"There you are", Sesshōmaru mumbled, just as his half brother arrived at the car.
"I can't believe you actually waited", Inuyasha panted, opening the passenger door and tossing his school bag on the seat behind him, before sitting down next to the third year at the front.
Lowering the volume of the music blaring on the radio, the older boy pointedly fixed the back of his driver seat up from the inclined position he had opted on while waiting.
"What?", Inuyasha snapped, when he noticed Sesshōmaru hadn't made a single move to drive and was instead glaring down at him expectantly.
"You can ride in the backseat or inside the trunk", his brother drawled in response, gesturing lazily behind him, "take your pick, half-wit, while I'm still feeling generous"
"Are you fucking serious?"
"Dead serious.", Sesshōmaru gritted, ignoring the glare sent his way in favor of studying his clean, blunt nails, "hurry. up."
His own eyes promised pain a couple of minutes later when Inuyasha had still failed to make his move.
"Fine.", the younger of the two gritted at last.
Inuyasha hated being the younger brother.
"This is bullshit!", he added, complaining as he wallowed in outrage, "you let Kagome sit in the front—
"Didn't I tell you I'd only give you a ride if you'd be quiet?", his older brother hissed.
The younger of the two groaned, rolling his eyes, "Alright already!"
"Then shut up."
"For fucks sake—I SAID I GOT IT!"
A smack met the back of Inuyasha's head for his valor, but knowing better than to provoke his half-brother when the guy was already pissed, he pointedly took the hint and climbed into the back of the car without another word.
Of course, not also without at least flipping Sesshōmaru the bird as he did so though—for all his trouble.
"Put it away Inuyasha", his brother sneered, cranking the car engine at last, "before I break and make you eat it."
"Yeah, whatever…", the younger of the two muttered with a snort, pressing his nose against the glass of his carseat window, letting it fog over as they backed out of the garage.
Only to—naturally—casually draw a crudely made penis shape with the tips of his fingers, making sure to give the curly hair on the two circles under it most of his artistic attention.
"Oi!", he hollered after a while, noticing Sesshōmaru had made a wrong turn as they drove past their neighborhood.
"Do you want me to drop you off here, Inuyasha?", his brother threatened, "because believe me, it can be arranged."
"This isn't Kagome's street!", the younger of the two complained, "you agreed to drive us both to school!"
"I did.", Sesshōmaru nodded, making yet another unexpected turn.
"Then why aren't we picking her up?", Inuyasha demanded, now shouting over the noise of his brother's blaring speakers.
Every time the first year spoke or made an unwanted comment, his older brother had spitefully increased the volume on his stereo, in the hopes of deafening himself.
"Because", Sesshōmaru hissed back, shutting the music off all together when it did nothing but worsen his own migraine, "Kiminari is also riding with us."
"Who?"
"Hiten. My classmate"
Inuyasha grew wary, "Oh yeah, that guy", he frowned, "—you're not planning to gang up on me with all your weird friends before we even get to school, are ya?"
"That could have been a treat", his brother snorted, "but no."
"You better not or I'll call dad right now—
"It's just Hiten", Sesshōmaru rolled his eyes, "not that I owe the likes of you any explanation, but the trash pile he calls a motorcycle broke down. I'm only doing him a favor."
The older boy figured that if he was stuck being a taxi driver anyway, he might as well be somewhat productive about it.
He then watched his younger brother try to hide the panic bleeding through his large amber eyes through the rearview mirror and smirked.
"If that's true then why aren't you picking up Kagome first?", Inuyasha argued.
He was right to worry—for Sesshōmaru's smirk only deepened.
Not that he was planning anything in particular, it was just entertaining to watch his usually loudmouth younger sibling squirm.
"Maybe if you took your head out of your ass", the third year hissed in response, "you'd notice that he lives closer to us than she does."
Seeing that the car had indeed come to a brief stop by a nearby neighborhood, Inuyasha was forced to nod absentmindedly, second-guessing himself as he scratched the side of his head.
"Oh…"
…..
"Good morning, grandpa! Morning, Sōta!", Kagome cheerfully greeted the two men of the house as she sped past them on her way to the kitchen.
"Hm? Morning, Kagome-chan", her grandfather muttered, flipping through his newspaper, too engulfed in his reading to look up.
"…Hi…", her brother added while zapping another baddie, his groggy little eyes trained on the video game blaring off the tv screen only about a foot away from his face.
'Typical', Kagome though with a shrug—she was sure those two couldn't resemble each other any more than they already did even if they tried.
"Kagome~", her mother called from somewhere in the pantry room, "bento or school lunch?"
"Neither!", she replied, following her voice, "Ayame's cousin told her there's a Family Mart close by that has the best snacks, so Sango made us promise to go check it out"
"Snacks for lunch?", Mrs. Higurashi frowned at the idea, "that doesn't sound very nutritious"
Kagome grinned, "I'll make sure to get some healthy stuff too—please mom?"
