Inuyasha 1. Chapter 0: The Glossary

You may want to read each chapter before referring to the glossary, and then only if necessary. My definitions reveal specific parts of the story at times, and I wouldn't want to spoil it for you. I just wanted to list the glossary first rather than at the end of each chapter. If you think this isn't a good way to handle this, please let me know and I'll switch formats!

Also, I've used the terms that I learned in my high school marching band. Different bands will use different terms, so they're not absolute—just useful to the story in that they're the ones I use.

**BAND TERMS GLOSSARY**

**(for those of you who aren't as nerdy as me)**

**CHAPTER ONE**

_Carrier_: When Kagome says she can't find her "carrier," she's talking of the metal device that fits over her shoulders and attaches to her snare drum.

_Snare drum_: Though you probably already know this one, a snare drum is the single drum that you play on the top of (rather than the side, like a bass drum). It gets its name from the long, squiggly pieces of metal, _snares_, that line its bottom head. And a _head_ is a piece of plastic or, in marching snares' case, Kevlar, that is stretched over the frame of the drum. It's the part you hit (unless it's on the bottom).

_Rudiment_: By my definition, I would say a rudiment is a neat little set of rhythms that, when played in rapid succession, forms a cool-sounding roll. Some common rudiments include the flam paradiddle, triple ratamacue, single-stroke, double-stroke, and flam drag. …Which will all take extra explaining. If necessary, I'll define them, too, but for now just understand that they're rudiments.

_Piccolo_: It's a high-pitched, smaller version of the flute.

_Sectionals_: When the groups of different instruments split apart to work individually. The saxophones go one way, all the flutes go another way, percussion goes somewhere else… etc. etc.

_Seventh chair_: In band, you are lined up (by section) in _chair order_—first chair being the best, most skilled musician. In flutes, the first few chairs usually play piccolo (if they choose to), so it is unusual for Eri—seventh chair—to want to play piccolo, too.

"_Block up, six-man-front"_: This refers to the way the band lines up when marching. It means six people in each row, all aligned with one another.

_Hup_: Something regularly shouted at the band preceding a command or to keep them in step—in this case, Sessho-maru is saying, "Left… left… left…… right left… left…"

"_the tap"_: A snare drum usually taps the band off so they all stay on the right foot and at the same speed. The rhythm is similar if not identical to the call Sessho-maru was yelling.

_Tenors_: A set of six drums that are all different sizes and have different pitches; they have only one head and are carried as a whole by one person. Sometimes called "quads."

_Rim shot_: The _rim_ is the outside edge of the drum; therefore, a rim shot is when you hit the rim. It gives off a sharp report like a gunshot and often chips your sticks.

_At attention_: When the band members are at attention, they are to keep their horns (or sticks) down, never smile, and march at a constant speed. They are not supposed to talk or move their heads in any way.

_At ease_: The opposite of "at attention"; the state in which they would normally be if they weren't at attention.

_Section leader_: Obviously, the leader of a section, and usually (but not necessarily) first chair.

**CHAPTER TWO**

"_listen down the line"_: Members of the drumline—like all other members of the band—are supposed to listen to all the people around them and balance and blend their sound together. This is especially important snarewise because all snare drummers are playing the same part and are supposed to sound like one drum.

"_the opener"_: The opening song of a marching band's performance or show (sometimes referred to as "the show"). Bands are usually ready to march only the opening song at their first game, but as the weeks progress they learn how to march other songs and add onto their performances.

"_case your drum up"_: In other words, "put your drum away inside its case."

**CHAPTER SIX**

"_dressed and ready for inspection"_: This means the band members must be in their uniforms, and they will be inspected by section leaders and directors. The inspection is a random test to make sure you have everything—your music, hat, shoes polished, all the buttons on your jacket, the right color socks, no jewelry or nail polish, etc. etc. etc.

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

_bandos_: My friend uses this term for "band nerds." We can't really help being bandos, though—it's so demanding and time-consuming, it's all we have time for.

_backsticking_: This is when you flip the stick while you are playing and hit the drum (or whatever) with the wrong end of the stick. Usually you flip the stick over again right after that. It looks very cool when done fast by a big group of skilled people.

**CHAPTER NINE  
**

_maroon yarn mallets_: "Yarn mallets" are the kind of sticks you use on a marimba and the sort. And by the way, a marimba is like a xylophone that makes a softer sound, is bigger, and is usually made of rosewood. Anyway, the shafts of the mallets are very thin and usually have a large yarn-covered knob at the end (that's the part you hit the marimba with). Maroon just happens to be the color Kagome has; the different colors differentiate between varying degrees of hard and soft. Usually.

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

_Baton_: By "baton," I mean a conductor's baton. The little skinny white things with the wide part at the end. –Not the kind of baton a baton twirler uses.

_Congas_: The congas are a set of two tall, thin African drums that you play with your hands. They're like elongated bongo drums, which are the short hand drums that come (usually) in sets of two.

_Djembe_: This is another African hand drum. Basically, it is shaped like an hourglass, but the bottom part is a little thinner and longer. You play it sitting down by putting the bottom half between your legs; the shell rests on top of your legs. That way, it doesn't slip and you don't have to really hold onto it—it just stays.

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

_Triple ratamacue_: As previously mentioned, this is a rudiment, and for this story, I made it one that Inuyasha plays better than Kagome. It's… complicated to explain, but when played superfast it makes a cool-sounding roll.

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

_Timpani_: The four large orchestral kettledrums—usually referred to as tympani or timpani—are most often played by one percussionist as a set and can sound pitches which, in fact, can change by moving a pedal. The pedal tightens and loosens the head of the drum, making it sound a certain range of pitches. One drum can usually accurately sound somewhere between eight and ten pitches.

_Bass drum_: A marching bass drum is small and is played with two mallets on both sides. It is also usually held upright. But I am speaking of the concert bass drum, which is usually a massive thing played with one big huge heavy mallet. Mounted on a special rolling stand, the concert bass drum is somewhere around four feet tall. You usually play it by standing behind it and holding only one mallet in one hand.

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

"_DRUMLINE! 'TTEN-HUT!" "Move!"_: Whenever the band is called to attention, this is the call that the directors (or at least Kagome's directors) use. The "'tten" is short for "attention," and "move" is just the standardized reply. Usually the command is, "Band, 'tten-hut!" but since Kagome was only addressing the drumline she was specific in her command.


	2. Chapter 1: The Usual Chaos

**CHAPTER ONE: The Usual Chaos**

"First game of the season already?!" Sango whined, pulling on her uncomfortable uniform. She hopped around, trying to pull the tight overall-like pants over her shorts. "I hate these uniforms!" she exclaimed.

Kagome took her ugly, square-ish hat out of its box and examined it. "Yeah," she muttered absently, brushing some dirt off of the bill.

"What's eating you?" Sango asked, snatching the hat from Kagome's hands. "You usually have so much to say you can barely breathe. Is it that new guy on the drumline?"

Kagome took the hat back. "No, I… I can't find my carrier."

"BS. I saw you wearing it not ten minutes ago in the band room."

"Ok, you've got me…" Kagome sighed. "It's PMS."

Sango bopped Kagome with her own sticks. "Yeah right. Whatever," she said. Patiently she quieted down, waiting.

"…He's such an arrogant jerk," Kagome huffed as she tied her shoes. "He thinks he's all that and that he can play everything better than everyone else. His rudiments are pathetic, but he still thinks he's so awesome. Plus he's always breaking sticks… and then he expects us to let him borrow some! As if. I mean, like he wouldn't just break ours, too. And he thinks he can get away with murder because Sessho-maru is his older brother."

"Ooooooh! Sessho-maru's his brother?" Eri squealed from behind Kagome.

"Eri! But he's a _teacher_!" Yuka reprimanded.

"Hardly," Ayumi replied. "He's a _student_ teacher. He's only in college. And he is _so hot_! I _love_ the way he won't let us call him 'Mister' anything, and his dreamy long hair and pointy ears are _soooo_ sexy…"

"Have you seen him play the piccolo? He's an expert! He played for us in sectionals the other day; I thought I'd die!" Eri squealed. "I've been thinking of asking him for piccolo lessons."

"_No_! But you're seventh chair—why would they want you on piccolo?" Ayumi interjected.

"All the more reason for me to need lessons!" Eri winked.

"No fair!" Yuka squealed, then blushed. "I already know how to play piccolo. So I can't ask for lessons…"

"I wish _I_ was a flutist, but I'm stuck with the dumb old alto sax," Ayumi whined.

"_I_ heard he was a single father," Sango whispered. "There's a little girl that's been seen with him—Rin, I think she's called—and—" Sango looked around for a second and realized Kagome had left her. She promptly took off in search of her.

"Hey, wait!" Ayumi called after Sango. "You haven't finished your story!"

--

"Block up, six-man-front," Sessho-maru called as the band marched towards the stadium. "Hup… hup… hup….. hup hup… hup… snare drum, you're dragging the tap."

"Hell I am," Inuyasha grumbled.

"You're not supposed to talk at attention," Koga called from behind him, his tenors squeaking noisily.

"Hypocrite," Inuyasha shot back.

"You _are_ dragging," Kagome said from her place on Inuyasha's left. "And knock it off with the rim shots. You're going to break your sticks again."

"Don't tell me what to do, bitch," Inuyasha replied, hitting his rim even harder.

"Idiot," Kagome murmured.

"Heard that," Inuyasha replied.

"Talking at attention, are we, Inuyasha?" Mr. Naraku said as they passed by him. Everyone shut up immediately and marched on past. They could hear him saying to Sessho-maru, "_Try _to keep them in line, _Mr_. _Okome_."

"Damn assistant principal," Inuyasha spat as soon as they were far enough away from him. "Bastard's got it in for me."

"I wonder why," Kagome said sarcastically.

"I _thought_," Sessho-maru said, catching up with them, "that after that little incident you would be quiet. _Apparently_, I thought wrong. Okome, Higurashi—see me after."

"Thanks a lot, Inuyasha," Kagome spat.

"My pleasure," he said sarcastically.

Just then, the whistle sounded and the band was halted. Then they were put at ease and clamored towards the stands.

"WOULD YOU TWO SHUT UP?! And Inuyasha, I don't EVER want to trust you with taps again!!" James, the section leader, blustered as they filed up into the stands. "From now on, _I_ run the show, you got it? And Kagome… stop being so stubborn."

Once everyone was settled into place, Kagome started scanning the clarinets for Sango. She hoped that she could sneak down into their section when nobody was looking. There was quite an assortment of authority figures to dodge: Sessho-maru; the principals, who often hung around the band section because the band had a good view of the field; Ms. Kagura Miyazawa, the head director; and Mr. Ikimasho, the head of percussion.

Finally Kagome spotted Sango—sitting beside Miroku, as usual, even though she made the entire clarinet section get out of chair order to do so.

Kagome waved frantically to Miroku. "Miroku! Miroku! MIROKU YOU IDIOT LOOK UP!"

But it was all in vain, for he was whispering something to Sango. She giggled, and his arm went around her.

Kagome sighed. "Sometimes I wish my best friends weren't the perfect couple," she said to no one in particular.

"You're a real bitch," Inuyasha said casually.

"Oh, lovely. Thanks a lot," Kagome huffed.

"Not like Kikyo—"

"Oh, KIKYO, the girl wonder. She was a senior when you were a freshman and taught you _everything_. If I don't measure up to _her_, I'll _never_ be _anything_," Kagome said sarcastically, recalling what Inuyasha was always saying. "I'm tired of your Kikyo stories," she huffed. "As I told you before, I'm no amazing fantastic _Kikyo_ of which you speak. I'm Kagome Higurashi, a _different_ girl percussionist, and I'd prefer if you'd quit talking about Kikyo!"

"Shut up, bitch."

"I'll bet anything you had a crush on her and that's why you're so hung up on her," Kagome said.

"Shut up, bitch."

"That's it, isn't it? Well, it would certainly explain a lot-"

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

"Little brother! Higurashi! Bickering again? Am I going to have to separate you? Please, children, play nicely!" Sessho-maru said as he passed.

"Fuckin'—"

"I will not tolerate swearing," Mrs. Kaede Nobo, the principal, said sternly, coming out of nowhere. "Behave yourself, Inuyasha."

"Yes ma'am," Inuyasha grumbled, his ears flattening on his head.

Kagome saw them and couldn't help but giggle. Inuyasha was certainly an unusual percussionist, with his long silky white hair and cute little pointy puppy dog ears. He had nails like razorblades, too, and Kagome saw that sometimes they got in the way of his playing. It was almost kind of funny.

She thought for a minute on the fact that Sessho-maru and Inuyasha were brothers. Inuyasha looked like a puppy dog, but Sessho-maru, on the other hand, looked more elflike with his simple long white hair and pointed ears. Personally, Kagome thought Sessho-maru was a showoff, and he seemed to pick on his little brother too much. –Not that she was sympathetic towards Inuyasha or anything. He was an insufferable jerk.

Koga brought her back to the present time when he dropped a tenor mallet on her head. She caught it and rubbed the sore spot on her head. "Owww… thanks a lot," she said sarcastically, handing the mallet back over her shoulder to him.

Koga took it and leaned over his tenors. "Sorry! Are you okay, Kagome? I didn't mean to drop it—did I hurt you? Are you all right?"

Kagome turned all the way around. "I'm fine, really," she said gently, trying to calm him. "Too bad it didn't hit Inuyasha, though."

Inuyasha snorted in annoyance from somewhere on Kagome's right.

"I'll be really careful from now on—and I promise not to drop any more mallets…on you," Koga promised.

"To promise never to drop anything would really be something!" Kagome joked.

"Yeah… no one around here could keep a promise like that!" Koga replied with a laugh.

"…come on! Horns up! Ready?" Ms. Miyazawa was saying.

Kagome whirled around. "What're we playing?" she asked no one in particular.

"We're about to start—" But before Hojo could finish, he had to start playing his saxophone. Apparently, the band was playing "Land of a Thousand Dances."

Kagome reached down into her stick bag for her sticks, but her hand met with thin air. Frantically she looked around for the elusive white marching sticks… and suddenly she saw them, in Inuyasha's hands. He was using her sticks—and he was going to _break_ them if he wasn't careful!

Furious, Kagome tried to reach around him to get to his stick bag. Unfortunately, there was a tenor stand, a wall of white hair, and a bottle of water in her way.

Kagome nudged Inuyasha during a measure of rest. "Ha," was all he said, and then resumed playing.

Finally, there was only one thing to do. Kagome reached up and yanked one of Inuyasha's ears.

"OW! DAMMIT, THAT HURT! TAKE YOUR FUCKIN' STICKS, BITCH!" Inuyasha yelled just as the song ended.

Everyone turned to stare.

"Bravo, Miss Higurashi," Sessho-maru sarcastically announced over the megaphone to the band. "It seems you can handle my brother quite well. And Inuyasha, as much as your mother disliked swearing, I'm surprised you're inclined to use such foul language."

Kagome went red, almost as red as Inuyasha, who was tense and trembling with anger. "Y-y-y-you… _don't touch my ears!!_" he practically growled.

"Don't touch my sticks!" she replied.

"Children, keep your hands to yourselves," Ms. Miyazawa called up to them.

Inuyasha simply balled his hands into fists, and Kagome crossed her arms over her chest. After a few seconds of fuming she suddenly recalled Sessho-maru's words—"your mother." She realized that, if Inuyasha had a different mother, they must be half-brothers and that explained the differences in their appearances. Their ears, for example…

Suddenly, Hojo turned around to say something to her. In the process he knocked the sticks off of her drum. They clattered onto the metal stands before rolling into Inuyasha's water bottle. All three objects rolled off the stands and onto the concrete below.


	3. Chapter 2: An Unpleasant Encounter

**CHAPTER TWO: An Unpleasant Encounter**

Hojo gasped. "Gah! Kagome, I'm so sorry—I'll get it—"

"_Your stupid sticks_ knocked my water bottle over!"

"Well, it's not like it was _my _fault!"

"They were _your_ sticks!"

"Do you think I _wanted_ them to fall down?"

"What's the problem now?" Ms. Miyazawa said, pausing her ascent to stop the arguing. They explained and blamed while Hojo, the real perpetrator, found that he could not get a word in edgewise. With a sigh Ms. Miyazawa instructed, "Just go get them."

As both Inuyasha and Kagome trudged down the stands to retrieve their fallen possessions, they passed by Mr. Naraku. He said icily to Inuyasha, "I'd _hate_ for all these other schools to go away with the _wrong impression_ of us. I'm watching you, Inuyasha Okome, I'm watching you. _One_ false move and you're out of here, you got that? It would be a shame to see your scholarship fall through…"

Mr. Naraku hadn't meant to be overheard, but Kagome heard him. "What was _that_ all about?"

"'S like I said—bastard's got it in for me," Inuyasha explained bitterly. "Him 'n the rest of the free world."

"…I'm sorry I pulled your ear," Kagome said finally. "I know how much it hurts from the time James—"

"Don't remind me," Inuyasha said with a shudder. "And fuck off. I don't want your pity."

"I don't pity you—I'm just saying," Kagome said. "It's not fair. But your attitude really doesn't help, you know. If you could at least _act_ like you respect Mr. Naraku, maybe he—"

"The day I respect him I'll sprout antlers and pull Saint Nicholas's sleigh," Inuyasha spat. "That creep is the reason Sessho-maru and I've had to take second jobs."

"What?"

"Scholarship, my ass," Inuyasha muttered as he picked up the water bottle.

Kagome's look softened as she picked up her sticks. She noticed a chip in one of them, and immediately she was angry again. "Hey, look at what you did! These are brand new!"

"Whatcha gonna do about it?" Inuyasha challenged over his shoulder as he casually walked back towards the steps.

Kagome sighed heavily. Finally she threw up her hands and followed.

--

"…And there is to be _no hair_ showing from underneath your hat," Sessho-maru announced. "That means _you_, Inuyasha."

"How're you gonna accomplish that?" Kagome asked him before bursting out laughing.

"Shut up," Inuyasha said. "There's no way I'm going to stuff my hair into that stupid hat and there's no way he's gonna make me. Besides, my ears are up there. How'm I supposta 'listen down the line' if my ears are full of hair and stuffed under some box?"

He repeated this complaint to every member of the drumline and even Mr. Ikimasho, but they all said the same thing—"Tough."

With a vengeance Inuyasha tried to stuff his long hair up into the hat, but he forgot the tendrils in front. He tried to stuff them up there, too, but then he looked like an even bigger mess, with white wisps of hair sticking out haphazardly and making him look like he had a really bad haircut.

Kagome sighed. "You idiot," she said, shaking her head. She attacked him with a hairbrush, yanking his hat off and running it through his hair.

"What are you doing? Getoff," Inuyasha commanded, trying to escape her grasp. But she was holding some of his hair, so he only hurt himself. "OW! Leggo!"

"I'm helping you, stupid," Kagome replied, brushing the hair up to make it acceptable. She pulled a ponytail holder from her wrist and tried to pull it over his hair. She struggled with it for a while before it finally snapped and sprung away. "You broke my hair elastic!" she exclaimed.

"You were going to put one of _those things_ in my _hair_?!" Inuyasha exclaimed. He tried to swat her away, but she took him by surprise when she yanked the front parts of his hair up into the bun she had made out of the rest of his hair.

"Now give me your hat," Kagome said finally, holding out one hand and keeping the bun in place with another.

"You mean this damn torture device?" He handed the hat over with little hassle, and she trapped his hair and ears underneath it. She fastened the strap under his chin.

"You look hilarious," she whispered as quietly as she could.

"WELL, IT'S YOUR DAMN FAULT!" Inuyasha yelled.

Kagome laughed. "I was testing your hearing. If you heard that, I'm sure you can listen down the line just fine."

Inuyasha grumbled something, then said, "…Can you _really_ not see any of my hair?"

"Really. Even Mr. Naraku would be satisfied. Though you shouldn't take the hat off until we're done, because it's near impossible fitting all your hair up there. –Of course, next time we'll know how long it takes to do so, so maybe we can braid it or something… or you could always cut it."

"We've tried it," Inuyasha replied boredly. "Damn stuff just grows back to the same length it was, and in ten seconds flat, too."

Ayumi stopped to talk to Kagome, but she kept stealing sideways glances at Inuyasha and giggling. When she was gone, Inuyasha snapped, "What was that fuckin' giggly girl laughing at?"

Kagome considered her answer for a second before truthfully answering, "You." She then took off running as fast as one wearing a snare drum can run, for Inuyasha was sure as hell chasing angrily behind.

--

"We sucked ass," Inuyasha said loudly to anyone who would listen as he pulled off his 'damn torture device' and freed his hair and ears.

"Well, it's certainly not _my_ fault," Miroku, who was right in front of him, said angrily.

"Did I _say_ it was?"

"Were you not addressing me? Or perhaps you'd like to announce your opinion to the entire world!"

"Knock it off, Miroku; he's not worth it," Kagome sighed from beside Inuyasha. "And the performance wasn't really that bad. I mean, it's our first time marching the opener for a crowd, and they can't really tell when we messed up. I highly doubt you or anyone else marched and played it _perfectly_."

