Not That Social

Chapter 15: Cheap Shot

AN: I really need to apologize. It took so long to update this chapter, and I feel really bad because of it. First I had a major writer's block, then the holidays came along (giving me practically no time to write), and, to top it all off, when I finally got inspired my computer got infected by spyware. God damn computers, I hate them. So I re-wrote most of this chapter this morning in an all-night music binge, so forgive me if it sucks major monkey balls.

But the problem has been solved, and here's chapter fifteen. I apologize once again.

This chapter is dedicated to Graffiti Girl because she went and reviewed every one of my chapters. It made me feel special (and it really boosted my number of reviews). So thanks, hon!


Inuyasha wasn't pleased to find a letter from his school sitting in his mail box the following morning. With the principal's name printed formally on the front, the small piece of paper seemed almost menacing. It was addressed to his older brother, but, of course, Inuyasha planned to open it for himself.

Running a sharp claw along the seam, Inuyasha briskly tore the thin paper open. Inside there was even more paper, as was expected, folded neatly in thirds. He pulled it out and scanned it with his eyes, only half interested in what it said.

"We regret to inform you, yadda-yadda-yadda," he read aloud, he eyes darting back in forth trying to pick out key phrases. Then they fell on the dreadful words that he knew his brother would have his head for. "Oh fuck."

"Is there anything important in the post today?" Sesshoumaru asked from behind him, causing Inuyasha to jump out of his skin. Quickly shoving the note in his pocket, he turned to face his older brother.

"You shouldn't sneak up on me like that, you'll give me a heart attack or something," he heard his brother scoff almost inaudibly.

"You didn't answer my question," Sesshoumaru gestured towards the envelope that lay at Inuyasha's feet, his right eyebrow rising slightly.

"Oh," he coughed to clear his throat. "Yeah, that's nothing important. It's just another one of those enrollment letters."

He knew that Sesshoumaru didn't buy it from the look in his eyes, but the elder youkai seemed to play along, "Have you replied to any of those yet?"

"N-no," he stammered, suddenly intimidated by his brother's presence. He felt him take a step forward and Inuyasha promptly bent over and picked up the discarded envelope. Sesshoumaru was being uncharacteristically threatening, something that only happened when Inuyasha was in trouble. "None of them have caught my eye."

"I see," there was an uncomfortable silence then, Sesshoumaru giving his brother an all-knowing look as Inuyasha stuck his chin up in defiance. "Well, I'm going to head to work, you should get to school."

Inuyasha stood there for a moment, willing his jaw to connect with the rest of his skull. 'He's not going to press the issue further? What's going on?'

"Uh, yeah, school—I'll see you later then," he grabbed the keys to the spare car from the small dish by the door and headed outside, twirling the keys around his index finger. He didn't dare look behind him to see if his older brother followed him out the door; rather he climbed in the car and turned the ignition, his eyes glued to the steering wheel.

As soon as he pulled out of the driveway he saw his brother climb in his own car, slamming the door behind him.

'Maybe he already knows…' it was a fleeting thought, and Inuyasha quickly swiped it from his mind as he pulled out of the driveway. He didn't want to be late picking Kagome up.


As he sped towards her shrine, one word kept circling around his mind. If he thought about it, he guessed it wasn't really that big of a deal—but he was positive that Sesshoumaru wouldn't take it as lightly.

"Fucking principal," he cursed, leaning on the steering wheel lightly. Making a sharp left, he pulled off of the expressway and turned down Kagome's street—earning a few honks from the cars he cut off.

Flipping them the bird, he flew down the residential street, not stopping until he was beneath the large steps to the shrine.

He pulled the keys from the ignition and climbed out, grumbling when he thought of the massive amount of steps he had to climb. Taking a quick peek to either side of him, making sure that nobody was looking, Inuyasha snickered and scaled the 132 with one demonic leap.

"Keh, I didn't even break a sweat," he smiled cockily as he made his way to their front door. Just as he raised his fist to rap on the wooden barrier, the door flew open with alarming speed and a small kid came running out, nearly knocking Inuyasha off his feet.

