Hello people. So, new chapter, uhh… sorry for the long wait, had a bit of a writer's block. (still have it)

Thanks for the reviews, they surely made my day. :)

By the way Arekusandora, even though I've seen Ouran High School Host Club, I actually got the inspiration to write this watching a few Japanese and Korean dramas.

So, 19 pages. Sorry for the wait again, I hope it was worth it.

Disclaimer: Nope, my name is not Rumiko Takahashi…

*-*.*-*.*

"Sometimes we must get hurt in order to grow.

We must fall in order to know.

Sometimes our vision is clear

only after our eyes are washed away with tears."

-Unknown.

*-*.*-*.*

*Sengoku Gakuen*

Chapter III- Ebony and Ivory

So, here's how my day has been so far: woke up late; got weekend detention, skipped breakfast, meet this annoying new guy, tried to beat some sense into Shippo's head, got into a fight with the annoying new guy -I barely even touched him!, Miroku –Oh, how I loathe that asshole- got me a new roommate. The annoying new guy. Yes, if I'd know today was my turn to be the laughing stock of the universe, I would've stayed in bed all day…

He moved back into the room, his little haven; now being sabotaged by that moronic boy. Was a little bit of privacy too much to ask for? He turned to look at Miroku.

Apparently, yes.

"Really Miroku, Jakotsu's room is available too. Why couldn't you just placed him-" I'm not an object you ass! Kagome though indignantly, glaring at him through her bangs "-there? I'm sure he would appreciate it."

"Inuyasha" he started, his face a mask of light annoyance. His hand moved to scratch the back of his head "Don't you remember what happened to his last roommate? He switched schools because Jakotsu molested him on a daily basis –day and night!-, the poor guy was traumatized. I can't do that to him now, can I?"

"I don't really care."

"Well, no." What the hell? Where did that come from?

Both heads turned to him and Miroku arched his eyebrows in amusement, his hand abruptly stopping the scratching motion.

"W-well, no you can't now" nice saving! "I mean, uh, you placed" -again with the placing Kagome growled- "him in my room, now we'll never know what Jakotsu could've done. I'm a bit curious though." He mused examining the petite boy from head to toe. Surely 'that' wouldn't be classified as cute. Even Jakotsu must have some sort of standards… I guess.

"Oh, I'm sure you are." Miroku stated grinning wolfishly. Inuyasha, so lost in his musings, certainly didn't notice Miroku's suggestive grin.

Inuyasha scowled, still staring at the small boy, Miroku long forgotten, though Kagome did notice his expression and was doing her best to ignore the tingling sensation in the back of her head. She had a bad feeling about this. When have I not when it includes this guy? She almost didn't catch sight of him retreating.

"Be nice to your new roommate Inuyasha! It would be awful if you had two weekend detentions in a row, wouldn't it?" he finished, waving cheerfully as he left.

"Keh" Now that the ass was gone he could resume his previous activities; meaning, he could go back to sleep. Maybe if he ignored that kid, he would leave him alone. Was being alone too much to ask?

His whole life dwelling over the fact that none of the kids wanted to play with him –being a hanyou and all-, he was usually left alone and he certainly had come to enjoy his loneliness.

Over time he had come to realize that maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

But now…

Kagome looked around for a few seconds. The room was big enough for the two of them to live comfortably together; there was even a bath room in one of the corners. Do all rooms come with a personal bathroom? How can they afford that! She opened the white panel door and peeked inside. The little room was nice and comfortable, and the contrast of light colors made it seem larger than it actually was. There was a small shower, complete with tinted glass doors for extra privacy. Nice… but I'll have to remember to lock the door, just in case.

She stepped out of the bathroom and kept inspecting the decent-sized room. The two beds were each adjacent to one of the bathroom's walls, so none of the residents were able to see one another when they slept. She absently noticed that the imaged formed a ninety degrees angle, with the bathroom as the intersection. The bed closest to the door had a red comforter with white pillow cases, while a glass door stood directly in front of the bed with a dark blue comforter; the one to her left when she exited the bathroom. There were also two desks facing each other by the window, close to the balcony, both equipped with a lamp and a small bookcase. The desk closer to the bed with the blue comforter was empty, while the other one was a complete mess. She turned to Inuyasha and found him staring at her, and surprisingly, she was not affected by the hostile gesture.