"Of course I did," Miroku said indignantly.

Sango wriggled from his grasp and laughed. "Oh, yeah, right! I saw you miss the first step-off!"

"So I made _one_ mistake…" everyone could now tell Miroku was joking.

"How long do we get for break?" Inuyasha asked.

"It's usually most of the third quarter," Kagome replied at the same time Sango said, "Around 15 minutes."

"That's all?!"

"Yes, Mr. Whiny, that's all. Now get back into the stands or we'll have to shorten your break even more," Ms. Miyazawa said as she passed them.

"All these fuckin' directors sure like to eavesdrop!" Inuyasha exclaimed angrily.

"Would you cut it out?"

"Cut _what_ out?" Inuyasha sneered, turning on Kagome.

"All that swearing. I'd like to wash your mouth out with soap."

"Stop? My ass! I'll fuckin' swear if I damn want to, bitch," Inuyasha replied.

"If I mentally delete all of the swear words, Inuyasha, you're an idiot of very few words," Kagome snapped.

"Is that so?" Inuyasha replied, doing a rather pathetic imitation of Kagome's snippy attitude.

"An actor you ain't," Kagome joked as she climbed the stands to her seat.

--

The game was over, and they had lost. "This sucks," Inuyasha said aloud as they walked through the dark parking lot towards the band room. "We lost the first fuckin' game."

"What sucks even worse is that _you_ got the both of us into trouble and we have to meet up with your brother," Kagome said angrily.

"_Me_? I seem to recall that you were talking, too!"

"Yes, _you_! I was only talking because you were dragging and I was trying to _help_!"

"Oh, yeah, right; you just like to argue."

"THIS IS EXACTLY WHY YOU ARE BOTH IN TROUBLE!" Sessho-maru boomed from behind them, scaring Kagome half to death. She tripped and almost ran into someone. Then she turned around to face the furious student teacher. Inuyasha was facing him, too, but he looked more defiant than obedient.

"Mr. Naraku is very… _critical_ of the band, as I'm sure you know," Sessho-maru said.

A horn honked, and they realized the headlights shining on them belonged to a car that wanted to leave. They quickly got out of the way and continued the walk towards the band room. Sessho-maru preached all the while, saying Inuyasha as a junior should know better than to talk at attention, and Kagome the sophomore should have known anyway since she was in the band last year. He blabbed and blabbed until they reached the band room, finally closing with, "Well, you're off the hook this time, but next time you won't be so lucky." Then Sessho-maru waved a goodbye and started walking towards the directors' office.

"Bastard," Inuyasha muttered to his back.

"Do you want me to write you up?" Sessho-maru called over his shoulder although he had been several hundred feet away.

"Just testing your hearing!" Inuyasha called, smirking evilly at Kagome. She rolled her eyes and flounced off.

Sango intercepted her. "Where have you been?! Get the heck out of your uniform and case your drum up quick! My dad's here already, and we still have to buy supplies!"

Kagome laughed. "This must be some sleepover you have planned."


	4. Chapter 3: When Sleepovers Go Wrong

**CHAPTER THREE: When Sleepovers Go Wrong**

"MWAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA! Before the end of the night all the Cherry Coke in the world will be MIIIIINE!" Sango shrieked. She took another gulp from the liter of Cherry Coke that she had declared belonged to her alone.

"I wonder what Miroku would do if he saw you like this…" Eri teased as she painted her toenails a frightening shade of pink.

"He would run away screaming, that's what," Ayumi replied, taking another cookie from the jumbo sized package of Chips Ahoy. "We're almost out of cookies."

"Save some for me," Yuka said from the chair where she was drawing something.

Sango flipped backwards off of the couch and landed on the mattress they had dragged into the living room. "WHEEEEEE!"

"Sango, you're scaring me," Kagome said calmly from across the room where she was placidly playing rudiments on the arm of the big white chair in which Yuka was sitting.

"Why are you still drumming? The game's over," Eri called across the room to Kagome.

"Yeah," Yuka agreed. "Would you quit it soon? I keep worrying you're going to hit me."

"The only one around here I'm going to hit is Sango, if she doesn't calm down," Kagome said. Sango, meanwhile, dove for the bag of cookies, grabbed one, gobbled it down, and finished off the bottle of Cherry Coke. "Hey! Ya wanna know a secret?" she said as she bounced on the aforementioned mattress.

"Sure," Kagome called boredly, but everyone else dropped what she was doing and leaned in conspiratorially to hear what Sango was saying.

Suddenly the other end of the room erupted into giggles. "That's perfect!" Ayumi squealed.

"Let's do it!" Eri said enthusiastically.

"…Are you sure we won't get in trouble?" Yuka asked.

"Oh, come on, don't be such a wuss," Sango said.

"What did I miss?" Kagome called, still drumming steadily on the poor armchair.

"IF YOU'LL STOP HITTING THE FURNITURE WE'LL TELL YOU!" Sango yelled suddenly. Kagome furrowed her eyebrows at her best friend, but then when Sango bounced on the mattress like it was a trampoline and did a cheerleader-worthy toe-touch, she knew she was just extremely and dangerously hyper. Sighing, Kagome laid her sticks down and joined her four friends.

"So, here's the plan," Ayumi said. "Sango knows the street where Inuyasha and his brother Sessho-maru live. She's going to take us over there! We can, like, spy on them and maybe even pull a few pranks!"

"Can we roll them?!" Kagome asked, suddenly enthusiastic.

"I like your thinking, mon capitan!" Sango said in some kind of fake, misplaced accent, giving Kagome a high five.

"…Wait! Are you guys sure we won't get in trouble? And what if we get caught! Those brothers have really good hearing…" Yuka fidgeted nervously.

"My dad sleeps like a log," Sango said. "He's slept through the whole Cherry Coke incident, hasn't he? And you already know that Kohaku's at a sleepover and Mom's away on business. Besides, we'll be _really_ quiet. It'll be fun, I swear!" Just then she bounced off the mattress and fell backwards onto the carpet. "Whoopsie!" she giggled like an idiot.

"Oh, yeah. We'll be _'really quiet_,'" Eri said sarcastically.

--

Armed with toothpaste, toilet paper, shaving cream, and an egg for good measure, the five extremely ridiculous girls set off down the street. They wore black or their pajamas, since it was an extremely warm night. Sango, Ayumi, and Eri had smeared lipstick over their faces like they were some extremely giggly tribe of warriors. Kagome wore a strand of prayer beads around her neck because she had found them and felt like it, and Yuka very cautiously tagged along behind them with the one egg.

They walked a pretty good ways—two blocks, almost—before Sango instructed everyone to turn left and tiptoe. They edged along a tall wooden fence for a while until suddenly the fence stopped and a tiny house came into view.

It was so small it barely seemed to have five rooms; Kagome wondered if it was any better than a trailer. It had four visible windows—two in front and two on the side, three of which seemed to open into the same room. The pillars holding up the porch sagged, and the shutters on the fake upstairs window were rotting and falling off.

The front yard of the house was very dusty with little grass and only one tree—a humongous one, too, that looked fun to climb—that blocked the view of the front door. A short driveway led up to the open one-car carport, in which was parked a bicycle. It was nearly flattened up against the wall, which led them to believe that either or both of the brothers had the car and were out.

Kagome forgot for a moment who lived there and almost cried; when she finally remembered she tore off a piece of toilet paper and wiped her eyes quickly.

"…no parents," Sango was whispering. "It's just the two of them here, all alone. Though, like I was saying, there are rumors that Sessho-maru is a single parent. He's been seen with a little girl, and I saw her playing near here once—"

"Let's go," Kagome said suddenly.

"Go? Go where? Are you ready to roll them?" Ayumi asked.

"No, I mean go home," Kagome replied. "I want to go back to Sango's house. I don't want to stand around here anymore, and I don't want to make a mess they can't clean up. Besides, someone isn't home. We don't want them to get home and find us rolling their house."

"Oh, come on, Kagome. A few minutes ago you couldn't wait to mess things up!" Eri whined.

"What if Sessho-maru is the one who finds us, hm? Would you really like him to see you in your pajamas and covered in lipstick, demolishing what little of a front yard he has?"

Eri and Ayumi and Yuka all thought long and hard about this. Finally Yuka spoke. "…But can't I throw the egg?"

Sango started laughing. She laughed so hard everyone thought she would either never stop or choke herself, neither of which happened. She just finally shut up and said, "Ask Kagome."

"Throw the egg," Kagome said with a nod.

Yuka spun her arm like a crazed baseball player and chucked the egg in the general direction of the house. They heard it splat on the driveway, then turned around and ran away laughing.

--

"Truth or dare, Kagome?" Sango whispered.

"Bed," Kagome replied.

"Pick one!"

"Goodnight."

"I'll tickle you if you don't pick one!" Sango threatened.

"We'll all tickle you," Eri said, nudging Ayumi and Yuka. The three of them sprang out of their sleeping bags and advanced on Kagome.

"Alright already! Truth! But make it quick because—I'm—going—to sleep…" Kagome fought back a yawn, then opened her mouth wide and stretched.

"Why do you always wear your hair in a bun—" Yuka tried to ask, but all the other girls silenced her.

"NO, KAGOME, DON'T ANSWER THAT!" Sango yelled loudly.

"Okay, here goes. Do you have a crush on Inuyasha? And, if not, why wouldn't you let us roll his house?" Eri asked.

"That's two!" Kagome shrieked, haphazardly throwing her pillow and hitting Yuka.

"No, it's a two part question," Sango replied. "And you're sworn to answer it truthfully."

Kagome sighed and burrowed down under the covers. "I don't know," she said, her voice muffled by the layers of blanket and sleeping bag. "I just saw his house and thought… it just wouldn't be right. He said he and his brother have to work two jobs just to pay for him to come to our school, and Mr. Naraku seems to hate him for no reason."

"Mr. Naraku's a prejudiced bastard," Ayumi said. "It's a known fact."

"I know," Kagome said. "And… even though he's a jerk…" She sighed audibly and peeked out from under the covers. "Can I have my pillow back now?"

The room was silent. Then Yuka whispered, "Kagooooome…"

"LOVES INUYASHA!" Sango screamed, jumping up and down on the mattress.

"I DO NOT!" Kagome said suddenly, grabbing Eri's pillow and throwing it at Sango. So Eri took Ayumi's pillow to throw at Kagome, but Yuka was already hitting Kagome with her own pillow. A mad pillow fight broke out, and the girls shrieked and laughed and pummeled each other all at once.

Soon the feathers settled and everyone collapsed into bed. "…I knew it… I knew… you had… a crush on him…" Sango panted to Kagome.

"No… you're wrong… because I don't…" Kagome replied.

"That's… what… I used to say… about Miroku," Sango panted back, and got in return another mouthful of pillow.

--

The next morning, the girls were busy making French toast for brunch (and a really big mess to go with it) when Ayumi looked out the window and shrieked. "Look, Sango, look what's in the driveway!"

Everyone crowded to see what she was pointing at. On the driveway, somewhat close to the window, was a single broken egg.


	5. Chapter 4: FOUND: One Small Girl

**CHAPTER FOUR: FOUND: One Small Girl**

Kagome returned home from her insane sleepover to find that her house was completely deserted. She recalled that her mother and brother, Sota, were at a Cub Scout campout that started in the afternoon and wouldn't be over until Sunday, but she had no idea where her grandfather was.

She searched the downstairs all over for a note from him but finally gave up and went up to her room. Much to her own dismay, the sought-after note sat upon her desk, explaining that he had to go check up on an out-of-state branch of the company and wouldn't be back until around Monday. He had left her money to order pizza if she wanted but advised her to cook something they already had.

Kagome stared at the money for a second. It was a fifty dollar bill.

Her grandfather owned a large online-store-type company that… well, quite frankly, she didn't know what it did or why he had to keep checking up on things. After all, it _was_ online. Why did he have to go places anyway? Sometimes she suspected that he wasn't always on business but never followed up this hunch with any type of investigation.

Her thoughts returned to the money. But finally her conscience got the better of her and she put the money back in her grandfather's room. She could have a sandwich for supper.

Sighing, she sat down on the couch. Just as she reached for the remote she remembered that the mail hadn't been brought in and got up to go get it.

As she examined the letters and magazines she held in her hand—bill, junk, bill, bill, sales paper, Mom's catalogue—she heard a soft sound and looked down the street. In the neighbors' yard meandered a small girl, dressed in clothes that looked like pajamas and wearing sandals that didn't match. She was crying.

Kagome remembered that the neighbors were away and had been gone since yesterday and quickly rushed up to the little girl, who seemed to be about four years old and had some of her long, messy black hair pulled into a sideways kind of ponytail. "What's wrong, little girl? Are you lost?" Kagome asked softly.

"Yes…" the little girl sniffled. Then she coughed a horrible, hacking cough.

"What's your name, little girl?" Kagome asked gently.

"Rin," the girl said, coughing again pointing to herself. Kagome thought a moment, then asked, "Where do you live, Rin?"

"I don't know!" Rin cried. "I was mad, but I don't want to run away anymore! I'm lost!"

"Well, who do you live with?" Kagome asked gently.

Suddenly Rin clammed up. She wouldn't say another word and stared at Kagome apprehensively.

"What's wrong, Rin? I only want to help you!" Kagome said.

"I just remembered. I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," she said.

Kagome laughed in spite of things. "It's okay. I promise I only want to get you back home. I'm sure whoever you live with is very worried about you. Do you know your address?"

"No, we just moved here. I don't know where me and Sessy and Inuyasha lives." Rin began to cough again and couldn't stop for a minute.

Something clicked in Kagome's brain, and suddenly she remembered Sango constantly speaking of how Sessho-maru was rumored to be a single father. Hadn't she said the girl was named Rin? "You live with Sessho-maru and Inuyasha Okome?!"

Rin sniffled, then nodded.

Kagome grinned. "I know them. Sessho-maru is my band director, and I'm on the drumline with Inuyasha."

"You that Kagome Higurashi?" Rin asked.

"…How do _you_ know that?" Kagome asked, furrowing her brow.

"You threw a egg in your pajamas at our driveway. Bad girl Kagome!" Rin said with a giggle.

Kagome blushed and realized that the brothers had obviously discussed the near-trashing of their yard. "I know where you live and can take you home. Do you want to go home?" she said, changing the subject with a smile.

"Yes!" Rin said happily. "But I'm tired."

"I can fix that!" Kagome replied.

Three minutes later, they were on the way to Rin's house, Rin happily riding along in Sota's old red wagon. Kagome pulled it and wondered what would happen when she got to the brothers' house. Rin sang a little song all the way, and Kagome smiled. She was a sweet little girl. A little odd, but sweet. Why did such a young girl live with the brothers, and how did they manage to take care of her?

--

As Kagome passed Sango's house (they weren't home—Sango had a dentist appointment), she thought she heard the sound of someone yelling. She paused for a moment and listened but didn't hear anything. She decided it was just the noise of the squeaky old wagon's wheels and started walking again.

Then she heard the noise again- this time, it was the unmistakable bellow of someone yelling, "RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!" Kagome figured it was one of the Okome brothers and kept walking. "We're coming already," she muttered.

The next thing she knew, Inuyasha was leaping down the street in a strange, superhuman kind of way and landed in front of them. "RIN!" he exclaimed, and lifted the girl out of the wagon. Rin coughed into his face as a greeting. He looked her over to make sure she was okay, afraid for her safety. Then he remembered to look at who was pulling the wagon. "KAGOME! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?" he blustered.

"Your… little sister or… whatever… wandered all the way to my house. When I found her she was crying and lost and wanted to go home. I would have gotten Mom or Grandpa to drive her back over here, but neither of them is home right now so I was pulling her back to your house," Kagome explained tiredly. She really didn't feel like arguing with Inuyasha today.

Inuyasha was about to say something, but Rin said to him, "This Kagome Higurashi that threw a egg in her pajamas at our driveway! Bad Kagome!" Kagome blushed.

"Yeah, I know," Inuyasha said softly to Rin.

"Well, actually it was Yuka," Kagome corrected, turning pinker.

"Oh. That's whose voice I heard. I always forget that girl's name," Inuyasha muttered.

"Y-You were home?!" Kagome spluttered.

"Yeah, and Sessho-maru was out buying medicine for Rin. He saw you sneaking back into the house and threw the egg—"

"At Sango's driveway," Kagome finished. She thought a moment and realized that, if Inuyasha was the one who had been home, he knew that she had stopped the rolling of his house and also planned it in the first place. She hoped he had forgotten, though…

"Thank you," Inuyasha said suddenly, "for finding Rin. She refused to take some cough medicine and I yelled at her and started getting ready and didn't notice she had left. Sessho-maru's already at work, and—"

"She's no trouble at all," Kagome said with a smile.

"Do you have the time?" Inuyasha asked, shifting the little girl in his arms only to realize he wasn't wearing a watch.

Kagome looked down at her watch. "It's about… six minutes to noon."

"Sh…!" Inuyasha stopped himself because of Rin. "What'm I gonna do about…" He looked up at Kagome for a second, then pleaded, "Kagome, could you please please do both Sessho-maru and me a favor and watch Rin? We'll pay you later, but I'm about to be late for work—"

"Could I take her back to my house?" Kagome asked. "I forgot to lock the front door."

"THANK YOU SO MUCH!" Inuyasha replied, dumping Rin into the wagon and racing back towards his house.

Kagome sighed. "Well, Rin, would you like to come spend the day with me?"

"Will you play with me, not like boring Cara?" Rin asked.

"Who's 'boring Cara'?" Kagome asked as she pulled the wagon back towards her house.

"The babysitter. She quit 'cause Sessho-maru wouldn't give her 'nough monies," Rin explained in her very frank four-year-old manner. "And she had a boyfriend named Phil who came over and they locked up in Inuyasha's room."

Kagome blushed thinking about boring Cara and Phil.

A car drove up alongside them all of a sudden and screeched to a halt. "I can give you a ride to your house real quick," Inuyasha offered Kagome.

"Thanks," Kagome said, a bit confused still, and opened the door for Rin to get in. She went around to the back to put the wagon into the trunk and returned to the backseat. Rin was lying down across the entire bench.

"Rin, that's not safe. Now sit up like a good girl and buckle up—"

"To hell with it! Let her sit there and get in or I'll be late!" Inuyasha snapped impatiently.

Kagome slammed the back door and got into the front seat. She looked around a little uncomfortably and realized that the front seat was a whole bench instead of two captain's chairs. Inuyasha wasn't wearing his seatbelt.

As they drove she reprimanded, "Buckle up, Inuyasha. You have to set a good example."

"Little monster never pays attention," Inuyasha said, referring to Rin, whose feet were touching the ceiling. She said something very loud about cookie dough.

"Turn right here," Kagome said, and Inuyasha did. She instructed him to just park in front of her house and that she would just get out and go. She opened the back door for Rin and went to get the wagon, but Inuyasha called, "I'll bring it back when I pick her up. I have to get a move on!"

As soon as Rin was out of the car and the door was closed Inuyasha tore out of the neighborhood. Rin waved, "Bye bye Inuyasha!" Kagome sighed heavily.


	6. Chapter 5: Hurricane Rin Hits

**CHAPTER FIVE: Hurricane Rin Hits**

"Do you have any good food?" Rin asked. She opened a drawer within reach to find a bunch of silverware. She wasn't interested in this, however, seeing it wasn't edible, and slammed the drawer shut.

Kagome lifted Rin and set her down on one of the chairs at the counter. "What do you want?" she asked, mentally making a list of all the snacks they had.

"Do you have any… gummi fruits?" Rin asked. "I love gummi fruits!"

"I'll see what I can do…" Kagome said. She opened the cabinet in which the fruit snacks usually resided, took out a package, and opened it up for Rin. She dumped the brightly colored fruits onto the counter for Rin to choose from.

"Mmmmm!" Rin exclaimed with a squeal. "Thank you Kagome!"

"You're welcome," Kagome said, grabbing a package for herself. She dumped the candy into her hand and threw the packages away. No sooner had she popped a red cherry shape into her mouth than Rin hopped down from the chair and raced into the living room. "Betcha can't catch me!" she called.

"Oh, no you don't!" Kagome exclaimed playfully, chasing halfheartedly after the little girl. She wasn't in the living room, the door to Grandpa's room remained closed, and Kagome heard small footsteps racing around upstairs.

"Hey, my room's upstairs!" she exclaimed suddenly. If Rin was the terror Inuyasha had said she was, who knew what she was doing to Kagome's room?

Much to Kagome's relief, Rin was standing in front of the mirror and making faces at it. "Hello Eggy," Rin said as Kagome came in.

"Eggy?" Kagome repeated with a giggle.

"You're Eggy because you threw the egg in your pajamas!" Rin said.

For the first time Kagome laughed at the accusation. It sounded like the _egg_ Kagome had thrown had been wearing pajamas rather than Kagome. "What did the egg's pajamas look like, silly girl?" Kagome asked, plopping down on the edge of the bed.

