Disclaimer: I do not own the Inu characters and blah blah blah

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A/N: Hey hey!! Sorry for the long wait, but it's finally here!!

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College Adversities: Ch. 4: Physical Conditioning

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What.the.HELL

Physical endurance? More like damned well, straight up MURDER. They've been doing suicides for almost ten minutes now and Kagome wasn't sure how much she'd be able to handle before cracking. The whistle blew again, signaling them to run the court suicide once more.

Since the gym was one of the biggest in Japan, it held more than just one professional measly court. They were separated into three groups: demons, humans, and those who were mixed of each.

Kagome was, of course, placed in the human group. The professor, Dr. Pang (who they all found out was a cheetah demon), held a clipboard with a sheet on how high their physical abilities were supposed to be. But he went a little further than that. He wasn't kidding when he said he wanted to test their physical endurance and strength.

Kagome completed the run and placed her hands on her knees, sucking in deep gulps of air. Dr. Pang took a moment to put down results on his clipboard. He then turned around to look at the next victims, the hanyous and the quarter humans and demons.

While he was busy with them, Kagome recomposed herself. By now, she stabilized her breathing and stood up straight, wiping off the sweat from her forehead. She gave a spare glance to the demon group who were waiting for their turn to run. Most of them were shaking their heads and snickering at the over-exhausted, if not, collapsed humans from her group. 'Fucking bastards.'

Kagome unconsciously scanned them, looking from one demon to the next until her gaze landed on Inuyasha. 'You…' she thought.

He caught her stare, but she didn't turn away. Kagome thought he would've smirked by now, but…he only glared back at her. In the short time she's known him, if she were to do something as bold as what she was doing now, he would've smiled, smirked, grinned, or do something like that. But now, he was glaring at her…and something akin to hatred was laced in that fierce look he sent her way.

Okay…what did she do?

For Inuyasha, he had been watching her the whole time during her run. She wasn't too shabby…for a human. But KEH! Damn, this girl was so damn infuriating. Earlier that day, he wouldn't have minded getting hot and heavy with her, but after that little scene after first period in the hallway…this girl did nothing but grate on his nerves.

He watched as she gasped for air and he snickered at that. When her lungs finally got enough oxygen, she straightened and scanned his group. He looked away from her, only planning to look back so that he'd catch her staring and not the other way around.

As predicted, when he turned his head back, he caught her staring intently on him. By now, he would've smirked, but his initial hate for her ran deeper than it should have. No one…NO ONE disrespects a Takahashi and gets away with it…male or female; demon, hanyou, or human.

Her face didn't change its expression, yet her eyes showed slight surprise.

'Can't wait to see your face when you get back to your locker, wench.'

He heard the whistle go off again and realized it was his group's turn. The rest of his group had already sprinted off, and no one had bothered to catch his attention. Rolling his eyes, Inuyasha easily caught up with the lightning swiftness of the other demons.

Of course, he was only a half breed, a half demon. He belonged in the other group. But hey, with his father's blood running through his veins, he was no ordinary hanyou either. Besides, with or without his father's help, he would've proved to every one else he was just as good as any other demon…or he'd die trying to prove that point.

Inuyasha's group was kept at a non-stop pace for five minutes of doing suicides back and forth the court when Dr. Pang finally blew the whistle. Inuyasha halted at the end of the line without breaking a sweat…literally.

Everyone was watching and catching their breath during those five minutes, preparing themselves for the next murderous activity. They were almost completely thrown off, though, when Dr. Pang exclaimed that they all had a ten minute break before they'd continued on.

Inuyasha smirked. Of course, girls being girls, they always chose to go back to their lockers to do…heck, girly stuff. And what a surprise Kagome will get when she reaches her locker! It'll be…well, surprising.

Kagome started to walk back to the lockers along with the rest of the girls.

"So…" a voice suddenly popped up beside her. She jumped a bit for a second before realizing it was her bane. "…are you going to tell me your name anytime soon? Or am I going to have to cheat and ask the professor?" he asked. Really, he hadn't asked Pang, or even Williams for that matter, because believe it or not, he wanted to find out from her and no one else. For what reason, even he didn't know why.

