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Actually, I got myself in a problem. Originally, I had planned to have Rin older.. a year younger than Kagome and the gang. However, when I was looking through my old chapters, I realized that I made Rin a friend of the kiddies, and that wouldn't do at all. Unfortunately, an older Rin is imperative to my plot. I NEED her older. So, I apologize for my poor planning ahead of time and hope you can look over my ghastly mistake. I'll just have to.. you know.. improvise a bit. There can be TWO Rin's, all right? >_> Hey! PEOPLE! School Daze is over a year old! *breaks out the champagne and party hats and cake* It celebrated it's first birthday January 17th! Woohoo! *throws confetti and blows party whistles* * Our little break didn't last as long as I wanted it to. In fact, it was over ridiculously quick, and we were back to our boring (boring!) every day lives. Only, this time I was stuck with a huge predicament, concerning the fact that 'Kekki' was bright red and 'Kagome' wasn't supposed to be. After we got back from that damned beach, I forced my 'dear' friends Sango and Miroku over to my house against their wills. They were both exhausted from the grueling weekend. I was spared from the rest of the training, though, as I could barely walk and I resembled an overcooked lobster. "What am I supposed to do?!" I whined for about the billionth time that night, pacing in the same path I had paced a million times before. I think I was starting to wear out my grandfather's carpet. "Well, you could let us go home," Miroku said, idly watching as Buyo got himself stuck behind the television. He waggled his fat legs and meowed helplessly at Miroku, who just laughed. "You need to put your cat on a diet, Kagome." I shot a withering glare that was probably not very intimidating, considering the fact I was stop sign red on my cheeks, shoulders, and neck. "Diet is just 'die' with a 't' at the end," Sango quipped idly, then sighed. "Truthfully, Kagome, I have been thinking about your problem. The only solution I could come up with was a healthy dose of Aloe Vera and an even healthier dose of make-up." I grimaced, then sat down heavily on the floor. "I don't have any other choice, do I?" "Not one. But don't worry, if we put the make-up on right, no one will be able to tell." "..Can't I just take a month off of school?" "Yeah, right." Sango rolled her eyes, then fished around in her purse for a moment. "Here. You and me have the same skin color, since knowing you, you don't own any make-up." She slid off of my couch and kneeled in front of me, then started smearing make-up all over my face. I grimaced, not liking the feeling it left on my skin. She had guessed correctly�I hated make-up and never wore it unless forced to. In fact, all the make-up I owned was a tube of lipgloss and a stubbed up pencil of eyeliner. After a few moments of her masking my face and neck with the disgusting goop, she sat back and admired her work. "You know, I should take up a profession as a make-up artist," Sango said thoughtfully. I grinned and scrambled to my feet, looking at my reflection on the screen of the TV. Of course, that didn't provide a very helpful image, but it was good enough. "Jeez, Sango, I owe you," I exclaimed, reaching up and touching my cheek as I moved to look at my discombobulated reflection in a drawer handle. She really had done a wonderful job.. someone would have to stick their face practically against mine to be able to see that I was wearing make-up. "That'll be ten bucks for the make-up," Sango said, placing the container on the table. I choked, then started coughing. "Are you kidding me?! Sango, I'm supposed to be your friend!" I sputtered. Sango regarded me with a dispassionate look, then shrugged. "This make-up cost twenty-five bucks. You're my friend, but I don't love you THAT much. Take it or leave it." I grimaced, then sighed. I had no other choice. "You're a terrible girl, Sango.." I grumbled, fishing the money out of my pocket and tossing it at her. She just cracked a grin. Buyo made a pitiful sound and flopped over on his obese stomach, giving up. I was beginning to feel a little like he did. Stuck. And money was quickly becoming a thing of the past for me. Chapter Fifteen: Welcome to the Jungle by Clara School started again uneventfully. As usual, I got woken up by an over enthusiastic Hojou, freaked out, and ended up having a couple of hours before class started again. I don't think that'll ever change. History was.. well.. as boring as usual, aside from Professor Myoga's height problem. I've been going to this school for awhile now, and for some reason that still amused me. Vertically challenged people were fun. I swear, I paid more attention to his shortness than I did to him rambling on about the Stamp Act and how it was significant to America's independence. What did I care about that, anyway? In fact, the only thing different about History was Inuyasha. After drawing my usual conclusion about how Professor Myoga was hilariously short, I realized that my black haired friend was unusually broody that morning. He was staring straight ahead with an air of indigence around him, and it suddenly struck me that he hadn't even said hi to me this morning. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't offended, per se, I was just a little surprised. I was, after all, a good friend of his. Finally, curiosity overwhelmed the fear of getting caught passing notes in class, and I flicked a paper football at him that asked what was up when Professor Myoga wasn't looking. Inuyasha caught it on reflex and unfolded the letter, then read it quickly. He glanced at me, then waited for Professor Myoga to turn around again before scribbling down his reply and surreptitiously flicking it back at me. 'My brother was missing this morning,' it read. The next word was scribbled out beyond recognition, then it continued. 'Normally, I'm not worried about him, but it's not like him to get up before six unless he has work. I know he didn't sneak out of anything, since he sucks at getting past my mom, so that means he left early this morning. When I tried asking Mom, she just gave me this secretive little smile and told me to go to school before I was late.' I paused, surprised. Inuyasha usually came home Sunday night like the rest of us, not early Monday morning. I briefly wondered why he stayed home all Sunday, then concluded it probably had something to do with his mom. I shrugged and gave him what I hoped was a reassuring look, then tucked the letter into my pocket. I already had one Saturday detention that I was going to have to serve this Saturday, Lord knew I didn't need another. History ended rather quickly, surprisingly, since it was one of the most boring classes I had. I think the only other class that rivaled its boringness was Physics, and that's only because we had the teacher with the worst case of burn out I've ever seen. I have a theory about teachers. Once they've been teaching for a certain amount of years, they fizzle out like an over-smoked cigarette. Everyone's had one of these teachers at least once�the kind whose fashion sense belongs to the last century and speak in a low, monotonous drone the entire thirty-five to forty-five minutes. This kind of teacher probably taught your parents, or even your parents' parents, before you. Of course, burned out teachers are also the ones who give out killer tests. But enough rambling. Exciting stuff happened way before Physics. To be more precise, during P.E. I was kind of nervous about P.E., actually. P.E. required physical exertion of the human body, which, of course, led to sweat. I had done an impeccable job of putting on the make-up this morning, but I did not want to deal with sweat tracks, even though it was only Inuyasha I was worried about finding out I had a sunburn. It was ironic, though, since he was there when I got it. I worried needlessly, though, since the person standing in front of the room drew any attention he might have had for me away. "Hello, class," a smooth, rich, and decidedly familiar voice cut through the air like a sharp knife. I blinked in surprise, then dropped my jaw to the floor. Inuyasha was already staring at the man with saucer eyes. "My name is Sesshomaru." Inuyasha's older brother flipped his bangs from his eyes and gave a charming smile. "Welcome." Have you ever read a book where a chapter left you with a really tense cliffhanger? Or a TV show that suddenly broke into commercial right after a suspenseful and very unfinished event happened? Now, have you ever had something in real life that felt like it was a cliffhanger? I was experiencing this strange phenomenon at that very moment. I think it's just because Inuyasha and his family (well, from what I know about them), have a flair for the dramatic. "S-S.." Inuyasha tried after a few moments. His vocal chords seemed to have stopped working on him. Almost everyone in the class was watching with interest now. I guess it was a rare occasion to see the mighty Inuyasha look flustered, especially since he was considered one of the Untouchables in rating between popularity and unpopularity. I have a theory on the Popular, the Unpopular, and the Untouchables. I seem to have a lot of theories lately (mostly because being a girl at an all boy school is quickly changing my views in life), so I'll save that one for later. Let's just say, for now, Inuyasha is definitely an Untouchable. "S.. Sess.." Really, he was reminding me of that kid from Billy Madison now. I was almost tempted to say.. "T-t-t-t-t'day, Junior!" That, of course, got me a whack upside the head, courtesy of Inuyasha. I rubbed the back of my skull and managed a half-hearted glare, even though I was snickering. At least I snapped him out of his stupor. "SESSHOMARU?!" he