"Liiiiike… this!" Rin pounced onto the bed and jumped up and down.

"Wait! Rin! Stop! I just made my bed! No! Don't!" Kagome's protests did no good. The blanket got all wrinkled.

"What's this?" Rin asked when she leaped off the bed, landed on the floor, and discovered the TV remote on Kagome's desk. "ooOOOOoooo… a clicker!" she exclaimed, pressing buttons.

Kagome snatched the clicker immediately, afraid Rin would record over the VHS tape in her VCR. But she had already lost interest in the TV and was flipping through Kagome's diary. For a split second Kagome panicked, but then she realized that Rin was reading the book upside down and narrating aloud, "Hey diddle diddle, the cow and the fiddle, the doggy jumped over the moon."

"Don't you mean the cat and the fiddle, and the cow jumped over the moon?" Kagome asked.

"—The little bed laughed to see such Rin and the TV ran away with the gablooie!" Rin finished quite seriously. Then she threw the diary down and dissolved into giggles. Wearily Kagome retrieved her diary and closed it, returning it to its usual spot.

With that, Rin seized the laundry basket from Kagome's partially open closet, dumped its contents onto her head, and ran around the room exclaiming, "MEEP MORK ME RIN ROBOT BEEP BEEP HI KAGOME GABLOOIE ME EGGY BEEP—"

Kagome calmly bent down and collected all the laundry. Then Rin raced out of her room down the stairs, and the laundry exploded all over the room again as Kagome raced after her in pursuit.

--

Rin fidgeted on the couch and swung her legs. Kagome knelt in front of her and held her arms firmly, applying just enough pressure to keep her on the couch.

"Do Sessho-maru and Inuyasha let you get away with things like that?" Kagome asked.

"No," Rin said plainly.

Kagome sighed. "Yeah. I know."

"I'm sorry. But I had fun being a robot! MEEP MORK BEEP EGGY DOGGY JUMP OVER GABLOOIE—"

Kagome took the laundry basket from Rin's head and said, "Settle down, Rin."

Rin played robot for a few more moments before quieting.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" Kagome asked.

Rin nodded her head so hard it bounced her up and down. Kagome gave her a Look. "Rin."

"I like movies," Rin said quickly and was still.

"What kind of movies?" Kagome asked, gently letting go and opening the video cabinet.

Rin pounced on her shoulders. "Ummmm… ummm… ummm… this one!" She pointed to _Toy Story_.

"My brother Sota likes this one, too," Kagome said. "Sit down on the couch and I'll put it on for you!"

"Thank you Eggy!" Rin replied.

Kagome sighed again and popped the tape in. It was already rewound and started playing immediately.

"I'll be right back, okay?" she promised. "I have to go clean up the mess Robot Rin made."

"'Kay!" Rin called cheerfully in the kind of tone that Kagome knew meant she wasn't listening.

Kagome sighed a third time and trudged upstairs. She collected bits of laundry and deposited them in the laundry basket Rin had used for a hat. No wonder Inuyasha's always so cranky, she thought. He has to live with that little goofball.

When Kagome returned downstairs, Rin was glued to the couch and her eyes were glued to the screen. Andy's mom stepped on a green army man and she gave a girlish gasp.

Kagome smiled in spite of her wildness and took the laundry basket back to her mom's closet where it could hide. Then she returned to the living room and watched _Toy Story_ until Rin fell asleep. …But even then, she still had to finish watching it.

--

The doorbell rang, and Kagome snapped out of her daydream and got up to answer it.

"I brought your wagon," Inuyasha greeted her, gesturing to the wagon, which he had brought up to the front porch and parked next to the front door.

"Oh yeah," Kagome responded, realizing she had forgotten it. "Thanks." There was an awkward moment of silence until Kagome remembered herself and said, "Oh! Come in—Rin's asleep right over here on the couch."

Inuyasha scooped her up in his arms. She was snoring. "How'd you get her to sleep? That's close to impossible!" he exclaimed as they walked towards the car.

Kagome shrugged. "She wreaked havoc on my house, sat down to watch _Toy Story_, and was out in a matter of minutes."

"Wow," Inuyasha said, then, "Can you—"

Kagome reached out and opened the back door of the station wagon. Inuyasha carefully laid Rin down and closed the door. Then he turned to Kagome. "How much? This all right?" he asked, extracting a 5 bill, then a 10 bill from his wallet.

Kagome stared at the money for a second, then reached out and closed Inuyasha's own hand over the money. "Keep it," she said. "This one's on me."

"Take the money," Inuyasha snapped suddenly, startling her as he shoved the money into her face.

"I said no," Kagome replied. "She was really no trouble."

"Take it, Kagome," Inuyasha growled. "I don't need your pity."

"Swallow your pride, shut up, and listen to what I am saying. _No_," Kagome said just as icily.

Inuyasha looked as if he was about to say something, but he just stood and fumed.

Kagome sighed and said gently, "Please Inuyasha, keep it." She placed her hand over the one in which he held the money. It relaxed in reaction to her touch, but then suddenly he tensed.

He yanked his hand away and shoved the money back into his wallet. "Bye," he said gruffly, then walked around the car, got in, and slammed the door.

"Bye Inuyasha," she muttered to the car as it backed out of the driveway. "You idiot. Let me help you next time."

--

"Maybe I will if you… stop… bein' so damn mushy," Inuyasha muttered back as he drove away, not even half-aware of what he was saying.


	7. Chapter 6: Detention and Babysitting

**CHAPTER SIX: Detention and Babysitting**

"Roll check is _5:30_ in the band room tonight _dressed_ and _ready_ _for inspection_!" Mr. Ikimasho called after the retreating percussionists as they left the band room and headed for lunch.

"Dammit, those fuckin' directors let us out late every day," Inuyasha cursed to no one in particular.

"Language," Kagome reminded him.

Koga said in annoyance, "It's just lunch. Does it _really_ matter if you miss two or three minutes? I mean, I know you never eat cafeteria food—"

"_Yes_, it _matters_," Inuyasha said, obviously brushing Koga off and closing the subject.

"Well, I hafta go to work now. 'Bye Kagome," Koga called as he left. He got to leave halfway through the day because he was a senior, only took a few classes, and worked afternoons.

"You don't have to be so mean about—"

"That guy's an asshole," Inuyasha said casually.

"Why would you say something like that?" Kagome asked. "Koga's a sweet guy."

"Yeah. 'Cause he has a deadly pathetic crush on you," Inuyasha said boredly, with distaste.

"You're just making that up. And what's it to you?" Kagome snapped. She wondered with some awe if Inuyasha was jealous, but that was impossible. He was just being a jerk again.

"I'm just saying. He's nice to you and _only_ you," Inuyasha replied as they exited the courtyard and entered the main school building.

"But you're not _everybody_! Just because he doesn't like you very much doesn't mean he's a jerk to everyone! If someone was speaking of _you_, on the other hand, I'd have to agree…"

"Shut up, bitch," Inuyasha grumbled.

Mr. Naraku stuck his head out of his office and into the hall. "Is there a problem here?" he asked icily.

"No," Kagome said. "We're just having a minor argument is all—we usually do. Argue, I mean. Mr. Ikimasho let us out of band late, and we're on the way to lunch—"

"All right, Miss Higurashi. Run along. And _you_, Mr. Okome, come into my office—"

"He wasn't bothering me," Kagome called after them, "if that's why he's in trouble. –But it's none of my business," and she quickly dashed into the girls' restroom a few doors away.

Even from in there she could hear Inuyasha's indignant protests. "Look—"

"Wait a minute!"

"YOU CAN ASK THE GIRL YOURSELF!"

Soon he came stomping by the restroom, and after a moment's hesitation Kagome followed him.

"What—"

"That fuckin' idiot gave me detention! For arguing with you!" Inuyasha snapped, crumpling the pink slip in his right hand.

"…Sorry," Kagome said quietly, and stopped walking. She had reached her locker.

"'s not your fault," Inuyasha said as quietly, pausing a moment behind her before moving on. "Prejudiced bastard…"

--

"Have you heard that Mr. Naraku is prejudiced?" Kagome asked Sango as they ate lunch in the courtyard outside the cafeteria.

Sango stole the spoon from Miroku's pudding and put it into her mouth to keep it from him. "Yah. Juss athk Yuga—"

"Get the spoon out of your mouth," Kagome said in a tone that said to stop clowning around.

"Yeah. Just ask Yuka. He's the reason her old crush… y'know, whatshisname, the lion or whatever—"

"The one with the beard?" Kagome asked, cringing.

"Yeah! Him. Well, he dropped because Mr. Naraku was treating him unfairly and sending him to detention for no reason—HEY!"

Miroku had dropped an M&M down the back of her shirt. Sango wiggled around before wailing, "It's stuck!" She then made Miroku find it and remove it, much to his embarrassment. "You get what you deserve," she muttered, turning back to Kagome. "Why d'ya wanna know?"

"He just gave Inuyasha detention for being late from band although I was walking with him and arguing with me although I was arguing—"

Sango interrupted her with a squeal of protest. Kagome blinked and Sango swatted at Miroku, who still had a hand under her shirt. "Stop that," she hissed, turning pink. Kagome pretended not to notice and continued. "Anyway, I was arguing with him, too. Either he should have let us go or given us both detention. And it's always Inuyasha who gets in trouble. He's said he's 'watching him' or something creepy like that," Kagome said.

"Mr. Naraku 'watches' all the pretty seniors," Eri said knowingly from behind Kagome. "He's exactly what you said—creepy. Have you ever seen him leering at the cheerleaders when they practice? I can't stand the pom-pom squad, but the look on his face makes me feel sympathetic for them."

"TMI!" Kagome said, waving her hands in front of her face as if to block the things Eri was saying. "That's WAY too much information!"

"That's not even the half of it!" Ayumi said, leaning in conspiratorially. "The other day, Kelli was telling me—"

"Miss Higurashi?" Kagome felt a tap on her shoulder and whirled around. She was face-to-face with Sessho-maru. She displayed a rather confused expression for him.

"Sir?"

"If you don't mind, I'd like to speak with you," Sessho-maru said.

"Should I get my stuff?"

"Probably. It might take a little while," Sessho-maru said with a little nod.

As Kagome gathered her things, all her friends gave her inquisitive looks. She shook her head as she followed Sessho-maru towards the band room, indicating she had no idea what was going on.

--

"Sessho-maru, I'm sorry. I told Mr. Naraku that he wasn't bothering me, but—"

"What are you talking about?" Sessho-maru asked. He and Kagome were sitting in Ms. Kagura Miyazawa's office, both in very comfortable chairs.

Kagome blinked. "It's not about your brother?"

"What about my brother?" Sessho-maru asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, we were arguing as usual on the way back from band and Mr. Ikimasho let us out kinda late because we were practicing and lunch had already started so we were practically the only people in the hall because the rest of the drumline eats lunch in the cafeteria. And Mr. Naraku came out of his office and asked was there a problem. I said no and tried to explain but he said to run along and made Inuyasha come into his office and gave him detention."

"I'm sure it wasn't your fault," Sessho-maru said. "My brother does well at getting himself into trouble—"

"—But my friends said Mr. Naraku's superprejudiced and he wasn't really doing anything wrong, Inuyasha wasn't—"

"Miss Higurashi."

"Kagome."

"Kagome. Settle down," Sessho-maru said calmly. "This isn't about my brother's getting detention. This is about Rin."

Kagome bit her lip. "Ummm… what about her?"

"According to my brother, you babysat her on Saturday. And according to Rin, this happened because she ran away because Inuyasha tried to force her to take medicine and you found her. Though, of course, he won't admit to that."

Kagome laughed. "He wouldn't."

"I see."

Kagome covered her mouth with her hands, realizing she had probably just gotten Inuyasha into even more trouble. "Well, she wasn't really any trouble. And it was easy since I took her to my house. And Inuyasha was going to be late for work—"

"He says you refused payment."

Kagome was quiet for a moment. How was she supposed to tell a teacher—a student teacher, but a teacher nonetheless--that she pitied him? She couldn't find anything to say, then said, "He was giving me way too much money for just four hours… and…"

"Rin is the daughter of a friend of the family," Sessho-maru said, changing the subject for the moment and explaining to Kagome. "Her parents died in a plane crash after our parents had passed away. Afterwards she had nowhere to go, so I became her legal guardian.

"It's very hard for Inuyasha to be able to go to this school. The so-called 'scholarships' are Mr. Naraku's department, unfortunately, so they're never much for people like us. People with… different genes.

"We've both had to take second jobs. Therefore, we're hardly ever home and it's extremely hard to find somewhere for Rin to go. She's not old enough for Kindergarten. On weekdays she goes to daycare, but it's getting much too expensive. Most of our other babysitters were careless and relentless. But Rin really seems to like you. …And I was wondering if you could please watch her on Saturdays. You can take her to your house or come to ours, and we'll pay you monthly. If you can't, I understand—band is very demanding, as we very well know, and you have a life like everyone else."

Kagome realized she couldn't very well refuse to accept the payment again; somehow it seemed disrespectful and somewhat like gloating. "I'd love to watch her. She's a very funny little girl."

Sessho-maru smiled. "Don't we know it."


	8. Chapter 7: Further Pregame Chaos

**CHAPTER SEVEN: Further Pregame Chaos**

Kagome slid into her seat in English and looked across the aisle at Sango. Her best friend was angrily snatching books from her backpack, slamming them onto her desk, and flinging the pages open. She rummaged loudly around her backpack for a pen, uttered a minor curse when she accidentally stabbed herself on a pencil, and then knocked all the books off of her desk.

It was a good thing the bell rang then, for at the same instant Sango yelled at the top of her lungs, "CRAP!"

Kagome balked at her friend's angry tone and turned away, afraid to ask. She had probably had another fight with Miroku although she had been cheerfully sharing his pudding at lunch not twenty minutes before. The two were constantly arguing about something or other and "broke up" almost once every week. But Kagome never discouraged their relationship, for they really loved each other despite their shortcomings. Miroku was just rather touchy-feely and Sango's temper was a bomb waiting to explode.

_Can you believe him?_ read the note Sango had just flung at Kagome.

_What'd he do?_ Kagome asked. It might be bad to pry, but if she didn't ask, Sango would never get around to telling and instead just rant and rave about who knows what.

_He just grabbed me—GRABBED me—all of a sudden in the hall and kissed me! And then I was like, "We'll be busted for PDA! Knock it off!" And he was like, "It's worth it." I said, "But it goes on our permanent records!" He said, "I don't care who knows I love you."_

_Can you believe that? He's so selfish! He knows how Mom'll kill me if I get in trouble like that! She doesn't even really like him since he's always doing stuff like that. AAAAAARGH!!_

Kagome read the note. She simply put, _Stuff like what?_

_KISSING ME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HALL!_ Sango sighed loudly as Kagome read her reply and commenced to writing herself.

Against her better judgment Kagome wrote what she was actually thinking. _Sango, horny as he sounds, at the same time, it sounds like he just loves you. Is that really a bad thing? I mean, you're always saying how much you love him and how you melt every time he holds your hand and just about die when he kisses you. Perhaps he needs a little disciplining, but… I mean, if I had a boyfriend that loved me as much as Miroku loves you, I would certainly do a lot more for him. You're lucky Miroku is helplessly in love with you, or you probably wouldn't have him anymore. Forgive my criticism, but you really should make it up to him. (And before you ask, that is NOT what I mean!!)_

Sango read the note and crumpled it up into a ball. She wouldn't look at Kagome any more for the rest of class and did everything to keep Kagome from seeing her face.

After class, Sango stopped Kagome as she walked out of the classroom. "Thank you," Sango said, tears in the corners of her eyes. "You're so right. I can't believe I'm always so awful to poor Miroku…"

"You're not really," Kagome said. "I just thought that if I exaggerated a little you would decide you were sorry."

Sango hit her on the head with a notebook. "Well, thanks anyway," she said flatly, faking sarcasm with a real smile, and turned to get to her last class.

--

"Kagome!" A whisper startled Kagome as she headed down the now empty halls to leave school. She whirled around and found Miroku hiding in the stairwell.

"What are you up to _now_, Miroku?!" Kagome demanded.

"Sssh! Sango wants to kill me!"

Kagome almost said Sango forgave him, but knowing how they usually "made up" (or should she say "out"), she decided not to spoil the surprise. "Why? What'd you do?"

"Ah… alas, temptation got the better of me. We were walking to class, and instead of paying attention to the words fair Sango was saying, I watched her lips that were saying them. And… well, I had to do something about it."

"You kissed her," Kagome said, trying to shorten the explanation. Miroku had a strange yet lovable habit of occasionally speaking like an old-fashioned poet.

"…Yeah."

"And she got mad because…?"

"We were right in front of the principals' offices and she was afraid Mr. Naraku would bust us for PDA," Miroku sighed. "But, please understand, I just couldn't help it! She's so…" his eyes glazed over and Kagome took advantage of the pause to talk some sense into him.

"Well, her mom will be really angry if she gets detention. You know that. You should really try to resist a little more. But maybe if you apologize and tell her how much you love her, she might forgive you," Kagome advised. "Though it's not a promise."

"You _do_ know her well…" Miroku muttered, trying to reassure himself.

"And she loves you, too, you know. Don't worry too much. –If she _does_ kill you, it probably won't be _that_ painful," Kagome said. She tried to keep a straight face but ended up laughing.

"Thanks a lot!" Miroku called after her, staying under the stairs. Kagome wondered why and called back, "She's probably in the band room with our fellow bandos."

Miroku came rushing up and caught up with Kagome. "I'm going to walk with you so maybe you can talk some sense into her before she murders me."

Kagome laughed again.

--

Sango waved from the front of the band room when Kagome came in. Kagome gave a small wave accompanied by a smirk and ducked behind a bass drum and back into the percussion section.

She watched for a few seconds as Sango and Miroku met. They both started rapidly apologizing, and in a matter of seconds Miroku had his arm around Sango's waist and they were getting her backpack, then heading for his car. Of course.

Kagome sighed happily for them, satisfied with her peacemaking skills. However, the task at hand was nothing to smile about. She had realized that a pair of marching sticks had gone missing from her stick bag, and she would have to dig through the percussionist mess to find them. That was, if they were still around. If someone had stolen them, however, there was no hope. And seeing today was Friday and tonight was a football game, that was really bad news.

Koga was rummaging around the percussion section, too. "Lookin' for somethin'?" he asked Kagome as they lifted up backpacks, candy wrappers, old homework, someone's Biology book, full pages of trumpet music (_What's this doing here?_ Kagome thought), and all other kinds of assorted junk.

"Yeah; my new marching sticks have gone missing. By the way—you're back from work awfully early. What's up?" Kagome said with interest.

"Don't tell James, but I've lost my music and need t'find it before inspection. That dude can be awfully hard," Koga sighed. "Lemme know if you find a tenor folder, and I'll look for your sticks."

"Deal," Kagome said with a giggle. She lifted up a stick bag and examined it. "This is Inuyasha's bag. Hmmm… what horrible thing can I do to it? Break his sticks? Nah, he does that enough on his own… hmmm… should I hide them, maybe?" She giggled again. "He's having a bad day," she said with a sigh, putting the bag back where it had been. "He got detention this afternoon and might be late to inspection. Mr. Naraku busted him for calling me a bee-otch."

"…So, Kagome," Koga said. "That Inuyasha guy bother you much?"

"He's a jerk," she replied, "but sometimes I can't help but feel sorry for him. He has his reasons. –But don't tell him I said!"

"You sound like you _know_ him," Koga said, with distaste.

"Well, maybe kinda sorta, I do. I know where he lives and I have to babysit for him and Sessho-maru."

"Is he easy to babysit?" Koga asked with a straight face.

Kagome laughed loudly. "No, no, not _him_. There's a little girl—Rin—who's their cousin or something." _I said 'or something', so that doesn't qualify as a lie,_ Kagome told herself quickly. _Besides, the real story will just confuse Koga._

"Ah."

Kagome looked around some more, sidestepping a Coke can that may have been full, and asked casually, "Koga, does anyone like, I don't know, Mr. Naraku… treat you… differently? Because of… the way you are? I mean, I have no problem with it—I'm just wondering, trying to help—"

"I might be treated differently if I was a constant rulebreaker. It's not that Inuyasha's father was genetically altered—"

"How are you so sure it was his father, and not his mother or him?" Kagome interjected curiously.

"It's just something I know. Like I was saying, if I behaved like Inuyasha did I would be treated differently, too. It's called being in trouble."

"But—"

"I still don't understand how you can pity him so much when he's just so pathetic. He acts like he hates everything and defies the rules just for the heck of it." Koga finished his speech huffily and, to show there were no hard feelings, changed the subject abruptly. "My music must not be on the floor, because I've already gone through all that garbage," he opened a cabinet in which some percussion accessories usually resided and exclaimed, "HEY!"

"Hay is for horses," Kagome answered him comically. "EEEYAH!" she shrieked immediately after, tripping over a pair of cymbals and falling over a bass drum case, eventually smashing into someone who had been sitting behind the case and therefore invisible to her. She fell, disoriented, into whoever-it-was's lap and felt the unpleasant sensation of landing on a pair of drumsticks.

