Chapter 3: Motorcycles & Cute Boys

Kagome twirled around in front of the full length mirror in her closet. Her new uniform was definitely cute yet sophisticated, stylish yet appropriate. The navy blue was a wonderful color against her skin compared to her other schools red and gold colors. Yes, she decided she was going to like this uniform. Kagome stopped turning and sighed. Liking her uniform would probably be the only positive thing about her day.

Truth was, she was terrified of entering a new school. She had gone to the same one her entire life. But of course, the day her parents were killed, everything in her life changed. Where she lived, what school she went to, who she lived with...everything.

Trying not to think about it too much because she'd already had a sleepless night dwelling on it, Kagome turned off the light in her closet and put all her new books in her backpack. Mr. Takahashi had ordered them for her from the school so she wouldn't have to wait to recieve each one from her different teachers. It was a kind gesture. She then quickly brushed her teeth and checked her hair one last time before slinging the bag over her shoulder and heading downstairs.

As she was walking into the cold morning air, something big and round was suddenly tossed at her. She had to scramble to catch it before it hit the pavement. "What the...?" she looked around, confused.

"I figured you might get lost trying to find the school," InuYasha grumbled, and she noticed him leaning against a sleek, shiny motorcycle parked next to one of the storage houses. Kagome looked down and realized what he had tossed at her was a helmet. An identical one rested on the handle of his bike.

"Well, I thought you didn't want to drive me," she said with a bit of hurt in her tone. "I can probably find it just fine on my own. It's one of the biggest schools in the area."

InuYasha shrugged. "Fine, if you don't want a ride it doesn't bother me any. I'll try to save you some lunch, it might be gone by the time you get there." He strapped the helmet to his head and straddled the motorcycle.

Kagome looked from him, to the helmet, then back again. She then looked up at the snowflakes that were beginning to fall, and knew they would double in numbers soon. Was swallowing her pride and just taking him up on his offer really such a bad thing? It was better than freezing. Besides, he was being nice considering their fight last night. She hadn't expected him to even be offering.

"Wait," she said cautiously, walking over to him and his motorcycle. He peered at her through the opening in his helmet. Kagome took a deep breath and put the helmet on her head, buckling it under her chin. She was about to climb up when she realized...she was in a skirt. A short one. She folded her hands over her thighs and looked down, embarrassed.

InuYasha must have noticed because he reached into a bag strapped to the side of the vehicle. When Kagome looked up, he was handing her a small blanket. "Here. It should help."

She accepted the blanket and climbed up, putting it over her legs. Not only did it over her skirt, but it kept her warm too. She looked at the back of InuYasha's head and couldn't help but smile a little. He had offered her a ride and even brought a blanket out because he knew this would happen. Was there more to him than she might have originally thought?

"Hold on," he said, starting the engine and revving it. "And try not to get too tempted. I know straddling me can't be easy." He laughed and took off down a back road, as Kagome sat behind him blushing wildly, yelling, "I'm not straddling you! I'm straddling the bike! Wait, I'm not straddling anything...urg!" Nevermind. He was exactly like she had orginally thought.

XxXxX

InuYasha parked in front of the school and turned his engine off. Kagome pulled the thick helmet off her head and tried to smooth down her hair as best she could. Her stomach was in knots and when she stepped down her legs felt wobbly. She finally decided to look up and see what her new school looked like.

It was huge. Hundreds of students stood outside chatting while others filed into the big entrance doors. Everyone wore a uniform that matched hers but they were all strangers to Kagome. Her shoulders slumped and she feared it was going to be worse then she had anticipated. Suddenly InuYasha coughed and she looked over at him.

"Um...look, if you don't mind, I would like to keep this whole living together thing between us," he said quietly, looking around. "Just so, you know, people don't talk."

Kagome felt slightly offended, as if she was an embarrassment to him or something. But then she considered how it might affect them both if people did find out about their situation, and she did not need false rumors being started about her the first day. So she said, "Alright," and grabbed her backpack off his motorcycle.

