Notes: Senpai is a term used for upperclassmen. I felt somehow it fit here. Normally I don't use Japanese terms in my fan fictions. At least for now I want to leave it. Perhaps I'll change my mind later.

Chapter One: What Happened to High School?

Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.

-Robert Frost

Kagome blinked a little slowly as she rubbed at her eyes. It felt like she'd been sleeping for eternity. She yawned and stretched putting the back of her hand over her mouth then paused and snapped her mouth shut when she saw the time on her alarm clock.

6:52 was blinking back at her with mocking red lettering.

"Not again, I'm gonna be late!" I gotta catch the bus by 7! She didn't have time to think about her personal clock letting her sleep in too much. She'd been sick so much the past few months she couldn't afford to miss anymore school or she'd fail and be held back a year.

Rushing through the morning routine and grabbing toast before the mad dash down the front stairs of the shrine left her with no time to think about anything else, other than the vague concern she might have missed picking up some of her homework in the hurry. She didn't even stop to breath until she was on the train, she'd barely dashed through the doors in time.

A midnight blue haired kid with the uniform from one of the other high schools not too many stops from hers had held it for her. He couldn't have been much older than her, they might have been in the same grade. It was a little odd to see someone with the hair color but it matched his eyes well, they were almost the same shade but a little lighter. He was skinny and the glasses made him look both a little dorky and more intellectual.

"Are you all right?" There was a vague tone of concern but his face was still composed well enough. He was handsome in his own way. Kagome was nodding, though still breathing too hard to form a reply with words. Her lungs were burning in such a way to tell her that they might decide to seize up and go on strike next time she tried that.

"Aren't you heading to school a little early for you?" He asked with a slightly raised brow. "I thought Inaho didn't start until half an hour after Karakura."

"It doesn't..." She paused to take a few more breaths. "...after seven..."

"It's only a little after six." He leaned down and took one of her hands, as if he was taking her pulse.

She blushed but didn't protest, if he was from Karakura, that was the high school not the other middle school nearby, he'd be at least a year ahead of her. He was rather pale and looked a bit like a foreigner but she didn't have a long look before he dropped her hand again and sat down nearby. "Your heart rate is way too high, you should be more careful. Catching the train for school isn't worth cardiac arrest."

"Well, I thought I was gonna be late." She answered with a sheepish shrug, remembering then that Souta had some sort of report on America's Daylight Savings Time...he must have used her alarm clock for part of his experiments. She'd have to beat him up later.

"You new at Inaho, I take the early train sometimes and I don't usually see you." He was watching her as if she was possibly dangerous somehow. She blinked a little curiously but shook her head negatively, no reason to be aggressive.

"No...I'm Kagome Higurashi. I live at the shrine not far from the stop there...my family runs it...I just...I've been sick a lot so I haven't been riding the train as much lately." She answered honestly, smiling her best friendly smile so he wouldn't be so weird.

"I see." He nodded a little then held a hand out as he seemed to realize she'd introduced herself for the first time. "I'm Ishida Ururu. It's nice to meet you Kagome."

"Likewise." She agreed with a less fake smile. "Thanks for catching the door for me, even if I could have slept in. Ururu...like the guy that owns the hospital not too far from here? Family?"

"Yes..." he seemed surprised she knew it. "...something like that. I don't like people to know about it."

"Oh...I won't tell anyone then." She answered seriously, not wanting to alienate the guy right after she met him. Though he probably wasn't that interested in speaking with a lowly high schooler like her.

"Will you be okay at your stop?" He gestured that it would be coming up soon. "I can stand with you. I've heard there are some trouble makers around lately."

"Oh uh, I think the school cafeteria should be open for me to sit in." She seemed to ponder, it was already late in the fall. Without exams soon she wasn't sure they'd actually have the place open. "Besides, I wouldn't want you to miss your class."

"Not to mention Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi would never let me hear the end of it if I showed up with a high school boy while I was still not sure about Hojo."