"Nice to see you drop in," the person said sarcastically, and Kagome really wished she hadn't fell.

"I found my music," Koga called with his head in the cabinet, unaware that Kagome had just fallen.

She scrambled out of Inuyasha's lap and onto her feet, brushing the dust from her jeans and readjusting her bun. She realized nervously that Inuyasha—especially with his superior hearing—had probably heard every word she had exchanged with Koga. "Inuyasha! I… thought you had detention!" she covered up her uneasiness with an accusation.

"Screw detention," Inuyasha replied as if this pretty much summed everything up.

"By the way, have you seen—THOSE ARE MY STICKS!" Kagome exclaimed, snatching the beautiful, smooth white marching sticks she especially loved from Inuyasha's hands.

Inuyasha looked guilty for the first time in his life. "You… have another pair, right?"

"Why does that matter?!" Kagome demanded as she inspected them for any new nicks or dents. She gave them a test twirl and tried some backsticking on her knee. Thank goodness—they felt fine.

"…I broke my last pair and the closest music store is out. I need to borrow some," he admitted.

"Well, you can't borrow these," Kagome snapped, tuning abruptly on her heel and heading for her stick bag. She called over her shoulder, "I guess you can use my crappy pair, but if you get in trouble for having unmatched sticks it's not my fault."

"Do you think I would blame it on you?" Inuyasha asked, almost seeming honest and sincere.

Kagome sighed, unsure of why he was acting this way, and shook her head in confusion. "Oh, whatever," she replied, which really wasn't anything of an answer no matter how hard she tried to make it sound like one.

"Sessho-maru really hired you to babysit?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "Rin can be a handful, but she's very cute. And hilarious. Though she wouldn't stop calling me 'Eggy'…" Kagome realized she was blabbering and tried to think of some kind of closing remark. "Um… I'm… going to go walk over to the Wendy's on Seventh Street. Seeya!"

"I… could drive you if you wanted!" Inuyasha called after her. "Seventh Street is, what, three blocks? And it's hot. And… I'm borrowing your sticks."

Kagome shrugged and looked out the window. "Umm… Hey! There's Miroku and Sango! I could ride with them if you don't want to—" She paused a moment as she saw them sneak a small kiss. "…Actually, I better _not_ ride with them."

"C'mon then. Get a move on, slowpoke!" Inuyasha called, halfway across the band room.

Kagome sighed. "What have I gotten myself into this time?" she muttered to herself.


	9. Chapter 8: Dinner Date Sort Of

**CHAPTER EIGHT: Dinner Date… Sort Of**

In her hurry, Kagome bumped into someone and found herself being tugged backwards by the arm.

"Oh! Kagome! _There_ you are," Hojo said.

"Uh… hi, Hojo," she muttered. "I'm kind of in a hurry—"

"Oh, this won't take but a minute. Would you like to go to the movies or something with me tomorrow? There's a really good one playing, and—"

"I'm sorry, Hojo, but I have to babysit all day Saturday, and I really have to get going…" She had spotted Inuyasha who, from across the band room, was giving her dirty looks.

"Sunday then?" Hojo asked, ever persistent and blocking her way.

"Umm… I'll have to think about it," Kagome said, darting to his left and racing towards the band room door.

"Let me know, ok?" Hojo called.

--

"That guy's a few candlesticks short of a candelabra, if you know what I mean," Inuyasha muttered as they got into the car.

"You're so mean!" Kagome exclaimed. "That, or blunt. Or both."

"And you're one to talk!"

"Only to you," Kagome said in a fake sweet voice, angering him. She buckled her seatbelt. "Now buckle up, Inuyasha."

"Aw, shut up already." Inuyasha put his key into the ignition and turned the car on. It sputtered some, then died. "Come on, dammit!" he yelled, hitting his palm against the steering wheel. He tried again, and this time the car died before turning over. "WORK!" he yelled at the car, and tried the key again. It didn't even make a noise this time, just sat dead silent. Inuyasha slammed his fist onto the horn, making it blare loudly for a split second. "Fucking car!"

"Calm down," Kagome said quietly. "Be patient. It's just hot."

Inuyasha stared daggers at her for a while, then gritted his teeth and slowly turned the key in the ignition again. The car started without fault.

"You see? If you'll just be patient—"

It died.

"HAH!" Inuyasha yelled into her face.

Kagome sighed. "Well, so much for driving."

"Sessho-maru said it was acting up…" Inuyasha muttered to himself. "So why didn't the bastard get it fixed?"

Kagome just sighed. "I'll walk then."

"Well, I'm coming; I have to fuckin' eat supper too," Inuyasha snapped before Kagome protested.

"Fine then," she replied coolly.

--

"Look out, you idiot!" Inuyasha yelled, grabbing Kagome's arm. A motorcycle that had been driving dangerously close to the curb whizzed by.

"…Thanks," she muttered, though it was difficult to tell if she was being serious or sarcastic.

"I thought this Wendy's was supposed to be nearby. I'm still not seein' it," Inuyasha said after some time.

"It _is_. It just seems really far when you walk instead of driving," Kagome replied. They turned a corner and could see the sign. "See? What did I tell you?"

"That it seems really far when you walk," Inuyasha replied.

"Hey! That's not what you're supposed to say—you're supposed to prove my point!" Kagome whined jokingly.

Inuyasha shrugged. "You're not always going to be right."

"I know," Kagome said, studying him and trying to discern what had brought this comment on. "And neither are you."

"So… are we gonna eat inside or go back to the band room?" Inuyasha asked.

"Well, food isn't allowed in the band room," Kagome said thoughtfully. "And while there's nothing wrong with eating outside, it _is_ really hot. And if we take it back to the band room, all our friends and people we barely know will suddenly become our best friends in the hopes that they can have some food."

"In other words, we're eating in," Inuyasha said boredly.

"It's air conditioned," Kagome replied with a shrug.

--

When Kagome sat down to eat her food, she selected a two-person table. But not one that was too off by itself, since she didn't want anyone to think they were together. Well, they _were_ together, but not _together_ together. Not _going_ _out_ together.

Inuyasha came out of the line with his tray of food, looked around the restaurant after pausing to get ketchup, and sat down at a table by himself on the other side of the restaurant.

Kagome sighed angrily, collected all her things, and approached him. "Why are you sitting way over here? I _saw_ you notice me—"

"Is it a _crime_ to eat alone?" Inuyasha snapped.

"No, but we came here together and, quite frankly, I don't want to walk back through that part of town alone!"

"What does that have to do with us eating together?"

"Well, I don't want you to leave me!"

"I didn't say I would! I'd wait for you!"

"Well, I'm sitting here and you aren't allowed to get up and move," Kagome said with finality and sat down.

Inuyasha got up and headed for the table Kagome had been sitting at, calling, "Oh really?"

Kagome got up to follow, but she saw him sit down with a smug, annoying look that for some strange reason almost reduced her to tears. The look said, _Ha, I got away from you. I don't want you around. Leave me alone, bitch._

_And I'll bet that's exactly what he's thinking, too_, she thought angrily to herself, sitting back down and leaving him alone.

"Aw, Kagome, I'm just messin' with you," Inuyasha said, sitting down again. Kagome refused to look at him for the rest of the meal, which took some effort.

"Knock it off already," Inuyasha said after a while.

Kagome didn't look up, just stared down, unblinking, at her straw.

"I said stop!"

Kagome looked out the window at the traffic. She saw a few band members leaving the drive through line and looked away.

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm in a bad mood today—you already knew that. I'm in a bad mood always—you knew that, too. So please _cut it out!_"

"Well, since you ask so nicely…" Kagome said under her breath. Finally she looked up at him with a sigh. "I guess I'm sorry too," she muttered.

"Let's go back to the band room," Inuyasha suggested.

"Yeah."

--

"We have an away game next week, right?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yeah," Kagome replied. "It's a long trip, too—we're playing Concordia—so we'll leave early."

"How early? How do those things usually work?" Inuyasha asked. He explained, "My old school didn't have enough money to send the band to away games."

Kagome tripped over an ant bed, then paused to brush any ants off of her shoes. When she had caught up to Inuyasha she said, "Oh. I always forget that this is your first year here. Well, next Friday we'll probably get out of school at about 1:00, and someone's English teacher will be mad and an Algebra teacher will threaten to not let band members make the test up. Another teacher will assign lots of homework, and usually one or two people will be late or forget or vanish and we'll leave late because the directors were trying to hunt them down. A bus won't show up until the last minute. Usually," she said with a chuckle, "we're scheduled to leave at 1:15 and aren't on the road until 2:00. We're notorious for leaving late—you could almost call it a tradition.

"We'll get to Concordia at around 4:30 and spend until 5:30 in a mall eating dinner. A bunch of guys—usually trumpets—will buy really strange things or cheap toys or giant pairs of sunglasses. We'll have to be on the bus _in uniform_ by 5:30, which won't happen because a chaperone or a group of kids is always late and they just stand around waiting instead of sending someone after them.

"We'll get to the game, have a short inspection, and either march in or trudge in, depending on how hot it is and how big the stadium is and how accessible our seats are, and messily arrange ourselves. We'll march halftime and might get the third quarter off if we're winning, but I bet we won't. Then we'll be threatened in many ways if we don't load the larger instruments and drums onto the trailer, but most people will ignore the threat and some freshmen, some dads, or some girls will end up having to do it. Everyone'll change out of uniforms and fall asleep on the way home, and chaperones will regularly police the aisles of the buses with flashlights, looking for PDA, until they get too tired and fall asleep, too.

"When we get home they'll expect some unfortunate souls whose mothers are late picking them up to unload no matter what hour of the night it is, and everyone has to return their uniform. If you're lucky you go home, plop into bed, and fall asleep." Kagome thought a moment and added, "Oh, wait, Sessho-maru will have to stay, won't he? I'm sorry. You'll probably be stuck unloading with him."

"Sounds like everything has a regular rhythm in this band," Inuyasha commented with a sigh.

"Like us," Kagome joked.

"_Us?_"

"Y'know… the drumline? It was a joke. Of course we have a regular rhythm because, y'know, we're the drumline. –Okay, so it was a bad joke, but…"

"Yeah, the drumline, right…"

"Well, what did you _think_ I was referring to?" Kagome asked, giving him a critical look. Inuyasha could not meet her eyes. "Hmmm."

They walked in silence for a while until Kagome mused aloud, "Oh, yeah. Did you want me to braid your hair tonight?"

"_Braid_ it? No way!" Inuyasha snapped.

"But it'll fit into your hat more easily—"

"I refuse to wear my hair… _braided_ just for that damn torture device," Inuyasha said with distaste.

Kagome laughed. "It'll be easier, though, and less stressful. And as soon as halftime is over you can take it down. If you _want_ to be in trouble with the directors, though, I guess you can just hope someone else'll help you somehow—"

"Okay, okay! Braid my damn hair! Whatever!" Inuyasha snapped.

"It'll take a while," Kagome warned him, "so I'll have to start right when we get back to the band room and after we're in uniform."

"_In uniform?!_ We have _half an hour_ until inspection!"

"Maybe so, but you have _a lot_ of hair…"

Inuyasha sighed really really loudly so that it was almost a scream. "OKAY! FINE! HAVE YOUR DAMN WAY THEN!"

Kagome sighed, too, though a bit more daintily. "Please stop swearing," she said quietly. Inuyasha didn't reply, but they left the topic alone.

"What the…?" Inuyasha muttered under his breath.

Kagome looked up. "Hm?" She did notice, however, that Inuyasha's exclamation had not included the usual h-word he used and wondered if it had been an accident or he really was making an effort.

A car drove up. It was the Okomes' car. And inside was Sessho-maru. "Inuyasha," he said, rolling the window down.

"How'd you get the stupid car to run?" Inuyasha asked incredulously.

Sessho-maru shrugged. "It took a while," he muttered. "Anyway. I just got a call from the daycare. Rin has a 104 fever and can't stop coughing. I have to go home and take care of her. Can you get a ride home?"

"Yeah. I'll figure something out," Inuyasha replied, his look softened. "Tell Rin I hope she's well soon."

"'Kay. Seeya," Sessho-maru called, rolling the window up and driving off.

Kagome smiled a little at Inuyasha.

"_What_?!" he demanded.

"Nothing," Kagome said, shaking her head.


	10. Chapter 9: Mr Naraku Interferes

**CHAPTER NINE: Mr. Naraku Interferes**

"Hold _still_!"

"Stop _yanking_ on my damn hair!"

"I wouldn't be yanking if you'd just _hold still_!"

"Are you _done_ yet?"

"If I was done I wouldn't still be _braiding_, now _would I_?"

"I'm _tired_ of this."

"What a coincidence—_I AM TOO_!"

"THEN _KNOCK IT OFF_ ALREADY!" Inuyasha stood up and Kagome let go of his hair. It came unbraided.

"_FINE_! SEE IF _I_ CARE! YOU CAN GET IN TROUBLE FOR HAVING YOUR HAIR SHOWING, BUT IT'LL BE _YOUR_ LOSS!"

"DID I _ASK_ FOR YOUR HELP? _NO_!" And with that, Inuyasha stormed off.

"_GOOD RIDDANCE_ TO _BAD RUBBISH_!" Kagome called, sticking out her tongue.

Sango burst out laughing, and Kagome jumped a foot into the air. "Sango! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Sorry, but that was some interesting fight you just had," she replied. "And am I mistaken or did I see the two of you go off to dinner alone?"

"We went to Wendy's," Kagome said flatly, turning around and becoming even more embarrassed to realize Miroku was practically joined at the hip with Sango. "I don't know what you're implying, but whatever it is, it's wrong."

"Oh, and I was under the impression you _hated_ him!" Sango joked.

"SHUT UP!" Kagome screeched, looking for something nearby to hit her best friend with.

"Heeheehee! Help, Miroku, saaaave me!" Sango squealed, hiding behind her boyfriend.

Kagome raised her binder, but Miroku grabbed it and said, "My apologies, but I must comply the lady's wishes." Then both he and Sango took off running.

"GIVE ME BACK MY BINDER! I NEED THAT FOR CHEMISTRY!" Kagome called, racing after the two. Seeing she was already in uniform, this was easier said than done.

Koga saw her slip on a spare snare stick and rushed up lightning-speed to catch her. "Why're you running?" he asked, still holding her.

"Sango and Miroku stole my chemistry stuff," Kagome gasped, pointing in their direction.

"Allow me," Koga said. He had caught up in a few seconds flat and rushed back with Kagome's binder. "Here you go," he said with a smile.

"Thanks, Koga," Kagome replied, smiling back.

"Say, Kagome, are you going to the percussion clinic the University is giving Sunday afternoon?" Koga asked casually.

"I think so… probably, if I don't have to babysit." Then Kagome remembered Hojo had asked her out on a date that day. She weighed the options in her mind; Hojo was kind of annoying. Yes, she decided, she would be going to the percussion clinic. However, there was the problem of getting there.

"If you are, I could give you a ride…" Koga mentioned shyly.

"Oh, thanks a lot Koga! That's great! Mom's going to be out of town on business and Sota is having a friend over. I was wondering how I would get to go," Kagome said, excited. "Do you need directions to my house?"

"Nah, I can find it," Koga said. "I know the neighborhood. You live at 513, right?"

"How did you find out?" Kagome asked, semi-suspiciously. She pretended she was joking around, though she really was kind of nervous that Koga was so confident about knowing where she lived.

"It's on the tag on your stick bag," Koga explained. "I saw it the other day when I borrowed your maroon yarn mallets."

"Oh," Kagome replied, trying not to sound like she was ever suspicious.

"I'll pick you up at around noon. Is that okay?"

"First let me see if I'll have to babysit," Kagome said, and went off to look for Sessho-maru. Just as she was about to ask someone she remembered he had gone home to look for Rin. Unfortunately, she had to track down Inuyasha. She gave up when it was almost time for inspection, though, and hoped he'd show up for that.

--

Inuyasha wasn't around when it was time to be inspected and didn't reappear until they were about to march down the street into the stadium. He wore his hat, but his hair was all down.

James said to him, "That's all right for now, Inuyasha, but you better do something with that hair by the time we march halftime."

"Yes SIR!" Inuyasha replied, giving a fake salute in a fake army voice. Kagome snorted in disgust.

--

"Inuyasha, will I need to watch Rin on Sunday, too?" Kagome asked as they watched their team losing the second quarter.

"I don't think so. I'm going to that percussion thing, but Sess'll probably stay home with her. And speaking of which, you probably won't have to take care of her tomorrow, seeing she's sick now. We wouldn't want you sick, plus Sessho-maru loves Rin like she was his daughter. He won't go to work tomorrow if she still has a fever," Inuyasha shrugged. "But you never know."

"'Kay," Kagome replied, leaning back onto the bleachers behind her.

"So you're not babysitting? I'll see you Sunday at noon!" Koga said from above her.

Kagome smiled. "Thanks again Koga," she said.

"Wait! 'See you at noon' _why_?" Inuyasha demanded, whirling around.

"Why do you care? It's none of _your_ business!" Koga snapped back.

"He's giving me a ride to the percussion clinic," Kagome said. "But he's right—it's not your business where I'm going or with whom."

"Did I _say_ I cared?" Inuyasha said snippily, turning away.

"Well, you certainly _implied_ it," Kagome replied.

"Well, I don't!"

"Yeah. Sure," Kagome said to Inuyasha. She turned to Koga. "What can I say, the guy is _so_ jealous…"

"AM NOT!"

"Like I'd believe that," Kagome replied.

"Listen you—" Inuyasha said, threatening her with his sticks, "you, you fuckin' bitch!" He jabbed one dangerously close to her face. She flinched though he never made contact. "You shut your damn mouth, you hear?—"

"Don't you be treating Kagome like that!" Koga yelled, reaching for the sticks and nearly upsetting his tenors.

Kagome tried to reassure him. "I'm fine—"

"Excuse me! _MISTER_ OKOME!" Mr. Naraku yanked on Inuyasha's ears. The poor guy yelped in pain and spun around.

"Wha'do _you_ want?" Inuyasha sneered.

"I've had enough of your attitude and violent behavior, young man. Your band directors will _certainly_ hear about _this_."

"Kiss my ass," Inuyasha muttered when the evil assistant principal was well out of earshot.

--

"Aren't you going to put your hair up?" Kagome asked.

"You know damn well I can't," Inuyasha muttered.

Kagome sighed and ordered, "Turn." He turned his head and she combed through his hair with her fingers, trying to gather it up. "You, Mister," she said, "are impossible."

"You're no piece of cake either," Inuyasha replied.

Kagome twisted his hair into a bun again. She paused for a second because one of his ears was twitching with the hot breeze. She reached out gingerly and poked it. It moved. She petted it a little with her finger.

Inuyasha cleared his throat and shoved the hat up into her face.

"Oh! Um, yeah!" Kagome replied, feeling her face turn red. She fit his hair under the hat and then pulled the strap down under his chin. "There you are," she said with a sigh. "You're welcome." She turned to leave.

"Thanks."

Kagome paused and turned around, but Inuyasha was already headed in the opposite direction. So she just smiled and continued on her way.

--

"Inuyasha, please come with us now to the office," Mr. Ikimasho said as they were leaving the stadium and heading back to the band room.

Kagome watched as Inuyasha trudged behind Mr. Ikimasho, mimicking the way he was walking. _He's certainly not making this any easier on himself_, Kagome thought wistfully. _Will he ever learn?_

"Hey, what's going on with Inuyasha? He in trouble?" Sango asked.

"Mr. Naraku yelled at him and said he'd tell the directors," Kagome shrugged. "But what do you expect? They guy's a—"

"Racist. So we've heard," Sango said boredly. "That's your excuse for everything. Can't you admit you like Inuyasha yet?"

Kagome reached over to hit her friend with a drumstick and pretended she really would. Of course she didn't, though, and just put the stick back in the bag and kept walking.

Miroku said, "Do you need a ride tonight Kagome?" Kagome turned around to face him. He had a look on his face that said _please say no_ and was holding Sango's hand. She could guess easily that they wanted to go somewhere to kiss. "Well, I can find someone else. Koga, for example, wouldn't mind, or I could catch a ride with Ayumi."

"Great!" Miroku replied. Sango elbowed him, but he didn't take it back.

"Well, I understand," Kagome said with a laugh. She warned jokingly, "You two lovebirds be good."

Sango hit Kagome with her music folder.

--

Kagome took her time putting her drum up, since she was looking all over for Inuyasha. He didn't appear to be out of the directors' office yet, and she wondered how he would catch a ride home. She also wondered how she herself was going to get home since Sango and Miroku already had plans to exclude her.

"Eri!" Kagome called across the band room at the top of her lungs. Eri's head bobbed as she nodded to whoever she was talking to, then left the band room. Kagome raced after her, but by that time she had disappeared into a car somewhere.

Sighing, Kagome went back into the band room. It had been a while since the game ended, and most of the band members had gone home already. At least, they weren't hanging out in the band room.