"Why are you asking me? It's your choice", her mother chuckled, stopping to pat her cheek as she made her way to the sink, "you girls are old enough to make your own decisions on what to eat"
"You say that, but you're looking at me funny"
The older woman shrugged good-naturally.
"You get into the one school that actually offers lunch at a real cafeteria, yet you kids prefer to squander what little precious free time you're given walking to a convince store for junk food", she replied, "it's amusing, that's all"
Oh to be young and foolishly carefree, Mrs. Higurashi chuckled to herself—it was unexpectedly cute!
Though she did make a point of handing her daughter a basket of freshly bought green apples, for good measure.
"We have three whole years to eat in that cafeteria", Kagome answered, taking the hint and busying herself with sorting through the pile diligently until coming across the one she liked best.
"Besides…" she added, taking a big bite off it, "it's not like any first year's brave enough to go in there on the first day—ooh, that's tart!"
"Have some tea too", Mrs. Higurashi suggested, bringing over the steaming pot in her hands to fill a cup for her, "grandpa brewed it this morning"
"—Thanks"
"Why wouldn't you though?", the mother asked, when she was satisfied that her daughter was finally having something for breakfast at last.
"Hm?"
"Not eat at the school cafeteria on the first day?"
"Oh", Kagome laughed nervously over her second bite, already regretting mentioning anything at all, "…it'd just be weird"
"Weird how?", Mrs. Higurashi chuckled, between her humming, now washing some dishes.
"Just…just weird, I guess", her daughter replied halfheartedly, "I don't know"
It's not like she would understand, Kagome inwardly reasoned, smiling at her mother a smidge too forcefully.
No parent ever did, and even if they actually had—the school would never do anything about the hazings, or the bullying that came out of it.
Way too many of the biggest perpetrators were from important and powerful families.
There was no point in making her own powerless mother worry any more than she had to.
"Hmm", Mrs. Higurashi frowned, this time in true concern as she gently dropped the dish she was scrubbing into the sudsy water filling up the sink.
She observed the teenager fumbling with the apple in her hand, seemingly no longer interested in eating it.
"Don't let silly old school traditions get in the way of having a good time", she advised, "you're there to learn and be productive—even if a senior feels more entitled just because they've been there a little longer"
Kagome shrugged, finally settling on putting the apple down in favor of her tea, "its just some dumb class hierarchy thing. Nothing serious, mama"
"Even so", Mrs. Higurashi smiled, wiping her hands dry and grabbing a knife and the wooden cutting board from the drawer besides her, "nothing should put a damper on such a big day like today—my Kagome, a high schooler already!"
Kagome merely grinned silently in response, this time making sure her eyes crinkled slightly.
She watched fondly as her mother carefully cut up her apple into perfect thin wedges, just the way she liked them.
"There's some freshly washed strawberries in the fridge, bring some over", the older woman requested in between her humming, placing the apple slices on a plastic bag for her, "and a kiwi or two—
"That's already too much, mama!", her daughter complained, "I'm going to school, not a war"
Though she did do as she was told, knowing better to than to put up a fight when her mother gave her that look.
—Kagome could never help but feel guilty whenever leveled with it.
"What soldier can survive eating like this?", Mrs. Higurashi snorted, adding in a few more slices of another apple for good measure, "this isn't even enough for a girl your age"
The fifteen year old rolled her eyes, not appreciating where this was going, "well, you know I've never really cared much for breakfast"
With a worried sigh, the soothing sounds of her mother's chopping came to a brief, yet sudden halt.
And just like that, without even so much as a warning, Kagome felt that all the nice, fresh air was slowly but surely being sucked out of the room.
She only wished it'd somehow suffocate the rising tension along with it—maybe then it might defuse the inevitable argument that was surely about to sprout from this.
Though, surprisingly, it had been a while since this particular issue was brought back into the limelight—'so, progress. I guess'
Meanwhile, her mother, seemingly fighting over some internal battle of sorts raging within her—and looking like she was losing miserably—finally broke the silence.
"You have to eat more, Kagome", she spoke softly, her words cautious—too cautious.
Even though hate was a strong word, Kagome despised that sort of tone, and more so when it was directed solely at her by someone she wanted to feel at ease with.
"I eat plenty", the teen argued, whirling around to avoid the older woman's heavy gaze, now knowing for certain exactly where this had headed.
Headed? More like crash landed—since it had so casually and nonchalantly slapped her right in the face out of nowhere.
"I always eat, mama…"
Mrs. Higurashi, for her part, was not so easily convinced.
Refusing to take lunch, and wanting to avoid the cafeteria—stressing over mere fruits—buying all her uniform a few sizes too small.
How could she, as her mother, not feel concerned?
"Sweetheart—
"My weight hasn't dropped in months—even Dr. Onigumo has said so", Kagome reminded her.
"—which, by the way", she added, rather pointedly, "I could have told you myself if only you and grandpa hadn't taken away my bathroom scale!"
