Chapter 30: A Spider Ahead
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Amazed. That was the word for it.
Kagome stared at the vanilla envelope in his hand, like a murage, she was afraid it would vanish should she take eyes off it. She could guess what he was offering but didn't dare speak it into words.
"What? You weren't really planning on showing up with no credentials, did ya?"
Her soft gasp was the only real warning he received before she was flying across the space between them.
The only sound that left him was a half groan, as her body hit his in full.
Inuyasha was stunned immobile, her hands had come up to wrap around his neck, and he could feel her soft breaths against his collar bone. But before he could either pull her in, or push her away, she leaned back to peek past her bangs at him.
"Thank you, Inuyasha."
He mumbled his own reply, nothing coherent, not sure what to make of her random burst of affection. Not that she had the same problem, Kagome snatched the envelope from his hands the moment she had let go.
Spilling its contents on the seat, the girl went over each individual paper within.
"My registration card, my assigned seat, everything! Inuyasha, how did you even do this?"
Her excited chatter filled the car, but he was far into his own thoughts to give her much more than a grunt as response, his mind circling around the feeling of her breath against his skin.
Kagome, not bothered by his sudden bout of silence, watched the outside world with renewed excitement. The streets began to be recognizable, and shortly thereafter, she was on the same route she normally walked on her way to school.
"Say, Inuyasha?" another grunt was her response, "Do you think we can pull over and let me out here?"
That seemed to have gotten through to him, blinking away his fog, Inuyasha glared at the girl once more.
"What? Why would I ever do that?!"
"Think about it, no one knows where I went; wouldn't it just lead to a buncha questions if I show up in a limo? I mean, what am I even supposed to say should anyone ask?"
"Feh!" Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "I don't care what you say, s'long as it's something believable."
They were nearly there, and in order to get him to see it her way, Kagome closed the careful distance he had placed between them.
"Please, Inuyasha! I don't really want to get into it and showing up in a big chunk of over-stretched metal, isn't going to help me any."
Cringing back from her volume, and his aversion to her proximity, Inuyasha did the only thing he could think of to get her to drop this. Give into her request, but with limitations.
"Fine, fine, Wench. Just lower your damn voice, it's like you're trying to damage my hearing."
She took an excited deep breath, stopping her only took one pointed finger, "But I'm warning you right now Woman, no one can do nothing to help you out of the hole you dug, and any human you confide in is just a casualty to us."
He expected fear, wanted to see her take this matter seriously; but once again he was left annoyed when she simply waved her hand through the air, dismissing his warnings entirely.
"Okay, okay, whatever. But can we stop now! We're almost there!"
His growl rose to bring her attention away from the window, he threw her a cold glare to reaffirm his threats.
"I said OKAY!" Kagome gave her own growl, the noise now a firmer sound than it had ever been, showing her frustration perfectly in Inu-language.
Those brown eyes widened in surprise, before she could issue another growl, Inuyasha lifted his arm towards the intercom directly above them.
There was only a near silent click, "Stop here," and the limo did, easing onto the curve before the faint rumbling of the engine cut off. "I mean it Wench, one word-"
"Yeah, yeah, you'll kill everyone. Good to know. Bye! Wish me luck!"
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Kagome didn't wait for another futile threat, throwing the door open, she practically launched herself out of the car. Looking around, she wanted to make sure no one had witnessed her grand escape, before walking off at a brisk pace.
Away from the shinning vehicle, and the man within. No one saw her, but every now and then, Kagome had the feeling of being watched.
She hoped that having Inuyasha drop her off a block away hadn't been a terrible idea, Kagome picked up her pace, making it to school with a jog to her step. She only felt safe when inside the building, the sea of students a comforting thing, after everything she went through since the start of the month.
It was easy to find the testing hall, several students were camped outside of it, nose to books as they attempted to cram more information into their heads. Testing would start at the beginning of the school hour, not too far off now, so the girl figured finding her seat would be more useful than trying to retain any new information.