InuYasha looked relieved. "Cool. So the office is right through those front doors. See you later." And he walked off.

Kagome blinked and sighed. Of course she shouldn't have expected him to walk her in. As far as everyone in this school was concerned, they were total strangers. And they actually kind of were.

She took a deep breath, counted to ten and then made her way past the many talkative girls and rowdy boys, through the double doors and into a door marked Office. She approached a kind looking old woman with bright red lipstick behind the front desk.

"Excuse me," she said nervously, shifting her bag from one shoulder to the other. The woman looked up and smiled.

"Yes, how may I help you?"

"Um, my name is Kagome Higurashi. This is my first day so I need my schedule," Kagome said slowly, hoping she wasn't actually even in the database and this was all a big mistake. The woman nodded and typed a few things into her computer, then printed out a piece of paper and handed it to Kagome.

"This is your schedule. Your old school sent us your transcripts, so we enrolled you in classes as similiar to your last ones as possible. These are your teachers, and right here is your locker and combination. And this is your student ID." She highlighted each of these things as she said them. "And that's all you need to know! Have a wonderful first day, Miss Higurashi, and we are so pleased to have you with us."

"Thanks," Kagome did her best to smile back and left the office. The hallway was packed and she pressed against the wall for a minute to look at the piece of paper in her hand. She had a feeling it was going to be her best friend for the next few days.

Her locker was 207, so that meant it was on the second floor. She managed to find a staircase at the end of the hall and walked up it. She went over to locker 207 and tried the combo. But as soon as she went to open her locker, it was jammed. She fidgeted with it, tried the combo again, but nothing happened.

Just as she was going to give up and walk away, a voice beside her said, "These lockers are so annoying, especially when they haven't had anyone use them in awhile. Here, try this."

A girl with silky brunette hair pulled into a high ponytail fumbled with the lock for a moment, then banged the locker with her fist. It swung open. She turned to Kagome, looking pleased. "There you go! Just have to get a little rough with it." She laughed.

"Thank you!" Kagome said, relieved, and started putting her books in. "I was worried I would have to lug these around all day."

"No problem. I've never seen you around here. Are you new?" the girl asked, leaning against her own locker, which happened to be next to Kagome's.

"This is my first day."

"What class are you in?"

Kagome checked her schedule. "2A."

The girl beamed. "Hey, me too! Well, at least you'll know one person. I'm Sango."

"Kagome. Nice to meet you."

The bell rang and Kagome quickly put the rest of her books away. Her first class was history, so she held onto that book. A swarm of students went by her, and she suddenly felt lightheaded. She should have eaten more for breakfast. Sango must have noticed her uneasiness, so she waved to Kagome to follow her. "Class 2A is this way. Come on."

Kagome followed her to the end of the hall until they came to the right classroom and she hurried inside. Not very many people had arrived yet, and she felt relieved for the space. She told her homeroom teacher she was new, and he smiled and told her which seat to take. Luckily, it was behind Sango's, and the girl smiled at her before turning to chat with someone beside her.

More and more students filed in, and a few people gave Kagome curious looks. She looked at her lap. When she looked up again, she almost jumped out of her skin. InuYasha was seated in the desk right beside hers, gaping at her. She looked around, made sure no one was watching, and whispered to him, "What are you doing here?"

"Me?" he exclaimed softly, furrowing his brow. "This is my class. Don't tell me you have it too."

Kagome nodded and leaned back in her desk. Why was this happening to her? Suddenly, the girl from last night (Yura, was it?), walked in giggling with a friend and sat in front of InuYasha. She had a plate of cookies in her hands, and turned in her seat with them to talk to InuYasha. She stopped short when she saw Kagome. She looked from one to the other and frowned.

