A/N: Thank you for the reviews LogicalGoth, Inu'sgirl4ever, The 214th Rabid Fangirl, starfire1994, and inulover98. And to all the lists I or my story's been added to. I mention an ancient Japanese tale that truly is a wonderful story but to keep Inuyasha in character as much as possible, I had to find something wrong with the prince.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Inuyasha characters, manga, anime, movies, etc. They belong by copyright laws to Rumiko Takahashi et al.
Her Knight
Ch. 12
Inuyasha sat at the back of the class behind Kagome where he could see the whole room. It was only the second day of attending with her but he had gotten into a routine that would have delighted Miroku had he known. When they arrived at school, he tied her shoes for her and then, once in the room, had to listen to the giggles and sighs of the entire female half of the class. Ever since he'd been introduced, people had been trying to convince him why going to public high school would be a good idea and if he did go, to apply to the school they were going to seek admission to. The guys wanted him for his kendo skills, while the girls just wanted the privilege of either knowing him or taking another shot at getting him to like them.
The fact of the matter was, he was popular, extremely so. If it weren't for the knowledge that everyone save Kagome would freak if they saw his true features, the half demon would have been dumbfounded. As it was, all the attention annoyed him and took his concentration away from protecting Kagome. Glancing out the window, he scanned the part of the yard he could see before looking back to the teacher. The man was currently droning on about the story of Prince Yamato Take. It was a tale Inuyasha had learned as a pup at his mother's knee and he wondered how it would be received if he corrected the middle aged teacher on a few points. He heard Kagome sigh softly in irritation at the recitation and when they came to the part about Take and the monster, he saw her cover her eyes with one hand. From the set of her shoulders he knew she had rolled her eyes. The monster, a snake youkai, should have been killed with a sword or sacred arrow. For a human to have done so with his bare hands would have been suicide had it not been for the healing properties of the hot springs.
"Taisho-san, the principal tells me you've studied classical literature. What do you think of the prince's bravery?"
"Keh, I think he was foolish for facing that monster alone and using his bare hands. The snake was obviously poisonous, since the majority of them are. He should have at least used his sword."
"But, Taisho-san, he was a great warrior. He had to protect the people of that village."
"Sure and he had guts going after something he didn't understand but a true warrior doesn't go blindly into battle. He should know the dangers before he acts." Kagome gasped in surprise and turned around quickly to meet his gaze.
The young priestess looked at her reckless warrior with questions in her eyes. Did he always know the dangers of fighting the demons he faced? Or was it he always assumed there would be danger because of the way he'd grown up? She knew his youkai senses told him things she and the others couldn't know until they saw a demon. "You mean like how large an enemy is or what weapons it may have?" Kagome threw in, hoping to get answers and to move the discussion along. She was dreading the next hour because her physical education class was coming up. While she couldn't play, she did have to change. Inuyasha was not going to like the outfit she'd have to wear.
"Yeah, like those things. If something has large fangs or teeth, you're going try to stay away from them, right? It'd be stupid to try to strangle something." The smirk in his eyes told her it'd be stupid for a human to try to strangle something with poisonous fangs but not him.
The entire class followed the conversation closely. They had never studied the story from a militaristic viewpoint before. It made sense that while the prince had been brave, he'd also been quite arrogant. "Maybe," one girl started, her eyes taking on a dreamy quality. "Maybe he was so saddened by his wife's death that he wasn't thinking straight." Inuyasha groaned with the rest of the boys. Trust a girl to turn a story of adventure into a romance.
Kagome's teacher knew when to quit a topic and with regret he set aside the books. "It's time for your elective. Please proceed to the locker rooms." One by one students left, chatting amongst themselves. The miko hung back until the half demon came along side her.
"Inuyasha, you can't go with me into the girl's locker room."
"I know that, wench. Your mother explained things while you were napping the other day. Just be careful." He looked her over for signs that she was in pain. Except for the occasional wince when she moved wrong, her incision didn't appear to be bothering her much.
"I will, but I do have to change and you're not going to like my outfit."
"I don't like your outfit now."
"Well, the bottom of my outfit is like my swimsuit and the top has long sleeves." She saw the minute the information was processed. Previously calm eyes hardened into gold flint. "Don't make a fuss, please, Inuyasha. I don't like it either."
"Fine." Disgruntled, the half demon folded his arms and looked away. "I thought I wasn't going to have to answer any questions."
"Sensei must have seen your interest in the story. He always chooses a student who seems interested in what we're studying. Or one who is totaling uninterested. Did your mother teach you that story?"