Peeking at her registration card, Kagome walked along the edge of the halls, finding the large room where her class group would do their examinations. She was assigned the seat up against the window, fourth row from the front, finding her empty seat easy enough.
Of course, nothing could stop her freight nerves from acting up, knowing she was utterly unprepared didn't help her feel better.
In an attempt to calm down, Kagome touched her forehead to her desk, the cool hard surface did something in bringing her heart rate down. Focusing on her breathing, Kagome nearly missed the sound of someone softly calling out to her.
"Excuse me" turning toward the sound, Kagome looked up to the new face of a smiling girl, her confusion grew when the girl only stared at her patiently.
"Um... yes?"
The girl spoke with a soft melody in her voice, her rich brown eyes sought her out, she peeked down at her through the strains of hair from her straight bangs. She wasn't just pretty, she had an undefined beauty to her, with high cheek bones and an elegant jaw.
Her hair was swept up into a high tail, straight brown hair that dipped down onto her lower back. There was a strong way to her, beautiful, and clearly capable. Kagome tried to remember if she had ever seen this girl before, finding it difficult that she wouldn't know about someone like her walking around the school.
"You're in my seat" she informed, her voice sweet and polite.
"Oh, um..." Looking down at her registry card, Kagome double checked her assigned seat, "Um, you sure? It says I'm in the right spot."
The girl took out her own card, showing her the same clear seat as she had, "Yep, fourth seat from the front, first row, that's me."
Kagome paled, thinking for a horrible moment that Inuyasha had crossed his connections somewhere, and now the chances of her taking her test seemed to dim before her eyes.
"Miss Higurashi?" A voice from the front drew both their eyes, her Sensei walked in, "Whatever are you still doing here."
Her worry amped up to mild panic, grabbing her bag, Kagome walked past the girl to report straight to her teacher.
"Have I gotten the wrong information, Sensei?"
Her teacher looked over her paperwork, mumbling about confusing memos, "I thought you had gotten accepted to University early, on an excelled program I heard."
Kagome, brilliant as ever, stared at him blankly until he raised an eyebrow her way.
"Uh... not yet?"
Shaking his balding head, her Sensei picked his phone up and dialed a number, leaving Kagome to stand awkwardly in front of her whole class. Finally, after what felt like forever, two students came in carrying an extra desk and chair.
"Alright, everyone move down one from the fourth seat, but don't change anything on your slips; it'll just make everything more confusing than it already is."
Apologizing to those around her, Kagome was too glad when she had a seat she could sink herself into, escaping the curious eyes of her classmates.
But there was no escaping those hushed conversations, the words 'advance program' mixed with incredulous denials from those who summed up what they thought with a 'Who? HER?'
Her Sensei saved the day, standing in front of the class, he didn't need any other way to bring the chatter down.
"Listen carefully everyone, you each will get four hours today to finish off both sections of your examinations; testing will be divided into three main categories: compulsory subjects, moral education and special activities.
You will each be handed a booklet with the first two compulsory subjects: Literature and arithmetic. There will be a short essay involved, as well as multiple choice. I advise everyone to take their time, think carefully through each question.
These will be your last tests for the National Assessment of Academic Ability, this will determine which Universities you are qualified for, this is no time to leave anything up to chance. If you finish testing early, turn your booklet upside down, and place your head down onto your desk; away from other papers.
Any more questions?"
The class remained silent, everyone seemed to be preparing for the worst; and worst of all, everyone looked more than ready for this.
Booklets were passed from the first desk, down each row, no one turned their test over; all waiting for their teacher's say so.
"Then, let the testing begin."
She took a deep breath, 'Here we go.'
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Kagome often found herself in the most peculiar situations, often leaving the girl smack tab in the middle of some kind of trouble or another.
At first ghosts, and now demons were the main worry. Even after everything she had gone through in the last week alone, Kagome would rather face ten Naraku's than this- this Horror!