Suddenly Inuyasha came storming out of the doors that led to the hall between the directors' offices and the band room. He flung his sticks haphazardly across the room. One hit the wall, and the other hit the door right next to where Kagome was standing. She yelped.

"Damn directors! And that bastard Mr. Naraku—"

"HEY! YOU ALMOST HIT ME!" Kagome protested loudly.

"Look, Kagome, I'm sorry, okay?!" Inuyasha yelled.

Kagome heard his voice break as he spoke. "Inuyasha?" she asked softly, approaching him with the stick that had nearly killed her. It was hers, though, so she didn't know why she was bringing it to him. "Are you okay?"

"Fuckin' assistant principal had me kicked off the drumline."

"They did WHAT?!" Kagome exclaimed.

"You heard me. They kicked me off the damn drumline."

"For what reasons?" Kagome exclaimed.

"I threatened you. I was disrespectful to you. I have exceptional strength and could have hurt you. Blah, blah, BLAH," he snapped angrily, throwing things around.

"What do they know about that? I have half a mind if I…" Kagome didn't finish her sentence aloud and stomped towards the hallway.

"Where do you think you're going?" Inuyasha yelled after her.

"I'm going to give them a piece of my mind! If they think they can just—"

"I don't need your help, Kagome!"

The door slammed, and he stood staring at the spot she had just occupied. He rushed up to the doors and paced outside them, worried.

--

He could hear their voices, rising so angrily they seemed to be right next to him.

"We argue like that all the time!" Kagome was protesting.

"So you're saying he constantly threatens you?" Mr. Naraku suggested.

"No! What I'm saying is that we have our disagreements!"

"This isn't your concern, Miss Higurashi." Miss Kaede Nobo said quietly.

"It is, too! If I can't defend myself, I'll come to you! But for now I'd really like you to stop picking on him! Mr. Naraku, you can't—"

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, young lady! I'll bet that monster of a boy put you up to this, too, didn't he? Threatened you again? It's okay to tell us—"

"IF YOU THINK I WOULD _EVER_ ENTRUST YOU WITH _ANYTHING_ YOU ARE _SADLY_ MISTAKEN! And did you hear that, Mrs. Kaede? Did you hear how prejudiced he is? He called Inuyasha a monster. A _monster_!"

"Mr. Naraku, I _really_ _**don't**_ appreciate—" Ms. Kagura Miyazawa broke in, sounding irritated.

"It isn't far from the truth. His temper is uncontrollable, Miss Higurashi, and as we've said, it's not your concern—" Mr. Naraku tried to say.

"WOULD YOU SHUT UP?! You BASTARD, you PERVERT, you FREAK! Shut your STUPID MOUTH and LET ME TALK!" Kagome yelled, probably at the assistant principal.

The room fell silent.

Mr. Naraku's quiet voice said calmly, "Miss Higurashi. You, too, are hereby relieved of your drumline duties."

"I'm WHAT? He can't do that! Mr. Ikimasho, Miss Miyazawa? He… he can't do that, right?"

"I'm sorry, Kagome, but what he says goes. I'll have to agree. You've been terribly disrespectful," Mr. Ikimasho said.

"What? You… you don't mean that I…"

"Miss Higurashi!" Kaede Nobo called.

Then the sound of quick footsteps, a door slamming, and the doors before Inuyasha flew open.


	11. Chapter 10: Beauty and the Beast

**CHAPTER TEN: Beauty and the Beast**

Kagome blew past Inuyasha, half-running. She was sobbing.

Inuyasha caught up to her as she exited the band room. Nervously he reached for her shoulder to stop her, panic on his face. "Hey… Kagome…?" he asked softly.

"They… th-they kicked me off the d-drumline…" she cried. Without warning, she closed the gap between them, her hands to her face, leaning against his chest.

Awkwardly he put an arm around her. "…I know. And I'm sorry. I never thought they would take things out on you."

Kagome just cried some more.

Inuyasha was still visibly nervous. He always got nervous when he was around girls crying and tried to calm Kagome down. He patted the top of her head, saying, "It won't last, Kagome. Sessho-maru won't stand for it. Plus the guys'll all go on strike if they hear you've been ordered off."

"How would _you_ know?" Kagome asked, somewhat bitterly.

"Half of them are in love with you," Inuyasha explained flatly.

"And that's the only reason why? Not because I'm a valuable player, but because I'm pretty?" Kagome demanded, somewhat angry.

"You're beautiful," Inuyasha said, lifting her chin. His voice was unexpectedly soft. "But it's not just that. It's that you're so kind and you _do_ play well. You play _very_ well. You're valuable to the drumline. Besides, without us the drumline will be unbalanced and they'll have to change the drill. It won't last, Kagome, I promise." He stared into her surprised tearstained face.

Kagome lowered her head back onto his chest and leaned into him, whispering, "Thank you Inuyasha." Her body shook a little more as she started crying again, and Inuyasha held her until she was quiet.

"You okay now?" Inuyasha asked softly.

"Are you?" Kagome asked, looking up at him.

Inuyasha scowled. "It's my own fault anyway," he answered bitterly.

"No it isn't. It's Mr. Naraku's evil intentions at work again, and we'll find a way to fix it. By the end of the year I promise to get him fired if it's the last thing I do!" Kagome said emphatically.

"You'd certainly be doing us all a favor," Inuyasha joked, and they laughed.

As Kagome wiped away her tears, she suddenly remembered she didn't have a ride home. "Um, Inuyasha… how do you plan on getting home? Nobody is here," she gestured to the empty parking lot, "so I don't have a ride anymore, and I'd feel safer if I wasn't alone."

"Actually, I planned on running," Inuyasha said.

"Running? It's at least fifteen miles!"

"Well, I… I leap, really. It's sort of running, but not exactly," Inuyasha tried to explain. "For some reason I'm just really fast because of something in my genetics…I could take you home, but you would have to ride on my back."

"Ride on your back?" Kagome made a peculiar face. "…What exactly are you talking about again?"

"Get on," Inuyasha said, and Kagome complied. She climbed onto his back as he bent over and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Now hang on," he said, lightly grabbing her legs a little and taking off. They flew through the air and, in a matter of seconds and giant bounds, had leaped over the entire school and landed on the practice field.

"If you don't mind riding like this, we'll run most of the way back. When we pass through a crowded part of town we'll have to stop and walk, but I promise I'll protect you. And then we can take off again. It won't take long, I promise," Inuyasha offered.

"Thanks, Inuyasha," Kagome replied, and they were off. Buildings and trees and telephone wires whizzed by. A cool breeze wiped the sweat from Kagome's face and she almost forgot the hot night air. She almost forgot all her troubles, too—her temper and all her tears and the problems with Inuyasha. So much for those problems right now, though. They were so close… if she leaned her head forward it would be right next to his… in kissing distance…

They stopped. "Like I said, we have to walk a little," Inuyasha explained, waiting for Kagome to get down. When she did he seized her hand and pulled her closer. "If we look like we're together no one will bother you," he reassured her as they strolled through an unsavory strip of sidewalk by a dark alley.

Kagome tightened her grip on Inuyasha's warm, strong hand. His grip was reassuring. He seemed to be saying, "I'm here. Don't worry. I'll protect you." She thought it was awfully sweet, him offering to protect her, even though he hadn't said it outright.

A group of cackling boys came out of the alley and stopped to stare at Inuyasha and Kagome. "Avoid eye contact," Inuyasha advised under his breath, draping his arm casually across her shoulders. She was left with her hand dangling and, not knowing what to do with it, left it that way.

Kagome did as she was instructed and avoided looking at the suspicious group, but she couldn't help but blush when Inuyasha's arm went around her. He sure was being protective… either that, or he was just trying to find excuses to get close to her. She wondered if this possibility would really be that bad.

Suddenly out of nowhere Inuyasha whirled around, placing himself behind her. She turned to see he was shielding her from the group of boys, who had obviously followed him.

"Move along," Inuyasha ordered them.

"It's a free country," one of them said.

"Yeah, you wanna make something of it?" another added. Meanwhile, the fifth of the four boys, who had still been in the shadows, was edging sideways towards Kagome.

"If you lay ONE FINGER on her I'll—"

"What? You gonna kill us to protect some street bitch?" he sneered.

Inuyasha growled.

"So she's yours, eh?" the same guy challenged.

"Yes, and I'll fight you if I have to," Inuyasha said icily, for the first time showing them his claws. He grinned wickedly, showing them his unusually pointy canine teeth.

"Hey, it's cool, man," the leader of the boys said, holding up his hands. As a unit, all five of them backed up slowly, not turning around for a long time. Then they turned finally and headed down another long alleyway.

"What was I thinking?" Inuyasha muttered under his breath. "Screw walking." He turned around and stood in front of Kagome. "Never mind not causing a disturbance. I have to get you home safely. So climb on," he ordered.

Kagome obeyed his instructions again, and as they practically flew towards home she contemplated what had just happened. Inuyasha had claimed possession of her, but then again, he was just trying to protect her. And then there was that, the whole protecting thing. When she had first met him, Kagome had had no idea how gentlemanly Inuyasha could be. Either that, or he was just afraid she would start crying again. But the way he held, comforted, and protected her… it was—it _had to_ be—more than common courtesy.

She remembered the words to a _Beauty and the Beast_ song she had loved as a child… _"There's something sweet, and almost kind, and he was mean and he was course and unrefined, and now he's dear, and so unsure, I wonder why I didn't see it there before…"_ She accidentally hummed a little of it under her breath.

"You like _Beauty and the Beast_?" Inuyasha asked.

"Oh- um… y-yeah, it was my favorite when I was little and Sota was watching it the other day," Kagome stuttered, half-lying. If he knew the song was from the movie, surely he also knew the words. And if he knew the words, he would know what she was thinking…

"It's Rin's favorite, too," Inuyasha said, and then they were silent again.

--

Soon they got close to Kagome's house, and Inuyasha stopped a few houses away from it on an empty, wooded lot. He then turned to leave.

"Wait!" Kagome called as he prepared to leave. He turned around then and looked straight at her.

"Yes?" he said, his voice surprisingly curt and emotionless.

"Umm… I… wanted to thank you," Kagome said, a little nervous. Which was silly, she told herself. She had been able to speak to Inuyasha perfectly fine before. Why would now be any different? "For taking me home and… helping me with the whole… drumline thing." She thought a moment, then added, "And protecting me from those dumb boys."

"I'll call if you need to babysit Rin," Inuyasha said blankly. "Otherwise, I suppose I'll see you on Sunday. Good night, Belle." He turned and was just about to take off running when Kagome grabbed his arm and tugged.

"Wait!" Kagome panicked. He looked solemnly down at her. "If you think I was humming that song because I think you're a beast, you're wrong. That's not it. I didn't even mean to start singing it; it just came out of nowhere. I don't care what you are, and I'm not against it, either. The ride home was beautiful and breathtaking, unlike anything I've ever done. A-and, I love your adorable ears. So… I was just…" Kagome felt herself turning red again, "…making sure you didn't misunderstand." She let his sleeve slip out of her hand and backed up. "G'night," she called weakly.

"Good night Belle," he repeated with a little wink and took off.

--

On the short run home Inuyasha recalled the rest of the song. _"No, it can't be; I'll just ignore. –But then she's never looked at me that way before…"_


	12. Chapter 11: Terrors of Rin and Koga

**CHAPTER ELEVEN: The Terrors that are Rin and Koga**

Saturday morning, Kagome woke up late and stretched. Sunlight was already streaming in her bedroom windows, and she just wanted to stay in bed and think all day.

Her plans were immediately thwarted when the telephone rang. She leaned over and picked up, sleepily answering, "H'llo?" She accidentally yawned after that. "Excuse me," she said. "Higurashi residence, Kagome speaking."

"Kagome, this is Inuyasha," he said. "Rin is feeling better today, her fever's all gone, and Sess is off to work. I need to get to work, too, so can you please come babysit Rin? I know it's short notice, but—"

"I thought you went to work later," Kagome said, stifling a yawn.

"I did last time, and boy was I in trouble. Which is why it's imperative that I leave very soon; I don't want to be fired."

"Okay. I'll be there in fifteen minutes, if that's all right," Kagome said.

"Great," Inuyasha said, and hung up without saying goodbye. But Kagome just figured he was in a hurry and got up.

She had given herself only fifteen minutes, she soon realized, and showering and everything else usually took longer than that. She thought for a moment, then realized her hair would look presentable if she just twisted it up into the usual bun without washing it first. She threw on some clothes, did her makeup and hair, hopped on her bike, and headed to the Okomes' house.

--

Inuyasha was in the car when she got there. "Sorry, but I have to get going now. Rin is inside watching TV. She's already had breakfast. You can make her some macaroni for lunch. She knows where everything in the kitchen is. And there's a phone number on the counter… I think." He paused a minute to try to remember whether or not he had put the phone number there. "…Well, if there isn't—" he glanced down at his watch and mumbled a curse. "I have to go! Thanks Kagome!"

She watched him leave and went into the house through the front door.

The Okomes' house seemed, to Kagome, a mess, yet dignified. When she walked in she noticed the wood floors were dirty and unpolished, scuffed by Inuyasha probably, and there were muddy boots by the door. The living room was small and consisted of a TV, a VCR, a little coffee table, and a huge comfortable couch that was an awful purple color. Rin was in the exact middle of this couch, dangling her toes off of the edge and watching Saturday morning cartoons.

"Good morning, Rin!" Kagome said.

"Hi Eggy," Rin said blankly, not looking up from the TV.

"I'm babysitting you again today," Kagome said.

Rin did not respond.

"Inuyasha said you'd better be good."

Rin was glued to the television.

"I'm not really your babysitter—I'm an alien from Mars and I'm here to steal gummi fruits," Kagome tried.

Rin finally said something, though it still sounded blank and emotionless. "Okay."

Kagome laughed and went in what she hoped was the direction of the kitchen. She was correct. There was no phone number on the counter, but there wouldn't be any trouble. She wouldn't need it.

"Kagome!" Rin called from the living room. Kagome went in to see what she wanted. "Can I have more orange juice?" Rin asked, holding up a blue plastic cup.

"Are you allowed to drink juice in the living room?" Kagome asked.

"Yes," Rin said.

"Really?" Kagome double-checked.

"Look, Sessho-maru left his coffee cup," Rin said, pointing to the coffee table. Kagome looked and did indeed see the cup on the table. She sighed and admitted defeat, then went to the refrigerator and got Rin some more orange juice.

--

An hour later, Rin finally tired of the TV and asked Kagome if she wanted to see her room. "Sure," Kagome said, and allowed the little girl to lead her down a hall off of the living room. First they encountered a closed door on the left.

"That's Sessho-maru's room. He locked it so I wouldn't snoop," Rin explained. She led Kagome down the hall a little more and pointed to another locked door. "That's the boys' bathroom. It's gross. And there's toothpaste on the mirror." Kagome almost laughed at the little girl's blunt explanations but stopped herself, because that would just be mean.

They continued down the hall and stopped at a door that was half-closed. Kagome casually peered inside. She saw a bed that was low to the ground, the edge of a desk, and the corner of something that seemed the right size to be a dresser. There was a sock on the floor under the bed and two chipped white marching sticks on the bed. "That's Inuyasha's room," Rin said. "He makes a mess." They continued until they reached the end of the hallway. "And this," Rin said proudly, "is my room."

Kagome entered the room. It had pink walls, and one of them was spray-painted with chalkboard paint. Rin had a little bowl of chalk on the tiny dresser beside her pink bed and had evidently been busy drawing on the board recently. There were two other doors in the room. Rin opened the closest one immediately. "This is my closet," she said, "but Inuyasha calls it my pigsty. And this," she moved to the other door and flung it open, "is my bathroom. I have my own tub and everything." She looked very proud of this.

Kagome smiled. "That's great." Then she went over to the chalkboard wall. "Can I draw something?"

"Sure. But erase my drawings. They're just scribblies," Rin said. "The eraser's under the bed."

"Under the bed?" Kagome repeated, finding the eraser. "Why there?"

"I don't know," Rin answered.

"What should I draw?" Kagome asked when she was ready.

"Um… you. And me. And Inuyasha. And Sessho-maru. And me when I was the gablooie robot," Rin giggled.

"Okay, I'll try," Kagome said. She sketched cartoony doodles of everyone. Sessho-maru held a baton. Inuyasha was holding a pair of sticks but staring at one of them as it broke, half of it flying off in the other direction. Underneath the two brothers Kagome drew Rin with the laundry basket on her head and herself, frantically chasing the little girl. Rin had a speech bubble coming from her mouth, saying, "BEEP EGGY BEEP GABLOOIE!" After a little consideration, Kagome drew Inuyasha's speech bubble to be, "What the #?!" Sessho-maru's read, "Shall I go fetch the junior high band?" It was a threat he frequently used against the band when they weren't playing as well as they could. Then Kagome thought a second and made her own speech bubble. It read, "I'm NOT Eggy!"

Rin giggled at the drawings. "Wow, you draw _good_," she complimented.

"You think so?" Kagome said thoughtfully.

--

At 11:56 on Sunday afternoon Kagome had barely just changed out of her church clothes when Koga arrived to pick her up. She and her mother had already had the riding-with-strange-boys discussion, but once her mother discovered it was Koga she was relieved. Koga was an honor student, two years older than Kagome, and respected by all the teachers. He was "a very obedient, law-abiding young gentleman," as her mother so complimentarily put it.

Kagome sighed as she grabbed her stick bag and ran to meet Koga at the door. Sota had gotten a hold of him. "Are you my sister's _boyfriend_?" he was saying.

"Why, I—"

"No," Kagome said flatly as she entered the room. "He's a friend on the drumline who is giving me a ride to the drumming thing. Good_bye_, Sota."

"Nyah nyah nyah," Sota said, doing an exaggerated, whiny imitation of Kagome. Then he got bored with taunting her and left to go play his Gameboy Advance.

Kagome sighed as she closed the door. Koga walked her to the car, telling her how funny her little brother was. "Oh, he's a hoot," Kagome said sarcastically.

--

Koga tried his best to make pleasant, nice conversation with Kagome, even throwing in compliments every now and then. Kagome tried to respond, but she had Inuyasha on her mind, and she couldn't pay much attention to Koga's advances when she believed she was falling for another boy. The car ride was slow torture, for Kagome soon found that Koga was a rather boring person.

She wondered if he knew she had been kicked off of the drumline and decided she had better not tell him today. He might come to her defense, but it would be best for him to take it out on the right people—their own band directors—Instead of everybody at the percussion clinic.

Eventually they reached the University and made their way to the band building. "Have you ever been to one of these percussion clinics?" Koga asked.

"Yeah, last year. It was like a drumline clinic. It was really cool. We did lots of warm-ups and exercises on snares or tenors or whatever, and we worked on a little piece, kind of like a showcase. And then, at the end, we all gathered in one big room and got to play African drums. That was the part I enjoyed most. You play congas or a djembe or whatever, and they do rhythm games and contests and stuff. That part is cool," Kagome said. She had just finished explaining when they arrived.

They walked in the door, and sitting there at the registration table was the mirror image of Kagome.


	13. Chapter 12: Something Else Goes Wrong

**CHAPTER TWELVE: Something Else Goes Wrong**

"She… she…" Kagome froze, couldn't seem to say anything, and simply stared.

Koga walked up ahead of her to get in line, not seeming to notice she had stopped. Then he detected her absence and realized she was still standing inside the doorway. He motioned her forward, and after a while she stiffly walked forward and got in line behind him.

Koga gave the girl his name, she checked it off, and then she gave him a name tag. He turned to say something to Kagome, but just then some other drumline members came up and called him to come into the band room with them.

He looked reluctantly to them, then back at Kagome. "Go ahead," she shrugged, and so he did.

Kagome stepped up and, without looking up, her double asked, "Name?"

"Kagome Higurashi. And, if you don't mind, I'd really like to know who _you_ are," Kagome said, trying not to sound impolite.

"Kikyo Terada," she replied with a smile as she selected the correct nametag. Then she studied Kagome for a second, saying, "Are we related?"

"Not that I know of," Kagome replied. "I don't even know you… unless… do you know an Inuyasha Okome?"

"What about me?" Inuyasha said, walking in the door. Then he, too, froze, staring past Kagome at the young college student at the table. "Ki-Kikyo…" he whispered, gawking at her as if she were a ghost.

Kikyo studied him for a second, furrowing her eyebrows. Then she suddenly remembered and stood. "Inuyasha Okome… is that _you_?"

Inuyasha quickly reached her and they hugged.

"Wow, look at you! You're nothing like the shy little freshman I used to know!" Kikyo said, teasing.

"So you're still doing percussion stuff?" Inuyasha asked with a warm smile—the nicest look Kagome had ever seen on his face.

"Yeah. I'm traveling with the drumline—we're kind of touring and recruiting for college," she explained. "It's great fun."

"Sounds awesome," Inuyasha said.

"So you _are_ the famous Kikyo," Kagome said with finality.

"I didn't know I was famous," Kikyo said, a bit confused.