"So, which one's my bed, dog-ears?" Inuyasha's eyelids lowered nope, won't go away if I igno- wait…

"Wh-what did you just call me?" he might have been slow, but his ears were not just a 'cute' ornament.

"Dog-ears… uhh, for some reason I can't seem to remember your name" Kagome mentally smirked. Of course she remembered, Miroku had just used it. Inuyasha flared his nostrils, it hadn't been one day and the guy- "would you rather be called 'wan-chan'* then?" she asked him in a fake worried tone, now fully smirking, but stopped a fraction of a second later as her lip started to ache again.

Kagome smiled impishly I never realized annoying people could be so entertaining. Sure Souta was a fun target, but she always got in trouble after the tricky bastard rat her out.

"You're digging your own grave Higurashi" Inuyasha said, glaring at her darkly. It had been years since someone had successfully gotten on his nerves so much in just one day. What was it about this guy that drove him up the wall? Figures, it was only logical he would be paired off with the one person who got a reaction out of him – and in more than one way, nonetheless. Might as well get used to this… he thought, glaring at her through annoyed half lidded eyes. "And wipe that stupid smile off your face!" he added at the sight of the petite boy's mocking expression. She easily ignored him, her attention now in a tiny scratching she had been hearing for a few seconds now.

It seems to be emanating from… there she thought, turning her head to the balcony glass door, obscured by the thick cream colored curtain. "Hey, what's that sound coming from the balcony?"

Shit. This guy's too nosy for his own good! "Nothing, nothing. The balcony is off limits for you." He said moving into her way as Kagome tried to get closer to said door. "I said, off limits!" Well... if the menacing look wasn't a warning before, the growling was now.

"Ah, stop being so grumpy, chill dude! Turn that scowl upside down." Barely a second later Kagome winced. Ok… That sounded weird even in her head, she already regretted saying it as soon as it left her mouth. That was so lame… I should really stick up with being the quiet, mysterious guy.

"Look 'dude'," he started, already tired of him "stop trying to act cool and get lost before I punch you again."

Kagome scoffed Not the nicest thing to say, especially at someone who's trying to ignore the fact that this is the guy who punched HER not even an hour ago… "Right, right. I'll go away now; I still have to get my stuff, anyway." She said waving her hand dismissively, already making her way across the room. She stopped just before closing the door, popping in her head. There was something bothering her and she simply had to let it out. "And by the way, I'm anything but worthless." She said, glaring at him. Inuyasha could almost feel the determination burning in the shorter boy's eyes. Where the hell did that come from? When have I- oh, the fight. Well, he is worthless –and pathetic. Rolling his eyes, he plopped back into the bed trying to get some sleep before getting to that history report. Surely that guy wouldn´t bother him again, not at least for a few hours.

After five or ten minutes of –unsuccessfully- trying to get back to sleep, a thought slowly crept into his mind and he smirked slightly So, this is how we're gonna play it, huh? He turned around and stood up lazily, walking slowly to the door and locking it. That will stop his nagging for a while.

*-*.*-*.*

Well, might as well see if my things are already here. She thought, making her way out of the dorms and into the school building. After a few minutes of wandering around she came across the glass door of the main office. The place was neat and white, just as –mostly- everything else at Sengoku Gakuen. She opened the door and glanced around, noticing the middle age women behind the desk, swiftly typing on a computer. "Excuse me, I'm new here and I was wondering if my uh- stuff had arrived yet. My name is Kai Higu-"

"Higurashi, yes" she cut her, not even glancing away from the screen. "It's over there" she said, gesturing to a corner in between the desk and the wall.