"I don't have a class during first period." He said with a general shrug, he was playing it off like a cool guy but he seemed as if he was concerned under the act. She had to smile a bit, it was cute and sort of endearing. "I'd never be able to forgive myself if I just left you to whatever trouble makers might be out and about."

"Um, I guess then..." She had to leave though cause the trains never tended to stop for long and him following her didn't really give her more chance to protest. "Thanks Senpai."

"You didn't pick up a coat?" He eyed her skeptically as they walked across the grounds with her rubbing her arms, it wasn't too cold yet during the day with it still being September but this early in the morning it was already pretty chilly. "Sort of a hopeless case aren't you?"

"I'm not hopeless." She bristled a little, she'd just met the guy and he was being so judgmental. "I was just late and I had to hurry."

She'd planned to continue her protest but she felt him drop his jacket over her arms, she'd seen him taking it off but hadn't thought that he'd do that. It seemed so...intimate, like something you did for your girlfriend, not some strange underclassmen you just met on the bus. She was blushing when she glanced over to him but he was walking with that same unmoved expression on his face but not looking at her.

"Um...you don't have to..." She reached up to take the jacket from her shoulders and blushed more when he reached up to hold her hands there.

"It's fine Kagome." He offered a small smile. "You said you've been really sick yeah? What sort of insensitive jerk would I be if I didn't give you my jacket when you are cold? I'm not cold so use it."

"Sure..." Kagome's cheeks transformed from pink to a deeper sanguine as she watched his azure gaze behind his glasses. "...um...the cafeteria entrance is that way..."

She gestured and fell back into step when he'd dropped his hands again and walked toward where she prayed the entrance was open. "What was that..."

"How are your studies going?" He was at least making conversation, and if it wasn't the best subject, it was much better than that of the fabric helping to keep her cozy.

"Difficult." She answered honestly. "I've already missed a lot of classes this year and I have to get caught up in several subjects. I think if I get sick again I'll end up failing math."

"Do you need a tutor?" It should have been a simple question.

She was not sure what to say, it wasn't uncommon for kids from the high schools to help students at the middle schools but she still didn't even know what to think of Ishida, more or less how to react to him asking her about a tutor.

"Kagome?"

"Um, I don't know...I guess it couldn't hurt." It was the best honest answer she could form at the time with the circumstances. "Are you offering?"

"I'm not sure. I have a lot of activities myself to have much time after school, but I usually am free on Sunday's. If you aren't busy with things at home." He held the door open for her when they got there. She resisted the urge to squeal with joy when it came open, then scream when she noticed Ayumi had gotten there early for some club.

"Home?" Kagome asked as she tried to ignore the fact that her friend was outright staring at the pair of them.

"You live at a shrine you said."

"At least he's a good listener." She pondered and nodded. "Yeah but I usually only have to help if there is some big event, I should be free most of the time."

"I'll see you on Sunday then Kagome." He winked at her and headed away and she blushed again, he was pretty far back across the grounds before she realized she still had his coat.

"Wait...Senpai!" She called after him but he shook his head and gestured at her to stay as he headed back onto the train. "Great...how the hell am I going to explain this?"

"Kagome...who was that?!" Ayumi had gotten herself across the cafeteria without missing a beat and Kagome was trying to make the blush go away. "He's cute...Karakura huh? No wonder you always don't go for Hojo...you like the men older."

"Shut up Ayumi!" Kagome hissed as lowly as she could, even though there were almost no other students around they seemed interested in the inner school relationship possibility as well. Gossip would already be started. "We just met on the bus...I didn't realize I left early cause Souta's an inconsiderate brat and reset my alarm. He just wanted to make sure I wouldn't get stuck outside...I forgot my jacket. It's nothing..."