The test could have been in hieroglyphics for all she knew, each section longer and more complicated than the last, making four hours seem like an ungodly amount of time.
What made it worse was when the tall pretty girl from before turned her booklet over, a whole hour and a half early!
How she ever thought to gain a passing grade, the idea seemed unreal to her now, suddenly Inuyasha's offer to fudge the paperwork didn't seem so bad.
"Okay, times up; everyone please turn in their tests."
Staring down at her half empty booklet, Kagome whimpered a distress sound, resisting the urge to bang her head on the wooden surface of her desk.
"Is everything okay, Higurashi-sama?" The girl from earlier asked, turning in her seat to address her, Kagome felt momentarily ashamed of her childish pout when faced under that mature gaze.
"Ah, yes, thank you very much." She tried to remember the girl's name but came up empty.
"Then will you please hand me your test? Along with those behind you?"
Jumping to, Kagome blushed brightly when she realized she was holding up the line. Apologizing to those behind her, she handed the tests over, saving her disappointment for a later time.
Maybe Inuyasha would have another miracle solution tucked away for her. Or maybe he would laugh at her poor attempts...
Her Sensei rose, collecting the gathered booklets and calling attention to him, "Well done, everyone. I hope you are satisfied with the work you all have done today,"
Kagome gave a silent groan, lowering her chin to her desk, she barely listened to the rest of his 'Good-job' speech.
"You may all take a half-hour break, then you can proceed to the gymnasium for your physical examination; it's been a pleasure teaching you all."
He bowed to the class, then made a swift exit, Kagome kept her gaze downcast throughout the whole thing.
"Are you sure you are alright, Higurashi-sama?"
The girl from before asked, she gave Kagome a caring smile, making the slumped girl straighten her posture with a snap.
"Yes, thank you again."
She didn't look to fully believe her, but thankfully, turned back to face the front. Kagome took a steadying breath, silently reprimanding herself for being so melodramatic about this.
So, the first round of tests didn't go as planned, Kagome had already factored in the chances of slipping on a test or two. All that needed to be done was score high on the physical exams, then cram before tomorrow's final exams. On their own each task seemed more manageable, all Kagome had to do was make it to tomorrow, it didn't seem that hard now.
Thirty minutes passed much too quickly, the walk from classroom to the gymnasium didn't give her nearly enough time to brace herself; once outside on her school's courts, did she fully realize what she had to do.
Truly it was her fault for not putting more thought into this, thought about what her body could and couldn't do. Now facing the mouth of the beast, Kagome debated with herself on how bad it would truly affect her should she choose to sneak away.
The track ran as followed: a distance sprint, (a short 100m, 200m, and 400m distance). Then there was the beams, bars, and vaults spread out beyond it. Bad enough that her legs were all kinds of bruised, earning herself several long looks, now she had to figure out how far her healing arms could take her.
Looking at the bright side; at least it wasn't swimming, no idea how she would have thought her way out of that problem.
A loud shrill whistle called the scattered masses together.
The Coach, a middle age, average build man in his late thirties, called them over. He was not her usual teacher but seeing her class mixing with a different herd of students, Kagome could guess they were short staffed and had to combine a few classes.
"Eyo! Bring it in, can everyone hear me out okay?" He shouted from his plastic megaphone, those closest to him cringed away, still he continued with no mind to them.
"Please, everyone, listen-up! As you all can see, we have assembled third, fifth, and sixth period classes together. This is mainly due to Professor Akihiro's unfortunate accident; he is recovering well and should be back to join us come Graduation.
That being said, each class will take a turn in every course; a teacher or student guide will be there scoring you along the way. Third period please make your way towards the racetrack, fifth period take up room over by the vaults, and sixth period you're on beams and bars.
Let's go Ladies, let's get to it!"
He pointed and they went, Kagome was on the racetrack facing the beams and vaults; running she could do, everything else would be a wait and see scenario. Assuming she wouldn't do well on the vault and bars, Kagome would have to run until the 400m mark, something she really wasn't looking forward to.