"Right, thanks." Kagome took a few steps and found a few boxes and a suitcase placed messily in the far corner. Looking closely, she was able to discern her last name kanjis in the boxes and the name tag in the suitcase. She stood straight, hands resting on her hips and a thoughtful look on her face. Well, there is no way I can carry all this in one trip- Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a familiar face. Finally, some luck on my side she thought smirking.

"H-hey wait!" Kagome cried as she hastily opened the glass door.

*-*.*-*.*

"Thanks for your help, Hojo." She said while carrying her suitcase and one of the boxes, Hojo carrying the other two. "I really appreciate it."

"Don't worry Higurashi; you're new so it must be pretty hard for you right now." Hojo smiled kindly at her. "I'm quite sure it's been a hectic afternoon."

"Huh, yeah, a little bit. My roommate is kinda… unbearable." Kagome commented light-heartedly, she didn't want to be perceived as a whiny guy after all.

Hojo chuckle lightly "I take it your roommate is Inuyasha, then."

"Yeah, what gave it away?" she asked perplexed.

"Well, there are only three rooms available in the west building; one being Jakotsu's, the next one is Takeshi's and I don't mean to be gossipy, but he's kind of, uhh, eccentric. He's never has a roommate and Miroku wants to keep it that way. That only leaves Inuyasha as an option."

"You don't like him?" It had come to her attention that Inuyasha barely spoke in class. The only two people she'd seen him interact with were Koga and Jakotsu, neither of them exactly friendly.

Hojo scratched the back of his neck "Well is not that I hate him," he trailed off, staring straight ahead "but he never seems to get my name right! It's always hobo this, hobo that, and it's sort of irritating." He looked at Kai, who seemed to be deep in thought.

Kagome hummed pensively "Maybe he's just not good with names" she said, not trying to defend him but to even things out. Just that.

"He was in my class last year too. He doesn't really talk much, but when he does is never nice, so I don't think these are memory issues." He stated as they entered the west dorms complex.

"Well, people unconsciously develop defense mechanisms to cope with reality and protect them against social sanctions. It's pretty amazing what that brain can do in those circumstances." She said, speaking more to herself than Hojo. Besides, Inuyasha seems to fit into the passive-aggressive type...

"Well" Hojo said after a brief pause "he's just a hanyou, anyway. You might be right" that sounded offensive Kagome though frowning.

There were a few seconds of silence until they arrived, Hojo handled the boxes and she placed them close to the door. "Good luck Higurashi."

"Thanks again Hojo" she said bowing her head politely as he walk away waving his hand. She then turned around and tried to open the door.

Locked.

That mongrel dog!

"Hey, dog-ears open the door!" she yelled while knocking loudly.

No response. "Come on, open the damned door!" Oh, he's passive-aggressive alright. And to think I was trying to justify his behavior!

She used her last resort, whining."Hey! Open up! Dog-ea-, uhh, I mean, Inuyasha, this is not funny! Please!"

"Get lost!" was the only retort she received. It came in a slightly mocking tone, so she was sure the bastard on the other side of the door was smirking.

Kagome slammed her head against the door and sighed deeply. She'd have to leave her stuff here while she looked for Miroku, he'd certainly have an extra key. She turned around and leaned against the door, letting herself fall until she hit the floor, resting her forearms on her flexed knees.

Damn… I really need that key. She thought staring at her luggage. Would it be safe if she left it there for a while? Kagome rolled her eyes, exhaling through her mouth and blowing her bangs distractedly.

One more time,she told herself, I'll try one more time before giving up.

*-*.*-*.*

It was already dinner time when she decided to just give up and show her face in the cafeteria, maybe Miroku would be there and she could finally get that damned key."Hey Kai!" Bingo. She turned her head and found Miroku and a little red-haired boy sitting a few tables away from him. "How is it going?" he asked her conversationally.

"Horrible. This day never ends." She grunted, plopping onto a chair and letting her head fall on the table. "Your friend is being an ass."

"As always." He commented waving his hand dismissively "don't take him too seriously, he's all bark and no bite…well most of the time."