"Yeah, it wasn't very old back then so some of the details have changed. The prince was a brave warrior and a good strategist. Che, maybe that girl was right and he was grieving too much to think straight. Who knows?"
"None of us are perfect. Thank you for answering though. It would have looked suspicious if you hadn't said anything the entire time you're here." He gave a shrug to indicate that he didn't care one way or the other and stopped when he reached the locker room door. He stood there until she went in followed by most of her friends. Ayumi was the last of the four and he put out a hand to stop her.
"Watch her for me. If something doesn't feel or seem right, yell. I'll hear you."
"Sure, Inuyasha-san. She really means a lot to you, doesn't she?"
"We've been through a lot together. I swore to protect her the day I received my father's sword. There isn't any way I'm stopping now." He didn't answer her directly but he must have said something that proved her theory right because she smiled and gave him a wave before going into the locker room.
Turning, he joined his male "classmates" in the opposite room and was a bit unnerved to find a group larger than anticipated. One scent was recognizable and he almost groaned out loud. Hojo looked up from tying his sneaker and smiled. "Inuyasha-san, I heard you were visiting. How do you like junior high?"
"It's different," he commented and left it at that. The boy's interest in Kagome still bothered him.
"We're doing track today. How are you at running?"
Smirking, the hanyou changed into the outfit Mama had bought for this class. "I've been known to run for miles." He didn't like the rules and limitations placed on him in this era but here he could show off a bit without revealing who he really was. The boys eventually joined the girls outside but went to opposite sides of the field to pursue different sports.
He kept one eye on what was going on around him and another on Kagome some distance away. She sat on a bench with one of her instructors, reading from a book and making notes on a small pad of paper. Satisfied for the moment, he was about to join the group nearest him to find out the rules of what they were doing (everything in this era seemed to have rules) when Ayumi's startled cry jerk him back. Without thinking, he rushed to Kagome's side in time to save her from getting hit in the head with a small hard ball. He held the innocent looking object in one hand while shielding his miko with the rest of his body.
"Kagome, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hit it that way." Yuka ran up to her friend, begging forgiveness.
"It's okay, Yuka. It was a foul pop-up. No one means or wants to hit them, it just happens. Inuyasha saved me."
"Always, wench." The exchanged took barely a minute but the teens soon became aware of the sudden crowd forming around them. The teachers were on the far edges trying to check on Kagome's well being but the students were too busy throwing questions Inuyasha's way.
"Wow, where did you learn to run like that? We've never seen someone run so fast."
"You made it over here so fast. I was sure the ball was going to hit Higurashi."
"Will you join our track team, Taisho-san?"
The bodies drew closer, pressing in on him until he wanted to strike out and snarl. The present situation reminded him too much of when he'd been picked on and harassed as a pup every time his mother wasn't around. It didn't matter that this time praise was being heaped on his head for saving someone. Kagome felt the rise in his youki and grabbed hold of both of his hands. He'd been forced to leave Tetsusaiga in the locker room. If he got any angrier at the bodies pressing against him, he might feel threatened. "Back up you guys, give him some space. He doesn't like you crowding him." The level of demonic energy steadied and she breathed a sigh of relief.
The crowd dispersed, leaving the two alone. "Thanks, Kagome."
"Thank you. It's just like I said; you're my knight, my hero."
"Sometimes I wonder just who protects who."
"We protect each other. We're a team, part of a pack. Isn't that what you told me?" He curled his clawed fingers around hers in a squeeze meant to comfort and agree with her assessment. "Now go back to your side of the field before we get into trouble. I'll be okay. Use the time to go for a little run. Just be careful. They might not be able to tell that you're a youkai by looking at you but your speed and strength are a dead giveaway in my book."
"Yeah, yeah, don't worry about me. You just concentrate on not getting into anymore trouble." He ignored her affronted look in favor of jogging back to the other guys.
Kagome scowled at his back, her friends coming to stand next to her. "Kagome, is everything all right?" Eri placed a hand on her friend's shoulder.
"He ruined the moment. We were having an actual moment and he had to ruin it."
"That's a guy for you."
"No, that's my guy for you." The young miko didn't notice her unintentional admission. The others did and they exchanged grins. The next time they got Kagome alone there would details wrung out of the teen. Had she seen the looks passing between the trio, Kagome would have wished for an encounter with the feudal Sesshoumaru. Escaping from that meeting would have been easier than the talk she faced now. Too bad she didn't see it coming.