She knew as she explained it wasn't the best idea, Ayumi's eyes were getting more and more glossed over the longer she went into it. "Wow Kagome, that's -so- romantic. He sounds thoughtful...and he even left you the jacket...I bet he wanted to leave it so he'd have a reason to get it back."

"Great...at least I didn't mention the tutoring." Kagome thought with a mental sigh.

"It's nothing." Kagome repeated. "Why are you here so early?"

Anything to get her off the subject.

"Oh! There are a bunch of new transfer students. I guess one of the other high schools in town had a fire and they had to split up students to send to different places. Though we only got a few from there we had a couple other people that apparently moved in over the weekend, weird huh? I'm with the greeting committee so we were explaining general rules and Yuka's giving them a tour. Wait til she hears you are hanging out with one of the Karakura upperclassmen."

"Who are the new students?" Kagome fought to keep her own relationship as not one of the subjects of the girls gossip.

"Oh, some small kid, a smart mouthed exchange student, a nice girl that kept smacking the rude guy when he was rude...that was sorta funny. Those were the ones we've met so far from the other school...I heard though...that we were gonna get Seto Kaiba too." Ayumi's eyes were alight with a new subject of her interest, bingo.

"Who's Seto Kaiba?" Kagome asked curiously, she might as well play it off so she'd get out of further questioning herself.

"How do you not know that Kagome?" Ayumi protested with shock. "He's only a multi-billionaire teenager that owns like eight percent of japan or some crazy statistic like that. He's got some sort of monopoly on gaming contracts...and I hear he's dead gorgeous but doesn't tend to give fellow classmates the light of day. Man, I should ask him to the dance..."

"Anyone else?" Kagome wanted to keep her busy as she walked for her locker to pick and choose the books she needed. And put away the jacket that would cause her social insanity if she didn't get it hidden away soon.

"Well, a lot I guess." She seemed to think as if going over a mental list. "Some kid named Lezard Valeth, I guess he's a new exchange student from Germany. A transfer called Albel Nox, he's creepy though, he's into the whole kendo thing but I guess people say the last school kicked him out cause he kept injuring so many people he practiced against."

That didn't sound good.

"Then there was a few others but I don't remember their names. We're getting a few new teachers too. Which I guess a couple of them are exchanges from other countries, which seems exciting. Um, Professor's Curtiss and I think there was another one or two...but maybe they were going to other local schools. I don't know. I don't remember the names, they're all a little weird honestly."

"All of em are pretty cute though. The lizard guy looks a little like Hojo. They could be related I'm sure. I wonder where he's staying as an exchange student anyway." Ayumi continued off topic with a grin. "Actually, I think the new Professor is pretty hot too."

"I dunno, I didn't think our school did that anymore cause of funding. The exchange student thing." Kagome shrugged and finished in her locker, glad to be free of the gossip inducing jacket. "Can't you get your mind off boys for once?"

"You should have your mind on boys more often Kagome." She returned with a grin. "Might make you feel a bit better."

"Is there a reason you are lingering in the hallways before class hours?" The voice wasn't familiar but authoritative. Kagome couldn't help but stare when she glanced over to the suited individual standing near them.

He was easily the palest person she'd ever seen in her life, with smooth skin that looked as if he could be just as young as any of the students. His manner of dress spoke volumes as to his actual status as a professor. Though it was his hair and ears that managed to hold her attention the most. His ears were long and almost elf like, it was surreal, if that wasn't enough his hair was completely white and his eyes were red. An albino elf? That's definitely what he looked like. What the hell had happened to Inaho Middle School?"

End Chapter

I bet no one guesses the new professor at the end there. Man, I love that game. -that is your hint- I threw in some mentions of future involved crossovers. Yeah I'm a weirdo. Other bleach folks will get involved through Ishida. Yugioh got involved too. Other series I'm not familiar with I'm not gonna add in I imagine. Though I'll ponder requests of stuff I know. This is a creative outlet so such things are welcome.

-Aura

P.S. If anyone guesses that professor you'll be my hero.