"Oh, by the way" he said looking from the boy sitting next to him, to Kai, sitting across the table "Kai, this little guy here is Shippo; Shippo, this is Kai." The redhead waved cheerfully to her as Miroku introduced them.

"Hi, you're the guy who got beat up because of me right?" Shippo said, eyes glued to her wounded lip. Kagome gaped, trying to come up with an intelligent remark, anything at all.

"Uhh, I guess, yeah… " she ended up saying awkwardly. That was a weird introduction. She shook her head lightly and decided to change the subject. "As I was saying; your friend is an ass."

Miroku sighed, "What did he do this time?"

"He locked me out of the room!" she cried indignantly.

"Sorry, he's just being possessive over his territory, you know dogs." He said shrugging nonchalantly. This is just a big game to him Kagome thought angrily.

"And what about what that dog did to him?" she exclaimed changing the subject while pointing at Shippo, forgetting at the time that pointing was considered rude gesture.

"Oh, that's pretty normal; Shippo does something stupid, Inuyasha tries to beat some sense into him."

"You mean I got this" she said pointing to her lip in astonishment "for nothing?" she asked while both boys nodded meekly. It was her fault for jumping to conclusions.

"Pretty much, yeah."

That's it; I need to get away from here "I need that key now." She said in a deadly tone, staring at Shippo's noodles from the corner of her eye Now that I thing about it, I AM hungry she thought as her stomach chose that moment to growl… I'll have to come back.

"Here" Miroku said, sliding the extra key across the table, none in the least bit affected by her hostile behavior. Being so close to Inuyasha must do that to you.

"You had it with you all this time?" she asked as Miroku shrugged. He had been so amused by Inuyasha's odd behavior that he'd completely forgotten all about the key until she mentioned it.

Kagome growled exasperatedly "Why didn't you- agh, never mind, I'll be back in ten minutes." She muttered as she quickly left. Shippo just turned to Miroku, noodles hanging from his mouth "You don't think Inuyasha is gonna drive him away, do you? He seems kinda cool."

Miroku, who barely understood, just shook his head. "I don't know Shippo, Inuyasha can be hard to handle… that's up to Kai."

"Hmm" he muttered staring at his unfinished cup of noodles it felt nice to know that someone had stood up for him. It was kinda cool what Kai did back there, to stand up for someone you don't even know… especially after getting his ass kicked.

Fifteen minutes later Kai appeared panting slightly "I'm back" Shippo heard him mutter out of breath, but he was more interested in the mountain of food the guy was holding. "Are you gonna eat all that?" he asked disbelievingly, his eyes moving form Kai's food to his face, and then to the food back again.

"Yeah, I didn't have breakfast, and for lunch I had some disgusting chips I'll never eat again, so yeah; I'm hungry." Kagome told him defensively, taking a spoonful of miso soup. She had at least two full plates, the miso soup, a bottle of green tea, and a bowl of ramen. It was a little bit over the top, but she was hungry –and in a bad mood.

*-*.*-*.*

Ugh, I shouldn't have eaten so much…

It was really quiet, and dark, but she kept running. It was a little past nine and the school seemed deserted. Everyone was either still in the cafeteria, the recreational room or already in their room; at least it seemed that way from the soccer field. Kagome found herself running laps around the field; if she wanted to survive here, she realized she had to improve her once sedentary body.

Well, at least her day was finally over. She took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh, slightly relaxing her body as she kept running. She turned her head to the right, noticing an oddly tall tree, she frowned and slowed down a little, staring at the tree intently; it looked remarkably similar to the Goshinboku. She stopped for a few minutes to carefully observe it, unconsciously remembering the one in the old shrine that used to be her home. She smiled slightly, maybe this was the tree.

For a while, she stood in silence, taking in the peaceful aura of the tree yet, she could not help but feel an oppressive loneliness in her chest, where was it coming from?

She could almost hear her grandpa's voice as once again she started jogging around the field mechanically.