Inuyasha colored and gave Kagome a look. She had a feeling she was in trouble.

"Oh, your nametag," Kikyo said, dispersing the awkward moment when she realized she was still holding it. But then she saw a heavy black mark in the corner and remembered what it meant. "Wait a minute—I'm sorry, but since you are no longer registered as a member of an official drumline, you're not allowed to participate."

"_What_?" Kagome exclaimed.

Kikyo checked her note, picking up another nametag. It, too, had a black spot. "The same goes for you, Inuyasha. I'm sorry, but that's what the Boss has said."

"The boss?" Kagome inquired angrily.

"Our percussion leader, Mr. Anderson," Kikyo explained. "He said a principal or somebody called with very explicit instructions not to admit you."

"Do we get our fifteen dollars back?" Inuyasha demanded.

Kikyo looked a little sorry for him, and Kagome figured she was aware of the circumstances. "No, I'm afraid not."

"Damn it all anyway!" Inuyasha blustered, and stormed off.

"A-are you sure we're not allowed?" Kagome asked, close to tears. She realized she was holding up the line and almost burst into tears of embarrassment and frustration.

"I'm very sorry," Kikyo said.

"Okay. Can you please tell my friend Koga something came up and I had to leave?" Kagome said softly in a squeaky voice. Kikyo nodded and Kagome turned to leave. But then she turned back to Kikyo for one more thing. "Which way did Inuyasha go?"

"Down the hall, somewhere on the right. I heard a door slam. Try all the practice rooms. Every day this week they've been unlocked," Kikyo replied. She watched Kagome leave. She was younger than Inuyasha, the older girl correctly guessed, but a bit more mature. She must have been understanding, too, Kikyo decided, to be dealing with Inuyasha so tolerably.

Kagome looked down the hall and found a door labeled "Practice Room 1." She opened it up. It was tiny and dark and there was nobody in there. However, she was too close to tears and didn't feel like wandering around crying, so she turned on the lights, closed the door, and sat down on one of the three chairs that were crammed into the room. First she tried redoing her bun, which was feeling as if it would fall out. She had to re-twist the hair and pin it back into place. Her own long hair reminded her of Inuyasha's, and the hat…

She hid her face in her hands and cried for a while. _This whole big mess is my fault_, she realized.

Just then, Inuyasha came out of the men's restroom and stormed elsewhere down the hall. He looked for an open door. He tried all the knobs until he came to a door that said it was a practice room. He turned the knob and went inside.

"Kagome?" he asked.

She was drying her tears with a handkerchief. "Oh, Inuyasha, I'm sorry. This is all my fault!" she exclaimed, her voice wavering dangerously.

"Hey, whoa, slow down. Why do you think it's your fault?" Inuyasha asked gently, sitting down in a chair opposite her.

"Well," Kagome said, making her voice level and checking her makeup in a mirror, "if I hadn't been jealous of your triple ratamacue I wouldn't have disliked you in the first place. Then we wouldn't have argued and you wouldn't have gotten detention. We probably wouldn't have argued about your hair and hat and then later, if I hadn't decided to go with Koga, we wouldn't have argued in the stands. Then you wouldn't be off the drumline and I wouldn't be off the drumline and we would be in there learning exercises and you would probably be having fun with Kikyo and none of this damn mess would have ever happened!" Kagome started levelly enough, but as she spoke her voice got higher and higher until it was practically a squeak. She held her handkerchief to her face in case she was going to start crying again.

Inuyasha shook his head. "No, this _isn't_ entirely your fault. I'm a jerk and Mr. Naraku's a jerk and _that's_ why most of this happened. So stop crying," he finished a little nervously.

"I'm sorry," Kagome said. "I cry way too much, and about the stupidest things. I'm afraid of everything."

"I always thought you were brave. I mean, the way you've stood up to me, and then that whole thing with Mr. Naraku…"

"Those were special cases when I got mad instead of upset. But usually I think everything that ever happens is my fault and get depressed about how bad I've screwed things up. I'm not brave. In fact, last year Mr. Ikimasho called me 'chicken' because I wasn't playing loud enough. Days after it was a joke, but the day it actually happened I burst out crying and had to go hide from them. I couldn't even talk about it until the next day. The big thing was… it was true. I _was_ chicken and I knew it… So sorry I'm always crying, but I don't think I can stop," Kagome sighed.

"Don't apologize for crying," Inuyasha ordered. They were quiet a minute, and then he asked, "How do you plan on getting home? This thing goes on for hours, and since we're not even allowed to watch, there's no point in hanging around."

"I guess I'd have to call my mom and… oh, darn it, she's not home. It's just Grandpa, Sota, and his annoying little friend what's-his-face. Satoru. I guess I'll probably just wait for Koga to finish up here," Kagome said, thinking aloud.

"I can take you home if you want," Inuyasha offered.

"Well, nobody…" Kagome bent her head in shame. "Nobody at my house knows that I'm off the drumline yet. Grandpa will know something is up and tell Mom. I couldn't tell them; I was too ashamed, and Mom asks way too many questions. And like she would do me any good. All she can do is call the directors and yell at them, and that never helps." She lifted her head and said with a reluctant smile, "You can go ahead and go home or whatever. I'll just stay and wait here. If I get home before it's over…" She just shook her head.

"Well, if you don't want to go straight home, we could… I don't know, go somewhere until it's over. Like… someplace. Um… like… get ice cream or something?" Inuyasha's voice slowly got softer as he spoke, for he realized that he was sounding more and more like an idiot with each word. "I-if you don't want to—if you _want_ to stay here, that's fine with me—"

Kagome smiled at him, a real smile. "Ice cream sounds nice," she said. "How about Baskin Robbins?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "Okay."


	14. Chapter 13: Ice Cream with Sugar on Top

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Ice Cream with Sugar on Top**

"Where am I going?" Inuyasha asked as they were stopped at a red light.

"You mean you don't know?" Kagome asked with a giggle.

"How long have I lived here, Kagome?" Inuyasha replied impatiently. "I didn't even know where the University _was_ until Sessho-maru gave me instructions this morning and I got there. He was going to drive me, but I didn't want to be babysat. –That's beside the point. Which way is it?"

"Well, it was a couple streets back there. Turn right up at the next red light and after we've done that I'll tell you what to do next," Kagome replied.

"You better be right," Inuyasha said, getting into the turning lane as they approached the next red light.

--

"I could've sworn it was somewhere around here…" Kagome muttered. "Maybe you turn there—"

"Are you just _guessing_?"

"Kind of," Kagome admitted. "But this part of town has changed a lot since I was last here…"

Inuyasha sighed. "Great. We're lost."

"No! I _know_ where we _are_, I just don't know where we are _in relation to Baskin Robbins_," Kagome replied defensively. "Take a left."

"Is that the right way?"

"How should I know?"

"I'm glad you're not a cartographer," Inuyasha said.

"What do you mean? Don't you mean you wish I _was_?"

Inuyasha smirked. He replied, "Oh, that's right, I _do_, because if you were, you _just might_ KNOW WHERE WE'RE GOING!"

"Ha, ha, very funny," Kagome said dryly. "Wait! Why are you going right?"

"Because you said to go left," Inuyasha replied smugly.

"Then turn left again."

He did.

"NO! You were supposed to turn _right_, thinking I _wanted_ to go left!" Kagome wailed.

"Ah, but you see, I know when you're scheming something," Inuyasha said. Then he looked up at a sign and said suddenly, "But what is this!"

Kagome looked, and there was Baskin Robbins.

"How long have _you_ lived here, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked smugly.

"Aw, shut up," Kagome groaned.

--

Kagome swirled her milkshake around and around and around with her straw.

"Doesn't your mother ever tell you not to play with your food?" Inuyasha asked.

"Doesn't yours?" Kagome said, giggling at the ice cream mountain Inuyasha had been sculpting. Then she suddenly remembered… _His mother _can't_ tell him. She's _dead. "I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I didn't mean—"

"'S okay," Inuyasha said with a little shrug.

"And… I'm sorry about what I said about Kikyo," Kagome said. "Not just that she was famous, but everything. She seems like a very nice person—I know I couldn't stay mad at her for long."

"That was years ago… Besides, she's too old for me anyway," Inuyasha muttered.

"So you _did_ have a crush on her! Aww, that's so sweet," Kagome squealed.

Inuyasha made a face. "'So sweet'?" he repeated.

"I can just see you as a little freshman, asking her for help and blushing…" Kagome giggled.

"HEY, wha'do YOU know?" Inuyasha blustered suddenly, turning red.

Kagome just shook her head, sighed, and giggled.

"And what, exactly, is _that_ supposed to mean?"

Kagome took a large gulp of milkshake to avoid having to answer.

"…You're right," Inuyasha admitted finally. "I liked her. I almost asked her to a dance once, but she already had someone to go with. Some other guy on the drumline. She was really nice, and she was really patient with freshmen unlike all the other guys, who sometimes bullied us. I'm sure you know what _that's_ like."

"Yeah, I do. Especially last year," Kagome replied.

"I was being sarcastic," Inuyasha said flatly.

"Well, _I_ wasn't."

"Really?"

"Yeah. The seniors last year and this year still sometimes mess around with me. The problem is that I believe too much, and they know exactly how to get me. Once I trust someone, I go on trusting them. I started out trusting most of those guys, so nowadays whenever they trick me or something I'm shocked. And I hate it." Kagome swirled her milkshake with her straw some more. "I hate the way they make me feel so stupid. And that I ever believed them in the first place."

"I never woulda thought you were bullied," Inuyasha said. "I mean, _you_, of all people. You're, like, one of the best percussionists we have at the high school, and you're nice to them most of the time. And three or four of them have crushes on you."

"How can you keep _saying_ that?" Kagome said somewhat angrily. "They call me 'cute' and 'hot' and stuff just to see if I'll believe it. And they all hate me because I'm better than them!"

Defensively, Inuyasha said suddenly, "In case you haven't noticed, _I_ don't hate you."

Kagome paused a minute to stare at Inuyasha. "I know that," she said quietly. "And I don't hate _you_ either."

They were quiet as they stared at each other, but soon Kagome got nervous and looked back into her milkshake.

"You've said Mr. Naraku is prejudiced?" Inuyasha said, thinking up something else to talk about.

"Well, isn't it _obvious_? He's always zeroing in on you."

"Maybe he's just perverted or sexist," Inuyasha shrugged, "since he never gets mad at you and always gets onto me."

"Then what do you have to say about him kicking me off the drumline?" Kagome replied. "No, he's definitely a racist. A few people to my right, Jeff and Taylor were swordfighting with their sticks, and he didn't give them a second thought. Whereas you simply pointed a stick at me. The next thing you know, he was all over you."

"Does he just hate dogs? Because, I mean, Koga's a wolf, and he was _right there_ when we argued, and Mr. Naraku didn't give _him_ a second glance."

"Koga is a _lap_dog. He won't break any rules and sucks up to all the teachers," Kagome said. "And he's the most boring person on the face of the planet, though that's beside the point."

"…What do you plan to do about Mr. Naraku? You seem so against him, but he's the assistant principal! What could you possibly do to him?" Inuyasha asked.

"Collect evidence?..." Kagome said tentatively. "I don't have any particular plan yet, but I _know_ I've got to do _something_."

"Why? Because he kicked you off the drumline?"

"Not only that, but for… for everyone like you. It's so unfair and stupid."

"What's unfair and stupid? The fact that we've been created?" Inuyasha sounded defensive.

"No! –Racism. We simple human beings have lived always believing we were superior to all creatures on earth. And then all the genetically engineered human/animal mixes came along, and you were—depending on the animal—smarter, stronger, and faster than us. We couldn't accept that maybe we weren't the best, so people started saying bad things and refusing to allow genetically altered beings to go certain places. It was like… like before Martin Luther King, Jr., came along and ended racism towards African-Americans. And it's awful," Kagome realized she sounded like she was preaching and took a large gulp of milkshake to dispel the silence.

"What do you think about the whole genetic engineering thing?" Inuyasha asked.

"It's sad that we had to be the ones to do it," Kagome said, "since it makes us believe we have authority over you. If anything, you're superior, but at least—at _bare minimum_ you should be treated as equal."

"My grandmother hated it," Inuyasha said suddenly. "She was outraged at the thought that her son would be genetically altered before he was born. But she loved my grandfather, and it was what he wanted. I never met them, but Dad used to tell me the story all the time." He looked somewhere far off, into the past, and remembered aloud, "He had been treated awfully. Then he met Sessho-maru's mother, and they got married, just to share the pain and loneliness of being different. But he didn't _love_ her. Even after Sessho-maru was born, he still couldn't bring himself to love her. They got divorced. Then… he met someone special. Someone who loved him unconditionally. Someone who didn't care who… _what_… he was, even though she wasn't like him." Inuyasha looked down at his ice cream contemplatively, then back at Kagome. "Someone like you," he whispered shyly.

Kagome smiled softly at him.

Soon they became a little embarrassed, staring into each other's eyes, and looked away quickly. "What time is it?" Kagome asked lightly.

"Uh… the percussion clinic still has about an hour," Inuyasha said, furrowing his eyebrows at his watch.

Kagome sighed. "So, what do you want to do?"

"I don't know; what do you want to do?"

"I don't know; what… what movie is that from?" Kagome asked as she got up to throw away her milkshake cup. She got Inuyasha's empty ice cream cup on the way.

"Hm… something Disney and animated."

"I know. But there's too many of those…" Kagome said, and they laughed nervously. Silently they climbed into the car, and Inuyasha drove in the general direction of somewhere else.

"Where should we go?" Inuyasha asked once more.

"_The Jungle Book_! That's it!" Kagome exclaimed.

"Were you even listening?"

"What?" Kagome pretended she hadn't heard a word. "Did you say something?" Then she laughed and replied, "I don't know."

Inuyasha looked at his watch again. "I have to pick up Rin again today. And since I don't have anything else to do, I might as well go get her and save us some money. That all right with you?"

"Sure," Kagome shrugged. "Rin's hilarious."

"She's _something_," Inuyasha grumbled. Kagome laughed.

--

Inuyasha pulled into the driveway of Kagome's house.

"Thanks Inuyasha," Kagome said, gathering up her stick bag and purse. "Well, see you… in band on Monday. If we even go to band…" She reached over to open her door.

"Hey, Kagome?" Inuyasha reached over and caught her left hand with his right in case she thought she was leaving.

"Hm?" she turned back around.

"Everything will turn out all right—I promise. You'll see," Inuyasha reassured her.

"Thanks," Kagome said with a relieved smile. Then, without thinking about it, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. His hand released hers abruptly as he stared in shock.

Kagome grinned. "Bye."

"Bye Eggy!" Rin called as Kagome closed the door. She headed to the front door and smiled to herself. He wasn't so bad, Inuyasha. He was really very sweet.


	15. Chapter 14: Kagome & Algebra Do Not Mix

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Kagome and Algebra Do Not Mix (A Chapter about Nothing)**

Kagome walked into the band room as if nothing unusual had ever happened. Mr. Ikimasho was conversing with a few members of the drumline as they uncased their drums. Kagome went over and started taking hers out, as if this was nothing unusual.

"Miss Higurashi, I'd like to know what you're doing," Mr. Ikimasho said.

"I'm getting my drum out," Kagome replied as she put on her carrier and hooked the drum onto it.

"If you are no longer a member of the drumline, you are not allowed to touch the percussion equipment," Mr. Ikimasho said curtly.

"WHAT?!" Koga exclaimed from behind Mr. Ikimasho. "What are you talking about, Mr. I.?" James stared incredulously at both Mr. Ikimasho and Kagome.

"Mr. Ikimasho and Mr. Naraku kicked me off the drumline last Friday," Kagome said lightly.

"Boys, this isn't your concern—" Mr. Ikimasho was saying at the same time.

"It is too!" they yelled in unison.

"TO MY OFFICE, EVERY ONE OF YOU!" Mr. Ikimasho boomed. Inuyasha walked in at that moment and followed the drumline. He pushed his way around people and grabbed for Kagome's hand. She was intently staring at Mr. Ikimasho, and he guessed she wanted to bore a hole in his back.

"Kagome," he said softly, though, and she jumped in surprise.

"Oh! Inuyasha," she said with relief. "Mr. Ikimasho won't let me play. He says I'm still off the drumline."

"We'll see about that. I'll grab Ms. Miyazawa," Inuyasha reassured her. Gently he removed his hand from hers, and Kagome was just a little disappointed.

Everyone crowded into Mr. Ikimasho's office, and just as he opened his mouth to yell at them Inuyasha banged the door open and entered with Ms. Miyazawa. "_What_ is going on here?!" she demanded.

"He says I'm still off the drumline—"

"Mr. Ikimasho kicked Kagome off the—"

"And he won't let us stand up for her—"

"What did she do wrong, anyway?"

"Don't penalize Kagome for defending me—"

"HOLD IT!" Ms. Miyazawa screeched.

Everyone shut up.

"Now, everyone who is not Kagome or Inuyasha, OUT! This is none of your business, and I assure you that these two will be back on the drumline by the next game," Ms. Miyazawa commanded.

"But Mr. Naraku said—"

"_Mister_ Ikimasho," Ms. Miyazawa said in a voice that suggested she was down to her last nerve. "If you will _please_ let me _speak_. I am _only_ the director of bands, but I think I deserve a _little_ control over your drumline?"

Mr. Ikimasho scowled to himself as he turned around to curse her under his breath. The two didn't exactly get along well.

"Why don't you go tend to practice and I'll deal with these two? I think I can handle them," Ms. Miyazawa said sternly. Mr. Ikimasho grumbled as he left.

"Now, Inuyasha. I realize that perhaps, according to you, you only committed a minor offense. But you shouldn't have been threatening Kagome—"

"Um, excuse me, Ms. Miyazawa?" Kagome asked quietly.

Ms. Miyazawa stopped abruptly. She sighed. "Yes, Kagome?"

"He wasn't really threatening me. I mean, I wasn't scared. We argue all the time, but we're really friends. So I think it's a little extreme that he was kicked off, and therefore I came in to…"

"I understand. I recall your speech on Friday," Ms. Miyazawa replied. "And, I must admit, it _was_ rather over the top for Mr. Naraku to remove you from the drumline simply for standing up for your friend. But, to satisfy him and so we don't get in trouble, you two are suspended from using drumline equipment for today. Tomorrow, you may return to your drumline duties."

"Oh, thank you!" Kagome exclaimed, leaping up to hug her band director.

"You're welcome," Ms. Miyazawa replied, clearing her throat though smiling.

"What do we do _today_?" Inuyasha asked.

"Try sitting in the hall outside the band rooms where the choir director won't see you. Or go hide in a practice room. Just hide somewhere where you can't hear anybody playing, don't play anything, and wait until class is over," Ms. Miyazawa replied. She then laughed. "Maybe it's not much of a punishment."

"As long as Mr. Ikimasho thinks it is, we're fine," Inuyasha commented.

"True," Kagome shrugged. Then a thought struck her. "Are we excused from after-school marching today?" she asked happily.

Ms. Miyazawa sighed. "That would be like a reward. But orders are orders…" She sighed again. "Okay. You are hereby not allowed to attend practice," she said sternly.

"Darn!" Kagome pretended.

"Oh, I think I'll live," Inuyasha joked along.

They laughed, and called, "Thanks Ms. Miyazawa," on the way out.

--

Kagome slammed her Algebra II book open. "I hate math," she commented offhandedly.

"Me too," Inuyasha asked. "It's so pointless."

"Exactly!" Kagome replied, sliding open her calculator. "When in my life am I ever going to have to 'solve by completing the square'?!"

Inuyasha added, "Or put anything to the ½ power."

"Or find _x_ in terms of _p_, _z_, _j_, and _r_."

"Or find the slope of a line with the points (3, -5) which is perpendicular to a line with a slope of thirty-two sevenths."

"Or find the sine and cosine of a 67.9º angle, then solve for _c_, and find out the answer is something freaky like 234 times the square root of nineteen."

"Or figure out if a train leaves New York at 3:12 and another train leaves Virginia Beach at 7:34 what time they will meet in Sacramento without even considering why they're going to meet all the way in Sacramento or knowing if Virginia Beach even has a train station."

By this time they were both laughing uncontrollably. Kagome had to catch her breath before she could continue, "Or, if you cook the eggs at a temperature of 164 degrees and start the bacon at 7:12, what time will the toast be done?"

"If you have 65 gallons of an ideal gas at a pressure of 34 atmospheres and the temperature is at a constant 87 Kelvin, where did you get the ideal gas and who measures things in Kelvin?"

A little knock sounded on the door, and Ms. Miyazawa peeked in. She put a finger to her lips and kept walking.

Kagome sighed. "Do you know how to do number seventeen?" she asked, sliding the book over to where Inuyasha could see it.

"Yeah," he replied, scooting the chair closer. He leaned over her and took the pencil from her hand. His hand moved across the paper as he practically lay across Kagome's lap to explain. Somehow, she couldn't seem to concentrate on Algebra.

