...

Hm... not much to say... I'm tired, was driven home at 7:30 this morning. Watched the new Batman movie from 7:00 until 9:30 last night. Cried. Heath Ledger was gorgeous (his role, not body-wise). Got to school at 11:00, just in time for Science. Joy.

The story of my life! Lol. Anyways, on with Inuyasha/Kagome's story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha (Rumiko Takahashi) or Be Strong (Delta Goodrem)

Mrs. Michaels watched Kagome walk into the room with a smile and a raised eyebrow. "Someone looks happy today." She commented.

Kagome simply smiled. "Well, thinks are going right this week."

It was true. The drama performance had gone well; even Ayumi had gone through her lines without a single stumble. Today was Friday and Mr. Toshu had handed out parts to everyone. Kagome was Juliet; Suikotsu as her fair Romeo.

Then at lunch time Inuyasha had asked her out. She couldn't say it was unexpected, because all of the guys had asked her out at some point or other; even Bankotsu. And she had dumped every single one of them. Except one, and that didn't count, because that was before Kagome's streak began. But she didn't like to think about him, so instead she turned those thoughts to other things. Like Inuyasha, for example.

"Well then, perhaps you'd like to start with some scales."

Mrs. Michaels was a native African-American with skin the colour of chocolate and the biggest, darkest eyes; always twinkling, even if there was no light whatsoever. Her full lips were always curved into a smile, revealing perfect rows of gleaming white teeth. Her curly black hair was cropped short around her head and she was always wearing headbands and bandannas. Today it was a tie-died sash tied at the back, tie-dyed light green with her favourite silver hoop earrings dangling from her ears. She was the nicest woman Kagome had ever known and, to her belief, the most beautiful.

All scales done, Mrs. Michaels reached into her bag. "I got something for you." she said with a smile. She held out a book in front of her. Kagome's eyes widened. It was the sheet music from Delta Goodrem's album Mistaken Identity.

"Oh, thank you so much!" she gave the woman a small hug and flipped through the pages until she came to her favourite song. After a moment of studying the notes she began to play. The music wafted softly and smoothly as the introduction passed into the first verse. Kagome began to sing.

"Are you swimming upstream?

In oceans of blue?
Do you feel like your sinking?
Are you sick of the rain?

After all you've been through?
Well I know what you're thinking
When you can't take it
You can make it
Sometime soon I know you'll see"

Soon Mrs. Michaels' voice joined hers. It was stronger and less delicate, but somehow it fit perfectly with Kagome's as they sang the chorus.

"'cause when you're in you're darkest hour
And all of the light just fades away
When you're like a single flower

Whose colours have turned to shades of grey
Well hang on

And be strong"

Memories filled Kagome's mind; horrible memories that made her eyes blurry with tears. She stopped playing, no longer being able to play the music, and brushed the tears away when she thought her teacher wasn't watching.

"Beautiful, as always," Mrs. Michaels was beaming, "You know there's a competition in August; would you like to enter?"

Kagome shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"

Her teacher grinned one of her beautiful, white-toothed smiles. "Perhaps you could play that song you're working on." she suggested, "Which reminds me; how's that going?"

Kagome sighed and shook her head. "I'm stuck with the lyrics. I've only written a couple of lines for the chorus."

"Can I hear it?"

Kagome hesitated and shook her head. "If you don't mind, I'd rather wait until it's finished."

Mrs. Michaels smiled understandingly. "Okay, but I want to be the first person to hear it."

-

-

"I am hurt.
A plague o' both your houses! I am sped.
Is he gone, and h-?"

"No!" Mr. Toshu yelled, "More emotion! Mr. Nobunaga; perhaps you haven't realized yet but Mercutio is dying!"

Kagome rolled her eyes. How Amari, the nerd whose only friend happened to be a monkey, ended up with the role of Mercutio she would never know. Even Hiten could read better than this freak.

"Continue!" Mr. Toshu shouted and the play rolled on.

"Courage, man; the hurt cannot be much." Suikotsu said in that velvet smooth voice of his.

"No, 'tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a
church-door; but 'tis enough,'twill serve: ask for
me to-morrow, and you shall find me a grave man. I
am peppered, I warrant, for this world. A play o'
both your houses!"

"A play o' both your houses?!" Mr. Toshu choked. "A play? Are you illiterate? Can you read? Because I sure can and the plague will be nothing compared to my wrath if you don't practice your lines before next week!"

As if on cue the bell rang and everyone packed up to get to their next class. Kagome said a quick goodbye to Kagura (she had decided to ignore Ayumi for the day, just to psych her out a little. The girl was always funny when that happened) and walked off to her History class. Bankotsu and his brother, Jakotsu, were also in that class. All in all it would make for an interesting lesson. She couldn't wait to hear the latest gossip, which the two brothers always had handy.