"I'm going to be late!" he yelled, pushing past Inuyasha and rushing towards the steps, a small tin lunchbox clattering as he ran.

"Sota, get your butt back here!" Kagome yelled, waving her arms in the air in order to get him to stop. The little kid paid her no mind, however, and continued to run. "Little brat."

"Is that your little brother?" Inuyasha asked with a smile, causing Kagome to jump. She just realized he was standing there and gave a weak blush, swatting the hair out of her face.

"Yeah, that's Sota…the crazy kid actually loves school," she laughed, more to herself than to him. She reached into the vestibule by the door and grabbed her yellow backpack, "you ready?"

"Yeah," he grabbed the pack from her and began walking towards the steps.

"Mamma, Inuyasha's going to give me a ride to school!" she called, cupping her hands around her mouth to amplify her voice. "I'll see you this afternoon!"

From somewhere in the house Inuyasha heard her mother say goodbye, but he was certain that Kagome's human ears didn't pick it up. Deciding to leave it alone, he scoffed and continued walking.

"Thank you for picking me up," Kagome smiled as she reached his side.

"Don't worry about it," throwing her backpack roughly into the back seat of the car, Inuyasha opened the door for her before climbing in on his own side.

"This is quite the change from your bike," she stated with yet another radiating smile. Inuyasha had to wonder if she ever had a frown on her face.

"Yeah, it seemed too dewy outside to take the bike," he shrugged; wondering if dewy was actually a word. She gave him a reassuring smile before turning to gaze out the window.

They drove mostly in silence, Kagome eventually giving up on finding something good on the radio. The morning was still crisp, and as she rolled down her window she could feel the dew lapping at her face. It was refreshing, and she couldn't hold back from closing her eyes and allowing a smile to cross her lips.

Inuyasha peeked over at her from the corner of his eye, trying to keep his sight on the road at the same time, and he couldn't help but smile himself. 'She looks so happy,' he thought, his hand reaching out to rest on her thigh affectionately.

She seemed startled by his sudden actions, but quickly got over it. Bringing her hand to rest over his, she smiled at him before once again placing her head out the window. They drove the entire way there like that—both of them just enjoying the other's company and slight touch.

In Kagome's opinion, they arrived at the school all too soon. She hesitated for a second before unbuckling her seatbelt; she wanted the moment to last as long as possible. When she realized that Inuyasha wasn't getting out, she turned to him.

"Aren't you coming in?" she asked, her eyebrows scrunching up in confusion.

"Nah, I've got some stuff to take care of," he pulled his eyes from hers and diverted them to a random car in the parking lot. It wasn't long before he felt her hand wrap around his upper arm.

When he refused to look at her, she gently put her fingers under his chin and brought his face to hers. "There's something you're not telling me."

His eyes glazed over for a second and it seemed as if he was having an internal battle over what to tell her. Just when she thought he was going to give her the answer, he scowled and turned up his nose, "Can't I have any privacy?"

Kagome was taken aback, to say the least, and didn't quite know what to say. She didn't think whatever was on his mind would be that big of a deal. "Of course you can have privacy, I was just curious. Forgive me," the last part was said with a hint of sarcasm and she couldn't help but smile at the irritated scowl that appeared on his face.

"You really want to know?" he said angrily, his voice a few octaves below shouting. Reaching into his pocket, he threw a crumpled piece of paper at her.

For a few seconds Kagome didn't do much more than stare at it, not sure if she was imposing on his personal space. As the seconds drew on, she grabbed the paper and smoothed it out.

Her eyes darted about the paper, much as Inuyasha's had earlier that day. After she was done, she took a deep breath and looked at him.

"You got suspended?" she asked hesitantly, her cheeks burning as a smile spread across her face. "Is this what you were worried about?"

He blushed and looked away, a soft 'keh' leaving his lips. With a smile she wrapped her arms awkwardly around his waist, trying to find a comfortable position over the gear shift.

"What were you so worried about?" she asked into his chest. "People get suspended all the time."