"Hmm…" Kagome hummed, tapping her chin as if in real consideration. "Coming from the guy who threatened to make my life a living hell…I'd say the latter." She said coolly.

He only smirked. "Alright then, baby. You'll have me resort to names like honey…muffin…sugar…sweety-pie." He knew she was the type to absolutely hate pet names, and he knew calling her names such as these would just tick her off...or so he thought.

She wasn't going to let him faze her…again. So instead of showing her dislike for her "pet names," she feigned indifference. "Thanks. You flatter me. But, I'm afraid I have to burst your bubble, because I'm not food…neither am I edible." She replied nonchalantly.

Inuyasha grinned. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and softly said, "On the contrary, my dear…" he paused, leaning down to brush his lips against her cheek and breathe in her scent with his eyes closed. Before she could react, he whispered. "I'm sure you are very much edible." Kagome flinched. She pulled out of his hold and whacked his arm away, blushing madly. His grin turned into a full blown snarl as he realized he had discovered a weak spot.

"Don't touch me, you sleezy creep!!" she hissed and stomped off into the locker room. 'Damn that…that…!'

"Have fun in there, honey!!" he yelled to her with an innocent smile, his hands in his pockets. All heads turned to look, males looking with interest, females looking with raging jealousy. Kagome felt the blood either rush or drain from her face, she couldn't tell which, but she noticed it brought a suspicious glimmer into his eyes.

Score another one for him. Another weak spot. This was just too damn easy, it almost felt wrong. But hell did it feel GOOD. He felt like laughing wickedly, but due to his current situation, he couldn't do that without looking like he'd totally lost it. He settled with a smirk, contented at her discomfort.

As for Kagome, she stomped into the locker room with all her glory. Finally reaching her locker, she grabbed at the lock and almost yanked it off with her force. The other girls near her scooted further away, sensing a dangerous aura surrounding her. Impatiently turning the combination to her lock, Kagome finally got it to open. Slamming the tiny door open, she grabbed her towel and slammed it back closed. "Stupid jerk…" she mumbled under her breath. And what did he mean "have fun in there"?! What the hell was he thinking?

She walked to the bathroom section of the room, only to find it completely occupied with all of the other girls from her class. 'Great.'

Kagome walked back out and sat down on one of the benches situated in the locker room. Suddenly, a piercing scream tore through the room and throughout the whole gym. The guys outside were looking at the girls' locker room with confusion as a certain hanyou only smiled.

Kagome's head jerked up and she dashed off the bench and towards the source of the sound. She found it led up to the passage way where her locker was located. Turning the corner, Kagome found a shaken girl on the floor, staring with horror at her locker. "What's wrong?!" Kagome asked worriedly, reaching the girl.

The girl only pointed with a trembling hand at her locker. Kagome turned to look at what she was trying to indicate. As soon as she laid eyes on the sight, she regretted it. What she saw made her stomach lurch and sent tingles through her entire being. Creepy crawlies and other unmentionable bugs were crawling all over the girl's locker and belongings. "Eck!" Kagome screamed with horrified eyes, mirroring the expression on the girl's face. If Kagome ever feared anything…it was bugs.

By now, the other girls had arrived to see what was going on. A neko demon looked at the scene with irritated eyes. "Who did this?" she asked, bending down next to the frightened girl.

The girl only shook her head and said softly, "I don't know."

"Suck it up." Another demon girl said to the human still sitting down in a shaking heap.

"Knock it off, Azuka." The neko said before turning to the girl and giving her a reassuring smile. "We'll get the culprit." Getting up, she sniffed the air around the locker. "The scent is masked. But it's definitely masculine." She was about to turn around when a slip of paper fell to the ground. The neko picked it up and read out loud. "Ha…this is nothing yet. Have fun living in hell."