However the teacher, Mrs. Kaede, had something different in store for the day. She had arranged a seating plan. Kagome was to sit next to Kanna and a girl she'd never heard of before going by the name of Katsumi. Kagome scowled. Kanna was completely silent – no surprises there – as she slid into her seat and faced the teacher. There was no way she could hold a conversation with the girl, let alone engage in a lesson of solid gossip.

"Alright, children," Mrs. Kaede (A/N: Is it just me, or does that sound weird?) called out, "Calm yeselves down. Today we will be beginning a project on Feudal Japan. To start the topic, ye shall receive the title of a legend from this time that ye shall present to the class in the form of a 5 minute speech in 3 weeks time. I shall hand out the legends now."

Kagome looked at the piece of paper in front of her. Written in Kaede's neat, flowing script was 'The Tale of the Shikon Jewel'. Shikon? As in the school, Shikon High?

Then it was off to do some research. Almost the entire class moved straight to the computers… make that all of the class except for Kagome. She walked to the library, running her hands across the volumes as she searched. Eventually she came across a thick volume with the title, 'Lovers' Legends of the Feudal Ages'. It looked promising and mentioned the Shikon jewel on the blurb.

As she was reading, Kagome was surprised to find herself immersed in the story. It wasn't so much the stuff about the jewel, but the tale of those who destroyed it. Two lovers; a priestess and a hanyou, one from the future and the other from the past. The hanyou, spared from another's spell, saving the priestess's life. The love slowly flourishing between them as they worked together, battling evil and combining the shards of the Shikon jewel, eventually destroying it using the priestess's immense spiritual power.

She was so involved in the story that the loud ring of the bell made her jump a foot in the air. Time for lunch. She borrowed the book and walked over to her locker, where her very own hanyou was waiting for her. He leaning against the wall with his hands stuffed casually into his pockets. It was all Kagome could do to not smirk with pride. He was waiting for her, after all.

"Hey." He greeted as she came closer, his cute doggy ears twitching.

"Hey yourself." Kagome replied, reaching up to peck him on the cheek. Just to warn onlookers that the hanyou was already taken.

"What's that?" Inuyasha asked, gesturing to the thick volume Kagome was still holding.

"Nothing." She answered nonchalantly, shoving it into her locker and entwining his hand with hers.

Inuyasha frowned but didn't press. Kikyo had gone through the rules with him: don't argue with Kagome, don't be sarcastic to her, let her put the moves on him. Wait outside her locker before lunch. Flirt with her. And give her plenty of flowers. And then right at the top, don't try pressing Kagome into anything.

"You hungry?" he asked.

"Starving." Was the simple answer.

Liar, Inuyasha thought, but didn't bother to voice his opinion. And so they made their way to the cafeteria hand in hand.

-

-

It wasn't a lie. Kagome was starving. She simply refused to eat anything. So as usual she took her small, wilted salad and picked at it as she listened to the constant chatter around her. Abi was telling everyone about some nerd in her Science class who had asked her out. Huh. Poor guy. Still, he should have known better.

"Kagome!"

Kagome winced visibly and turned to meet the crystal blue eyes of a certain wolf demon she most certainly didn't want to see.

"Kouga," she greeted through clenched teeth, "You're back."

The wolf demon grinned and grabbed her hand, clasping it in both of his. "That's right. Our tribe was up in the mountains for a little longer than expected and we only got back yesterday. Did you miss me?"

Kagome rolled her eyes and pulled her hand from his grasp. Ignoring his questions, she asked one of her own. "I don't suppose you've met Inuyasha? He moved here last week. My new boyfriend." And just to emphasise her point, she pecked him on the cheek.

Kouga was fuming. You could practically see the waves of jealousy coming from his body, his hands clenched into tight fists.

"Boyfriend? This mutt? You don't deserve her! She's mine!" he crowed loudly so the whole cafeteria could here.

Inuyasha's ears flattened against his head. You can have her, he thought, but once again he didn't voice it. "And what makes you say that?" he asked calmly, "What makes Kagome yours?"

Kouga snorted. "She's mine because I say so, got it?"

Kagome rolled her eyes again. The truth was, she'd gone out with Kouga for four weeks; almost a month. He was actually quite hot, in a rough kind of way. Then his clingier side began to make itself evident and she dumped him.

But apparently Kouga didn't know what 'dumped' meant. He was always at her side like a lost puppy, always snarling and getting into fights with her boyfriends, always making moves on her whenever possible. If people had to work in pairs, Kouga always raced to take his place beside her. Not that Kagome ever worked with him. She would even pick one of her posse over him, if Abi or Kagura weren't available.

"Conceited, much?" Inuyasha muttered under his breath. Unfortunately Kouga heard.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" he roared. With a swipe of his hand he knocked Yura's tray to the floor. "COME AND SAY THAT TO MY FACE, YOU WORTHLESS HALF-BREED!!"

Inuyasha stiffened visibly and his hands balled into fists underneath the table. "What did you call me?" he growled.

