A/N: It's the beginning of the end! MUHAHAHAHA! Unfortunately, this will be the last post until winter break, due to FINALS. Chapter 19 will be posted on…. Saturday the 18th, and I apologize for making you wait… but I can't write and study algebra at the SAME TIME! XD Thanks!
Inuyasha POV:
I sat dozing lightly in my chair during history class. Head bowed over my desk, eyes only half-open, slouching, you would think it would be obvious. I wasn't really sleeping though, I was thinking.
I was disgusted with myself. I couldn't believe I lost control like that. What was worse was I didn't even realize I was losing it until I found myself tensing up to attack Kagome. Damn. I continued to sit there, in that dreamy state, hating myself for what I was. If I really had hurt Kagome, I never would have forgiven myself. Ever.
A ruler slapped down onto my desk with a loud snap. It hurt my ears and surprised me a little, but I didn't twitch, or even look up for that matter. I raised my eyes slowly to the teacher's livid face. His silvery eyes bored holes in my golden ones as I stared up emotionlessly.
"If you would be so kind as to WAKE UP, Mr. Taisho, perhaps you could answer my question." He said disdainfully. I was in no mood to be trifled with however. Unfortunately for him, I hadn't been sleeping, and heard his question.
"During the Kufon Period, the aristocracy ruled with military force. This period was a critical point in Japan's development toward a cohesive state." I answered dully, totally destroying his plan to humiliate me. I returned my eyes to my desk and began tracing the wood-grain with my fingertip.
"W-well I-I…. you…" he spluttered incoherently. "Fine." He snapped at last, stomping back up to the front of the room. I sighed.
No one else seemed to care my loss of control, my failure to get a grip, not even Miroku. So why was I worrying about it? I let it go, shrugging it off.
The bell rang, and I stepped out of the room, cramming my history books into my bag as I went. Turning, I saw familiar mass of wavy raven hair.
"Hey! Kagome!" I called. She didn't turn around, so I walked up and grabbed her shoulder. "Kagome, are you deaf? I've been- crap."
Needless to say, it wasn't Kagome. It was Kikyo. She turned to face me.
"Inuyasha." She said with a nod. I rapidly took a step back, remembering previous encounters.
"Uh, yeah, hi." I mumbled nervously. "Look, I gotta get to math, so…" She nodded.
"See you later then." She said tonelessly. I scrambled away. Wait, what? 'See you later'? Why the hell would I be 'seeing her later'? I shook my head and walked away. That woman seriously creeped me out sometimes. If only I wasn't so damn guilty about not being able to trust her all those years ago.
Sesshomaru POV:
I sighed, listening to the annoying sound of Jaken pissing of Rin as we prepared to go home. Jaken, the paranoid freak that he was, came to pick me and Rin up. Mostly me, though, Jaken hates Rin.
"Master Jaken, I made too much food for lunch today. Do you want some?" She asked sweetly. He glared at her.
"Rin, you live with us, you foolish girl. There's nothing in that lunchbox that I can't get out of the pantry later!"
"But Jaken, you can't cook!" Rin giggled. "You wouldn't eat the ingredients raw, would you?"
"Of course not!" he spluttered indignantly at her.
"Then eat it!" she said, shoving an octopus dumpling in Jaken's mouth. Her octopus dumplings were really quite good. Unfortunately, Jaken hated all things octopus with a burning passion. He gagged briefly on the food before spitting it into the grass.
"That's disgusting! Your cooking sucks Rin!" he yelled at her. She froze, and I had to resist the urge to cower. When Rin got mad, Rin got mad.
"You little toad!" she yelled back at him. "Lord Sesshomaru enjoys my cooking just fine, and he doesn't even need to eat it!" she booted him into the cross-walk with the toe of her high top. "Get walking buster, you don't deserve to ride in the same car as- Look out!"
Her last words were a scream as a school bus ran Jaken over. So called.
With my superior vision I could see that the bus had passed over Jaken's head, not even touching him. He was perfectly fine.
So he played dead. Some of the red sauce from the dumpling got smeared on his chest, looking like blood, and some of it dripped from his mouth. He laid still.
Rin ran out and picked him up, cradling him like a child. I stuck my hands in my pockets and followed, standing over her shoulder. A small crowd had gathered, including my brother and his less annoying friends.
"Jaken!" Rin wept. "Jaken, wake up! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! Please don't die!"
I couldn't help it. Seeing Rin cry over Jaken's 'corpse' was hilarious. I pictured what she would do when she found out and tried to stifle my laughter.
I paused. That was weird. I don't laugh. I'm not supposed to be capable of emotion. So why was this so damn funny?
That thought set off a chain reaction. My smirk broadened into a wide grin and I had trouble suppressing my chuckle. It slipped out and that set me off into full on gales of laughter. Rin turned her teary gaze on me as I doubled over in hilarity. Somewhere in the crowd, Inuyasha muttered, 'He's finally flipped his lid…'
"What's so funny? He…he…"
"Is faking!" I choked out between breaths. Her eyes widened and the look on her face was priceless. I started laughing again, clutching my sides as tears gathered in the corner of my eyes.
"JAKEN!" she roared, pulling him up by his ankle. He tried desperately to scramble away, but Rin is stronger than she looks.
"No! Please!" he yelped. Rin held him high and then allowed him to fall, drop-kicking him so high into the clouds that I lost sight of him, her soccer-playing finally paying off in one, satisfactory move. She stormed back over to me.
"You have the keys, right?" she growled. I nodded, having composed myself to a hearty smirk now. "Then get in the damn car, the frog can walk." She stomped to the car, and I tailed after her, spinning the key on my finger. I chuckled again as I opened the car. Little did I know, I was being watched.
Naraku POV:
"Kagura!" I hissed in said woman's ear, "This is worse than I thought! Have you made any preparations toward getting rid of that girl?"
"No preparation needed, you bastard, I'm ready now! I only have to wait for Rin to leave the house, and have Sesshomaru alone. It shouldn't be hard; she and Jaken do most of the grocery shopping due to the fact that Sesshomaru doesn't eat! Get off my back." She whispered to me. I nodded slightly, and stomped on her sandaled foot, crushing her toes.
"Good." I said out loud, "Because you know what will happen if you fail." I turned away from her stricken features, vanishing back into the crowd.
Inuyasha POV:
I stood there in total shock, thinking that I was perhaps delusional. Sesshomaru just laughed. Loudly. That's not possible!
I sighed again. Could this day get any weirder?
"Inuyasha. I need to speak to you." Kikyo called from behind me. Scratch that, it just got weirder. Kagome looked at me.
"I'll talk to you later." She said before walking away. I wasn't sure if that was a veiled threat or a thought of comfort… Kikyo grabbed my arm. The crowd began to disperse and people milled around noisily.
"Er, hi Kikyo…" I greeted. She merely blinked in reply. She suddenly leaned in close to me and whispered in my ear.
"What is that girl to you? What am I to you? You can't have it both ways Inuyasha." I grabbed her wrist as her hand brushed my face.
"Kikyo… I'm sorry. What we had was great, but it ended a long time ago. No matter what we do now, we can't get it back. You need to move on."
"Don't you understand?" she cried, eyes filling with tears, "I died loving you and yet hating you! My soul cannot move from that spot! I can't move on!" She suddenly stilled herself and said in a low voice, "I will fight for you Inuyasha. I won't just hand you over to that other woman. I am yours and you are mine." She looked up at me, eyes flashing. "She can't have you!"
"Wait-" I called as she tore her wrist from my grasp and ran. I scratched my head in bewilderment. That was weird.
Naraku POV:
Kikyo jogged up to me, wiping tears from her eyes as she ran. I gazed at her, prompting a report.
"Naraku, permission to begin?" she asked raggedly, catching her breath.
"Do as you please." I responded dismissively. She raised her eyes to mine.
"I need something from you if this is to work." She said coldly. I raised my eyebrows at her.
"And that would be?"
"I need you to take Inuyasha's form and call Kagome. Convince her to come to his house at ten P.M.; I'll be waiting for her."
My mouth curved up in a smile. This would be fun.
"Of course." I replied, in a perfect mimic of Inuyasha's voice. She glared daggers at me, and I laughed. Yes, this would be the most fun I'd had in years.
Sesshomaru POV:
Ah, Saturday mornings… the only day I can really sleep in. I woke up and trudged downstairs, hoping to make a cup of coffee. I entered the spacious kitchen to see Rin eating waffles on one side of the table, and Jaken eating pretzels on the other, as far from each other as possible. I raised my eyebrows slightly at this. Rin turned to me with a giggle.
"Good morning! Coffee's already been made, and there are waffles if you want any!" I smiled slightly at the mention of coffee.
"You truly can read my mind, Rin." I called over my shoulder as I walked over to the coffee pot and poured the aromatic liquid into a mug. "And Jaken, why are you eating pretzels? When did you get here?"
Rin smiled in a devilishly sweet manner. "Oh, he walked back sometime last night. He's eating pretzels because I refuse to cook for him!" I blinked. So little Rin had a mean streak. I smirked.
"He deserves that, I suppose." Rin suddenly pulled a notepad out of her robe pocket and began scribbling on it. I peered over her shoulder. The list read:
Milk
Eggs
Cheese
Cream of Tartar
Chocolate chips
Sugar…
Etcetera. A grocery list.
"Are you going to the store?" I asked. She jumped, not expecting me to be so close.
"Yes, and Jaken is coming with me. As a lady, I think I'm allowed to use him as a bag boy." I smirked again.
"Of course you are allowed to. I would be pleased to lend you his assistance. While you guys are gone I will be raking our front yard. That damn tree last all of its leaves already." I complained ruefully. I had a lot of raking to do. She smiled up at me.
"I think you can handle one little tree." She chuckled. I sighed, standing up and putting my empty mug in the sink.
"Well, I'm going to go get ready for the yard work. When are you guys leaving?"
"As soon as I change my clothes!" Rin trilled.
XxXxXxX
Long after the pair left, I was nearly finished with my job. A pile leaves at least as tall as myself towered above me as I raked the last few into the pile before bagging them. As I turned away, some sixth sense warned me of another presence.
I turned, and was knocked over into the leaves by a woman as she pressed her lips to mine. I pushed her back, and upon seeing it was Kagura, prepared to yell at her. I would have, if I hadn't seen Rin. She drove by and slowed, watching us. Kagura grabbed my face and kissed me again, straddling my waist.
I caught sight of Rin's broken, teary face before she slammed the gas pedal down and veered off. I stared after her for a moment before shoving Kagura off me and onto the ground. I stood, trembling in rage, looking down on her prone form.
"Why?" I asked furiously. "What could you possibly gain?"
"You." The woman replied simply. She stood as well and looked up.
"I would never be with a slut like you!" I hissed before turning away and storming into my house.
XxXxXxX
The convulsions of suppressed rage had long since been stilled. I had tried to call her. I had tried to explain. All she said to me was that she was coming to pick up her meager belongings tomorrow.
I lay on my bed for a long time. The clock ticked closer and closer to the ten o'clock mark, and I idly watched it. Jaken arrived, and I walked downstairs and let him in.
"Congratulations my lord!" He yelped. "Your choice of a demon woman is much more suitable for-" I didn't listen, but merely walked away from him, trudging back upstairs. I thought about her as I fell into a troubled sleep. Rin… Rin… Rin… her name echoed to the pounding of my heart. Rin… Rin… Rin… she was gone.