Kagome froze as the neko crumpled the paper. She got up and walked away as the rest of the girls started to comfort the now weeping girl. After washing her face, Kagome put back her towel, cringing from being so close to the crawlers, and walked out of the room with an impassive expression. She also found a weak spot in that damned boy, and now, she was going to use it against him…and possibly more.

"Hey." He said popping beside her again.

Kagome glared at him from the corner of her eye and continued walking. Weak Point One: Inuyasha obviously didn't like defiance. He scowled and hopped in front of her with a lopsided grin. "Hey." He said again.

"Hey yourself." Kagome said, crossing her arms, making her boobs press together. Inuyasha was distracted for a moment before gulping and looking back up to her face. Weak Point Two: he's a perv.

"So…did you find your locker placement to your liking?" he said, recollecting himself.

Kagome narrowed her eyes. That's bull. Why doesn't he just get straight to the point instead of give her cheesy giveaways? That's what she wanted to say. But that's what he wanted to hear. She could just get mad and totally blow him off…but, that's the reaction he was expecting, and the reaction he wanted. So what better way to piss him off than denying him pleasure?

"Actually, I did."

The grin on his face faltered a bit. "W-what…?"

"I did. At first, I didn't particularly care, but then, after some girl found her locker totally infested with bugs and roaches…" she shuddered before continuing. "…I was practically happy with mine." She finished with a smile.

Inuyasha was at a loss. He just stared at her with mild wonder.

Kagome grinned at his expression. She walked towards him and backed him up to the indoor bleachers. She leaned forward and rested her hands on the railings behind him. This time, she trapped him. His eyebrows scrunched slightly together. "Now isn't this ironic?" he finally said, his usual expression finding its way back to his face. "But if I remember correctly, you were the one trapped by me. Ha. I guess you were just hiding it when we both knew you really wanted me."

Kagome's grin turned into a frown as her glare became herder. "Cut the crap…baby. You know, that plan of yours sure did get to me." Inuyasha's eyebrows scrunched together again as a smile graced her lips. "But I'm sorry to say your plan didn't work." Finally letting go of the railings and freeing him, Kagome walked away.

Weak Point Three: he hates it when you're calm and cool about situations where he wants you to act in the exact opposite. It ticks him off.

"Wait." Inuyasha took a hold of her shoulder and turned her around to face him again. "What do you mean 'it didn't work?'"

Kagome kept that same grin on her face. "You know your little "bug-charade"? It seems your nose had definitely lost its sense of smell or something, but that was not my locker."

His eyes widened for a moment. "It wasn't your locker?" he asked. 'Damn…I knew I should've done it myself. Menomaru is no good with his damned nose…frikk.'

"Nope. You missed it…by a mile." Actually, he missed by one locker. But heck, she wasn't about to tell him that. "Oh, and you can try and make my life miserable. Just be prepared that I'm apt to do the same to yours."

Inuyasha scowled and was about to reply with a comeback, but then the whistle had sounded off again. 'Damn. Perfect timing, Pang…as always…'

Score: Inuyasha two. Kagome three.

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The rest of the class went out smoothly. Someone had cleared out the girl's locker from the slimy, disgusting crawlies after they had reported it. Kagome just stepped out of the shower and changed into fresh clothes. Taking off the towel wrapped around her head, her hair fell with a slap against her back. She combed it through and packed up her stuff. Just as she was about to leave, her phone went off.

"Hello?"

"Kagome! Oh thank God, I haven't seen you since you ran away this morning. Where are you?"

"Third period."

"Oh, sorry…when will you finish?"

"Don't be. I'm already done. You?"

"I don't have a third period today, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, that's right."

Kagome ended up staying on the phone for around fifteen minutes, just lounging around in the girls' locker room. She finally told Sango about what happened earlier that morning when she ran away from Inuyasha, her encounter with the doofus…minus the details…her first period, their fight, third period, and the most recent stunt that blockhead tried to pull off.

"Eck!! He's horrible!!"

"Haha, I know---"

"Excuse me, miss? But you can't be in here after class hours." Someone said. Kagome turned her head to find the custodian standing there with cleaning supplies. Quickly apologizing, Kagome headed out of the room.

