"Is that a guy or a girl?"
"If it's a boy, he's kinda cute."
"I don't know if I should say he or she is pretty or handsome."
"Ugh. Look at that freak over there."
Mixed comments, some nice and some not so, were whispered all over the school grounds. A new student had arrived. And he – that was, if Kagome was right about him being a male- was wearing the girls' standard uniform, consisting of a simple white blouse and a navy blue skirt. He had markings under his eyes resembling snake fangs, and his hair was messily tied up. He had crimson lipstick and kohl-lined eyes. Well. She always welcomed something new to liven up their lives.
"Please welcome our new student, Jakotsu. He- uh… well, um, a round of applause please, boys and girls!" The flustered form teacher, obviously shocked by Jakotsu's effeminacy. "It's a he?" yelled one of the boys, and the entire class, save for Kagome, hooted with laughter. She hardly found it amusing, making fun of a poor boy with… problems. Jakotsu however, reacted by squealing and saying, "Ooh! He's so cute! I wanna sit next to him…!". The teacher could only stare in shocked silence and pray that this was just a horrible joke. "Um, Mr.… Jakotsu, perhaps you might want to sit down next to…" he scanned the classroom for an available seat. "Miss Higurashi over there?" Immediately, Jakotsu ceased his squeals and his expression changed from a happy one to a dark, threatening one. He spewed millions of profanities at Kagome, whose jaw had dropped in surprise upon hearing the vulgarities. Finally, when it seemed he had run out of insults, he announced: "No way would I sit next to a girl." But the teacher was more than fed up and resorted to dragging Jakotsu to the seat beside Kagome's and forcing him to sit down. Kagome offered a smile but Jakotsu only looked away icily. Kagome shrugged. Oh well. You can't please everyone.
During lunch, Jakotsu went around flirting with the boys, all of whom attempted to avoid him. Jakotsu appeared to be the most fascinated upon seeing Inuyasha, who was eating lunch with Kikyou. (Kagome was having lunch with Sango and Miroku) Sango giggled when she spied Jakotsu practically leaping on Inuyasha. "Looks like you've got new competition, Kagome," she teased with a grin. Kagome rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever. It's so obvious Inuyasha has chosen Kikyou. He's not even looking at us anymore." Miroku sighed as he snatched a French fry from Sango's plate. "He's ashamed, so he's avoiding the people that he hurt." He explained. "Don't sweat it, Kagome," Sango assured with a smile, "You'll fall in love with someone else sooner or later." Kagome chewed on her lip as she watched Inuyasha struggle to peel Jakotsu off him. "You think so?" she asked. "I KNOW so," Sango affirmed. And guess what? She was right.
Kagome never paid any attention to any boy except Inuyasha. She was exactly like Betty, her favorite character in Archie comics. Sweet, gentle, pretty…and well, maybe she wasn't a straight-A student like Betty, but she wasn't stupid. Someone who could have any boy she wanted… but only yearned for Inuyasha, just like Betty wanted Archie. But now that she knew his answer to the age-long question of 'Who would he pick?', she found herself beginning to lose interest in boys generally. Basically, she had given up on love. She threw her plate into the collection bucket and whirled around, colliding into a figure that was just about to drop his bowl of ramen into the bucket too. "Inuyasha," Kagome whispered, feeling nervous all of a sudden. He merely glanced at her, and then as if he were embarrassed, hurriedly walked away. Kagome felt the tears sting in her eyes. Was there no turning back? She knew he couldn't deny that he had some feelings for her in the past. Or maybe even in the present. So why? Why was it Kikyou instead of her?
As for Jakotsu, he never had any boy returning his feelings. It was always one-sided, always… unrequited. He knew that some stupid females liked him, but he hated them. He didn't want to be reminded of his tragic past involving a woman… namely his mother. Huh. Maybe that was why he never gave them a chance.
Perhaps he should start making exceptions….