Series: Inuyasha

Universe: Modern Highschool AU

Pairing: Eventual SessKag

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and its characters are the intellectual property of one Rumiko Takahashi. I only make bad fanfiction about it.

Author's notes: Bring on the angst! Also, a familiar face appears!:)


Hentai High V

888

"Kagome? Are you planning on skipping lunch again today?"

Kagome looked away from the classroom window and up into the concerned brown eyes of the girl addressing her. "Hey, Sango, what's up?" Kagome greeted feebly.

Sango Taijiya was in a different homeroom class from Kagome, didn't take any classes with her and admittedly the girls would have never been friends had they not met under the circumstances they did. Kagome was a goody-two-shoes bookworm but, perhaps due to her connection with the easily-liked Kikyo, hung out with the popular crowd. Sango was a jock of all jocks, dedicated 100% to the basketball team and helping out with her father's job as a pest exterminator after school. They inhabited two completely different social circles. Plus, both of those very masculine past-times had made Sango the subject of ridicule among her peers; and there were even cruel rumors that Sango "played for the other team" (something that still baffled Kagome, seeing as this was the 21st century and such things shouldn't even matter anymore).

But their two very separate paths had crossed when one day Kagome happened to walk in on Sango being bullied. Now, this wasn't unusual, as the girl was usually being teased by other students, but Kagome noticed that the boys surrounding the tall brunette were shoving and pushing her. Alarm bells went off in Kagome's head and – impulsively, as she was oft to do - the raven ran up to the rowdy group and told them off, threatening to call the teachers and having their asses suspended.

Admittedly, Kagome wasn't as popular or well-liked as her twin, but the association was enough to make the boys stand down and walk away. Sango was no wilting flower and could have easily defended herself from the bullies, like the dozens of times she had done so in the past; but this was the first time someone had actually stood up for her. That had cemented a rare if odd friendship between the two, and although mostly they just waved at each other in the hallways due to their differing schedules, they would sometimes meet during lunch. It wasn't often, seeing as Sango ate with her basketball team and Kagome with Kikyo and Inuyasha but lately…well…things had really changed.

The tall brunette stood a few paces away from Kagome's chair, unsure of how to approach. "Kikyo asked for you again. She said you had been hiding up here in the classroom all week, instead of going to the cafeteria." Sango pursed her lips, noting the pale parlor to the raven's already fair skin. "Is everything okay?"

"I'm just not hungry." Kagome lied, actively avoiding her classmate's searching gaze. Kagome's stomach clamped down on nothing, refuting what she had just said, but the girl chose to ignore it.

Loss of appetite was the least of Kagome's problems. This had been the longest week of the young woman's life. The raven hadn't even made an effort to be subtle in evading Inuyasha and Kikyo, going as far as pretending to be asleep in class just to escape her sister's curious and troubled gazes, and going straight to bed as soon as she got home to avoid talking about it. And it took conscious effort to ignore the snide remarks that the students sent her way in the hallways and during classes. Just as Inuyasha had predicted, all of her supposed friends had abandoned her, choosing to keep their distance from the girl. Rei, Ayumi, Keiko – suddenly, they were all too busy to spend time with her, and conveniently had other things to do whenever Kagome walked up to them.

The only one who had remained had been Sango, the tall, burly girl with the sweet brown eyes. The girl Kagome had never really considered more than a friendly classmate. And yet there she was, concerned for her well-being when her other friends were nowhere to be found.

'Perhaps…', Sesshoumaru's voice echoed in her mind, 'your mind was too focused elsewhere... to notice that which was right in front of you.'

It seemed there were a lot of things Kagome had been blind to lately.

"You know, if there's anything worrying you… I'm here." Sango spoke up shyly. The brunette had grown up with a father, uncle and younger brother – basically an all-male household - and as such, displays of affection were hard for her. Kagome could tell by how awkward she looked that this was coompletely out of her comfort zone, but she was trying her best. Kagome appreciated the effort and smiled wanly at the girl.