Mrs. Higurashi let out a deep breath, dropping her knife in favor of following her daughter before she could scurry away like she always did whenever this particular topic arose.
"It was for your own good—Kagome, listen to me!", she pressed, reaching out to gently clasp her warm hand against her daughter's thin arm, turning her back around to face her.
"Everything is for your own good", the concerned mother reasoned, pleading despite the many times she kept promising herself not to bring any of this up again.
It was, after all, the first thing the therapist had instructed.
"I…I know things have already gotten so much better since—well, since it happened", she couldn't help but express anyway, "and we're so proud—
"It was a long time ago, mom", Kagome muttered, cutting her off just as swiftly and as harshly as she pulled away from her hold, "I've moved past it."
The easy warmth that always accompanied her tone, was noticeably absent now, and it only made Mrs. Higurashi's chest ache all the more.
Her daughter had always been such a happy, carefree child.
"It happened so long ago, yes, but sweetheart, it hasn't been all that long since—
"I said I'm over it!", Kagome snapped, continuing to pull away the more her mother desperately reached for her, "please, mama", she begged, voice tired, but going softer at last.
"I just want to go at least one week without having to think about it"
Mrs. Higurashi nodded, dropping her arms, despite wanting nothing more than to pull Kagome towards her, hug her tight, and never, ever, let go.
"Alright", she replied, hugging herself instead, while forcing a watery smile, "alright, we wont talk about it anymore. Not until your ready, like we promised"
Kagome nodded, smiling back, though once again she didn't quite feel like she meant it.
Truth be told, she didn't know if she would ever be ready to talk about any of it either.
"Thanks for cutting up the fruits", she replied, grabbing the small ziplock bag before her mother could stuff anything else in it, "I'll save them for later"
"Sure", Mrs. Higurashi acquiesced, dropping the matter altogether, but still hurrying to fill up a large tumbler with more hot tea for her, "you can share with your friends on the bus ride over"
"Actually", the teenager replied, staring down her nose at the massive pink metal contraption when it was offered to her, though taking it all the same, "Inuyasha texted me earlier, he said Sesshōmaru agreed to give us a ride to school today"
"Oh? Well, isn't that so sweet", her mother complimented, her spirits seemingly lifted now that her daughter seemed to have calmed a bit—and, well, never one to not praise either of those two if she could help it.
Grabbing a few more apples to cut up, now for Sōta's lunch, she forced a chuckle, though she did still mean what she said, "you know, that Toga-san has done such a good job raising those boys all on his own"
"Mhm", Kagome nodded back, for lack of anything better to do as her mother went on and on about the sweet, caring, polite, gentlemanly figments of imagination she believed the Taisho brothers to be.
'Seriously, mama? It's been more than ten years now.'
"I should probably start heading out then", she warned the older Higurashi, before the subject could shift to more dangerous waters again, "wouldn't want to keep those gentlemen waiting for too long"
"You mock me all you want, Kagome, but mark my words, those boys are going to make fine sons-in-law someday to two very lucky mothers out there and—
And, there it was.
"Mama, you're doing it again", Kagome huffed, rolling her sky colored eyes at her mother's usual antics, "stop spouting silly things like that", she grinned, "I'm going out now"
Mrs. Higurashi heartedly accepted the warm hug her daughter offered, holding her tight, unable to stop herself from picking at some imaginary lint off her new school blazer when they finally pulled apart.
"I'll see you at dinner", she heard the teen mutter, while giving Mrs. Higurashi's warm hands a light squeeze, just before setting out on her way.
The anxious woman had no choice but to watch her go, giving her one last grin and a wave.
Her little Kagome wasn't a baby anymore. The aging mother had forced herself to realize that a long time ago.
This Kagome no longer begged her not to be dropped off at pre-school—she wasn't the little troublemaker her and her late husband would on occasion discover her to be when they found her coloring the walls of the downstairs bathroom with un-washable markers.
—Or the elementary school student who'd still hold her hand right before the bus arrived every morning at the bus stop, sporting her infectiously bright toothless grin.
Sometimes she even seemed like a completely different person all together.
But no, this Kagome was fast becoming a young woman in her own right, and as her mother, Mrs. Higurashi knew she only had so long to mentally prepare herself for the inevitable.
"I wonder if you can see her now, my love", she muttered, and lifting her brown gaze high above her, asked the one person who could never reply within this lifetime, "each and every day she grows more and more like you".
The lonely mother of two cracked a bittersweet smile as she spied her daughter through the kitchen window.
Kagome was almost at the front gates of their home by now, and as a little breeze blew past her, Mrs. Higurashi noticed how her daughter's reasonably short skirt lifted up slightly by the back, and for a mere second or two, exposed the girly pink undershorts she wore.
A small, warm smile played at the mother's lips.
Sure, her little girl wasn't a baby anymore, the mature woman acknowledged, but she would forever always be her precious daughter.
And for that, Mrs. Higurashi smile grew even fonder.
