, that's what you get for wandering around at night. Now that I know you're home, I'm going to bed for real now. Good night." She said and fell back into her pillows.

"Good night, Kagome," Sango said and retreated to her own room and a small smile. So much for sympathy.

ooooooooooo

Inuyasha had to time this carefully. He needed enough time to complete his creation and still have time to get his assistant before Kagome woke up on her own.

He woke up at 6am and went to work, finishing just around 7. Admiring his handiwork, he slipped out the door and silently trod down the hall to retrieve that assistant.

ooooooooooo

Kagome's small form cocooned itself inside of the covers, comfortably vacationing in the sweetness of Dreamland, when the boy re-entered her room with his accomplice…

…and "Reveille" blasted out of that bugle.

She flew up, so startled she almost fell out her bed. Or rather, she would have fallen, had there not been a barrier. She blinked and sat up properly, as she tried to smooth her hair out and clear the grogginess from her eyes while slowly taking in her surroundings.

Every inch of her room was filled with the makings of a cardboard box fort. Except for the space by her door, this was filled instead by her favorite white-haired boy and the scrawny bugle player.

Inuyasha was laughing heartily at her expression – her eyes were wide in surprise and her mouth was open in disbelief. He only laughed harder and grabbed the door frame for support when she tried unsuccessfully to regain control of her mouth. It simply opened and closed, unable to properly form words.

The sight of him doubled over in laughter, almost on the floor, finally sank in, and she snapped her mouth shut and narrowed her eyes. She disentangled herself from her blankets, and rose to stand on her bed (since the floor had no room). She picked up the nearest box and chucked it at Inuyasha, barely missing his head, and bouncing off the other boy's shoulder.

"Hey!" He protested through his laughter, "Play nice with the other children!"

"Get out of my room!" She shouted, grabbing another box and launching it. This time it did hit his head. Not hard enough to hurt (cardboard boxes do not make very good ammunition), but hard enough to throw him off-balance. He toppled into the hall, no longer laughing, and bringing part of the fort's wall down with him.

Kagome laughed in triumph and hurled another box in his direction. The poor bugle player scampered out of the room, muttering something that vaguely sounded like, "He deserves it, the idiot."

The said idiot just smirked at her and retreated to his room with a parting, "See you in class!"

Kagome collapsed back onto her bed and tried once again to take in the mess her room had become. The far wall crumbled as Sango came through the bathroom and stuck her head in.

"What happened?" She asked, surveying the damage.

"He happened, that's what," Kagome said sourly, trying to find her clock through the mess. "Do you see my clock anywhere? Or know the time?"

Sango glanced at her watch, "It's about 7:15. Think you'll have enough time to get ready?"

Kagome groaned, "If I hurry. And discover a pathway to the bathroom."

ooooooooooo

And that's all for this chapter! Whoo-hoo! It was difficult to get through, let me tell you. I've strayed so far from my outline, I don't know what to do with myself. Hopefully, I can write a new outline, and that will make it easier for me to write. I never expected to be on chapter 7 on Wednesday morning. I thought I'd be at least on Thursday or Friday. But my chapters are kind of short, huh? I apologize, but I figured you all would rather have short chapters than no chapters.

Also, a random note: apparently, it is possible to unlock a door with an ID card and paper clip. One of my roommates never takes her keys, so she gets locked out a lot. So, this one time, she had this boy in our complex help her, and he got it open. So it's possible.

Another also, I don't live in the dorms anymore; I live off-campus in an apartment complex, but with the same roommates that inspired part of this story. So, while I'm not in the dorms, this complex is really pretty close. We still have dance parties (last night there was an all-night fiesta) and crazy prank wars. But instead of a bugle player, we have an opera singer. No, I'm not joking.

Anyway. Thank you for reading and please review! Your comments make me so happy! And constructive comments are great because then I can make this story better.

Happy Thanksgiving, I hope you all have a fabulous holiday! Those of you who don't celebrate it, have a Happy Thursday:)