finally managed, startling the part of the class that wasn't paying attention. Sesshomaru just grinned a detached little grin. "I'm glad you finally realized who I am, Inuyasha," Sesshomaru said idly. Now, you realize, when you go to a nondescript all boy school, little dramatic soap opera-ish things attract everyone's attentions. Picture this. Inuyasha, a semi-popular troublemaker ends up slowly entering the gym with one of his good friends, joking around and having the time of his life. Cue in the cheesy drama-dread music. Suddenly, the lights flash onto.. none other than.. Sesshomaru! ..Okay. So I've been watching too much Passions. Sue me. But trust me, that's the way everyone was watching the interaction between Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. I was just waiting for someone to whip out a bag of popcorn. "What the HELL are you doing here?!" Inuyasha burst out. I was proud of him. It was the first full sentence he managed after sputtering indignantly for a good five minutes. "Watch it, Inu," Sesshomaru said idly. He was still grinning aloofly. "I'm a teacher now, and there's rules about cursing." Inuyasha grimaced, and for a moment I could almost hear him grinding his teeth together. "And, since you asked so nicely, I suppose it IS time for me to explain to the class why I'm here instead of Miss Okiku. She was actually offered a different job coaching a professional girl's soccer team and she would have been unable to do the two jobs at once. I suppose coaching that team was her dream, though, because she dropped this stable job in order to take that one. "So," he continued, not moving from his place. I actually expected him to start pacing all self-importantly, since he gave off the air of someone who thought very high of himself. He, to my surprise, didn't. "They needed a replacement. Of course, since it's nearly impossible to find someone in such a short notice, they were forced to find a temporary P.E. teacher. In other words, me." He turned his gaze back to Inuyasha, and his smirk widened. "You can close your mouth now, Inu." Like a puppet, Inuyasha's mouth snapped shut. I could swear I could hear his teeth click together. "Not to worry, it's only temporary." For a few moments, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru amused themselves by glaring at each other. Then the younger of the two let out what sounded suspiciously like a growl and stomped off towards the changing rooms, leaving me behind. I think I was too stunned to go after him at that moment. Or I was worried about getting distracted by his sexy, now tan, back. You know, whichever. Unfortunately, Inuyasha's personal fanboy, Riiko, decided to pounce on me the moment Inuyasha was out of sight. "KAGOME!" he shouted, even though he had already practically shoved his face against mine. I took a hasty step back in surprise. "Who is that?! How does he know Inuyasha?!" "Woah, woah, woah, Riiko.." I put my hands up in self-defense and took a half step back. I shifted my eyes to Sesshomaru. "Ask Inu," I said finally, then took a step away from Riiko. I knew he looked peeved, even without looking at him. Of course he didn't want to ask Inuyasha. That's why he jumped on me. It wasn't my business to tell, though. Besides, I had more important things to do. "Hey, Sesshomaru," I said idly, folding my hands behind my head. Damn straight I was going to go for the innocent look. Sesshomaru, however, didn't buy into it at once, and shifted a pair of cool eyes toward me. He tilted his head to the side. "You're not dressed yet." I ignored his comment self-righteously. "How did you get the job?" He examined me with shrewd eyes, then grinned slightly. "I attended this school too, a couple years ago. Of course I excelled in P.E. and sports, so when your teacher quit, they looked to me." I gave him my shrewd, 'you-better-not-be-lying-to-me-because-I-really-have-secret-super-powers!' look, then shrugged and turned around to follow Inuyasha's path. His answer was good enough for me. Oh, by the way, don't get me wrong. I really don't have secret powers or anything cool like that. Yeah, I wish. And Miroku lives up to his last name. * "WHAT THE HELL DOES HE THINK HE'S DOING?!" was the greeting I got when I entered the boy's changing room. Yes, believe me, I still get weirded out when I see the little man standing on the door above the word 'MEN'. Too many times have I found myself backtracking before realizing that, yes, I was supposed to go pee in a urinal, cuz that's what boy's do. Ha. Reeeeal funny. I'll let you come up with your own mental images of me trying to urinate in a urinal. Anyway, back to my long-haired friend. Now, this guy knows how to torture people. Let's just say he decided to throw a tantrum shirtless. Excuse me while I go mop up my own puddle of drool.. "Who the HELL would want to come back here after they graduated?!" Inuyasha roared, presumably at me. Actually, he