"Yo, Sesshō!", the tall young man waiting by an old wooden porch of an old poverty ridden one story house, yelled at the approaching car as he waved at his friend.
"Don't even park that sucker, I'm ready to go!"
Grabbing a worn school binder lying on the plastic chair besides him, he proceeded to jump over the porch rails with little to no effort—not to mention a smoothness of which not many could claim.
"I've never seen this house", Inuyasha remarked half in shock, he couldn't help but take in the miserable view before him and cringe.
This place needed some serious renovation.
The light sun dyed paint on the house's wooden outer walls was peeling allover—the front door, old and battered, was partially off its top hinges—the grass on their lawn was dry and covered in a bunch of random objects that obviously didn't belong there.
—And only one of the three visible windows, seemed to have its web infested glass still in one piece.
The first year really had no idea—none at all—and what's worse, he was utterly unable to hide his horror.
It didn't make any sense.
Hiten always appeared so cheerful and happy-go-lucky all the time—well at least whenever Inuyasha saw him around.
In fact, to the younger boy, the sight before his eyes just didn't fit in at all with the dark haired— almost dashing—young jokester who always carried himself around with such a careless and jolly demeanor.
Noticing the lack of subtlety already oozing from his face, his older brother sent him a dirty look through the review mirror.
Having kept an eye on him from the get go for that very reason, Sesshōmaru sneered all the way from the driver seat.
"Not everybody is blessed with a father like the one we have, Inuyasha", he muttered, as discreetly as he could, though his words were biting all the same.
"Listen, don't even comment on it", Sesshōmaru added with a pointed glare, "—not that he cares about anyones opinion anyway, but I'll sock you on the head if you so much as look at the place longer than necessary once he's in here."
"I wont!", his half brother snapped, annoyed that he'd even have to say it, "I'm not stupid!"
"Could have fooled me."
As it turned out, Hiten's parents were unfortunately long gone.
He wasn't technically an orphan, not by definition at least, but his father was making time in a prison somewhere, and his mother—well, she had ran off on him and his older brother when Hiten was still a little kid.
No one could really say for sure where she was these days.
This was why the Kiminari brothers had been forced to survive on their own for so many years now.
Of course, Hiten, and his older brother Manten—who at only seven years his senior, had to endure dropping out of school and becoming a parent at just thirteen years old, working and grinding tirelessly at a garage with his uncle, just to feed his brother—
Had to be grateful for the constant support of their paternal aunt and her family, whom though large and just as poor, had made an attempt at keeping a watchful eye on them throughout the years; even going as far as to pitch in once in a while when the going really got rough.
"Yo!", Hiten grinned, greeting the Taisho brothers as he leaned into the open window of the passenger seat, once he made it to the car, "thanks for the ride, man—you too, fresh meat!"
While Inuyasha winced, Sesshōmaru shrugged it off, eyeing the same ripped sleeved blazer Hiten wore like a vest all throughout all of last school year, with a roll of his eyes.
So much for the new uniform he and Menomaru had gotten him.
"Just get in already."
The scarlet eyed teen grinned, eagerly opening the door and climbing into the back seat next to Inuyasha without needing to be told twice.
And promptly taking notice at how the first year tried way too hard to avoid looking at him, he chuckled.
Anyone else might have attributed such wariness to the fact that the younger boy was a first year in the midst of two third year jocks, neither of which were strangers to a hearty wedgie or two in honor of the yearly hazings—but really, the older boy knew better by now.
"Sexy little pad I got there, don't I—eh, Taisho?", Hiten asked, casually wiggling his dark brows comically, while gesturing behind him at his retrieving house just as they drove past it.
"Well, believe it or not, half-pint, chicks actually dig the dump", he added, when Inuyasha could only nod stiffly at his joke, eyes still averted, "they say it makes me look all rugged and feral—like a handsome caveman or something"
At that last bit Inuyasha did laugh, unable to help himself.
"I wouldn't doubt it", he replied, nudging him away when the older boy kept making kissy faces at him, "your as dumb as a caveman—that's for sure"
"Hey! No one said they wanted me for my brains, kid", Hiten winked, snickering to himself as he sat back on his seat and rummaged through the inside pockets of his blazer.
"So, who're we picking up next?"
"Higurashi", Sesshōmaru responded, lowering the temperature on the A/C before his younger brother even had the chance to complain about the heat.
"Ooooh, a girl", his friend teased, flipping his long dark braid over his shoulder as he continued to search his pockets more rigorously, "can we play with her?"
"Keh, you wish", the first year next to him barked a laugh in return, "as if Kagome would ever let the likes of you touch her with anything less than a ten foot pole"
Hiten merely gave him a sly smirk, "she would if she saw my pole"
…..
"What's taking them so long?", Kagome mumbled, checking her phone for the fifteenth time that morning since coming outside to wait for Inuyasha and that snail-paced driving brother of his.
"Come on, it's already half past seven—the welcome ceremony is supposed to start at eight!"
The last thing she ever wanted—ever needed really—was to be late to her very first day of high school.