"This, Kagome-chan, is the Goshinboku, the Sacred Tree." He told the little girl sitting on his left leg, while baby Souta was occupying his right. "It is said that this tree's been standing for centuries, perhaps thousands of years. The legend states that a young man, not human, but not demon either was pinned to the tree by the woman he loved, can you believe it?"

Kagome shook her head "why?"

"Well, because he showed her his true form, he was a half demon and she was terrified, so she stabbed him through his chest with a stick, pinning him to the tree in the process." He explained. "No, there was no blood" he quickly added when she opened her mouth.

Kagome frowned a little "Why did she do it 'grampa', was he too ugly? No no, wait, I know" she said slamming her little fist against her open palm, sudden realization clear in her face. "She was scared 'cuz he was different, right?" her grandpa smiled, barely six years old and she was such a clever child.

"That's right Kagome-chan. You see, he was different because his dad was a full demon, a demon lord nonetheless, and his mom was a human. He was accepted by neither demons nor humans, so he had no choice but to run away and hide. When his older brother, a full-fledged demon, killed his younger brother, a mere human, he decided it was time to disappear, so he disguised himself as a human and then he fell in love with that girl." Both stayed in silence, contemplating the tree, both of the engrossed in their own thoughts.

"It is said that his soul was sealed within the tree. You know, I hear it has a twin tree in Tokyo with a very similar story." He told her conversationally after a while.

"He must be lonely, maybe I'll have the opportunity to visit him someday." she told him smiling, her eyes still on the tree. "You know 'grampa', I find this story much more enlightening than the Shikon no tama, that's for sure."

He chucked "Enlightening? When did you learn that word, Kagome-chan?"

Kagome just grinned cheerfully "I was playing with the dictionary a few days ago, and I liked that word… so I was dying to use it."

This had become, over the years, her favorite story.

Kagome scoffed, now running laps around the soccer field faster. There was no use living in the past. There was no way to bring back the dead. Not the guy pinned to the tree, not her grandpa. Life goes on. Her eyes watered briefly, but she did not cry. Sure, she missed him, but not since he had passed away, not a single tear. She was not ready yet.

She just kept running until her feet ached, the strain of her body momentarily overcoming her internal turmoil.

She never noticed the movement of the curtains in her bedroom.

*-*.*-*.*

"Kagome-chan, can you give me a hand?"she heard her grandpa yell from the small room in which they kept most of the antique objects. Seven year old Souta was mirthfully running around after a soccer ball close by as her twelve year own self watched him smiling pleasantly.

"Sure grandpa" she replied grinning. "What can I do?"

"Do you remember what I taught you before, how to purify objects?"He asked her, a gentle smile on his face. Kagome had always been his favorite granddaughter, as well as the only one who inherited his spiritual powers, so they spent a lot of time together. He had taught her everything he knew by the time she as fifteen, that girl had always surprised him with how easy she got the hang of it. Souta usually watched them train and encouraged his big sister as her personal cheerleader, seeing as their parents were constantly fighting at that time, so he preferred to stay by Kagome's side.

"Yeah, that was fun." she said grinning hopefully "Do I get to do it again?"

"Yes Kagome-chan" Her grandpa grinned "there is this mask up there that has been emanating a dark aura, so I thought I would be best to purify it before anything happens. Now, I'm too old to get up there, so I'll help you with the ladder." He said, giving her an encouraging pat on the shoulder.

"Ok, gramps" Kagome said grinning confidently "ju-just don't let go of the ladder" she added silently. As soon as she was on top, she found the corrupted mask and concentrated her power on her hands easily purifying it. "See gramps? This is too easy, now I'm gonna need bigger challenges." She joked as she descended, jumping to the floor when she was close enough.

"Gramps?" she asked again, not hearing a reply.

Suddenly she was not twelve anymore, she realized that as she stare at her reflection in an old silver plate, as well as a barely recognizable face behind her, she turned around quickly and gasped. A silent scream frozen on her face.

