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Bitter or Sweet?

Disclaimer: *snort* Yeah, I wish!

Chapter 5: Enter Rin! Hi-YA!

It's the eye of the tiger, it's the cream of the fight
Risin' up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
And he's watchin' us all in the eye of the tiger

Face to face, out in the heat
Hangin' tough, stayin' hungry
They stack the odds 'til we take to the street
For we kill with the skill to survive

~Survivor: Eye of the Tiger

INUYASHA'S POV

"Hey, Yash, I thought you said you weren't dating anyone right now," a guy in my calculus class- I think his name is Hakkaku- says to me, leaning across the aisle to rest his arms on my desk.

Tired and grouchy from falling down an entire flight of stairs earlier, I yawn and stretch. "Yeah, yeah," I mutter, uninterested.

The guy rereads some paper in his hands. "She's not exception- as in, she doesn't really stand out, but now that I take a closer look at her, she's actually pretty cute."

Some dude sitting three seats to my left looks up. "Yeah, I know, right? When I first saw her, I was like, uh- does she even go to our school? But if you take a closer look, she has some hot features, like clear skin, big brown innocent eyes, dark thick hair, and nice legs-"

I open one of my eyes. "What the hell are you people going on about? I'm trying to get some sleep."

Hakkaku (or whatever the heck his name is) arches his eyebrows. "Um, dude, we're talking about your girlfriend? Like, where were you five seconds ago? C'mon- at least try to be a little more enthusiastic about the whole ordeal."

I open the other eye, and sit up. "Okay, now I am officially confused. I don't have a girlfriend."

What's-his-name snorts. "Don't try to deny it now, man. The whole school knows now anyway so don't try to play innocent."

"No, seriously, I don't have a girlfriend."

Hakkaku thrusts the paper in his head at me, and once I scan the page, I can tell it's the school newspaper. I begin to read the first article, and I turn blue in the face. Fuck. This can't be happening to me! I stand up and begin to run out of the classroom. "Tell the teacher that I'm in the nurse's office!" I yell to no one in particular, then begin to make my way down the hall frantically…

Wait, where am I going again?

Oh, right: Kagome's classroom. Why? To bitch to her about why my fucking picture is in the fucking paper! And about why they're dubbing us as a couple! Ugh- that Kagome; I'll give her a piece of my freaking mind!

Hold on.

Where's Kagome's classroom?

Damn it! Someone up there must really hate me! So without thinking, I barge into the office. The receptionist purses her lips and quickly looks me over. I impatiently roll my eyes- this is so not the time to be checking me out! Jeez. "What classroom is year one Kagome Higurashi in right now?" The lady clucks her tongue.

"Sorry, sweetie, you can't see your girlfriend during class time."

Oh my God- even she knows about it. "I know, but, uh, we were studying together last night and I just realized this morning that she left her pencil case in my house so I have to give it back to her…"

She shifts her eyes to my empty hands. "May I see this… pencil case?"

"I don't… have it with me right now… You know what? Do you want to know the truth?"

She nods patiently, as if to say: humor me.

Oh, and I will. "Okay- here's the thing: I really, really, really, love Kagome (aw, gross!), and I love her with all my heart, mind, and soul. She is my very essence and because of her studies lately, I haven't been able to see her at all. And it's killing me- it really is. I want to see her so bad it's tearing me apart- in fact, I can't even think straight. So unless you want me to die from love deprivation, please tell me what class she's in."

The lady blinks a couple times, clearly at a loss for words.

I make a mental note to wash my mouth a thousand times when I get home; I cannot believe I just said all that disgustingly sappy stuff just a second ago… Now Kagome's really going to get it.

"Biology. She's in biology."

I nod and after dashing all the way to the second floor, I throw open the door… to meet the panicked gaze of a small freshman boy using a urinal. Shit. This is the bathroom. I mumble an apology to the guy and finally find the proper classroom.

I slam open the door again with an aura of blazing fires surrounding me.

Kagome's eyes widen.

I cross the room and after grabbing the newspaper randomly off someone's desk, I shove it at her. "What the hell is this?"

Ayame clears her throat. "Clearly, it's a newspaper."

I ignore her. "Ka…go… me…" I draw out the words dangerously. "You better have a good explanation for this. I'll give you thirty seconds."

Kagome's sheepish expression disappears instantly. "Excuse me? Are you just assuming that this is my fault? You think I'd want to be known as your girlfriend? Of course not, you giant idiot! You're an obnoxious, narcissistic, arrogant jerk who has absolutely no etiquette! I hate this much more than you do! Now my name's all over the school and there's no way I can take it back!"