Her Lady of The Sacred Jewel had an especially strict late student policy, as it was.
Well, so she'd heard.
In fact, the school had a strict late teacher policy as well, or so Ayame's cousin had blatantly mentioned once—one that involved a stringent warning system, unlike any other.
The first warning being immediate termination.
And as a brand spanking new student with little to no finical backing of her own to give her any kind of fighting chance, that thought—well, quite frankly, the thought of that terrified Kagome.
She still didn't even know who her homeroom teacher was going to be, and could only hope it was someone dependable—or at this rate, reasonable.
'Oh my god'—she gasped at the thought—what if she was late and the teacher decided to kick her out?
That wouldn't bode well at all.
Well, worst case scenario—Kagome chuckled nervously as she mulled over it—wouldn't that just mean she'd have to be transferred to a new class if it came to that?
Right?—Right?
She groaned, not the least bit comforted.
Which was silly, really, because the real worst case scenario…
—Would be ending up with professor Jaken as her homeroom teacher.
Unable to suppress her gag at such a disturbing notion, the teenager quickly checked her phone again.
Nothing.
Biting her lip, Kagome sighed.
There's no way the universe could be that cruel to her—could it?
Not knowing for sure though, was definitely not going to help her nerves at all, at least not until she got to school anyway.
—which was looking like it wouldn't ever happen at the rate those two idiots were going.
"Don't panic, Kagome", she muttered to herself, pulling out her phone's keyboard to send a quick message to that unreliable, no good for anything—
'WHERE ARE U?', the tips of her fingers typed at the speed of light, each letter emphasized by a much too violent jab of each tiny button.
'Ding—Ding'
Almost breaking her neck to check her new message, Kagome practically growled when it turned out to be another mirror pic of Sango showing off her new look.
"Its just a uniform"—the teenager seethed under her breath, typing back a smiley face on her end, before snapping her keyboard shut—"we're all wearing it!"
Shaking away her jitters, she briefly wondered if anyone cared about being late at all?
'How does she even have time to take pictures from home right now?'
Feeling a little guilty about her moody outburst, though, Kagome bit her lip and rummaged through her backpack for the ziplock bag mama had made her pack.
Taking a quick snap of it with her phone camera, she sent the picture to her friend, with a playful comment about bringing the snacks.
After all, It wasn't Sango's fault that she was feeling jittery right now.
"No", she gritted, tensing all over again, "it's Inuyasha and that brother of his' fault!"
They only lived an eighteen minute walk away from her place, for goodness sake—less so by car!
Looking at the time, she was horrified to find that it was already inching slowly to a quarter to eight.
Where was all the time going? This had to be some kind of cruel joke.
All the first years were already supposedly walking into a war zone as it was—its wasn't like she and Inuyasha were in the position to show up late and vulnerable for any unsuspecting attack that might come their way.
Did they not care that Kikyo was probably hiding behind a corner somewhere, in some hallway, rubbing her perfectly manicured grubby little hands together, just waiting patiently to catch her completely unawares?
Or did Inuyasha somehow fall and hit his head hard enough that he thinks his older brother will willingly stick out his neck for him and defend him against the certain onslaught that expected them once they step through the school doors?
Because Kagome was more than ready to bet her entire house, the whole sacred tree, and even her grandfather, that Sesshōmaru would be the first to take him to pound town.
And not just any old pound town—but the kind that left a boy his size ribless, and with a broken nose.
—At best!
'This is what I get for trusting either of them!'
Just the though of it made her want to pull her hair.
"Ah—Kagome-chan, is that you?"
Looking up from the ground she wished would either turn into a human sized conveyer belt, or swallow her whole, the fifteen year old removed her clenching fingers off her scalp and met the shaky wave, and happy grin of her old neighbor from across the street.
"Oh—hi there…Tanaka-san…", she greeted, hiding her anxiety behind a forced smile as she waved back, "having a good morning?"
"Oh yes", the old lady nodded, pointing a wobbly finger to the young woman standing besides her, "just walking Sara-chan out before she heads to the bus stop. It's her last year, you know"
Sara who?
Taking a moment to give this Sara-chan a quick glance over, Kagome did a double take and was somewhat surprised to find her wearing the same uniform as her.
Since when did Mrs. Tanaka have a granddaughter at Her Lady of The Sacred Jewel?
—Since when did Mrs. Tanaka have a granddaughter?
"Kagome here, is starting her first year", she cheerfully informed the girl, who raised a perfectly groomed, curious dark brow, "her family owns the big shrine you were asking about"
A spark of recognition seemed to shine in the older teenager's dark eyes as she leveled her gaze on the first year, before nodding in understanding.
"Ah…yes…", Kagome grinned awkwardly, not knowing how else to respond to that, at all, "that would be me"
"Oh, Kagome—where are my manners—this is my son's lovely new stepdaughter, she's come to live with us this year. We're all very happy to have her join the family!"