His eyes, lifelessly staring back at her; he was dead, she realized promptly. Just like she had found him in his room not too long ago. Was this a dream? She certainly hadn't been so scared before, so why was she terrified now? Why was her heart beating so intensely she felt it was about to burst out of her chest? Why did it hurt so much now?

Just as she was about to scream and turn away he grabbed her hand and her breathing quicken; she didn't want to see his face again, but he was gripping her wrist so tight, and she couldn't just close her eyes. No, she'd seen hundreds of movies in which people died because of that minor detail.

"They are coming after you Kagome-chan, sooner than you think." She heard him croak, before turning into dust.

*-*.*-*.*

She woke up gasping in the middle of the night, the dream still fresh in her mind. Kagome, still not fully conscious, stretched her arm, trying to grab at something "Grandpa" she muttered, her voice hoarse due to the knot she felt in her throat. It took her several minutes to realize that she was awake. It was just a dream, just a dream… she tried to soothe herself, but everything just came tumbling down at that moment. Her grandpa's murder, the Shikon no tama, her family leaving the country, transferring schools, the fight with Inuyasha, the loneliness. She was running from a possible murderer. This was not a picnic, she had to focus on protecting that stupid pink marble, she was not here to make friends after all.

Her breathe quickened. Her heartbeat rose, and Kagome noticed her hand were shaking.

It was absolutely ridiculous. All the walls she had so meticulously built to keep her sane and safe had just crumbled down with just what, a dream? How could a mere dream trigger this reaction? This was crazy; it was as if that mere dream had brought back the awareness of a truth she had been trying to ignore all along. Did that thought even made sense? She didn't care, all she wanted was for this weird feeling to just go away. To go back into that door she had closed long before all of this took place. She needed to get back into her self-created shelter.

She could already feel her eyes moistening "I can't do this, I can't do this" she kept repeating to herself, hugging her arms tightly, sobbing soundlessly as her heart clenched, pounding loudly in her ears. She tried her best to even her respiration, it had been a while since she'd had a panic attack.

Her emotions were now lost beyond control, she –she just needed to calm down. Scratch what I said before… she thought giving up and finally letting the tears fall, biting her lip to prevent her from crying out loud.

Unconsciously she hoped Inuyasha wouldn't happen to be awake right now, his side of the room was far too quiet.

Sadly she wasn't counting on her roommate's keen sense of smell and hearing, who after that little display couldn't go back to sleep. Now he felt kind of guilty. Had it been his fault? Maybe he should've cut the guy some slack, if had been his first day after all. A fight was never a good first memory… now the poor guy was sobbing shamelessly, and he was the one to blame. Inuyasha's eyes searched the ceiling desperately, as if the answer was written there.

Surely being nicer wouldn't hurt anyone.

Yes, just an infinitesimal bit nicer. Nobody would notice but him. His nose twitched at the same time than his eyebrows did. Damn his smell he thought scowling while turning around to face the wall, trying desperately to go back to sleep. Certainly this was just a phase, he was an inu hanyou after all; he relied too much in scents. Well… he'd just ask him to change his shampoo. Problem solved.

But not today. He's called him worthless before and the guy had run himself into exhaustion. Clearly, he didn't take constructive criticism lightly.

It had been a good twenty minutes before the firsts traces of sleep had shown up, her eye lids slowly dropped and vaguely, just seconds before she fell asleep, she could've sworn she heard a soft whimpering close by. A dog? She mused drowsily, already lost in a dreamless sleep.

"Hey, wake up" she heard it before she felt it, that heavy object colliding against her face, and as soon as she opened her eyes she noticed it was Inuyasha's messenger bag. "Wha-?" was her smart reply as she sat up abruptly. She looked to her left and found Inuyasha's annoyed expression, already dressed and taking back his bag. "If you want breakfast you better get ready now." He told her before he left.

Well… at least no fighting this time.