"Thank you Sango…you see-" she started, and then stopped when a group of female students passed through the door. They paused in their stroll mid-conversation, and looked at Kagome and Sango with amusement. One of them laughed, then said in a stage whisper to her friends, "I guess sleeping with one person wasn't enough; the slut has to go for the dyke as well!"

They walked away whispering amongst themselves in a rush of giggles and gestures. Kagome scowled at them darkly. She didn't care that they were talking about her, but she didn't want to get Sango involved in her troubles too. And to succumb to such horrid name-calling was just ignorant, and Kagome bubbled over with fury-

"What the hell was that?" Sango growled, and Kagome started at the girl's hostile tone. Sango was normally a serious girl in nature, but Kagome had never seen her flat-out upset (unless she was losing on the court).

Kagome stared levelly at her angry classmate, assessing if she was being honest or not. "You mean you haven't heard the rumors?" Kagome asked, her voice holding no inflection.

Sango shook her head, her tight ponytail swishing behind her. Kagome often thought that the sharp planes of her face would be softened if Sango were to let her hair down, and frequently fantasized about giving her a makeover. But she knew the girl did not care for such vain things and so never offered. "I don't listen to petty gossip." Sango clarified, and Kagome nodded, understanding. After all, Sango was usually the main target for it. She wondered, then, how she would react if Kagome told her. The raven put it to the test.

"They say I'm sleeping with Taisho-sensei." Kagome informed flatly, not beating around the bush.

Sango stared back, unflinching, her expression betraying no thought or emotion.

"All right." She said at last. "So are you going to eat today or what?"

"Aren't you going to ask me if I am?" Kagome asked, surprised at Sango's flippant reaction.

Sango snorted, the action unlady-like; Kikyo would never be caught doing that. The brunette waved her hand, as if brushing an annoying fly away. "I've learned that rumors are rarely, if ever, true. And I also know you well enough to say you aren't that kind of person. But…" Sango said, a look of pure understanding settling across her features, making her look more like an older sister than a peer of her age, "… even if you were, it's not my place to judge or condemn you. It's also none of my business unless you tell me yourself. Friends don't keep secrets from each other, and if you wanted to share it with me I know you would, Kagome. Not that we're friends, of course." she added hastily, blushing in embarrassment at her presumption.

Sango laughed shyly then, a rare but beautiful expression on her young face. "Kagome...You're an open book and the most honest person I know. That's what I like about you best. So I don't care what other people say."

Kagome didn't know how to respond to that. Tears, hot and thick, burned the back of her eyes at her classmate's words. Kagome had received more support from this girl, whom she barely ever spent any time with, than her immediate "friends".

She had even been more understanding than Inuyasha.

"Thank you, Sango." Kagome said thickly, swallowing back the knot in her throat. The raven's eyes traveled to look outside the window again, wanting to hide the tears from the burly brunette. "I'm really not hungry and I just want to be by myself for a bit, if that's all right."

Sango didn't reply quickly, but after a beat, Kagome felt a hand squeeze her shoulder meaningfully. "Okay, Kagome. I'll be in the cafeteria if you need me."

She was almost at the door when Kagome called out to her. "Sango?"

The basketball player turned, her movements graceful despite her brawny physique. Kagome smiled at her, the expression small but genuine.

"I'm not, you know." Kagome said softly. At Sango's puzzled expression, Kagome smiled wider. "Sleeping with him that is." The raven clarified. "But if I were, you would be the first person to know. Friends don't keep secrets, after all."

Sango grinned broadly, recognizing her own words being parroted back to her, and nodded. "Al right. Have a nice weekend, Kagome. See you Monday."

"Actually, Sango, are you busy tomorrow?" Kagome heard herself ask, suddenly overcome with the desire to get to know this quiet girl even more. Sango looked surprised at the question, her cheeks speckled with pink. "Umm, I got basketball practice in the morning but I'm free in the afternoon. Why?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out at the mall." Kagome continued, not quite sure herself what possessed her to ask this. "I've been meaning to buy new sneakers for gym class and thought you would know best." Kagome patted herself on the back at her own genius. Sango might be more open to a girly activity like shopping if it were disguised with some sort of athletic element.