"Congratulations", Kagome bowed, still a little rattled by the fact that there was a whole new person that she didn't know about, or ever even seen, living on her street.
When had the younger Mr. Tanaka gotten married?
Sara grinned when Mrs. Tanaka patted her hand, giving her a warm squeeze back, though she managed to sneak Kagome a cold once over of her own when the old lady wasn't looking.
"Asano Sara", she greeted—her voice sounding sweet, too sweet, like sticky taffy.
Kagome couldn't help but notice that It was just as inauthentic as the kind expression on her pretty face.
"It's nice meeting you, Kagome-chan"
The first year smiled despite how weirdly unsettled the other girl somehow made her feel.
"You too"
Stealing a glance at the old woman, as if to see if she had caught the same vibe, Kagome was only met with an obliviously warm smile.
"It's Kagome's very first year of high school", Mrs. Tanaka informed, "isn't it exciting, Sara?
The older girl smirked, "Oh, very"
—"why, it seems like it was only yesterday when her parents had brought her home from the hospital—such a cute little baby, and now look at her. A beauty, all grown up!"
Kagome offered a small, bashful laugh, politely waving the generously warm sentiment away, "you're too kind, Tanaka-san"
'Your new grandkid's face looks like its about to crack if she keeps smiling that way'
Gosh, and why was it giving only her the creeps?
"Nonsense", her old neighbor chuckled, turning back to Sara, "As her senior, I'll count on you to look after her, my dear"
Though the Asano girl nodded eagerly with a smile, Kagome balked.
'Please, don't'
"Of course, obaa-sama", Sara assured, sending Kagome another inconspicuous once over, "I'll make sure of it."
'Great.'
"Well, we best be on our way", Mrs. Tanaka grinned, seemingly satisfied in her admittedly kind effort to introduce what she believed would be the new best of friends, "we can't have my Sara miss the bus, now can we?
Kagome nodded a little too hard, happy to see them go, "Have a great day!"
"I'll look forward to seeing you at school", Sara called back with a wave, "I would love it if we could be friends"
Despite wanting to kick herself for it, the first year turned away, no longer able to stomach that obnoxiously fake, yet still cold look.
And at this point the third year had to have noticed.
Kagome just couldn't help it though, it reminded her of a certain someone.
"…ahaha…sure…"
—"Good luck today, Kagome-chan!"
"Thanks!", she waved back at her kind neighbor, glad to finally be graced by the back of their heads at last.
'I'm really gonna need it.'
Kikyo, it seemed, has got herself some competition.
Kagome briefly went over all her memories of last year, and this past summer, hoping to find something—anything—about this girl she had never even heard of, but to no avail.
In fact, the fifteen year old was quite sure that this had to have been her first time coming across her at all.
Then, why did she feel as if they've already gotten off on the wrong foot?
'Oh, god', she groaned at the thought, "is it me? Am I doing this to people somehow?—am I the female Inuyasha?"
It remind Kagome of that one, old saying, 'how did it go again?'
Birds of a feather…
—No, she shook her head, there's no way…
Is there?
Shaking her head even more violently, in an effort to clear the beginning of what might become a massive headache, Kagome chuckled, somewhat disturbed.
'There's no way!'
Though she could already tell, in all her sarcastic glory, that this year was gonna be nothing but just so much fun.
Having more than enough to worry about at present, however, she forced herself to put all of that in the back burner for now.
After all…
There'll be plenty of time to deal with Five nights at Tanaka's, eventually, if she even were to become a problem at all—for all Kagome knew, this was just her stress making her go nuts.
It certainly wouldn't be the first time.
'Oh, man', Kagome winced, the tips of her fingers once again itching to pull at her hair.
She was going nuts, wasn't she?
—'And, I'm sure the people from the loony bin would probably get the chance to come in and collect me before Sesshōmaru and his slow ass car ever get here!'
Looking back at her phone, and expecting to see at least one miserable text message from a certain groveling best friend, she couldn't help but grind her teeth in response.
Seriously—Nothing?
Nothing?!
"Where the hell are you!"
Something terrible had better have happened to them, she seethed, blue eyes blazing—otherwise—she vowed to put them out of their misery her damn self.
…
"Yeah no, I definitely think Kagome will appreciate the iced-coffee", Hiten assured, giving Inuyasha a confident nod as he fumbled with opening the breakfast sandwich he held.
"I hope so", the first year replied, taking a big sip of the caramel cappuccino in his hand, before getting a bite out of the doughnut in his other one, "cuz she'd will us id she winds out—
"Stop talking with your mouth full!", Sesshōmaru snapped with a sneer, hitting the breaks hard when yet another soccer mom in a van cut him off, "bottomless pig."
"Oi!", his younger brother complained, just barely steadying his drink before it had a chance to spill all over him, "If it bothers you so much, then don't listen, asshole!"
A couple of cars behind them honked when Sesshōmaru hit the breaks again, only this time to turn back on his seat and send Inuyasha a dangerous look.