She felt a lot better today, after last night's venting session even her heart felt lighter. Today was going to be a better day, she could feel it. Quickly, she took a shower and dressed in her uniform, then briefly combed her hair and brushed her teeth. As she looked at her reflection, she became aware of the dark bags under her eyes. She sighed and let her forehead rest on the cool surface of the mirror for a few seconds, smiling halfheartedly. She was fine, she was fine.

She suddenly remember breakfast was waiting for her, so she hurried up and walked into the room again, taking all the things she needed for today's classes.

Leave the past in the past, where it belongs Kagome determinately chanted to herself as she grabbed her messenger bag and hurried to the cafeteria, leaving her emotional turmoil behind her bedroom door. I'm not faking she told herself I'm just repressing unpleasant memories… that's all.

Well… she thought as she neared the cafeteria doors, a fairly optimistic grin on her face hopefully they have waffles here. A good breakfast will definitely give me the energy I need.

*.*-*.*-*

Life sucked, and today had not been a better day.

As soon as PE ended she ran to her room, picked some clean clothes, locked the bathroom door, hopped into the shower and quickly washed her sweaty, mud covered body, and –was that blood? Seriously? She didn't ponder on it too long, she had the feeling she would be covered on that body fluid in a daily basis now. As soon as she was –relatively- clean, she dried herself and put on her clothes; a dark blue polo shirt and khaki pants. Not even bothering to comb her hair, she hurriedly left the room, running to get on time to the school entrance.

"You're late" was the first thing she heard as she stopped abruptly in front of an irritated Miroku, who at the sight of Kai started walking out of the school grounds, the petite girl following close by.

"Sorry, sorry" huff "I had to-" she paused to take in some needed air "stop by my room to change." Not even five minutes later they arrived to a homely looking restaurant. She noticed a few tables scattered across the wide entrance porch. Vaguely, she saw Miroku enter the place, but she was too distracted to follow right away.

The coffee shop they had agreed to meet was now full of high school students enjoying the warm evening. Miroku was sitting on a corner table, opposite to the front door, so it had been fairly easy to spot him. The Coffee House was quite cozy, with leather seats and classy painting everywhere. Only the best of the best for Sengoku and Jidai Gakuen students, it seemed. "By the way Kai," he said when she was close enough "you look like crap. Why are you all red? And comb you hair a little." Miroku commented, sipping idly his tea. Kagome growled, rolling her eyes and combing her fingers through her hair hastily as she eyed the menu briefly and decided on just having a coffee, the place looked quite expensive, anyway. "I'll just have a frozen cappuccino, please." Kagome asked the waitress as soon as she arrived, who nodding slightly while she wrote the order and left quickly.

"PE was my last class today." She said that hoping it was an understandable statement. And apparently, it was.

"Oh!" he said, nodding in understanding. He had been caught off guard in his first class too "How was it? Did you enjoy old Totosai's teaching techniques?"

"It was horrible; I'm beginning to question his teaching methods! The room was divided demons against humans; do you see that as fair play? I mean, what's up with that?" she said throwing her arms up in frustration. "The moment the old mad blew the whistle all their smirking faces turned to me –except Hojo, he's such a nice guy! Most of the time, anyway - and I had to literally run for my life. It was not fun, I tell you. They only stopped when Inuyasha and Koga started fighting against each other –again. This is not what I had in mind when dad enrolled me here." She said, quietly thanking the waitress when she arrived with her coffee.

"Oh, you'll get use to it… or they'll get tired, whatever comes first. And hey, look at the bright side, it's only twice a week!"

Kagome huffed in annoyance, moving to get more comfortable in the leather couch. "Right. Thanks, that's what I wanted to hear." Miroku just chuckled lightly before clearing his throat.

"Well, now that we've cleared that up, let's get onto business." He announced grinning.

Kagome squirmed nervously in her seat. "Wha-? So soon?" I haven't even finished my coffee!

"Oh, for the love of- I haven't even told you yet, stop backing away Kai! It's not that bad, I promise." Miroku whined.

"Well what is it then?" she nervously asked while Miroku kept his eyes bouncing from the door to his watch. Was he expecting someone else to show up?