"Kay, Sango. I'll call you later if I don't see you back at the dorm yet, okay?"

"Sure thing. Be careful. Oh, and just call me if anything happens…I already hate that creep, I don't need another reason to kick his ass."

"Alright. Bye Sango. Thanks!!"

"Anytime."

And with that, they hung up. Kagome sighed and looked around. The huge gym was empty now that there weren't any students occupying it. The only sound heard were her footsteps echoing throughout the empty space. It was eerie and it creeped her out to the max.

"I was wondering when you were going to step out of that room."

Goosebumps ran up on her flesh like lightning and she spun around, ready to attack. Inuyasha quickly dodged her punch and grabbed her outstretched hand. "Whoa…watch it there, babe."

"Asshole." She retorted and glared at him, pulling her hand back.

For Inuyasha, he'd been thinking up of something devious throughout the whole period, just to get her back. He wasn't sure how they ended up in this little game of tug-and-war, but hell, it was fun. His childish ways were implementing themselves into his plans and actions.

When Kagome had stepped out of that room though, he had lost all thought of revenge and actually had to restrain himself from pouncing on her. That fresh-out-the-shower smell along with her own distinct scent multiplied its enticing, delicious aura tenfold. She only got half way through the gym before he decided to make his presence known.

The reaction he got out of her was priceless. Ooh, how he liked them feisty. After telling her to ease it, and after being called an asshole, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders as she walked…of course, this was done with a lot of struggling.

"How many times do I have to tell you to get your filthy hands off me, you creep!! If anything, I'd say you were stalking me!!" Kagome screamed, now out of his grasp pointing a finger in his face.

Inuyasha only walked up to her, but to his amusement, she held her ground as she looked up at him with defiance. "Believe me, love. I'm not stalking you, baby." He said with a seductively soft tone. Kagome could've melted at the sound if this guy wasn't such a jerk. Okay…so he was hot with that ridiculously silky long hair, handsome, sharp features, well-built, delicious body, and amazingly tantalizing eyes…heck, he sure was a dream guy. Wait, no, no, no, no, no…STOP.RIGHT.THERE. 'Can't be thinking that Kagome, can't be thinking that Kagome, can't be, can't be, can't be…' she thought as she mentally slapped herself over and over again.

"Eww. Sicko. Don't call me that!!"

"Well…" Inuyasha drawled out.

"Well what?" Kagome asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Maybe if you just told me your name, I wouldn't have to resort to calling you that."

"Hmph." She fought, crossing her arms. "You ain't getting me with that one. I'm not falling for that."

"Fine. If you want a real name, I guess I'll have to call you Kikyo."

Kikyo. Hmm…that name rung a bell. "Who?"

"Kikyo." He repeated. "She's this girl that looks almost exactly like you."

Kagome's eyes widened with realization as she finally remembered who he was talking about. That bitch she bumped into before first period with absolutely no manners and a slutty-ass aura. That girl who had almost the same identical face, that girl who said her first name was Kikyo and that her last name was none of her business…not like she wanted to know or anything. Still, that was rude.

"Eww!! Don't call me that either!"

Inuyasha laughed at this. "You know her? You two family or something?"

Kagome grimaced with the thought and immediately answered him. "Hell no am I related to her. Frikk…I don't even want to know her. It's just my damned luck that I share the same face." She said, contorting her face. "…and it's just my luck that I met you."

Now it was Inuyasha's turn to grimace at her. "Tell me, Kikyo." Kagome narrowed her eyes warningly at him, but he continued anyways. "You don't like what you see?" he inquired, pulling her into an embrace. His hands found their way around the curve of her back and he clasped them together, securely locking her in place. He lowered his head to the side of her face and closed his eyes.

Kagome's mind was hazed for a moment at the proximity of his body. Somehow, she had found her voice. "N-no."

"You don't like what you feel?" he teased, running one hand up and down her back while moving his head down further, ticking the side of her face with one of his ears.