Sango nodded, shrugging. "That sounds cool." She said, trying hard to appear casual and not overly excited, but the brightness in her brown eyes gave her away. Kagome wondered if Sango got asked out often, and with a pang of sadness surmised she didn't. Kagome would have to change that.

"Okay! Then it's a date. See you tomorrow at the mall entrance, say one-o-clock?" Kagome asked.

"Yeah! I mean, yes, okay, cool. See you then." The brunette waved goodbye to the raven, and walked away. This time, Kagome noted a bit of a bounce in her step.

Kagome chuckled, her mood a bit lighter. It wasn't long though before melancholy took over once more, as her eyes strayed to the window and outside. Instinctively, her eyes searched for a familiar white head. Her eyes were always looking for Inuyasha...

Absently, her hand clutched her empty stomach, although despite the hunger pangs, it was her chest that hurt.

Kagome was glad that she had begun a new friendship, but she desperately wished to talk to Inuyasha. He was crude and brash and had no tact, but despite all of this Kagome could always be herself, unapologetically, with the boy. Whenever something was bugging her, it was he who she told her worries to. Kagome didn't realize how difficult it would be to not speak to him, how hard it was to throw years of friendship like that down the drain and pretend it had never existed. But that was literally what she had been doing all week, and it was killing her on the inside. She wondered if Inuyasha felt the same way.

Should she apologize? Was she so prideful that she was unwilling to forgive him for something so trivial?

Questions buzzed around Kagome's head like angry wasps, but there were no forthcoming answers.

'I'm just worried about you, that's all, Kagome.'

Kagome sighed.

All she had left to do was get through the rest of the school period, detention, and then finally head home. She was ready for this week to be over.


"You're quiet today."

Kagome looked up from the essay with eyes that were glazed over with unshed tears.

She had been trying to decipher the review paper for the past 15 minutes, but no matter how many times she read the first paragraph, she could not make heads or tails of it. Instead, last Monday's argument with Inuyasha kept tumbling around in her head over and over, replaying like a demonic recorder in her memory and plunging her into despair. She didn't dare blink, ashamed at the emotion, sure that her eyes were red with the effort of not crying. Sesshoumaru surely noticed, but with more tact than she had thought possible in the man, he didn't address it. His unspoken kindness made her even more emotional, and Kagome looked back at the paper as she felt a lone drop threatening to spill over.

"I'm fine." The girl mumbled, and she watched detached as a round, wet drop appeared on the paper before her. But that was it. One tear. She would only allow one tear.

Sesshoumaru remained in pensive silence, the book he was reading resting face down and open on his knee. He stroked the back thoughtfully as he watched the frail woman-child before him fight her emotions. Truthfully, he wanted to ask what was going on, but knew she was still not ready to open up to him. Kagome was easy for the older man to read, so he could always tell what her moods were; yet he could never quite predict what her reactions would be. His fascination was one born of curiosity and, if he admitted it to himself, a little bit of jealousy. In his own life, he was a spectator to whom things happened to. Kagome, on the other hand, was a girl who made things happen. She was the author to her own book, adventurous and romantic and, yes, sometimes foolish. He attributed that last one to her youth though, and he remembered how a wise man said that one had much to learn from the wisdom of fools. So he often sat back and watched her from afar, and marveled at her actions.

But today he did not feel like sitting on the sidelines; he did not wish to be a spectator anymore.

"Let's go home." He announced, getting up slowly and placing the book gently on the table. Kagome nodded mutely, and if she rubbed the tears off her eyes with the sleeve of her shoulder, Sesshoumaru pretended not to notice.

They walked in heavy silence, Kagome's feet moving her in the direction of the teacher's parking lot on autopilot. The white-haired teacher smiled despite himself, feeling honored that even with her peculiar mood, she was still willing to spend more time with him, instead of walking to her home alone. He noticed the worrisome speed in which his reliance on the girl grew, how even such a simple thing as walking together down the halls could elate him so. Sesshoumaru attributed the greedy possessiveness to the fact that he was slowly becoming used to her presence in his life, like a pet or a favorite TV show, and left it at that, not wanting to analyze his intentions any deeper. One could have amiable feelings towards someone of the opposite sex without it meaning anything, after all. He opened the door for her and they both stepped into the parking lot.