"You want to say that again?", he asked the flinching first year, then rolled his eyes when he noticed a frowning Hiten picking at at the greasy pieces of bacon omelette on his blazer.
"If either of you morons spill something in here you're wiping it off with your tongues—if you stain anything, I'll end your miserable existence myself."
"Ooooh, scaryyyy~"
"I suggest that anyone who can't even afford to live in this car, shuts the fuck up!"
"Wow, okay then", Hiten grumbled, lifting his palms up in mock surrender, "it was just a joke,
bro—no need to cremate me"
Despite the soft music playing in the background, the two sitting all the way in the back could somehow still hear Sesshōmaru's teeth grinding together in annoyance.
"I will leave you here", he threatened.
As far as he was concerned, those two were already threading on thin ice.
While poor Kagome was torturing herself to madness with thought of the hazings and lateness back home, the two brainless idiots parading as high schoolers riding in Sesshōmaru's car had shamelessly begged and pleaded their perpetually cranky "driver" to stop by a local doughnut shop for some much un-needed coffee.
—and the miserable senior behind the wheel, who was willing to do anything to just make them shut up by then, had no choice but to comply with their unreasonable wishes.
Needless to say, Sesshōmaru vowed to kill them for it.
—daydreaming about it was the only thing getting him through the traffic pains, as it was.
Another car honked aggressively just as the red light overhead finally shifted to green, making the older brother hiss under his breath.
He should have known better than to let those two wear him out until they recklessly got what they wanted.
Anytime that happened, he always ended up screwed.
Sesshōmaru was more than tempted to kick them out right then and there in the middle of the street—if it hadn't been for his agreement to drive Inuyasha to school this one time.
—After all.
It wasn't Higurashi's fault that his own flesh and blood was nothing better than a mass growing parasitic cyst on the world's asscheek.
And it really wouldn't be fair to punish her for something she had no part in—just yet.
Besides, the seventeen year old let out a deep breath, a deal was a deal, even when someone wasn't holding up his end of the bargain nearly as well as he should.
"Are we there yet?", Hiten groaned, teasingly kicking the back of the passenger seat in front of him, while banging the headrest with his drumsticks rhythmically—as it turned out, they weren't in any of his pockets, like he'd assumed, just inside his crudely doodled binder.
"That's not your fucking drum set, Kiminari", Sesshōmaru snarled, sending daggers through the rearview mirror at his friend, who exaggerated halting all movement.
They were getting dangerously close to Kagome's block now, and his mood only seemed to darken with each passing minute.
"Good job acing your vision test", Hiten snorted, rolling his eyes as he gave the amused boy next to him a mock unimpressed look.
Taking another massive bite of his doughnut, Inuyasha smirked back, oblivious to the gold eyes that watched him, wordlessly vowing to pay them both back for their audacity sometime in the near future.
—Very near.
Like lunchtime, near.
"So, can I sit up front when Kagome gets in?", the darker haired boy asked, once Sesshōmaru—overworking his already tensed jaw—parked right in front of the Higurashi's large gate.
"Keep dreaming."
"Selfish jerk…", Hiten grumbled to himself, shamelessly pushing aside with his sneaker clad foot, all the trash he'd accumulated on the ride over under the seat in front of him, while they watched Kagome stomp out into the street with a really sour look on her face.
"What's eating her?", the younger boy next to him commented, with a loud, empty, inhale of his straw.
The third year shrugged—if Inuyasha himself didn't know, how would he?—and curiously observed the girl as she opened the passenger door and promptly sat herself at the front, without so much as a 'go fuck yourself', much less a 'good morning'.
Inuyasha smirked in realization.
Kagome, for her part, ignored Sesshōmaru's raised eyebrow—and stone faced—pointedly gestured at the clock on his dashboard, before he even had a chance to exile her to the backseats.
"What?", the oldest boy replied, somewhat taken aback at her boldness.
"We're. Late.", she hissed.
Thin golden eyes, growing thinner still, followed her index finger.
It was just eight fifteen a.m, so what?
Doing a double take, at her insistence, with a roll of his eyes, he then froze.
—Eight fifteen!
The Monday morning assemblies started promptly at eight a.m, and only went on for fifteen minutes—welcome ceremonies, thirty, at most.
They were all screwed.
'Fuck', Sesshōmaru inwardly winced, it was more than late.
Speechless for once, he looked back at Kagome, who's blue eyes glowed with silent fury, and in a moment of utter humiliated weakness, found himself averting his own golden ones back to his steering wheel, before slowly backing out of her street.
"What took you guys so long?", the moody first year girl demanded, turning to glare back at the other two gaping dimwits behind her.
"Why are you here?", she snapped at Hiten who winced behind what he hoped was his usual winning smile.
—"and you", she practically growled at Inuayasha, making him choke on his last desperate bite of food, before she could smoosh it on his face, "where's your phone? You never answered any of my texts!"
The phone in question, merrily chirping the theme song of the temple run game app, shook with the rest of him as it laid on his lap.