After a moments silence, it appeared as though she was going to ignore Kagome's presence altogether. "InuYasha, I made you some cookies," she said sweetly, setting them on his desk. "They're snickerdoodles, your favorite."

The word snickerdoodle echoed somewhere in Kagome's memory. A warm summer day...InuYasha's mother taking a fresh batch out of the oven...she and InuYasha taking them outside while they played...

"Um, thanks-"

"That's right," Kagome found herself saying aloud, "they are your favorite. Your mother used to make them for you all the time."

She looked over and immediately wished she hadn't said anything. Both InuYasha and Yura were staring at her, almost in shock. Yura's look quickly turned to one of jealously and curiousity. InuYasha's simply remained shocked. Before either of them could say anything, the final bell rang and the teacher was calling the classroom to order.

"Everyone, we have a new student joining us today. Her name is Kagome Higurashi. Let's all make her feel very welcome. Kagome, would you like to come up and tell us a little about yourself?"

It felt as though every eye in the room turned to stare at her. Kagome gulped and stood up, walking slowly to the front of the room. She had never been very good at speaking in front of people, much less ones she didn't even know. And first impressions were lasting.

She bit her thumbnail for a moment and said, "Um, hi, I'm Kagome. I just transferred here from East Tokyo High School. I used to play volleyball there in the fall. I was the captain. I was on the student council for my grade too, as vice president. Um...I like to sing. And cook. And, that's all I can think of." She looked at the teacher.

"Thank you Kagome. Does anyone have any questions for Miss Higurashi?"

Yura's hand shot up. "Yes, Yura?"

"Why did you leave your old school?" Yura asked sourly, resting her chin in her hand. "Did you get kicked out?"

"Yura!" the teacher said sternly.

"No, I didn't," Kagome answered indignantly. "It was for personal reasons."

"What personal reasons?" Yura spat. "Did someone die or something?"

"Yura, that is quite enough!" the teacher practically shouted, noticing the look of shock and hurt registering on Kagome's face. "That's all for questions right now." He went over to Kagome and put a hand on her shoulder. "Kagome, I'm sorry. Do you need to take a moment in the hall?"

Kagome shook her head, once again fighting back tears. "No. I'm okay." She went back to her desk and sat down. Sango turned to give her a sympathetic look, then glared icily at Yura. Kagome noticed InuYasha looking at her out of the corner of her eye but didn't say anything. He probably felt sorry for her. Well, let him. She had already decided she hated this school.

When the bell rang, giving them a five minute break before their next teacher arrived, Kagome sat at her desk doodling when a boy walked over to her. He had light brown hair and eyes, and was very handsome. He smiled at her and offered his hand. "Hello. My name is Hojo. I'm president of the student council, and I noticed that you mentioned being the vice president of your old school's student council?"

Kagome was taken back for a moment, but then took his hand and said, "Oh, yeah, I was. But only for my grade, not for the whole school."

Hojo laughed. "That's okay. You see, we lost our vice president awhile ago and have been looking to replace her ever since. No one has really stepped up. And I was wondering...I know it's alot to ask, especially on your first day, but would you be willing to come by after school and just give it a try?"

Maybe it was the way his eyes were pleading, or the fact that she knew InuYasha was evesdropping, but Kagome found herself nodding. "Sure. I guess that would be alright."

Hojo's eyes lit up and he smiled ear to ear. "Wonderful! I'll meet you after school then to show you where it is." And he walked back to his desk looking cheerful and accomplished.

Kagome glanced at InuYasha and saw him shaking his head. "What?"

"Only geeks join student council," he said matter-of-factly, chuckling.

Kagome frowned. "Whatever. I'm not a geek."

But she did find herself looking forward to it. And that Hojo guy was kind of cute. Not as cute as InuYasha, but cute nonetheless. Kagome put her hand to her cheek and felt a small blush spreading across it. What are thinking? IuYasha cute? N-No way! She shook the thought off before it could develop further.