Once outside, after reaching Sesshoumaru's usual parking space, Kagome finally stopped, her brain processing what she saw before her rather slowly. She watched as her teacher walked towards a charcoal grey sports car she had never seen before.

"You don't have your bike today?" she asked, her tongue heavy with cotton. She swallowed, trying to ease the knot in her throat. The cool breeze was helping in clearing her thoughts, lifting her spirits. Although it was a bit chilly, she noted, hugging herself. She had left her jacket in her locker.

"The news said it would rain during the evening. I didn't fancy getting wet on my way home. Neither would you, I would think."

Kagome didn't answer that. Instead, she looked back at the school. In the distance, she could hear the basketball team practicing inside the court. Was Sango playing today, practicing her shots? Could she be able to see her and Sesshoumaru, two lone suspicious figures alone in a parking lot? Could her teammates? What would they think? What if-

"Higurashi?" The raven turned back to look into concerned yellow eyes. And through the mist of misery, white hot guilt stabbed its way through. If they were saying these things about her…what were they saying about Sesshoumaru then?

"Are you getting in?" he asked slowly, the way one might ask a wild and injured animal about to flee. Kagome pursed her lips. She didn't know what Inuyasha was on about, but his brother had more compassion in one pinky finger than Inuyasha did in his entire body.

And yet Kagome could not bring herself to hate the boy.

What a joke.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, and all too quickly the sky became dark and cloudy. From here, she heard the gleeful shrieks of students reacting to the storm. Any minute they could come out, and find the two of them here. And then what? Kagome shook her head. She didn't care if she got wet. But she couldn't continue to put this thoughtful man into such a compromising position. If he were to lose his job because of these ridiculous rumors, Kagome would never forgive herself.

"Higurashi?" Sesshoumaru tried again, and this time he closed the door to the driver's seat and started making his way to the girl.

Kagome opened her mouth as he neared her, about to refuse his offer with some lame excuse-

-when her stomach let out a blood-curdling sound.

Kagome's eyes widened exponentially, the color rising to her cheeks. She had hoped Sesshoumaru would've been too far away to hear it too, but his raised eyebrows and equally surprised expression let her know he had heard loud and clear. As if to confirm that it had indeed been her stomach, the organ let out another low sound, very much like a groan, and Kagome thought she might die of embarrassment.

Sesshoumaru let out a loud bark of laughter, and Kagome jumped at the unexpected sound. Kagome stared openly as the man placed a hand over his mouth, attempting to calm his laughter. She had actually never heard him laugh before, and it was loud and hearty and full of life.

She wanted to hear more of it.

"Come, I'll treat you to dinner. Any more gurgling, and your stomach will begin eating itself." Sesshoumaru said between chuckles. He grabbed her by the shoulders and steered her towards the passenger side of the car, still chuckling to himself. Kagome was too equal parts mortified and mesmerized to put up a fight, and allowed him to deposit her into the chair next to him without so much as a word of complaint. Sesshoumaru smoothly made his way around the driver's seat as another clap of thunder resonated, and soon the two were driving off from the parking lot.

KAs they drove away, Kagome looked back towards the school buildings, the back of her neck prickling. She thought she saw a girl standing out near the court, looking out at them.

Kagome blinked, the figure disappearing into the building once more, and wondered why she had thought she looked so much like Kikyo.


AN: Confession time! This may come as a shock to some (or perhaps not), but I never actually plan my fics. It's a bad habit, and not something I'm proud of, but I feel less stressed when I just write what's on my mind and allow the characters to take a life of their own. Often what I think the fic will be turns completely into something else. This hurts me in terms of continuation but I feel it gives a more genuine and rhythmic result in the end. Does that make sense? Do you guys agree? R&R as always, thank you!