"I…no." Kagome closed her eyes and tried to fight him off. But first, she needed to fight herself. 'Don't give in…just don't give in.' It was funny how she seemed to be very verbally repetitive now, but it was the only she could do to hold on to common sense. "Inuyasha…stop."

He only responded by giving her a nip on her nape. She betrayed herself by releasing an unexpected gasp. She could feel him smirk against her heated skin. "Stop." She begged again.

"Why? We're alone…together…in this gym. No one else is around."

'That's exactly what I'm afraid of…' she thought. That feeling of wrapping her arms around his neck was starting to kick in. That feeling that told her to embrace him and press their bodies together was screaming. That wanting to kiss him again was killing her. Shit. Her whole being was against her now. No matter how hard she tried to fight, he still managed to send tremors throughout her body. Little did she know, she was doing the same to him.

"Inu---"

"What is going on here?!" a booming voice suddenly yelled as the doors slammed open. The couple immediately broke apart…well, at least, Kagome broke apart from Inuyasha. The hanyou only looked at his P.C professor with slight annoyance.

"N-nothing!!" Kagome stuttered out.

"Doesn't look like nothing to me." The professor inquired, but a look thrown to him by Inuyasha told him not to probe further. "Alright. Class is over. I don't care what you two plan on doing as of now, but whatever it is stays out of my gym, am I clear?"

Kagome nodded sullenly. Great. Now here was another teacher that already hated her, and it was only the first day. Dr. Pang walked away and left them alone.

Inuyasha sighed irritatedly and cursed under his breath. "Damn. What a way to ruin a moment."

Kagome didn't say anything and kept her back turned to him. Inuyasha waited for her to turn around or at least say something, but he was only met with silence. He was about to send off another insult when he suddenly caught the scent of tears. His eyes went wide with panic for a second before he ran to her front to face her.

Yup, he was right. Shit. She was crying. "H-hey. Why are you doing that?"

Another tear slid down her face as she looked up at him. He gulped and his anxiety went up to new levels. "Stop that!!" he said, putting up his hands in front of him as if to hush her. It only resulted in more tears and soft wailing.

"He hates me! It's only the first day and he hates me! Even Dr. Williams dislikes me. He thinks I'm nothing but a nuisance in his class!" she cried, her tone bouncing up and down due to her tears. She swiped at her tears with both hands. Inuyasha reached out to her. "AND IT'S YOUR ENTIRE FAULT YOU CRAZY BASTARD!! YOU WERE THE CAUSE OF ALL THIS!!!"

He instantly recoiled his hand, somewhat afraid of the possibility that she'd actually bite it off. "Oi! Don't blame me, bitch! Blame your own self for your lack of intelligence and physical abilities. Oh, and your lack of charm!" he said, crossing his arms.

Kagome closed her mouth from the argument she prepared and her lips quavered. Fresh tears started to burst from her eyes. Inuyasha instantly regretted his words. Trying to calm her down, although she protested greatly, he rubbed her back.

Her tears still never backed down, and the longer she cried, the more guiltier he felt. "Alright, alright. I-I'm s-sorry." He said, struggling with his apology. Never in his life did he apologize…not including his parents. But he just gave his first one to this…this girl who's name he didn't even know. Damn bitch better be happy when this was over.

Kagome stopped her wailing to look up at him through teary eyes. Before she could say anything, he quickly said, "Yes. I'm sorry. Now would you stop crying?"

Kagome smiled. "I wasn't going to ask you if you were for real."

Inuyasha stammered a bit and threw on a look of lost annoyance on his face. "What?"

She giggled and looked up at him with a smile. Her tears had stopped long ago after the apology. Inuyasha found himself amused by how fast her emotions could change.

Fixing herself up the best she could, she began to walk away. She passed him, smiling at that annoyed yet dazed expression on his face, knowing that his eyes were trained on her. Just as she reached the doors to the gym, she stopped. "Kagome."

Inuyasha snapped out of his reverie and looked at her back with confusion. She turned her head to give him a backwards glance.

"Kagome. My name's Kagome Higurashi."