"I-I got you an iced-coffee", her best friend bashfully informed, carefully lifting the drink slowly up to her line of sight, as if she were some kind of wild animal about to snap his hand clean off him.
"Matcha flavored", he added, as if that would solve everything, then swallowed hard, "just like you like it—please don't hurt me."
'Not in front of these guys', he added in prayer, eyes wincing shut.
"You can have my doughnut too~", Hiten offered, with some effort as well, figuring that if the younger Taisho had reason to quiver in fear, he might as well try and save his own neck.
"That's Sesshōmaru's doughnut!", Inuyasha warned with with a whispered hiss, nudging him none too gently.
—'Oh'—Kagome scoffed, now sending a dirty look to the driver at her right—'Sesshōmaru's doughnut, was it?'
She more than expected this from the other two, but from Sesshōmaru?
Well that was surprisingly disappointing.
The older boy, knowing he messed up, cursed under his breath and sent that useless brother of his yet another glare.
"Shut up and give it to her", he snapped.
So much for attempting to eat something remotely edible this morning—though in the girl's defense, the seventeen year old did curse his one moment of weakness.
Not that Higurashi's anger—though not unjustifiable—merited such a reaction.
He'd only ever seen Kagome this infuriated once or twice since he'd known her.
And if memory served, it never bode well for anybody.
—In fact.
One of those times, during some argument or other between he and Inuyasha, she had seen fit to throw an arrow they had been practicing with at the arching range his father had taken them to that one weekend—so hard, that it accidentally punctured and broke the protective armor he was given by the facility, while it still clung to his body.
Sesshōmaru, for one, simply did not want a repeat of that at all while he was completely defenseless, to be honest—especially when she had a whole pencil case full of sharp little weapons at her disposal, somewhere in that girly little backpack of hers.
"What—
"Just give it to her!", Hiten hissed, nudging Inuyasha back, after feeding off the frighteningly wary energy wafting off his friend.
If Sesshōmaru—of all people—was even remotely concerned, then the dark haired boy knew he really had no chance in surviving this.
Luckily for them all, however, Kagome ignored the pastry with a long and annoyed huff, but did make the effort to rip her drink out of Inuyasha's hand with one last, wordless sneer.
She didn't even take a sip of it, only placed it calmly on the built in cupholder next to her, but it was enough to drain some of the tension Hiten had no idea could be so stifling.
Melting into the seat besides him, Inuyasha let out a breath the older boy had not realized he himself had been holding.
Disaster averted, it seemed.
'What the heck was this chick?'
Meanwhile, Sesshōmaru, who had expected to hear at least a little more yelling and nagging, couldn't help but watch her from the corner of his eye as he stopped, then sped past, a stop sign, finally on their way to that wretched school.
Taking notice at how her pretty lips clenched in annoyance, while still actively stewing in her own anger, he couldn't help but somehow find it kind of charming.
Not a particularly rare occurrence for him these days, apparently.
He then stole a quick look at her new uniform, before he could help himself.
It looked nice.
Clean and well put together, just as she always was.
Though it was strange to see her wearing it—almost foreign—as if finally she was somewhat closer to his level.
Sesshōmaru supposed it was inevitable.
But seriously, where did the time go?
It'd been two years now since they'd shared the same school, and though this skirt was just as short and frivolous as the old green one, somehow the third year felt it suited her much better.
—At the very least, now he might not feel so much like a creep staring at it in the halls every once in a while.
Though it annoyed him to think he could seriously doubt ever feeling any less uncomfortable near her, from here on out.
Kagome, it seemed, might have felt the same, for she made extra effort to look at quite literally anything and anywhere but in his general direction, for the remainder of the ride.
Sesshōmaru smirked, thinking back to how surprised she seemed that he'd actually gone out of his way to waste time on frivolous things, when something much more important had to be done.
The simple thought that she expected way better from him than she ever could from his brat of a half brother, made him feel oddly…pleased.
And the image of her cheeks stained in such an attractive red, in a mere reaction to the anger at her disappointment of him, also made him rather…excited.
The sudden self-satisfied smirk on his face quickly dropped, however, just as that particular thought crossed his mind.
Sparing another look her way, he cleared his throat, chastising himself.
What was wrong with him?
'So what if she's angry?', his mind reeled, 'so what if part of her reaction had to do with me?'
He shouldn't care in the least if she were upset with him—not one bit—and even more so, he shouldn't care at all if she ever even thought of him in the first place.
The actual truth of the matter was that he couldn't, even if he actually wanted to.
Sesshōmaru Taisho simply didn't have time to care.
—couldn't even afford it.
Shaking his head, in an effort to disperse all of the stupid thoughts nipping at him in the back of his mind, the seventeen year old attempted to put all his attention on the steering wheel he gripped instead.
—And that, annoying, ridiculous fluttery feeling deep in his treacherous stomach? He added as an afterthought, unable to stop himself.
It couldn't possibly prove otherwise.