He took a deep breath, still refusing to bring his eyes to her, "I didn't want you to think of me as…" He paused, suddenly embarrassed.

"Tell me," she chuckled, tracing invisible patterns on his chest with her index finger.

"I didn't want you to think of me as…" he stopped again at the same spot, his hand coming up to rest on her back, "…as a bad person."

"You're a good person, Inuyasha," she said reassuringly. "And there's nothing you could do that would make me think otherwise."

He smiled then, hugging her to his chest. "Thanks."

"Plus, it was funny as hell when you flicked off the principal," she giggled, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth discreetly. She felt the laugh build in his chest and her smile grew bigger.

"Yeah it was, wasn't it?" his laughter dyed down as she pressed her self into his chest, a soft sigh escaping her lips.

They sat in his car like that for a few moments, his nose buried deep in her hair, before she heard the school bell ring outside.

"I need to get to class," she said sleepily. She didn't want to pull herself from Inuyasha's arms, but she knew that there was no way around it.

"Hm," he nodded with half-lidded eyes. "You better go, then."

Even though he said it and she nodded in return, she remained in his arms. For the first time in her life she felt safe, and she didn't want to leave that feeling behind when she went into the school building.

He bent down and planted a kiss on her forehead before shoving her away gently. She understood what he was getting at and grabbed her backpack from the backseat. As she opened the car door, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled at him, their eyes locking for the longest moment.

The school bell rang once more, pulling her from her thoughts and guiding her to the building like teenaged girls after a pop star. She didn't turn her back to him until she reached the door, their eyes not moving until absolutely having to.

And just like that, she was out of his sight and out of his protection. He wanted to run in there after her, feeling like a father on his kid's first day of Kindergarten, but he knew that he couldn't. With a drawn out sigh, he turned the ignition back on and pulled out onto the street.


He had a lot on his mind, a lot of stuff that seemed to be building up over the past few days. And there was only one place he could go that would allow him the peace he needed to organize his thoughts.

Inuyasha pulled the car around the elegant seafood restaurant, parking it in the small spot behind a garage. Before he even got out he could feel the difference in the air. It was thicker here, so moist it felt like the Gods could start crying at any moment.

Slipping off his shoes, Inuyasha let his bare feet sink into the soft sand of the beach. The feeling was visceral as he walked down the shore at a hurried pace. This was exactly what he needed—to be amongst nature, to get his head cleared, to figure things out.

He quickly found his favorite spot and sunk down to sit on the small piece of drift wood that served as a bench. The waves lapped at the beach at a steady pace, beating out a slow beat amongst the rocks. As he looked up, Inuyasha caught site of a seagull circling his head, letting out the occasional caw before flapping its wings again.

As always, his mind began to wander—reaching out to topics that he needed to muse over. The first person that came to mind, not surprisingly, was Kagome.

He let a small smile grace his lips as her image painted itself in his mind's eye. She was perfect, more so than any other person he could think of.

"You're a good person, Inuyasha," her words swirled around his head, threatening to make him dizzy. Trying to latch on to that one beautiful thought, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

The stunning waterfront was purged from his view as he began to think of the woman of his dreams, the ever familiar question circling his mind: 'Why can't I get her out of my head?'

There were lines that connected her to him, lines that entwined their souls. Inuyasha tried to follow the thin lines, trying to find exactly where they connected—but he couldn't. All he could tell was that they were meant to be there.

He never realized how lost he was before he met her, how alone he was in the world. Since she came into his life he had been happy, knowing that she would always wait for him, knowing that she would always be by his side. He would never have to beg her to come back to him, because she would never leave him.

'I haven't felt this way since…' his thoughts trailed off, not being able to complete that sentence.

As if by a curse upon him, his thoughts were snatched from him as the Principal's letter came to mind. Letting out a low growl, he fisted his hands in his hair and dug the heel of his foot into the sand.

"What the fuck is Sesshoumaru going to do when he finds out?" He knew that his brother wasn't big on punishment—he felt almost as if he didn't have the right to take over in that department. But whenever Inuyasha did something wrong, his brother managed to make him regret it.