"You know what's also annoying?" Ayame jumps in. "They got your classroom wrong. You're not in 2A; you're in 1A. I guess they didn't want to believe Inuyasha was dating a freshman."

Kagome scoffs. "Why? It's not like he's a senior. He's not even a junior! Inuyasha's a sophomore, so even if he did have a girlfriend, why would it matter if she was a freshman?"

"That's true," Sango agrees. "I guess that was just a typo then. But Ayame's so right; it kind of pisses me off that they got something like wrong. That's just plain stupid."

"Uh huh," Kagome nods.

I growl. "Don't change the subject."

"Oh right- you're still here. Are you honestly going to continue blaming this whole mess on me? It's not my fault you wanted my breakfast! Seriously! Next time, wake up on time and get a proper meal in the morning!"

"Uh… Miss Higurashi, Miss Wolfe, Miss Taijiya, and Mr. Takahashi…"

We all turn around. "What?" we snap.

"We're in the middle of class here, you know," the teacher explains nervously. "Can you just please either sit down in your seat or return to your proper class?"

"NO!" we all shout in unison. "Stay out of this!"

The teacher grimaces. "But…"

Kagome shakes her head and turns to me with her hands planted firmly on her hips. "Actually, he's right, Inuyasha. Go back to wherever the heck you came from!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I demand.

She snarls and narrows her eyes so that she looks me in the eyes sharply. "It means, stop bothering me and go away!"

"What about the article, wench?"

Sango holds up a hand. "I'll get the school newspaper press to write another article stating the misunderstanding, okay? Happy? One of my friends is on that committee and therefore I'll handle it, so chill and after you've taken some deep breaths, return to your classroom."

I suck in a breath, then exhale loudly. "Fine. Whatever. Just make sure you do it."

Sango nods reassuringly. "Alright, bye-bye now," she dismisses me, turns to Kagome and starts chatting animatedly to her while Ayame joins in the conversation. Striding over to the door again, I clash eyes with the professor who's looking at me with a tentative expression.

"'Sup?" I ask nonchalantly before stepping out. But just before I leave, I take one last look at Kagome, and blink with surprise when I see the uncomfortable and obviously miserable guise on her face. Whoa- I've never seen her look so down before.

The sudden urge to go back in there and ask her 'what's wrong?' courses through me, but I fight it back down stubbornly. I realize that her being angry is a lot better than seeing her so… so sad. An unexplainable surge of guilt weighs me down and I sprint back to my third period room before I do something stupid. And so, for the remaining part of the day, I avoid Kagome and simply stick around Koga and Miroku.

It might seem a bit cowardly, but I just really don't want to see that dejected expression. Kagome's always been so… I don't know, alive I guess, and it just doesn't seem right for someone like her to appear gloomy and dead. Did the article bother her so much that's it's depressing her? That doesn't sound like Kagome.

When the final bell rings, I hurriedly pack my stuff and make my way home by myself.

Hours pass, and finally Mom announces her leaving to culinary class with Mrs. Higurashi again.

"She's coming to our house right?" Mom asks Kagome's mom. "Where is she?"

She shakes her head. "I don't know; she didn't come home yet. She's probably at Sango or Ayame's house."

My blood runs cold. She didn't come home. I run out of the house and in the direction of school.

"Where are you going?" my mom calls.

"I forgot some books at school!" I reply. "I'll be back."

But right before I can reach the building, I hear a few thumps coming from the alley right around the corner. Curious, I peek over and freeze when I see Kagome being kicked around by a gang of students.

"You think you're some fucking celebrity now, huh?" a gothic-looking girl sneers. "Just 'cause word got out that you're datin' Inuyasha."

Another girl kicks her again, harder. "Yeah, you ain't even that great! Not even pretty! Just ugly; fucking ugly." She spits on her and Kagome hisses, trying to get up.

Some guy laughs and pushes her down again. "Aw, does the poor injured kitty want to go home? Well we ain't gonna let 'ya. Not until you learn to stay in the shadows like the nobody you are."

"You can't tell me what to do," Kagome shoots back, defiantly. Even so, her voice is weak and tired. Two other guys begin to kick her again. She writhers in agony and lets out muffled sounds of pain.

"You tryin' to say something, ugly?" the first girl asks tauntingly. "Don't even bother calling for help. No one can hear 'ya. No one's gonna save 'ya. Not even your precious boyfriend."

"Speak for yourself."

I pull my hands into fists and punch the first guy in the face, then the gut, and kick him so he flies back into the large garbage containers behind him. With the second person, I grab his shoulders and knee him in the nuts (AN: Ouch! 0_o) and he groans and falls to the ground, clutching his privates (AN: -_-;). Before the last person can get away, I punch him before tossing him in the garbage beside his friend.