--

Kagome raced down the upstairs science wing, scanning the scads of people and colliding with quite a few. She looked to her left into the Physics I class, but it was empty. Just then she smacked headlong into someone coming from the way she was going.

"What are you doing up here? I thought you took Chemistry I," Inuyasha scowled, confused.

"Thank goodness I found you!" Kagome exclaimed. "I was up here looking for you. I… um, kinda don't have a ride home since we're not going to practice and my mom wouldn't be able to pick me up for two and a half more hours… so I was hoping…"

Inuyasha sighed. "Sessho-maru works here, remember? One car. Plus it's too hot to run home," he said as he turned Kagome by the shoulders. "Turn left. I have to go to my locker." Kagome followed his directions and he continued talking. "I'm stuck up here, too. And if you never told your mom you were kicked off, wouldn't she be kind of confused when you didn't have after-school practice?"

Kagome sighed. "Darnit, you're right. So, what will we _do_ for two and a half hours?"

"Homework. Talk. Practice. Who knows," Inuyasha said in a monotone, dropping a Physics book rather loudly into his locker and removing a notebook with LATIN written all over it.

"But we're not allowed to play the—"

"Kagome, they'll be down at the field for two hours. How will they _know_ if we use any equipment?" Inuyasha sighed.

"I don't know," Kagome said, and Inuyasha slammed his locker shut.

As they walked down the stairs, Kagome slipped on a step. Inuyasha quickly caught her as she teetered backwards. They froze in that position for a second, and then blushed and kept going.

--

"What's the quadratic formula again?" Kagome asked.

"_-b ± √b² - 4ac_ over _2a_" Inuyasha replied.

"Uh… could you repeat that?" Kagome replied, a little overwhelmed.

"Negative _b_… the little plus or minus sign… the square root of _b_ squared minus sign four times _a_ times _c_… divided by two times _a_."

"And how do you derive it?"

"Solve for _x_ in the equation ax² + bx + c 0."

"What is the purpose of Algebra?"

"Haven't we already been over this?!" Inuyasha exploded, exasperated.

"Yeah, but I'm so terrible in math," Kagome sighed. "I can't stand it, besides. And why do I have to take it? I mean, I get all the basic concepts and all, but there are some problems that I just… _don't get_. When am I _ever_ going to have to know _anything_ about 'ideal gas'?!"

"I could say the same for me and grammar. I mean, I can get most of the novels and junk. But all these stupid little rules and diagrams, and we have to do them _every single stupid year _of our _entire school career_… when am I _ever_ going to have to diagram a sentence?!"

"Were you mocking me?" Kagome demanded. She sighed loudly, and Inuyasha mimicked her. She put her book on the floor and crossed her arms. Inuyasha transferred the book out of his lap and put it on the floor in front of him, then crossed his arms.

Kagome coughed.

Inuyasha coughed.

Kagome sighed.

Inuyasha sighed.

Kagome crawled forward and hid behind the timpani.

Inuyasha moved so that Kagome could not see him behind the bass drum.

Kagome stood.

Inuyasha also got to his feet.

Kagome walked over towards Inuyasha and put her hands on her hips. She gave him a Look.

Inuyasha put his hands on his hips and gave her a Look back.

Kagome snorted, then burst out laughing. She teetered backwards and bumped into the bass drum, then had to sit down she was laughing so hard. "You… you… you looked like a _girl_!" she squealed, gasping for air.

"Thanks," Inuyasha muttered sarcastically. He then turned and sat back down, getting back to his homework.


	16. Chapter 15: Sick Day

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Sick Day**

Kagome woke up with a fever on Thursday morning. "This is _not_ happening," she groaned in a stuffy voice. "Mama, I _have to_ go to school and get better for the game tomorrow! It's an away game, and…" she trailed off to sneeze.

"Kagome, going to school won't make you any better," her mother said. "Grandpa will be here with you all day in his office, and if you need him you can call his phone."

"Okay," Kagome sighed, exhausted.

"And don't even _think_ about trying to do anything other than get plenty of rest," Mrs. Higurashi added. "I'm off to work. Bye, love."

"Bye Mama," Kagome croaked.

--

At twelve-thirty her phone rang. "Hello?" Kagome asked drowsily, seeing she was stuck in a stupor somewhere between sleep and consciousness.

"Kagome, is that you?"

"Inuyasha, why are you calling me? If Mr. Naraku sees you with a cell phone you'll be in trouble," Kagome reprimanded. She promptly coughed.

She heard a mumble in the background, and Inuyasha hissed something she couldn't quite understand. Then he returned his attention to her and said, "I'm in the band room, and I have the entire drumline guarding me. Some of them wondered where you were and I happened to have a cell phone."

"I'm sick," Kagome sneezed, as if this was not obvious. "Tell them I'll try to make it to school tomorrow, but not to count on it. I don't think I'll recover fast enough to go to the game either, even though I wanted to. If I have a temperature one degree above normal, Mama'll be all over me."

"Hey, don't just snatch—"

"Gimme the stupid phone—"

"It's _my_ damn phone! Why would I give it to _you_?" Apparently various members of the drumline wanted to take the phone from Inuyasha, and he was trying his best to keep a firm hold of the phone.

"Just lemme have a second talking to—"

"She doesn't wanna hear any of your jackass cracks!"

"Oh? Is that so?" One of the boys's voices was much louder now, and when Inuyasha spoke it seemed farther off. Kagome decided possession of the phone had changed hands.

"Give back the damn phone! She doesn't like when you treat her—"

"And how do you know, hm? Is she your _girlfriend_ or something, dog-boy? Funny, I guess that makes her a bitch."

"You shut the hell up—"

Kagome took a deep breath, then yelled into the phone with all the volume and anger she could muster, "DRUMLINE! TEN-HUT!"

"Move!" someone shouted, but other than that there was instant silence.

"Stop being idiots," Kagome said loudly, then slammed the phone down.

--

"Kagome, how are you doing?" Kagome's grandfather said, entering her room all of a sudden.

Kagome jumped in fright—she had been staring placidly at the ceiling and hadn't even heard him coming—and glanced at her clock. It was around 5:30, which meant Sota was supposed to be home and Mama was close to leaving work. "Where's Sota?" she asked, and when she spoke she was surprised to find that her voice sounded perfectly normal.

"He went to Satoru's after school," Grandpa answered. "Your mother will be picking him up on her way home."

"Okay," Kagome said. "And I'm feeling fine. Better, even. What's up?"

"I believe something is wrong with your phone line. I was going to call you, but when I tried it said the phone had been disconnected or something."

Kagome made a confused face and picked up the receiver of the phone. It didn't sound a dial tone. "That's odd," she muttered. Then she sat up in bed and peeked behind the nightstand. The cord had come out of the wall—she must've pulled it out on accident. "Oh, the cable was disconnected again. I need a new one; this one always slips out."

"I'll make a note of that," her grandfather said. "Now, you have a visitor, a young man who goes by the name of Inuyasha."

Kagome had been lying down, but at the mention of his name she bolted upright. "What's he doing here?!"

"He told me he was trying to reach you all afternoon but your line was disconnected and your cell phone was off. Apparently we're experiencing the same problem. He wanted to speak with you, but I wasn't sure if you'd like any visitors considering the state you're in. Should I take a message and send him away, or could he come in?"

Kagome looked across the room into the mirror of her dresser. Her hair was acceptable-looking, and since her pajamas were only scrubs from when Mama worked at the hospital… "Oh, sure, why not. Just give me a second."

Her grandfather nodded and left. Kagome leapt out of bed, retrieved her hairbrush, and ran it madly through her hair. She tried to sweep it up into a bun, but she couldn't find an elastic and gave up. She had just jumped back under her covers when Inuyasha knocked on her door. "Kagome?"

"Come in," she called.

The door opened slowly, and Inuyasha entered her room even more slowly, examining it as he entered.

"Why are you here?" Kagome asked a bit bluntly.

"I never got the chance to tell you that we're performing as a pep rally tomorrow morning and we needed to know whether or not to expect you. I tried to call, but—"

Kagome nodded. "My phone came unplugged… and," she stuck an arm out from under the blankets and picked up her cell phone from the nightstand, "it looks like my cell phone battery died." She kept the covers tightly wrapped around her, but slowly she sat up.

"Well, are you better, or should I be holding my breath?" Inuyasha joked playfully.

"What was the deal with the phone?" Kagome asked, although she very well knew what had gone on.

"What 'deal with the phone'?" Inuyasha played dumb.

"Like you don't know," Kagome sighed. "Who was the idiot trying to take it?"

"Steven. Well, Koga was first, and he probably wanted to tell you to get well or something equally sappy. But then Steven decided he wanted it, and Harris was in on it, and I think once Jeff tried to restrain me or something so they could snatch it," Inuyasha shrugged. "Boy was it hilarious when you came screaming over the phone—"

"It wasn't, like, a big fight, I hope?" Kagome asked, concerned.

"Nah. They were mostly just messing around," Inuyasha replied. "I was afraid they'd hurt my phone, though," he added a few seconds later, as if to throw off any suspicion that he really had wanted to protect Kagome from their jokes. She wondered if he remembered what she had said over ice cream or if maybe he really _was_ just trying to get his phone back. "So, are you coming?"

"To what?" Kagome asked blankly, still lost in thought.

"School tomorrow and the game?"

"Oh, that," she blushed. "Um, yeah, I think. I hope. I mean, I feel better now that I've slept all day, but my mom'll have the last say. –I know, I'll call you if she says no, and otherwise you can expect me to play the pep rally with the rest of you tomorrow morning."

"'Kay," Inuyasha replied. He turned to leave, then hesitated a little before spitting out quickly, "Well, I'mgladyou'refeelingbetterseeyoutomorrowbye!" With that he jetted out of her room, practically slamming the door.

Kagome laughed at his exit. Then she wondered, somewhat angrily, if Miroku or Sango had ever thought to write her name on the bus list. If not, she would be stuck with whoever didn't have a partner when they boarded tomorrow. She sighed and considered calling them, then realized they had each other to think about and probably hadn't even noticed her absence.

Kagome sighed, fell back on the pillows, and told herself that it could be worse. Someone she _didn't_ like could have signed it for her. Waitaminute. How did she know that hadn't already happened? "Damnit," she said aloud.

--

The next day at school, Kagome rushed down the halls, glimpsing band members emerging from their classrooms on the way. The directors had forgotten to call them out of class—_again_. She hoped Inuyasha hadn't relied on them and wouldn't be late, then felt stupid for worrying about him and quickened her pace.

The band room, as always, was chaos. Uniforms were all over the floor among shoe bags, backpacks, and instrument cases. Everyone was talking and trying to move around at the same time. A large circle of people were gathered around the dry-erase board at the front of the band room. The bus list!

Kagome waded through piles of other people's belongings to reach the lists. They were posted on four pieces of paper—their band would occupy four buses. It was only big enough to completely fill three of them, but the handful of people left couldn't just be kicked out or left behind, so they booked four buses.

The people, as usual, were rather unevenly distributed. Nobody, it appeared to Kagome, was willing to ride on bus four except for about fifteen freshmen and… Inuyasha. On the seat right next to him—not a few seats back, where nobody was sitting, or across from him even—was her name.

"Who wrote this dumb bus list?!" Kagome blustered.

Jeff, who was nearby, snickered. Steven burst out laughing.

"I'll bet you had something to do with this!" Kagome said, yelling at the seniors as if she had authority over them.

"Well, your boyfriend seemed so eager to help you yesterday that we figured you'd wanna sit with him," Steven sneered. "The dog-boy and his bitch. How sweet."

"And wasn't he carrying your drum this morning?" Jeff added.

"I asked him to because I was going to be late and he was the only one I could reach!"

"Oh, so you have his phone number, too? Well, it's only natural since he has yours…"

"Knock it off, guys," Kagome snapped.

"Kagome and Inuyasha… too bad, I thought she was kinda hot," Steven said loudly to Jeff. "But, again, it's only natural that a bitch pair up with a dog."

"Shut the fuck up!" Inuyasha hollered, coming out of nowhere.

Kagome slunk away, embarrassed for a moment although she wasn't sure why. She carefully collected her things and went off to the restroom.

Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi all happened to be in there at the same time.

"Why didn't you guys sign me up for a seat?!" Kagome blustered. "The drumline pulled some dumb joke on me and now I'm sitting with Inuyasha on the loser bus!"

"Oh, we're sorry, Kagome," Ayumi said. "But we all wanted to be on bus three and signed up together. Sango and Miroku were going to be on two, and we thought they would sign you up. Plus three barely had enough seats."

"C'mon, Inuyasha can't be that bad. And we'll call you on our cell phones so you have somebody to talk to," Yuka said cheerfully.

"And it's not like you have to sit next to him. Bus four has tons of extra seats. You can sit a mile away from him. I mean, it's not like the chaperones are particular about the seating chart," Eri muttered, reapplying mascara and barely glancing at Kagome.

Sango ran giggling into the bathroom. She shouted through the door, "If you come in here you're dead!"

"Well, you didn't do yourself a favor coming in either. Why didn't you put me on the bus sign-up sheet?!" she demanded.

"Kagome! Oh my gosh! I just thought… you had already signed it…" Sango looked embarrassed. She looked down and turned a light shade of pink.

"How _could_ I have? I was _home sick_! Or did you not even notice my absence with _Miroku_ around? What was yesterday, 'let's pretend Kagome doesn't exist' day?!" Kagome snapped.

Sango's lip trembled, and her eyes teared up. "Gosh, Kagome, I guess I just wasn't thinking…" she muttered.

Kagome reached forward and lightly embraced her friend. "I'm sorry Sango. The seniors on the drumline put me on the freshmen bus next to Inuyasha. But it's okay, really. I don't have to sit with him because there's so many extra seats. Don't sweat it. I'll be fine. And I can just meet up with you all when we get to the mall, okay?" She patted Sango's back.

Sango rubbed at her eyes a little, and after she sniffled once she appeared fine. "Sorry Kagome," she shrugged. "But can't you get your bus changed?"

"Ms. Joyner is in charge of the buses again, and you know her—she shows no mercy," Kagome sighed. "But don't worry. I'm sorry I upset you Sango."

Sango shrugged again. "I'm okay. I just hope you'll be okay. But then again, think about it," she laughed nervously, "it might be a good thing. I'm sure none of the freshmen will bother you…"

"Hey!" Kagome turned around, grabbed her pillow, and pretended she was going to hit Sango over the head with it.

"Help! No! Mercy! Mercy!" Sango joked, rushing into one of the stalls.

"So, you're okay with this, Kagome?" Ayumi asked.

Before Kagome could answer, Eri replied, "Of course she is. She just said so. Well, we'll meet you at the mall, Kagome." And, with that, they exited the bathroom.

Kagome glared at the spot where they had been. "Thanks a lot."


	17. Chapter 16: Bus Ride Antics

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Bus Ride Antics**

Kagome climbed reluctantly onto the bus and stormed down the aisle. She wasn't mad at poor Sango anymore, but as for those three… like _hell_ she'd answer if they called her cell phone!

"The drumline has a lotta jerks on it," Inuyasha commented as she approached his seat. He had chosen a row several seats back from all the freshmen, who were sitting close to the front and all squished up. "Sorry they had to do this to you. I didn't know they were planning it—otherwise I woulda stopped it—"

Kagome shrugged. "I'm not mad at _you_," she said, settling into the seat across the aisle from him. "I'm infuriated at the seniors, however, and my so-called 'friends' for not caring enough to put my name on the list." She stuffed her shoe bag into the bin above her seat, then added her backpack minus her CD player and a book she had to read for English. "Except Sango. At least she was honest and honestly sorry," she added to her statement.

Her cell phone rang. Immediately she pounced on her purse and pulled it out. The caller ID read "Ayumi." Kagome shoved the phone back into her purse and busied herself with folding up the armrest between the two seats.

"Aren't you going to pick up?" Inuyasha asked cautiously.

"Not if it's Eri, Yuka, or Ayumi," Kagome snapped.

"Yikes," Inuyasha said, backing off.

"Sorry, I'm just cross at them."

"Yeah. I can tell."

Kagome sighed loudly. "So why are you sitting all alone here on the freshman bus?"

"Well, I can't stand to be around most of the drumline if I can help it, and I… just felt like it," he finished lamely. "I like having my own seat," he added, to reinforce his answer.

Kagome wondered if he really had that few friends. "Okay," she replied softly.

Then Sessho-maru stepped onto the bus and started yelling out roll. When he got to Kagome and Inuyasha all the little freshmen turned around and stared, for they hadn't quite noticed the two. Kagome said, "Here!" brightly in reply, and Inuyasha lifted a hand and expected his brother to look up. He finally did to see where Inuyasha was and angrily frowned. "Please reply _aloud_, Inuyasha," he said crossly.

"Well, you already know _I'm_ here! Didn't you drive me to _school_ this morning? And I just asked you something _five minutes ago_!" Inuyasha snapped.

All the freshmen laughed and Sessho-maru threatened his brother with a glare. "Just because we're related doesn't mean I'll go easy on you," he said venomously.

Inuyasha shrugged coolly. "Whatever."

Sessho-maru opened his mouth to speak again, then just turned and got off the bus.

"_That_, Inuyasha, is the kind of attitude that will get you kicked off the drumline again," Kagome warned under her breath, half-hoping he wouldn't hear her.

"Well, thanks for the warning," Inuyasha replied sarcastically. Kagome sighed. This was going to be a pretty long bus ride.

--

"Who are you listening to?" Inuyasha asked, interrupting Kagome as she tried to read _Jane Eyre_.

Kagome closed the book, moved the headphones off of her ears, and asked, "What'd you say?"

"Who are you listening to?" Inuyasha repeated. "The songs sound familiar, but I can't remember the name of the group…"

"Evanescence," Kagome replied.

"I _knew_ they sounded familiar…" Inuyasha said somewhat to himself. He then asked Kagome with a laugh, "While reading _Jane Eyre_?"

Kagome sighed. "Actually, I've been on page thirteen for the past half hour."

"I figured," Inuyasha replied. "Kikyo likes Evanescence, too," he replied, again more to himself than to Kagome.

Kagome shrugged nonchalantly and put the headphones back on.

Inuyasha said something to her, and she removed them immediately after. "What was that?"

"Can I borrow that CD for a while… I mean, when you're done with it?"

"Sure," Kagome replied, then put her headphones back on. She dumped _Jane Eyre_ on the seat next to her and stared out the window.

--

After a little bit Kagome passed the CD over to Inuyasha, who promptly started listening to it. She watched him skip tentatively skip through the songs, then rest on song #4. Kagome realized almost immediately that the fourth song was "My Immortal," and wondered somewhat bitterly if it was Kikyo's favorite song.

--

Dinner at the mall had been chaos, as usual, and most of the senior brass section got in trouble for running through the mall shouting and wielding empty water guns. Kagome and Sango were still on speaking terms, of course, but she still spent most of the time avoiding Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi. When she got back on the bus (in uniform, most unfortunately), she found that her Evanescence CD was waiting on her seat. "Thanks," she said to Inuyasha, pulling down her backpack to put away all her valuables before they reached the football game. It was never good to leave them out in the open.

Inuyasha, in uniform already and seated comfortably across from her, nodded in response. He was wearing headphones. Kagome was about to ask what he was listening to when she saw the stiff, torn-open plastic that usually protected CDs and the very same Evanescence CD he had just returned. She realized with wonder that he had just purchased it at the mall. As Kagome stood back up to stuff her backpack into the overhead bin, she glanced at Inuyasha's CD player. Song #4 _again_. What was it with Inuyasha and "My Immortal?"

--

"So we lost. Again," Kagome sighed to Sango as they trudged back to the buses.

"Yeah, well, we didn't have as many adoring fans as usual," Sango replied, "since it rained until the last three minutes in the fourth quarter."

"Yeah, I'm sure that had something to do with it," Kagome replied. Water ran down her bangs and dripped into her face. She was soaked to the bone and in her band t-shirt and blue jeans. When the band had reached Concordia High's stadium, it was already pouring down rain. They had been instructed to remove their uniforms, which were dry-clean only, and tuck in their band shirts (which they did rather reluctantly). Only brass and the marching drumline (not the pit players, because the xylophones and timpani couldn't get wet) brought their instruments, and the woodwind players had sat around in the stands, most wearing ponchos or sporting umbrellas, while the brass players gasped for air (through accidental mouthfuls of rainwater) and the drumline banged away, without any rain protection whatsoever, having the time of their lives. They hadn't marched halftime, so the halftime show had been a rather boring, rather poor performance by the high schools' dance teams and cheerleaders.

"I hope you brought some extra clothes," Sango commented sympathetically to Kagome. Sango was nice and dry inside her big blue poncho. Miroku, on the other hand, was as wet as Kagome. Sango turned to him. "And if you get any of my stuff wet or drip on me I'm going to sit with Jessica."

"Yes your highness," Miroku replied, which made him deserving of a whack upside the head.

"Yeah, I have another t-shirt and scrub pants," Kagome replied. "But I don't know how I'll accomplish changing on the bus."

"It's just Inuyasha," Sango commented, and it was her turn to be whacked upside the head.