'He'll probably skin you alive,' his conscience mocked, and if it had a face Inuyasha imagined it sticking its tongue out at him.

Picking up a small rock beside him, Inuyasha threw it as hard as he could at the water. With a satisfying plop it landed a good fifteen meters away. As he bent down to get another one, he felt the cell phone in his pocked vibrate.

Wondering who the hell would be calling him at this hour—when he should be in school—Inuyasha flipped it open and muttered a greeting.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome's chipper voice sounded on the other end. "I forgot that we have a half day today! I'm calling in between hours right now, but classes end in about forty five minutes."

He glanced at his watch briefly, just then realizing how much time had passed. "Oh, okay. I'll be there to pick you up, then."

"Great!" he could hear the smile in her voice as they both said their goodbye's and hung up.

Running his hands through his hair, he sighed and slowly made his way back to the car. There were a few things that he didn't get off his chest, but they would have to wait for another day.


Inuyasha pulled up to the high school just as kids started coming out. With his elbow propped out the open window and his head in his hand, he waited uninterestedly for Kagome to meet him.

"Jesus, how long does it take to go to your locker?" he thought aloud, pulling the keys from the ignition.

Not two minutes after he said it did he see her come bouncing out the door, her big yellow backpack slung over her shoulder. She waved at him from the door with a smile on her face as she spotted him.

"Hey, Kagome, do you want to go shopping with us?" Ayumi called as she ran up to her friend, grasping Kagome's shoulder.

"Oh, actually I was going to—" she didn't get the chance to finish that sentence.

"Come on, it'll be lots of fun!" Yuki walked over, quickly followed by Eri.

"But Inuyasha is waiting for me—" Kagome rolled her eyes when she was cut off once again.

"Inuyasha's picking you up?" Ayumi asked with an impish grin on her face. "Maybe he could give us a ride, then."

"I don't know; I wouldn't want to use him like that…" Ayumi slapped her on the back, a little roughly, and smiled.

"Don't worry about that, I'm sure he wouldn't mind one bit!" Before Kagome could argue, she was being pulled towards Inuyasha's car by three overly-excited friends.

Inuyasha saw the whole ordeal and sighed as they approached the car, his fingers lazily scratching his scalp.

"Inuyasha—" Kagome tried to call out a warning, but was quickly cut off by Ayumi, something that was starting to really piss her off.

"Hey there, buddy, Kagome says that you wouldn't mind giving us a lift to the mall," she smiled, inching her way towards the car. Before she reached the curb, Inuyasha jumped out and slammed the door.

"Oh, did she?" Unbeknownst to them, he had heard the entire conversation, and was planning on getting a good laugh out of this.

"Yeah, isn't that right, Kagome?" she asked, turning to her friend. Kagome just grinned confidently, knowing what Inuyasha was doing.

"Well, I would love to drive you charming ladies all around town, but Kagome and I have already made plans," he winked seductively, "if you know what I mean."

Kagome's face quickly turned a deep shade of red as she turned away from her friends, utterly embarrassed.

"Is that so?" Ayumi smiled.

"Very much so," he was about to say something equally as smooth when he reached in his pocket and noticed it was surprisingly empty. A shocked expression fell over his face for a second before he turned around and saw his keys sitting in the driver's seat, the doors firmly locked. "Goddammit."

"What's the matter, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, finally over her little spell.

He bashfully brought his hand up to rub the back of his neck, "I kind of…locked the keys in the car."

She let out a loud groan as her friends giggled, slapping an exaggerated palm to her forehead. "Well, what are we going to do about it?"

Inuyasha just shrugged and brought his eyes back to the keys. He could have sworn they were laughing at him from behind the glass.

"Only a loser like you could do something that stupid," they all turned their heads to the sound of the voice, a low growl coming from Inuyasha.

"What do you want, Kouga?" Kagome stepped forward, a frown on her face.

"For you to leave dog breath here," he jerked a finger at Inuyasha, "and to come out with me."

Inuyasha's growl gained power as he took a step towards Kouga, his fists clenched tightly, "you're going to have to go through me first."