Then I turn to the girls who're breathing hard and look scared out of their wits.

"You dirty bitches," I hiss, "better run away before I change my mind. I should dispose of you like I did with your man-whores. You're lucky I don't hit girls. Don't you ever, ever fucking touch her again, because next time you're not going to get off so easy! Now scram!"

They scamper off, tripping over each other's feet along the way. I then slowly face Kagome, who's gripping the side of the wall and trying to pull herself up. Not sure what to do next, I just stand there and watch her try to push herself onto her feet for a few seconds, but when she slips and stumbles again, I step over to her and scoop her up in my arms.

Now that I look more closely, I see that there are cuts and bruises all over her arms and legs, with some on her forehead as well. They're going to get infected if I don't clean off the dirt on the cuts. I start walking while listening to Kagome's jagged breathing. "Are you okay?" I ask finally.

"Y-yeah, I'm f-fine… it's just shock… I'll be o-okay s-soon. S-sorry about all this."

"Who were they? Did they bully you randomly or have you known them from before?"

She falls silent.

"Kagome?"

"When my… when my dad d-died, they p-picked on me a lot in elementary school. I thought it'd be over when I went to h-high school but they were there, t-too. They l-look for excuses to hurt me. I couldn't tell Mom 'cause I knew she'd worry too much, and I don't want to get Sango or Ayame involved."

I clench my teeth. "You could've told me. I know we're not buddies or anything, but I still would've helped; I'm not that cold hearted, you know."

"S-sorry," she repeats. "And t-thank you, Inuyasha."

I tighten my arms around her. When we reach my house, I open the door. "My dad's at work right now, so we should be okay for the time being. And our moms are obviously still making cupcakes or whatever so they're not here either. I'll take you to my room and take care of those slashes." I pause. "Okay?"

Kagome nods.

I make her sit on my bed, and after taking out the first-aid kid, I begin applying ointment, then sticking on band-aids. By accident, I brush her ribs, and she winces. "Are the broken?"

"I don't think so," she whispers. "They'll probably heal soon."

When I finish my handiwork by sticking on the last bandage onto the bridge of her nose, I fish through Mom's clothes and take out her smallest sweater and pants. "Here; go change and get some sleep."

"Can't change," she replies dryly, pointing to her band-aid covered body.

"Ah. Well, uh… I mean, your clothes are kind of dirty, so… Um, I can't really help you with that so can you just try your best? I'll wait outside so call me when you're done."

And eventually she does call… but, like, thirty minutes later.

She's already lying on my bed, with the sheets tucked all the way to her nose. I sit down on the other end of the bed, and she reaches for my hand. "Thank you so much. Really. I… I don't know how I'm going to repay you, but-"

"It's fine," I mutter. "Not that big of a deal. Any one would've done it. Now get some sleep before your mom comes home. I'll tell them that you fell down the stairs or something." I try to withdraw my hand, but Kagome holds on.

"Goodnight," she whispers.

"'Night."

I stare at Kagome as her lids flutter closed and sigh when her breathing evens out. I watch her sleep. Why did those girls keep calling Kagome ugly? Sure, she wasn't strikingly glamorous, but she's definitely pretty… just in a simpler way… God, what am I thinking?

Ugh. I guess seeing her all weak like this is making me soft. I'll be glad when she's back to normal.

To be honest, when I saw her being ganged up like that, I was reminded of what happened to be when I was a child: how I was discriminated against and how people hated me and wished I was dead. After that, I started learning martial arts, self-defense, and things got better- I got popular, and none of the older kids tried to injure me anymore.

But before all that, I was what Kagome was just now: weak and frightened.

Looking up to the ceiling, I do a silent, mental debate in my head before walking over to my computer and opening up google maps.

Thankfully, our moms believed the 'falling down the stairs' story and so Kagome was to go home. But they asked me to carry her to her room.

"What? Why?" I demand. "My shoulders hurt from just carrying her here from school!" That's a lie; I'm half-demon, so Kagome wasn't heavy at all.

"Now, now, Inuyasha," Mom chastises, "You're a gentleman so isn't this something you should be doing without a second thought? Besides, neither Kagome's mom nor I are strong enough to do so."

Grumbling, I carefully pick her up again, and when she comes in contact with the cool air, she shudders and huddles closer to me, her hands gripping my shirt. Mom and Mrs. Higurashi coo.

As if I'm the manservant or something, I take the "princess" to her room and drop her (not literally) onto the bed. Then I rush off back to my own house.