"Kagome!" "Kagome-chan!" Turning to those familiar voices, Kagome felt elated to see two of her best friends running to catch up to her.
"Eri-chan! Ayumi-chan!" The three girls caught up, brief hugs were exchanged in haste, clearly the two had something on their minds.
"Kagome, why didn't you tell us you got accepted into an accelerated program?!" "If you did get accepted, why are you here Kagome? Nothing bad happened, I hope."
Kagome shook her head, chuckling lightly and feeling about ten pounds lighter; it felt more than just a few weeks since she last saw them.
"No, no, nothing bad. I wish I could tell you guys everything, but I don't know where to begin."
Eri leaned forward, eager beaver as always when it came to the new and exciting. "At the beginning of course! Come on Kagome, don't hold out on us now."
Ayumi nodded with her own excitement, her wavy hair springing with every bob of her head, "Yes, tell us everything, Kagome-chan."
Kagome scratched her temple with a lone finger, not sure what the story was or what she was meant to say, when the familiar polite voice interrupted their reunion.
"Excuse me" The same girl from before jogged down towards them, wearing the same shorts and long sleeve uniform that the rest of them did, but somehow- she seemed better suited for them than the rest.
"Gomen, I didn't mean to interrupt, but Sensei has asked for everyone to get within their class. Testing is about to begin."
Then in the same sweep of long legs and flowing hair, she jogged away to tell others the same thing.
"Who's she?" Eri asked, just as awed by the girl as Kagome had been.
"She must be a student guide; look how commanding she is." Ayumi joined in, earning a half snort from Eri, who turned to scoff at her friend.
"A student guide that Yuka hasn't met, and talked our ears off about? Yeah, right."
"I think she's new." Kagome finally managed, her eyes following the girls retreating figure.
"New student? On the last month before graduation? Far chance!"
"Anyhow, good luck with your exams Kagome, we can get together later to celebrate." Ayumi ended the conversation, already steering her absent-minded friend back to their own group.
"Yeah! We can go to WacDonald, your treat, right Ayumi?"
Kagome smiled after the two girls, their friendly bickering could be heard halfway across the field, thanks to them; she had her second wave.
Running wasn't bad. Running she could do, her sore legs didn't mind the extortion, and thanks to an overactive imagination, Kagome was able to speed past the 100m and 200m mark. From her side eye she could see the others falling away, preferring to save their energies for the next part of the test, but Kagome just kept going.
The wind didn't sting her face, it was a cool breeze that gently swept through her, and there was no foreboding energy like swinging incense in the air. Still, as her legs strained around the 300m mark, she used the image to fuel her every step.
A boy made man, cold and hurt, huddled against a dark wall. His pain forever ingrained in her mind, and with his tortured eyes, Kagome ran a little faster and with more urgency than was required.
It took her an extra half mile before she was able to stop, her pants were loud as she tried to bring desperate heaves of air into her lungs.
"Good job, Higurashi!" Her teacher's voice boomed from somewhere behind her, she waved back without turning, her hands braced themselves on her knees. Seeing her strain, he shouted, "Take 5, then stand by the bars!"
Again, all she could manage was a weak raise of thumbs-up, her legs felt like utter jelly.
Moving off to the grassy area, Kagome eased herself into a crossed legged position, still battling to take a normal breath and bring down her drumming heart. Under the shade of a nearby tree, Kagome had the perfect view of sixth period as they gave it their all on the beams and bars.
It was easy to spot the new girl, at least new to her, as she waited for her turn on the beams. With eerie accuracy, the girl turned her eyes directly onto Kagome's, startling her with how they had homed in on her form.
Kagome was the first to break eye contact, turning her gaze skyward in a vain attempt to look like she hadn't been staring, when she peeked her eyes back down, the girl had adverted her gaze as well.
"Fujimoto, you're up!"