"Oh, how original," Kouga smirked, taking stance in front of the hanyou. His anger was still brimming from their last confrontation, and he was planning on making this fight worth his time. "I don't think that will be a problem."

Before Kouga could blink, Inuyasha shot a well-aimed kick right for his face, barely missing. The hanyou's foot flew past his head, blowing his black hair angrily. Not waiting for another attack, Kouga backhanded Inuyasha across the face before jabbing his right elbow into his gut.

Inuyasha doubled over for a second, but took his lower position as an opportunity to swipe Kouga's feet out from under him. The jock fell to the ground with a thud, hissing as his back hit the concrete.

"What are you going to do now?" Inuyasha laughed, pressing his foot down on Kouga's chest. He was about to walk away in victory when Kouga latched onto his ankle and twisted—hard.

Inuyasha let out a yelp and fell to the ground himself, rubbing is ankle tenderly. Kouga stood and made to kick Inuyasha where he sat, but the hanyou rolled out of the way and jumped to his feet. They circled each other for a moment before Kouga leapt forward and landed a kick right in Inuyasha's solar plexus, causing him to slam into his car. Beside him, he heard all four of the girls gasp.

'That kick was way too strong for a human,' Kagome thought frantically. 'Could Kouga be…a youkai?'

"Keh, lucky shot," They hear Inuyasha mutter before wiping the corner of his mouth and standing. Kagome could have sworn she heard his back crunch as he stood. "That's the only one you're going to get."

Kouga was about to say something back, but before he got the chance Inuyasha's fist connected painfully with his cheek. Spitting the blood from his split lip on the pavement, Kouga growled and launched himself at the hanyou once more.

They moved so fast that the girls barely caught their movements except the few slow occasions when one of them were thrown to the ground. Both of the boys seemed to be equally matched and bruised, and it was hard to determine who would come out the victor.

What happened next was a blur to Kagome. Kouga pinned the hanyou to the ground, his head snapping against the concrete with a sick thud, and wrapped his hand tightly around his neck. Inuyasha's hand reached up to wrap around the thin wrist in an attempt to pull it away, but Kouga was prepared for that. He swatted the hand away and squeezed tighter, satisfaction shinning in his eyes when Inuyasha clenched his eyes shut.

Kagome tried to call for him to stop, but found the words impossible say. Her throat seemed to close up on her as she tried to scream but no sound came out.

In a last-ditch effort, Inuyasha pulled his knee up and slammed it into Kouga's groin and pushed him to the side. As the hand pulled away from his neck, the hanyou coughed and sucked air into his burning lungs. Knowing that Kouga would be pissed, he quickly climbed to his feet and took a sloppy fighting stance, his head still spinning from having its oxygen supply momentarily cut off.

"You fucking bastard," Kouga panted, staggering to his feet. "That was a cheap shot."

Inuyasha shrugged and shifted his feet into a better stance, his fists clenching into his palms. His breathing was still ragged when Kouga rushed at him, and he wasn't entirely sure if he could block his next attack.

Kouga's fist rushed forward, making a bee-line for Inuyasha's face. Knowing that he was moving too slowly, all Inuyasha could do was scrunch his eyes shut and wait for the impact.

"Cut it out!" Kagome seemed to find her voice as she yelled, her fists clenched at her side and her face livid. "I don't want you guys to fight any more!"

Kouga's eyes widened as the words sunk in, his hands falling limp at his sides. He walked over to Kagome with a smile and clasped her hands in his almost protectively. "I'm just trying to defend my woman."

"She's not your woman, Kouga," Inuyasha growled, but Kouga just ignored him.

"What are you doing this afternoon, Kagome?" he asked, his eyes sparkling and staring intently into hers.

"I'm spending the evening with Inuyasha, thank you," she pulled her hands from his and walked to stand beside the man who stole her heart. A large smirk crossed Inuyasha's face as he wrapped an arm around her waist, loving every moment of Kouga's jealousy.

"Freak," Kouga spat, "she's just using you, you know." They could tell he was searching for insults, and because of this Inuyasha wasn't offended at all.