"What's the matter, half-breed? A bit touchy, aren't we?" Kouga sneered. "And to think you had the gull to waltz in and insult a pure wolf demon like me."

Inuyasha stood up in one swift, fluid movement. Kagome could have sworn she saw his eyes flash blood red. In that moment she was sure blood was going to be spilled. Then the bell rang and they returned to amber. He was still staring murderously at Kouga, though.

"Kouga, quit being annoying and clean up the mess you've made," she chided in a bored tone, "Honestly; don't you have anyone else to pester?"

Kouga drooped visibly. "But Kagome-"

A flick of Kagome's hand and a sharp glare silenced him. Just like that he was down on hand and knee, picking up Yura's tray and spilt food. It was hard to imagine that this was the same guy who moments ago had been yelling his head off at Inuyasha.

The group got to their feet and left the youkai to clean up the mess. Kagome didn't look the slightest bit bothered by Kouga's little display. Inuyasha, however, was still shaken by his words. It wasn't so much the words that bothered him, though. It was more to do with the rage that coursed through him; the feeling of lost control. The urge to kill. It was like he'd been possessed.

Whatever it was, he wasn't going to let it happen again.

-

-

It was on the way to his locker that Inuyasha saw it; or rather, her. It was Kikyo. He hadn't been able to see her for the past couple of days; both he and she had been busy. But he had texted her at any moment he could spare. Now she had her back pressed against a locker, a smirk on her lips, another guy's face dangerously close to hers.

Inuyasha waited as patiently as he could for her to push the guy away. He couldn't blow his cover, could he? Besides, Kikyo would never let some loser kiss her; especially when she already had a boyfriend.

But Kikyo didn't push him away. She did give him a little nudge in the ribs, but it was accompanied by a flirtatious giggle and a flip of her jet black hair.

Inuyasha wasn't sure about how long he stood there. It could have been seconds. It felt like hours. Eventually the stranger farewelled and headed off to his next class. Only then did Kikyo spot the hanyou, staring at her with those glittering gold eyes full of hurt.

"Inu, I didn't see you there!" she exclaimed, making sure that the coast was clear before addressing him.

"Yeah, I got that impression," Inuyasha said dully. He couldn't bring himself to feel the anger he knew should be boiling right now. "Who was he?"

Kikyo blinked innocently. "What, him? He's just some guy who gave me a compliment."

"It didn't look like that from where I was standing."

Kikyo rolled her eyes and wrapped a strand of hair around her finger. "Inu, it's called pretence. If I look single then people will get suspicious. Seriously, do you think I would ever cheat on you?" She pouted as she said this, her eyelashes fluttering madly.

Inuyasha sighed. "And you're positive this is the only way?"

Kikyo nodded.

"Fine. But if anyone gets too cosy, I'll break their necks."

Kikyo giggled. "Oh Inu, no need to be like that. You're the only guy for me."

-

-

Inuyasha offered to walk Kagome home that night. She agreed, seemingly nonchalant about the whole affair, but Inuyasha could read the slightest pause before she spoke and the way her eyes wavered for that split second from his face. She might be a great actress, but he was a great interpreter.

So they were walking hand in hand, Inuyasha talking, Kagome answering in that bored tone, when eventually they came to a stop. The house was ordinary enough; two storey brick with a small veranda and big glass windows, but there was something sinister about it that Inuyasha couldn't quite place. He shrugged it off. Still, he couldn't help but notice the peeling paint and utterly dead garden. It looked neglected.

"Well, see you tomorrow." Kagome said, but her eyes weren't on him. They were looking at the car parked in the driveway; new and shiny, black and obviously expensive.

"Yeah, see ya." Inuyasha replied and he started walking. He couldn't help but take one last glance back. Kagome was still staring at the car with that venomous look Inuyasha had learned to be very afraid of. Eventually she walked down the path leading to the front door and disappeared from view.

Weird… Inuyasha thought. Then he sighed and shook his head. What am I saying? Everything's been nothing but weird from the day I got here.

Well, there you go. Sorry it was a day late.

...Reviews...

Princess Stormcloud0217: Haha still embarrassing, but ah well. I'm glad you liked the chapter!

Hiwada.Yume.Chan: Lol how could I forget about you? And thanks for the info: I'm not sure if I put any Higarashis or Higurashis in this, but I hope I got it right if I did. I hope you enjoy this story just as much as you enjoyed my other one! :)

Daeth101- Fox version: Thanks! And keep guessing lol ;)

maire 53: Thank you! Hope the update wasn't too slow for you.

JoBrosCupcakeSwirl: Haha snap! It was also my favourite scene! :D And I love Romeo and Juliet, too.

xxRockerElla: Haha you're on the right track... ;) Keep guessing, coz I love hearing guesses. Then if I want to change part of the story, I just use someone else's idea! Heheha nah just kidding; I wouldn't do that. But I still love guesses!