A Day in the Life
The shrill screech of the alarm clock cut through the peaceful morning and was silenced as it was thwacked to the floor. Groaning and pulling her hand back under the thick comforter, Kagome attempted to shake the fog from her brain. That had been one strange dream! Deciding it would be unwise to continue lying in bed dwelling on it, she stretched and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She had a class to teach and it wouldn't be very professional of her to be late. Glancing irritably at the green glowing numbers, she decided that she had time for a quick shower before breakfast. She rose and gathered the outfit she'd set out the night before and made her way to the bathroom. She took her time letting the steam from the hot water clear her senses as she began running through the day's tasks in her mind. She turned the water off and toweled dry, running a wide-toothed comb through her hair before pulling it up into a messy bun. Satisfied with her appearance, she put on the bright and colorful skirt and solid-colored shirt she'd chosen, slipped on some playful canvas tennis shoes and set her purse and jacket by the door. Glancing once again at the clock, she grabbed her pre-brewed coffee, thanking the gods for programmable coffee machines, and retrieved a yogurt with granola from the fridge. She slipped the snack into her purse, shrugged into her jacket, removed her car keys, and headed out the door.
She had twenty minutes to spare as she unlocked the door to her classroom. She flipped on the lights and looked around. The tables were clean and organized and her instructions were written neatly on the whiteboard. Nodding in satisfaction, she removed her jacket and her purse and draped them over the coat rack. She removed her yogurt from the bag and placed it on her desk. Pulling a folder from the bottom drawer, she made her way to the tables and began setting out coloring pages and crayons for the students to work on until it was time to begin the lessons.
She had just returned to her seat and opened her breakfast when she was interrupted by the sound of jingling keys and footsteps coming down the hall. The image of a holy staff and a black glove shot through her like lightning but it was gone in an instant. Finally, the source of the noise stopped in the open doorway.
"Morning, Kag...ma'am." It was the janitor making his rounds before the start of the school day. He had long black hair pulled back into a ponytail and wore a ball cap with the school logo over the front. He gave her a small wave, a friendly smirk on his face. His tawny eyes twinkled with mirth as if the two of them were sharing a joke.
"Oh! Good morning...er… I apologize, I don't quite remember your name?" Stammered Kagome. Something about this man gave her a headache.
"You can just call me, 'Yash'." He replied as his smile faltered almost imperceptibly. That was confusing. Surely he wasn't that upset that she didn't know his name.
"Anyway, I just wanted to make sure everything was cleaned up to your liking. I guess I better go finish my rounds. Have a good day wen…uh… Miss Higurashi." The strange man retreated and she was left feeling a bit off-balance. What in the world had he been about to call her?
She was still pondering her strange visitor when the welcome sound of tiny sneakered feet began filtering through the hallway. Her students had arrived and it was time to focus on the present. It was silly to be ruminating on the past anyway.
Inuyasha was silently berating himself. What was he hoping to prove? She still didn't remember him and he almost slipped up and called her 'wench'. That was a very good way to get himself fired. He couldn't go around insulting the rest of the staff! Even though in reality it was a term of endearment. Why did the Kami make it so that he remembered everything but she did not? He'd finally tracked her down to this elementary school, but he didn't want to press his luck. Just because Kouga had remembered with a particular phrase didn't mean Kagome would and if he spoke to her the wrong way, he'd never get close to her again.
He remembered how he'd stumbled upon the once-wolf prince. Ever since he found himself in that park, he'd been searching. First for a way to get back to the shrine and the well, but he soon discovered that he had no idea where he was. The people around him sounded funny and he had the distinct impression that he was no longer in Japan. When he had opened his mouth to ask a passer-by for directions to Tokyo, his ears were amazed as he spoke in the odd dialect without a thought. He was equally dumbfounded when the stranger eyed him warily and started talking about something called a 'taxi' and an 'airplane'. He was terribly lost and confused. Not only was he unsure of his surroundings, but he couldn't even rely on his inu instincts as it soon dawned on him with no little horror, that he was completely one-hundred percent human. It's not that he didn't know how to be mortal. Obviously, he had a taste of humanity once a month in what he was beginning to consider his previous life, but something about this felt so much more permanent. He made up his mind that he was not going to get any answers until he found Kagome. He had to get back to Japan.
Knowing he was not going to get anywhere by standing around and making a spectacle of himself, he made his way toward the weird stone path being taken by the person he had approached. When he came to the end of the walkway where it met the road, he noticed a blue sign with white letters.
"Welcome to Dogtown. Oh, that's not even funny!" He grumbled, his stomach growled in agreement. Before he did anything else, he was going to have to find something to eat. Why couldn't his life ever be easy?