"I'm sure, because I've got so much to be used for, right?" Inuyasha replied sarcastically. "Get over it, Kouga, she doesn't like you."

Kouga grit his teeth for a second, unsure of what to say, before turning on his heel and stalking away. As he reached the sidewalk, he called over his shoulder, "This isn't over, freak!"

Inuyasha laughed bitterly, his laugh quickly turning into a cough as the air rushed from his parched throat.

"Are you doing okay?" Kagome asked with a caring hand placed on his chest. "That was a pretty nasty fight."

"Yeah, I'll be just peachy," he smiled, but she saw a hint of something else in his eyes. Before she could ask him about it, he called out to her friends who were just standing on the sidelines awestruck. "Do you guys need a ride or not?"

They seemed to snap out of their daze at the sound of his voice. Ayumi, not surprisingly, stepped forward with a smile. "That'd be great."

'He's actually going to drive them?' Kagome was even more shocked when he smiled back and headed for the car door.

"Uhm, Inuyasha?" she asked timidly, trying to fight back the laughter. When he turned to her, she continued. "What about the keys?"

"Ah crap!" he shouted, sounding almost comedic, before banging his head on the car door. Without another word, he punched his fist through the glass, causing it to shatter and allowing him to unlock the door. "Problem solved!"

"But you just broke your window…" Kagome pointed to all the glass.

"Eh, it's not cold out," he shrugged and climbed into the car. Kagome opened the passenger door and motioned for her friends to follow. They timidly climbed into the car, all of them looking a bit apprehensive.

The second they were buckled in, Inuyasha rocketed out of the parking lot at fifty miles an hour, the g-force pushing all of them into their seats. The mall was an hour-and-half's walk from the high school, but at the speed Inuyasha was driving, and his complete disregard for stop lights, they made it there in less than twenty minutes.

Not bothering to park, he pulled up to the front door and jerked the car into park. Resting his elbow where his window used to be, he smiled at the girls—all of which were clutching their seats in fear.

"Cheer up, you made it here alive," he grumbled.

"T-Thanks for the l-lift," Ayumi stuttered, trying to gain control over her breathing. She could have sworn they were all going to die in that car.

"No problem," he winked as they climbed out of the car, Eri's legs shaking once they hit ground.

"Aren't you guys coming in?" Yuki asked when she saw them both still sitting in the car.

"No, we're—" Inuyasha began, but Kagome quickly cut him off in fear of him saying anything embarrassing.

"We have some things to take care of, actually," she smiled warmly.

Ayumi smiled right back, but there was a hint of worry in her eyes. "Yeah, but you guys drove us all the way here; it wouldn't be right if we just took off on you."

"Don't worry about it, it was on our way home," Kagome lied politely, waving a hand to brush them aside. "Go and enjoy yourselves."

"But how will we get home?" Ayumi asked as a last attempt to get her friend to come along. She knew how guilty Kagome would feel, and had a suspicion that it would work. She was right.

"Okay, but only for a little bit," she smiled. "Let us go find a place to park, we'll meet you inside."

As the three girls walked inside, Inuyasha turned to her with a look of utter shock on his face. He looked absolutely terrified. "What did you just say to them? Do we actually have to go shopping with them!"

"Inuyasha, they're my friends and I would like to spend some time with them. Now, since you are with me, this seems like the perfect opportunity for you to socialize."

"With girls!"

"Yes, with girls." She smiled, "don't worry about it."

"But…it's girls…and shopping…and it's going to take all night, and I'm going to have to watch them try on dresses, and I'll be forced to carry all of your bags, and—"

"Inuyasha," she cut off his rant with a forceful tone. "I said we're going shopping, and that's final." She heard an audible gulp come from the boy beside her and she smiled victoriously.

With a loud groan, admitting defeat but letting her know that he wasn't happy with it, he put the car in drive and set out in search of a parking spot.


AN: And that's where I'm going to leave it. Mwahahahahahahahahaha! How will Inuyasha survive his trip to the mall? Review if you want to know.