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Kagome tilted her head and her reflection did the same, long black hair cascading over one shoulder. Snorting, she pulled her hair into a low tail and flipped it back over her shoulder, loosening her tie a little and undoing two buttons. There, that was better. Turning, she snatched her school bag and tromped down the stairs to the kitchen.
"Nee-chan, if you're going to dress like a guy, shouldn't you hide... you know," Souta asked, pointing at his chest and making 'squish' motions with his fingers. She beaned him over the head with her school bag and ignored the wail he made.
"That's what you get for being perverted, Sou-chan," the miko countered, leveling a bland expression at her younger brother, "and if you ever make that motion again, I'll do worse." Souta's blue eyes, the same shade as his sister's, widened in fear and he darted back up the stairs to his room.
"He reads too much manga," Kagome muttered, shaking her head in disgust. When she was 10, she would have never done something like that!
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The door creaked open and Honey glanced up. Class had started fifteen minutes ago, so there shouldn't have been anyone coming in. A head of shiny black hair peeked in, blue eyes wincing when the teacher pinned the late-comer with a glare that could melt steel.
"Miss Higurashi. You are late," the older woman ground out, a tick developing in her eye.
"Yeah. I know. The bullet train-!"
"I care not for your excuses. You will meet with me after school to discuss your punishment. Lateness breeds laziness." With that, the graying woman turned back to the class to continue her lecture.
Kagome's jaw looked ready to drop to the floor. "B-But, circumstances beyond my control-!"
"Take. Your. Seat. Miss. Higurashi." the teacher snapped, pointing to her empty desk.
The shrine maiden opened her mouth, probably to respond with something nasty, before she made a disgusted noise and stormed to her seat, a dark furious expression clouding her pretty features. Her surrounding classmates flinched when she shoved herself into her desk, plopping her books onto the ground and placing her chin in her hand to stare stubbornly out the window.
Honey's brows furrowed in concern and he resolved to talk to the miko during their break between morning classes.
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"Kago-chan? You okay?" Kagome pulled her attention from the beautiful day outside and focused her chilly gaze on the small blonde next to her desk.
"Hnn." She wasn't going to bother to respond to the boy. She was not in the mood to indulge the childish senior.
Honey tilted his head for a moment, a contemplative look blossoming onto his features before he smiled happily and rubbed the top of her head. The former time traveller jerked at the touch, staring at him with wide blue eyes. "It's okay. I'm sure if you explain your reason nicely enough, she'll let you off. You don't seem like the kind of person to abuse your time like that."
The girl snorted and shook her head. "I don't really care what that old hag thinks. What happened this morning was out of my control, and I'm not getting pinned for something like that."
"What did happen, Higurashi-san?" The girl that sat next to her asked timidly, green eyes swirling with curiosity. The miko met her gaze and the other girl flinched, lowering her eyes and mumbling an apology for interrupting. Dark brows furrowed for a second before comprehension dawned on her. This girl next to her seemed the kind of person that would attempt to speak up, only to get shot down.
It caused a pang in the shrine maiden's chest and she reached out a hand to settle on the girl's arm. She jerked in surprise, wide green meeting calm blue again in a showdown. Then, Kagome gave her a small smile that made Honey blink. Maybe Kagome wasn't as cold as she let on...
"Well, the 7'oclock bullet train had to be evacuated this morning because of a bomb threat. I happened to be on that train and I was disembarked several stops away. I had to catch a series of buses in order to even get out this way, and by then, I was running late. From there, I picked up some coffee and a bagel that cost me more than what I would make with a decent job in a week."
"Wow, that's terrible! Don't you have any other way to get to school?" the girl exclaimed softly, concern etched on her delicate features.
"Nah. I live on the other side of Tokyo, so it's the only way I can get here without having to get up at 3 am every morning," the miko intoned in a careless voice, leaning in and giving the girl an encouraging smile, "I prefer my sleep, and my bed is pretty possessive of me."
"I understand that completely," her companion countered, a sweet smile on her face now. She cleared her throat then and bowed a little in her seat. "I never introduced myself, how rude of me. My name is Yamazaki Kotone."
"Oh, um, Higurashi Kagome. But you already knew that," the other teenager bowed awkwardly, a strained smile on her face. "I guess it's nice to meet-! Hang on! Yamazaki?! As in that company with the expensive silverware?!"
Kotone nodded. "Yes. My older brother is the heir, but he says that if I can get through college with good grades that I might be able to help him out."
Kagome shook her head and sighed. "I forgot this place is for the super privileged rich kids." Kotone giggled and tried to hide her smile, though the telling flush on her cheeks made it obvious she was enjoying herself. Honey smiled and reached out to pat a sullen Kagome's cheek.
"It's okay, Kago-chan. That just means you're getting used to us. We may be better off than other people, but we're still people," the small blonde boy murmured, a wise shine in his doe-brown eyes. The miko stared at him for a second in surprise before she shook her head, a grimace on her face.
"I guess..."
Mori watched the exchange and let his eyes slide closed, content with the chatter he could hear his cousin making and still trying to rid Kagome's blue eyes from his mind.
So far, though, they were there to stay.
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