was pacing so much that I couldn't tell if it was at me or at the wall. Damn those walls. "Um, Inuyasha?" I asked meekly to his back. Have I mentioned how nice his back was? "What?" Snappy. Ooo, he's got a scary glare. "I thought you and your brother were.. yanno.. close?" Unconsciously, I reached back and scratched my neck. You know, subconscious comfort. Ahh, the joys of psychology.. "Close? Close?! We're not close. Friends are close! Couples are close! Doors close! Agh! What the hell am I talking about?!" He yanked on his hair in frustration. "Woah, pal, breathe.." "I'm breathing, I'm breathing.." He stopped his rampant pacing and did these little yoga-meditation exercises that apparently calmed him down. "There we go," I said in my therapist-soothing voice. "Now, what's troubling you?" Inuyasha shot me this look that could freeze fire. "Thank you, Hannibal Lector." "You're the one who looks like he's about to start eating my brains." I smirked at him, shoving my hands into my pockets. Ah, another unconscious form of comfort. Of course he ignored me in favor of sitting heavily on the bench. He sat like every guy I knew sat�slouched, wrists on his lower thighs, hands lax and inward, and wearing a look that says 'I could give a damn?'. Well, actually, it was more like, 'I hate the world right now, and it's all your fault'. Boys. "Sesshomaru always has to show me up," Inuyasha grumbled. Now he's in his 'let's-tell-an-almost-stranger-all-my-woes-since-they-won't-give-me-any-of-that-'it's-okay'-bullshit' mood. ..Does anyone else think I could start a book on Inuyasha-ness yet? "I mean, like, even when we were younger. I would bring home a report that I got an 'A' on, the next day he would bring home a report that he got an 'A+' on. I get a trophy, he gets a trophy twice as big as mine. I become team captain, he becomes player of the year.." I gave Inuyasha a dry look. Okay, was it just me or was Inuyasha taking the whole 'sibling-rivalry-jealousy' thing a little too far? "Don't look at me like that," Inuyasha snarled, reading my mind. He got up and started to pace again. "I know I sound stupid and jealous and like I'm totally overreacting, but it's always been like that. I thought I would be out of his stupid shadow after he graduated!" I gave him my best sympathetic look and reached over to pat his shoulder. No, you jerks, it wasn't just an excuse to touch his shoulder. "Look, Inu, it's not going to be for a long time.. just until they can find a new teacher. Besides, that what he is right now. A teacher. It's not like he can show you up in anything.." Maybe I wasn't as affected by this because Souta was so much younger than me and I've never had the chance to be the victim of sibling rivalry. Maybe it was also because I was the older one and not the younger one. ..Maybe I need to stop obsessing over psychology, as fun as it was. Christ, pretty soon I was going to start diagnosing everyone with every disorder. I mean, it was totally obvious that Inuyasha had a borderline personality disorder. ..Please, please don't quote me on that. "That's not the point!" he cried after much thinking and spun around on me. My, his chest was just as nice as his back.. "The point is, now that he's here, watching everything I do, he can comment on it! Tell me everything I'm doing wrong!" I smirked at him and shook my head. "Okay, Inu, now you really are just overreacting." He flipped me the bird and I just laughed, walking into one of the dressing stalls. * "Inuyasha, your stance is all wrong. Stand like this." The said character grit his teeth, adjusted himself, then looked at Sesshomaru scathingly. "Well, now you're all tense. Relax. It will make your movements smoother." I could practically hear his teeth grind together. "Inuyasha, you're doing it all wrong now. You know better than that. What would father say?" I think that was Sesshomaru's new favorite phrase. "Inuyasha.." "Inuyasha!" "INUYASHA!" ..I have never seen someone run as fast as Inuyasha did out of a room when the bell rang. "See?! SEE! What did I tell you?!" my poor rattled friend growled as we walked to homeroom. His face was flushed and he looked almost ready to kill someone, which would explain why several of the younger classmen steered clear from his path. Some of them looked almost as if him storming through the halls like a madman was an everyday occurrence. "Okay, okay, you win," I said, raising my hands in mock surrender. Unlike Inuyasha, I had taken my time to change out of my P.E. uniform before fleeing. He was waiting for me behind a drinking fountain like the big, brave boy he was. "I must say, though, I've never seen anyone with such great self-restraint. You looked like you were about to deck him any minute." "I was," Inuyasha growled, shoving his hands in his pockets. "The only thing that stopped me was that I knew he would have loooooved to give me a detention. I wasn't about to let