The next morning, I see Kagome again, and although she's still a band-aid mummy, she looks healthier. And she keeps thanking me over and over to the point of annoyance.

"Seriously, I'm really grateful-"

"Okay, I get it! Sheesh!"

"It's just that… I must have been really heavy to carry…"

I roll my eyes and tap the side of my head, pointing to my ears. "Half-demon, remember?"

She grins. "Oh, right. You're the chameleon, telekinetic, teleporting half-demon."

I simply cross my arms. Finally, I say, "So, is there really nothing bothering you? You don't have to keep it in, you know."

Silence. Then: "Well, if you really want to know, I'm pissed; ticked off that I couldn't do anything to defend myself, and annoyed that I'm so weak." She growls. "I feel so pathetic."

"See me after school," I tell her. "There's someone I want you to meet."

So once school ends, we walk over to a small studio.

"Where are we going?" Kagome wants to know.

"Just be patient and see."

I open the door, and small bells rings, making a tinkling sound.

"Welcome to Rin's Martial Arts! How many I help you today- Oh, Inuyasha! Long time no see! How are you? Gosh, it's SO good to see you again!"

Kagome blinks at the petite girl in front of her. Her dark hair is up in a ponytail, and she has on a sweat suit.

Rin looks over to Kagome. "Oh, hi! Are you Yash's girlfriend? Ooh, he chose a good one, too," she winks. "So, what's your name?"

"Kagome… nice to meet you… Um, where exactly am I? Inuyasha wouldn't tell me… and he's not my boyfriend, by the way."

Rin laughs. "Yeah, I did think she was too good for you, Yash. Guess it's true!"

"Are you kidding? It's not like I want to date this brat! If I did, I'd have done so a long time ago."

"Keep dreaming, dog-boy," Kagome mutters, and Rin laughs again.

"Ooh, burn," she chuckles. "So, Kagome, you're at a martial art school! I think Yasha here wants to sign you up. Isn't that right?"

I nod, and Kagome's eyes widen. "Seriously?" she asks.

"Yeah. You don't have to, but it might be a good idea."

Kagome nods eagerly. "No, no, I want to do it! That's so cool! Oh my God, I'm so excited! Thanks, Inuyasha!"

I roll my eyes. "You're such a child."

"Anyways, who's the teacher?"

"You're looking at her."

She blinks. "I'm serious, Inuyasha."

"So am I."

"Stop joking."

"I'm not."

She sticks out her tongue. "Blah."

I stick out my tongue, too. "BLAH!"

Kagome blows a raspberry. "Blah, blah, blah!"

"Blah, blah bl- Wait, this is stupid!" I shout.

Suddenly, Rin bursts out in laughing gas. "You two are so funny to listen to," she gasps out. When she finally calms down, she says, "Kagome, Yash is right- I am the teacher here. Not the only one, granted, but there's a reason why this place is called 'Rin's Martial Arts.' My name is Rin," she explains. "I admit I am pretty small, but I'm fully eighteen-years-old."

Kagome immediately flushes red. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to offend you in any way- I swear! It's just that- I mean…"

Rin giggles and pats her head. "No worries, Kagome! I get it all the time, and to be honest, I'm pretty happy with my height, so we're cool- I promise."

Kagome smiles, and holds out a fist.

Rin grins back and the two of them do a knuckle punch.

"I have a feeling we're going to get along," Rin says happily and Kagome nods: "Mm hmm!"

AN: See? No cliffy this time! =D Hope you guys enjoyed this long chapter! I'm sorry there wasn't much humor here, but it'll get funnier in later chapters- you'll see.

So please, pretty please with whipped cream and a strawberry on top, keep up the reviews! They make me super happy and if you do, I usually update faster! By the way, all you Sess/Rin fans are happy to see Rin's appearance, right? Oh, and don't worry: she and Sesshomaru are going to get their romance, too! ;)

Also, I'm sure most of you by now know my awesome beta, Daichilover who is also, like me, a ninja. Not only is she good at editing, but at writing too! So please go check out her profile! She's great! (I think a lot of you have read her story "Shop 'till you drop!" so please read some of her newer stories too, such as "Death Angels"! They're good- I promise ^^ Show her some love, please?

Alright, enough chatting from me x)

Hugs and Love,

~Ny

Ninja beta Daichi: Well, thank you for mentioning my stories! I am trying to get more reviews for my newer stories. I love reviews! So please go review! And don't forget to review this chapter too or else I'll get you! That goes for not reviewing mine too, lol. And don't worry, I review too so no one can tell me that I don't do it!