Kagome dried off her drum with a towel she kept in her drum case and tried to dry off her sticks. When she was finally able to board the bus she discovered it was almost as wet as outside. The floor was covered in puddles and pieces of grass that had stuck to people's band shoes. Soggy and tired, she tugged her backpack down from the overhead bin and removed her change of clothes.

She proceeded to the small bathroom in the back of the tour bus. Once she had figured out that the light came on only if you locked the door the right way, she attempted to peel off her band t-shirt, setting the other clothes on the floor. She closed the lid of the toilet and tried to sit down on it.

The toilet lid gave under her weight and she quickly stood up, afraid to break it. She then pulled her shirt off and bumped into the button that flushes the toilet. This was unexpected, obviously, and scared her to death so that she shrieked.

Then she pulled the dry shirt on and tried to remove her blue jeans. They were practically plastered to her skin, but when she had finally peeled them off and put on her scrubs, she figured she had made it. She then bent down to collect her other clothes, but this was difficult in the small space. She braced herself against the door to stand up, gingerly holding out her soaking wet clothes, which she dumped into a blue plastic bag. She tied the handles together and tried to turn around to leave, but it was this final turning motion that caused her to turn the latch so completely around that the door flung open under her weight and she tumbled backwards out into the aisle of the tour bus, with no time to react whatsoever. She landed dumbly, sprawled on her back, and found herself staring up at Inuyasha's half-concerned, half-more than amused face. "Are you okay?" he snickered.

Kagome sat up gingerly and rubbed the back of her head, which was throbbing. "No," she replied. Inuyasha offered her his hand and she stood. She then realized, as she clearly viewed him right-side-up, that he looked like a drowned rat. His hair was messy and soaked and dripping all over. She couldn't help but giggle. "You don't look so hot yourself," she commented.

"Aw, shut up," Inuyasha muttered, pushing past her into the small restroom with his change of clothes.


	18. Chapter 17: A Mutual Disgrace

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: A Mutual Disgrace**

Kagome was combing her wet bangs out when Inuyasha came back down the aisle, slightly drier. His long hair was still a massive tangled mess, though. It would dry looking like a disaster if he didn't do anything about it.

"Do you need a comb?" Kagome asked, holding hers up in question.

"I can't do a damn thing with my hair. It'll just be a mess and that'll be the end of it," Inuyasha replied. He then shook his head a little, spraying Kagome with water droplets.

"Hey, one rain shower is enough," Kagome protested, and he stopped eventually. She then laughed at the hopeless mess that was his hair. "Want me to comb it out for you?" she offered.

"What is it with girls and hair?" he muttered, but he turned to face his window so that all his hair was facing Kagome. She had to get up and sit directly behind him. Slowly she dragged the comb through the long, silky hair, which was miraculously clean-feeling and –smelling. The problem was that there was so _much_ of it, and it was all over the place.

Yet Kagome worked diligently, tangle after tangle, carefully avoiding his fuzzy ears, until finally she swished the comb through his hair one last time and said, "I think you're done."

By this time Inuyasha had donned his headphones and was listening to Evanescence again. The whole CD this time, but it really didn't make up for much because "My Immortal" was on there twice.

Suddenly he swore and turned around. "My CD player's out of batteries. Do you have any?"

Kagome shook her head. "Sorry—my batteries ran out, like, right after we left the mall."

Inuyasha sighed and removed his headphones, and Kagome got up to go back to her seat. "Oh, by the way, to thank you," Inuyasha said as she sat down, "I'll inform you that you have a leaf embedded in your hair."

"How'd it get there?"

"Steven," Inuyasha sighed.

"Thanks a lot," Kagome said, half-sarcastically, realizing that since he had known this all along he hadn't done anything to stop it, either.

Kagome reached up and tried to find the leaf. Eventually her fingers met a foreign object slipped down into her bun. She tore it out, but when she felt again there was still some leaf in her now-mostly dry hair. She tried to remove the fragment, but this time she loosened the bun and completely ruined it, besides that her arms were tired from messing with her hair for so long.

She realized how difficult it would be to retrieve the rest of the leaf and therefore took her hair down from its bun. She then combed gently through her slightly damp hair, which had curled a bit from being twisted up in a bun.

After a few seconds of combing she happened to glance over and realize Inuyasha was staring at her. "What?" she demanded lightheartedly.

"Your… hair," he said simply.

"What about it? Is it such a shock to see it down?"

"Yeah," Inuyasha replied. "I mean, no… I mean… it looks… _good_."

"Well, thanks." Kagome combed a few more times before adding, "I think."

"You look like…" he whispered softly.

Kagome froze in her combing, sighed obviously, then continued. "Kikyo," she guessed.

"An angel," Inuyasha finished, his voice its normal volume.

Kagome turned to him, giving him a curious look. She tilted her head to the side. "Are you kidding me like the rest of the drumline idiots?"

"No," Inuyasha replied honestly with a small shake of his head for emphasis.

Kagome felt herself turning pink. "Um…"

Inuyasha looked away first. "I'm tired," he mumbled, sitting forwards in his seat. But that, he discovered, was uncomfortable, so he ended up kicking off his shoes and lying down on the two seats. He lay so that his head was close to the aisle and he could see out his window.

"That looks comfortable," Kagome commented. She situated her own pillow so that she was lying that way, too. Another long silence passed between the two of them, during which one of the band mothers turned the lights off and all the freshmen—by some unexpected stroke of luck—voted to not watch a movie and just sleep.

"How's it start again?" Inuyasha asked in the darkness.

"Hm?" Kagome asked.

"How does 'My Immortal' begin?"

"Um…  
'_I'm so tired of being here__  
Suppressed by all my childish fears  
And if you have to leave__  
I wish that you would just leave__  
Because your presence still lingers here  
And it won't leave me alone…_'" Kagome sang.

They softly sang the chorus in unison.

" '_These wounds won't seem to heal__  
This pain is just too real__  
There's just too much that time cannot erase__  
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears__  
When you screamed I'd fight away all of your fears  
And I held your hand through all of these years  
But you still have all…  
All of me._'"

"Did _Kikyo_ have some kind of dead love?" Kagome asked bitterly. Then she realized how rude she sounded and clapped a hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry! Pretend I didn't say that," she mumbled through her hand.

"No," Inuyasha replied. "But she thought that he might as well be dead, since he couldn't take a hint. He was in band, but not on the drumline. I even tried to help her get him once. I remember I had to strike up a conversation with him, and then she would start playing part of the show. I called attention to her and talked to him about how good she was, and didn't he think she was hot? He just laughed and said I was a dumb freshman, and I always wondered if he knew I was doing it for her." Inuyasha laughed. "They applied for the same college, and the last time I heard from her they were together."

"So it worked?" Kagome asked.

"I guess it did," Inuyasha sighed.

"Inuyasha?"

"Mm?"

"You all right?"

"…Yeah," he sighed again.

"If you need anything, I'm… I'm here for you," Kagome said softly.

"I think I need…" Inuyasha sat up. "Your pillow."

"Hey! That's not fair!" Kagome exclaimed, sitting up as well and turning to face him. "I think I _need_ my pillow too!"

"Then get over here and share it."

"WHAT?!"

"I mean—" Inuyasha looked away for a second, and almost blushed, "it's huge, right, so we can lean our seats back and stretch it between them."

Kagome considered this for a long time, studying Inuyasha critically. Finally she stood and sighed. "Okay."

They got settled and leaned back comfortably. "I hate freshmen," Kagome sighed.

"Same here."

"They think they're so cool… they haven't grasped the fact that band members are just _nerds_ and that's life," Kagome said with disgust.

"Hey! I am _not_ a nerd," Inuyasha replied. "Besides, the drumline's the coolest part of the band!"

"Yeah, but still a part," Kagome replied. "You're a nerd and you know it."

"Am not."

"Well, Mr. Not-a-Nerd, who else can recite the quadratic formula when they haven't used it in a year or two? Who is taking Advanced Math _junior_ year, hm? _Hm_?"

Inuyasha held up his hands. "Okay, I surrender. I'm a nerd, if it makes you happy."

"Why if it makes me happy?"

"So you'll stop bugging me."

"Oh." Kagome paused a minute. "Now, be honest… what's the real reason for me coming over here? Because these seats have built-in pillows, and you didn't need another one if you were going to sit like this."

"I guess I was a little lonely," Inuyasha shrugged. "And I just want to talk."

"Okay. Talk about what?"

"I don't know."

"So what, you wanna play twenty questions?" Kagome asked sarcastically.

"My turn to ask _you_ a question. Um…" Inuyasha paused.

"Ask away," Kagome said impatiently.

"Are you…"

"Am I…?" Kagome mocked.

"Never mind."

"Don't 'never mind' me."

"Um…"

"Out with it!"

"…a virgin?"

Kagome bopped him immediately. "OF COURSE! WHY WOULDN'T I BE?!" she hollered.

Inuyasha put his hand over her mouth. "Sssh. I didn't mean to say _that_," he replied. He could feel his face burning. "It came out of nowhere. I didn't even _mean_ to say that. Sorry."

"It's okay, I guess, but it was kind of an absurd question. Why would I not be if I've never had a boyfriend?!" Kagome snapped bitterly.

"You serious?" Inuyasha asked incredulously.

"Um, _yeah_."

"That's a big surprise."

"Oh, ha ha."

"No, I mean it."

"Cut it out."

"I'm serious."

"Shut up, okay?"

"I really mean it. You're beautiful and caring and sweet and I can't believe no one has ever asked you out. You must be mistaken—surely—"

"I don't know where you're going with this fake flattery, but it's annoying. What if I were to ask you a personal question and make fun of you for your answer? What are you going to ask next? Have I ever been _kissed_? Well, I'll tell you now, the answer's no," Kagome snapped, getting ready to get up and move. She was planning to yank the pillow out from under Inuyasha's head after she was up, but he spoke too soon.

"Neither have I."

Kagome froze. "What?"

"I've never been kissed, either. –It's nothing for _you_ to be ashamed of, but it is for me. I'm a _junior_ for God's sake, and probably the only one who's never been kissed," Inuyasha said, sounding disappointed.

"Why wouldn't anyone want to kiss you?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha thought for a second she was mocking him, since she had not seemed to believe his honest observations, but then he glanced over at her and she was staring at him intently.

"Have you forgotten my ears and my hair and my speed? _Hello_, I'm a genetically mutated _freak_," Inuyasha replied.

And suddenly Kagome was leaning over him. "I like you just the way you are," she whispered, leaning in.


	19. Chapter 18: Escaping the PDA Police

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Escaping the PDA Police**

"I don't know where you're going with this fake flattery, but it's annoying. What if I were to ask you a personal question and make fun of you for your answer? What are you going to ask next? Have I ever been _kissed_? Well, I'll tell you now, the answer's no," Kagome snapped, getting ready to get up and move. She was planning to yank the pillow out from under Inuyasha's head after she was up, but he spoke too soon.

"Neither have I."

Kagome froze. "What?"

"I've never been kissed, either. --It's nothing for _you_ to be ashamed of, but it is for me. I'm a _junior_ for God's sake, and probably the only one who's never been kissed," Inuyasha said, sounding disappointed.

"Why wouldn't anyone want to kiss you?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha thought for a second she was mocking him, since she had not seemed to believe his honest observations, but then he glanced over at her and she was staring at him intently.

"Have you forgotten my ears and my hair and my speed? _Hello_, I'm a genetically mutated _freak_," Inuyasha replied.

And suddenly Kagome was leaning over him. "I like you just the way you are," she whispered, leaning in.

--But just then a flashlight switched on at the front of the bus. Kagome leapt up and raced across the aisle and hissed to Inuyasha, "Pretend you're asleep!"

"Why?"

"Just do it, idiot!" She sat in her seat and put her headphones over her ears, even though they couldn't play anything, and leaned onto an elbow to look out the window. She let her eyelids droop to give the impression of sleepy boredom. Nervously she glanced across the aisle at Inuyasha, but he had his head rolled back and his mouth open, snoring softly.

"Don't be too dramatic," Kagome whispered again, and the snoring became a tiny noise she could barely hear.

And not a moment too soon! The flashlight beam nearly blinded Kagome. "Go 'way," she groaned, shielding her eyes with her arm. The beam left and traveled to Inuyasha, who breathed quietly and seemed oblivious to the light.

Then the chaperone made her way back up the aisle, stopping to make two freshmen turn off their reading lights so the bus could sleep.

Slowly Kagome removed her headphones. She then scooted to the edge of her seat and glanced down the aisle. Everyone was in their seats, and while some of the freshmen were still talking, the bus was mostly silently asleep.

Kagome tiptoed back over to her spot next to Inuyasha, who opened an eye upon feeling her sit down. "What was that about?" Inuyasha questioned, his voice bitterly sarcastic. "Too embarrassed to be seen with me?"

"No, you idiot," Kagome sighed. "She was the PDA police! If she had seen us she would have moved me or something and would keep checking on us. But now she doesn't suspect anything and we'll be left in peace."

"Liar," Inuyasha grunted.

"Just shut up while you're ahead," Kagome advised, yanking a strand of his hair so he would turn and look at her.

"Hey! That hurt--"

And with that she leaned over and kissed him.

Inuyasha stared at her after the brief kiss, dumbstruck.

"Ah… I… sorry!" Kagome said hurriedly. She stuttered, "I-I didn't really mean--it just came out of nowhere and--I didn't even ask if you--it was very rude to--"

"Don't apologize," Inuyasha said, reaching out and covering her mouth. He gave her a little smile. "It was nice."

"Are you mad?" Kagome mumbled through his hand, still looking a little fearful and sorry.

"Not at all," Inuyasha replied with a soft laugh. He dropped his hand.

Kagome smiled a teensy bit too. "Well, um…" She felt her face turning pink.

Inuyasha suddenly reached up and seized the pillow, then stuffed it behind him. When Kagome reached for it, he bargained bravely, "Do that again and you can have your pillow back."

"Do what again?" Kagome asked innocently, playing dumb.

Inuyasha moved the pillow around, propped it on the window, and leaned up against it. "Too bad," he taunted, "it's a very nice pillow."

"If that's the way it's gonna be…" Kagome muttered. She dove under the seat and came up, minutes later, with Inuyasha's CD player, despite the fact that its batteries no longer worked. It was the principle of the thing.

"Hey, what are you doing with that?" Inuyasha asked, suddenly sitting up.

Kagome moved across the aisle to her seat and stuffed her own CD player into her purse, which she shoved under the seat in front of her. "Stealing it," she teased.

"Oh, no you don't," Inuyasha growled in low quiet voice, menacingly approaching her seat.

"Oh yes I do!" Kagome giggled as quietly as she could giggle, trying not to make too much noise and alert the freshmen a few seats up. She stuffed Inuyasha's CD player into the pocket of the seat in front of her.

"You will pay!" Inuyasha growled playfully, reaching out and--to Kagome's hysterical astonishment--tickling her in the side.

Kagome squealed and squirmed before Inuyasha clamped a hand over her mouth and whispered that they were being too loud. They fell silent and waited to see if a chaperone would get up, but the bus was fairly still and the loud whispers of several freshmen had masked their noises of flirting.

They then looked at each other and discovered the interesting position they were in: Kagome hung mostly off of the seat and was slipping down into the crack between the seats, but her legs were on the seat beside her and Inuyasha was on top of them, pinning her down. He more or less lay across her and had leaned down into the crack with her.

"Inuyasha, I'm falling," Kagome whispered.

"Well, I'm falling with you," he replied.

Kagome thought for a moment, then said, "Will you get off and help me up?"

"Why should I?"

Kagome replied with a wicked smile, "Because if you don't I won't let go of your ears." She reached up and started playing with them, petting the fur gently with her fingertips and giggling when they twitched.

"Kagome, a threat like that isn't going to make me want to get up," Inuyasha replied, his eyelids drooping and a smile of helpless pleasure spreading over his face all on its own.

Kagome smiled at how cute he looked, but she withdrew her hands. "Then I'll let go if you _don't_ get off. Now hurry up; all the blood is rushing to my head."

"Are you sure?" Inuyasha asked, finally getting up and tugging Kagome into an upright position. "I coulda sworn you were just blushing."

Kagome leaned against the window, closed her eyes, and inhaled sharply, feeling dizzy; and Inuyasha reached out and steadied her by placing his hand on her shoulder. "You okay?" he asked softly.

Kagome opened her eyes slowly, but then she sat up and nodded. "Yeah. I'll be fine."

Inuyasha nearly fell off the edge of the seat as the bus hit a bump. "Can I have some more room?"

"Oh. Sure," Kagome replied, swinging her legs off of the seats and moving to a normal sitting position.

Inuyasha took the seat beside her. "Now, where were we?" he asked, leaning his head onto her shoulder.

"I think I was just about to ask for my pillow back," Kagome replied, elbowing his head back off of her shoulder.

"Oh?" Inuyasha asked innocently as he sat up. "And how were you to do that again?"

Kagome touched his face and smiled. "I think it was like this," she replied, and then they kissed again. This time Inuyasha really got into it, as did Kagome, and they leaned towards the window with their arms around each other.

Kagome was the first to try to break away, and when she succeeded she came up gasping. Inuyasha's head dropped and nestled comfortably upon her bosom, but she remembered they were on a tour bus with the majority of the freshman band and found herself blushing and squirming a little.

"Do you really need a pillow?" Inuyasha was asking, "because I don't want to get up. And you're really a much better pillow than your pillow."

Kagome tried to push him off, but he muttered flatly, "I'm not going anywhere."

So she played with his ears again, and he smiled hugely. Soon he whimpered, which was enough to make Kagome want to kiss him again. She couldn't pry his face off her chest, however, so she kissed the tips of his ears. She felt him shudder beneath her lips.

"We need to stop this," Inuyasha said suddenly, trying to make himself move. "As you'll recall, we're not in the most private of places…"

Kagome agreed as Inuyasha finally sat up. "I'd like to be your pillow again sometime, though," she said before she realized what she was saying and blushed.

"We can still sit together," Inuyasha said, and he put his right arm around her waist and kissed a random spot on her neck.

Kagome shivered happily in response, but she wormed out of his reach and commanded, "First bring me my pillow."

Inuyasha groaned. "Not the pillow again…"

"Do I need to ask again?" Kagome threatened, pretending to be menacing but hinting at another kiss.

"Too late," Inuyasha said, "I'm already getting it." He pulled it from between the seat and the window, then brought it across the aisle to Kagome.

"Hmmm…" she plotted, leaning her seat back some and spreading the pillow across the two seats as Inuyasha did the same. "Now what?" She shivered without realizing she had.

"You're cold," Inuyasha stated. He leaned across the aisle for the blanket he had so conveniently brought along and spread it over both of them. Then he turned on his side so he could pull Kagome even closer. "I better warm you up," he whispered into her ear. Slowly the two of them, blissfully comfortable with being so close, drifted to sleep.

"Hey, drumline girl!" a voice said from somewhere in front of Kagome. She moaned and snuggled closer to Inuyasha.

"Drumline girl!" the voice called again. Then some girls were giggling.

"Look at them!"

"Shhhh!"

"They're sleeping together!"

"Don't say _that_, you idiot! You make it sound like something else!"

"Awwww! It's so sweeeet!"

"How'd they escape Mrs. Joyner?"

"Oh, upperclassmen get away with _everything_!"

"No fair! I thought he was kind of cute!"

"You kidding? What a jerk!"

"So who's gonna wake them up?"

Soon it dawned on Kagome that she and Inuyasha were being watched. She started opening an eye when suddenly the bright fluorescent lights of the bus went on and the bus slowed to a stop.

She quickly squinted her eyes shut.

Inuyasha moved next to her and muttered something.

"Mm?" Kagome asked.

"I don't wanna wake up K'gome…" he complained lazily.

"We're here," she replied, slowly opening her eyes. She found herself entangled in Inuyasha's arms, his face in kissing range. She caught his lips lightly, then reprimanded, "And if you don't get up, I can't either."

"Perfect," Inuyasha replied.

"Until Sessho-maru finds us," Kagome reminded, though she didn't want to get up either.

"Okay, okay," Inuyasha groaned with a yawn.

"Now, before the freshman girls start rumors about us, let's get up," Kagome said, shoving at his chest.

Lazily Inuyasha untangled himself from Kagome, and he dragged himself sluggishly across the aisle to gather up his stuff. Kagome was repacking her purse and bookbag when suddenly she had a scary thought. "Oh no, Inuyasha, what kind of stupid cracks are the drumline members going to make?"

"The drumline?" Inuyasha groaned. "What about my brother, and your parents, and everyone in the whole school, and Mr. Naraku? I would think the drumline would be the least of your worries."

"My mom wouldn't object to you simply because of what you are," Kagome said forcefully. "But when she finds out how much I want to be with you she might get a little sterner."

"So, what now?" Inuyasha asked. "Should we wait a day or two before letting people know we're a 'couple'?"

"Fake that we're not until we can discuss it further," Kagome said, walking ahead of him and not bothering to wait.


End file.

Inuyasha, Humor, Romance