him have the satisfaction." "I don't get it. You two seemed.." I caught myself before I finished my sentence and nearly clapped my hands over my mouth. Stupid, stupid, STUPID! "I mean, Kekki said you two seemed cool when he came over to pick you up that.. one time.." Thank GOD Inuyasha was distracted, or I swear he would have found me out at that moment. I think my heart stopped beating for a moment, there.. Inuyasha shrugged. "Brothers get closer when parents decide to divorce." "So what changed?" "He remembered that he was only my half-brother." And people say girls are confusing. I stopped in front of my homeroom door and grabbed the handle. "Riiiiiight," I said. "Well, just.. I don't know, tell him to suck off." Inuyasha rolled his eyes and continued walking down the hall. "Uh huh. And get my ass kicked. Later, Kag." * I think my life didn't get interesting until I started this school. I swear, how do the others keep up with it? I don't have any time to just sit and vegetate anymore, it seems. What I'm trying to get to is that during the time I usually eat and, ahem, finish unfinished homework (Shh. I'm really unwinding, I swear), someone else decided to hop into our crazy lives. According to Miroku's judgment, a rather cute someone. "Hi!" a cheerful voice chirped, startling the majority of our group and causing Sango to throw her bag of Cheetos into the air (and of course, onto me and my Psychology homework). The girl smiled as I picked the crunchy, cheesy, orange chips from my hair and looked at Inuyasha with these adorable, heart-melting eyes. Inuyasha recoiled a little, obviously not used to the overwhelming about of cuteness. "Are you Inuyasha?" the girl asked, kneeling in front of our dear, rattled friend. Miroku, who was sitting opposite of Inuyasha, took that opportunity to check out her butt. This, of course, earned him several smacks on the back of his head. "What's it to you?" Inuyasha asked, scooting back just a bit. I was too busy wrestling a particularly stubborn Cheeto from my hair to listen completely, but I'm pretty sure Inuyasha sounded annoyed. Well, cute and perky weren't his style. Good to know. "Are you reeeeally Mr. Sesshomaru's brother?" One more day of school, one new white hair for Inuyasha. Maybe it was a hereditary thing, and Inu was going to have a complete head of white hair by the time he was Sesshomaru's age. Of course, I wasn't about to ask Inuyasha at the moment.. "Yes, I am reeeeally Mr. Sesshomaru's brother," Inuyasha grit out, crushing a poor, defenseless can of orange soda. I scooted away from him quickly, feeling more 'orangy' than I needed to be at the moment. "Why?" "I'm Rin!" the girl, once again, chirped. I don't think I've ever met someone so.. perpetually happy. I know this may seem annoying, but there was something about the girl's smile that seemed contagious. To me, at least. Inuyasha looked as if he wouldn't mind slapping her silly. "That's nice." He leaned further away from her. "What do you want?" "Could you.. um.." Rin blushed cutely and looked down at her hands, then suddenly whipped out a dog-eared envelope and thrust it at Inuyasha, getting this comically grimacing look on her face. "Could you deliver this to Mr. Sesshomaru, please!" Inuyasha looked at the envelope as if it contained some flesh-eating poison in it, then carefully grabbed it with the tips of his fingers. He looked as if it were the last thing in the world he wanted to be holding. Apparently, him taking the letter was a good enough affirmation for Rin, because soon after she leapt to her feet and bowed so many times and so quickly it became nearly impossible to see her face. "Thank you, Mr. Inuyasha!" With that, she turned around and ran in the direction of Saint Bernard's School for Special Girls. After a long moment of confused silence, everyone in the group leaned forward with curiosity. "So, what is it?" Kouga finally asked. Inuyasha, who was looking at the front of the envelope with an expression of mingled disgust and amusement, turned it around so the rest of us could see what was on the cover. In neat, elaborate cursive, Rin had put: "Mister Sesshomaru". She dotted the 'i' with a heart. "Aww," Sango said, sipping from her juice carton. "How cute. She has a crush on your brother." "Adorable," Inuyasha echoed sarcastically. "I think she's a year younger than us," Kikyo said, turning to watch as Rin disappeared into a group of skirt-clad girls. "She's in one of my classes." "She's hot," Miroku added, having to put in his two cents. Sango socked him in the arm. "What?!" "Whatever," I bit in. Everyone turned to look at me, surprised by my tone of voice. Growling, I plucked a Cheeto from my hair and hurled it at Sango. "Thanks a lot, pal!" "Oops." Sango put on her best innocent face and grinned at me. "Sorry!" .:end chapter fifteen:. Well, that was a relatively slow chapter. I apologize for that. Hell, I apologize for everything! