Kagome was sitting in the New Residence Hall cafeteria with her roommate Sango and another person they had met on their floor named Miroku. He was about as typical as any first-year university guy, as in, he hit on anyone in a skirt. And anyone in pants. Miroku hit on everyone.
When he had met Kagome, he wasted no time in flirting with her. Kagome was a little smitten, until Sango walked over to her five minutes later and confessed that a really cute guy with a gold earring and a small ponytail had just hit on her. Now, the two girls were wise to Miroku's ways, but kept him around anyway. He was fun to hang out with and he provided the two with a necessary ego boost when they needed it.
Kagome might have spotted Sango and Miroku making out at a club a few nights ago, but she decided not to tease her roommate about it. Yet.
She had just finished telling the two about her disastrous midterm the other day, and the idiotic hanyou who had ruined her test.
"Yeah, it was the dog boy's fault that you didn't know any of the answers," Sango teased.
"Hey! It was! I mean, I didn't know a lot of the answers, but the rest of the ones I forgot because I was distracted by the cheater!"
"Suuuuure," Miroku mocked. Sango and Miroku made a great team when it came to making fun of Kagome.
"I totally feel you on having a tough time with all the memorization, Kagome." Sango empathized with her friend. She was studying kinesiology, and it wasn't all lifting weights like she had hoped. "Who knew there were so many body parts?"
"I, for one, am interested in lots body parts. Maybe I should be in kinesiology? Then we'd have an excuse to spend more time together," Miroku flirted. Sango rolled her eyes and Kagome laughed.
"I think Religious Studies suits you just fine, Miroku. God knows you need some Jesus in your life," Kagome teased.
"Hey! We all know that I'm only in Religious Studies so I can study the Kama Sutra!" Miroku mock defended. "There are so many ancient secrets to unfold! Of course, if I had known that the Kama Sutra barely talked about sex and was difficult to understand, maybe I would've changed my mind. Who would've thought that ancient Hindu texts would be tough to read?"
"Shocker," Sango deadpanned.
"Anyway," Miroku changed the subject. "Didn't you say that the guy who was cheating off of you was a guy with short silver hair, dog ears, and was wearing a red hoodie?"
"Yeah…" Kagome started. "Why?"
"Um, well I think he's right behind us, a couple tables down."
Sango and Kagome turned, and lo and behold, there was the cheater in question. He was sitting alone while he ate a giant plate of eggs and potatoes. He wore the same hoodie he'd donned the day before. Gross! Kagome thought.
"I guess he's in the same residence as us," Sango said.
"Great! Now I have to see him in my biology class as well as in my rez?" Kagome complained.
"Our rez is ginormous, Kagome. And so is Bio 101. You may never have to cross paths with him," Sango reasoned.
"Or maybe you should cross paths with him," Miroku said suggestively. "He looks pretty cute, eh Kagome?"
Kagome blushed. "I definitely don't think so! And when I sat beside him he reeked of beer!"
"Oh, you're totally denying it! C'mon, look at him! He's got golden eyes that could melt a statue!"
"You should go out with him then, Miroku!"
"No way. Just look at him. He's 100% straight, I guarantee it."
"God, you are incorrigible. Can you ever keep it in your pants?" Sango insulted. Kagome thought that she detected a hint of jealousy in her voice.
"Why should I? I'm too beautiful to stick to one person. Or one gender," Miroku joked.
"Too beautiful, or too horny?" Kagome and Sango laughed while Miroku chuckled along good-naturedly.
"Anyway, now's as good a time as any to go talk to him!" Miroku said.
"Talk to him about what?" Kagome asked, a little nervous.
"Well, do you want him cheating off of you again?" Miroku baited.
"Of course I don't."
"Now's your time to go tell him! And give him your number while you're at it."
"I just, I can't!" Kagome sputtered.
"Go over, or I'll call him over," he threated.
"No!" But Kagome knew what was coming. Miroku didn't make empty threats.
Miroku brought his hands to his mouth, making a mock-megaphone with his cupped hands. "Hey, dog boy!"
The silver-haired man looked up from his plate at Miroku.
"My friend has something to tell you!"
"Miroku," Kagome hissed under her breath. Sango chuckled as the scene unfolded. Miroku just loved putting people on the spot.
"Go on, you have to go over there now!" Miroku whispered.
With a beet-red face, Kagome walked over to the boy in the hoodie. The boy looked like a deer in headlights, like he wasn't used to people talking to him in general. Unable to look him in the eyes, she said: "I just wanted to ask you not to cheat off me again. I won't report you, but it was really stressful to have you staring at my paper the entire time."
"I… I wasn't cheating off of you!" Inuyasha turned a shade so deep red that it rivaled his hoodie.
"But you admitted that you saw the answers on my test page!"
"Yeah, and I told you they were wrong. Why would I need to cheat off of someone if I knew what the right and wrong answers are?"
Now Kagome was really blushing. She had slapped this guy across the face, in public, when she had lost her temper. And now he was telling her that she was totally misinformed? Yup. She was embarrassed.
Sheepishly, Kagome put her head down. She would've apologized, but something about the combination of her pride and stubbornness was preventing her from doing so. "You should really not stare at other people's papers in the middle of a midterm. I was getting really distracted and angry."
"Keh!" Inuyasha responded. "I wasn't looking at your paper! I mean, I could see your midterm through the corner of my eye, but…" He trailed off. He realized that if he were to keep going, he'd have to admit that he was admiring her tattoo. And he couldn't admit that he thought it was cool (and that she was gorgeous). That would be way too embarrassing.
Kagome crossed her arms. "Then what were you staring at if it wasn't my answers?"
Inuyasha shrunk into his hoodie. What could he say? He opted for a half-truth. "I couldn't stop staring at your tattoo! It's just so…. Ugly. And creepy." He crossed his arms in embarrassment, as if he could block himself from her field of vision with his arms.
Kagome's mouth dropped open in astonishment. She had initially regretted slapping him, but now she wasn't feeling so guilty. "What's your problem?"
"Crazy girls with weird tattoos slapping me! That's my problem!"
Kagome was boiling again. "Screw you!" This time she restrained herself from hitting him, but she was definitely not above stomping away. There was something about this guy that made her feel… impassioned.
She was kind of hoping to clear the air with him. Now that she knew that they lived in the same building and had at least one class together, she would inevitably run into him again. Great. Looking forward to the awkward eye contact we'll be making in the future, Kagome sighed inwardly.
Inuyasha watched as Kagome stomped away from him a second time, back to her table of friends who were in hysterics over watching the drama unfold before them. He played with his food, wishing he had better skills with women. With people, even.
Maybe, just maybe, he could redeem himself. And he had an idea as to how.