"You shall know when the time comes" he stated adamantly, he was about to say something else, but suddenly an excited grin appeared in his face "Oh, would you look at that! The time has come." Kagome would have snorted at his silly choice of words had she not noticed the way his eyes lightened. So she turned her head just in time to see two girls walk through the door, one of them her own cousin. "My cousin?" she asked disbelievingly, still staring at the two girls. They seemed to be friends because Rin was laughing amiably while the brown haired girl gave her a light punch on the shoulder.

Miroku just shot her a surprised look "Sango's your cousin?"

"What? No! No, I don't even know her, I was talking abou- … never mind." Kagome stopped, realizing that Miroku was too engrossed gawking over that Sango girl.

"So, what do you actually want me to do?" she asked, her eyes back on the girls. They were close to the grand piano –yes, that place even had a piano. Kagome briefly wondered if they had live music or it was just for decoration purposes- with a short demon girl which looked to be a first year too. The three of them were chatting and laughing until the short black haired girl pointed towards them, Rin and Sango turned their heads, and while Rin wave excitedly at the sight of her cousin, Sango just scowled and looked away. Well, it seemed like Miroku's charms were ineffective on her.

"Easy, you help me win her heart and I won't tell your little secret." He said brightly, not affected in the least by Sango's glare.

Are you kidding me? That seems impossible "That's blackmail! Besides, aren't you a ladies' man?" she spluttered indignantly. She was not qualified to do this kind of things.

"Your powers of observation amuse me." He commented dryly.

"But that's morally wrong!" she exclaimed, staring at him in disbelief. "You could get expelled if I report this-"

"So do you, if the find out you're a-" Miroku sighed, shaking his head "Look, just think about it this way. I know your secret, you know mine. You need my help and I need yours. We're helping each other out! Think of it like a symbiotic relationship. Mutualism, if you will." he said more enthusiastically. He didn't really care about all that biology mumbo jumbo but Kai seemed to grasp the idea. "It's a win-win deal!"

"Symbiotic" Yeah, it was easier to see it in biological terms…"Ok, it doesn't really sound that bad if you put it that way." She said taking a sip of her cappuccino. Ah, heaven. Nothing like a frozen coffee to vitalize the body. Especially after that PE class… now that I think about it, it was Inuyasha who started that meaningless fight with Koga, preventing the second round of beating-Kagome-up. She mused, absentmindedly staring at her coffee. She did have a short attention spam.

"Great" Miroku said grinning, and interrupting her musings. "Kai, do you know how to play any instrument, guitar maybe?"

"Uhh yeah, I'm not that goo-" she did a double take and shot him a suspicious look, narrowing her eyes and cocking her head lightly to the side "Why?"

"The cultural festival! There is a talent show; I can confess my love through a song there." He stated smiling confidently "With Shippo as the drummer, I know how to play the bass, and… well,you do the rest. It's in three weeks, so in the mean time we'll just woo her, huh?"

"Miroku-sempai," Kagome said, trying to suppress a sarcastic retort, along with the urge to roll her eyes "in case you haven't notice, I lack social skills; in both cases. I can't sing or play the guitar in public, that's ridiculous, and I can't certainly woo a girl." Ha, woo a girl, I can't even woo a guy! –Not that I would want to.

"Oh, come on! Everyone can play cupid every once in a while. Look, I'll even help you get on Inuyasha's good side."

"Alright, I'll do what I can, but you'll have to help me… and you write that song." Buddha knows I can't do this by myself.

*-*.*-*.*

*Wan-chan is a cute way to call a puppy. (Wan wan comes from the Japanese onomatopoeia of a dog's bark.) And chan's an affective suffix added to a name, but I'm pretty sure you already know that, I'm just ranting here XD. I think Kagome uses that expression in the second movie, though I don't remember clearly… And I took the legend from the original Goshinboku, the one Inuyasha is based.

It was really hard to write this so, if you've got time, please tell me what you thought about it.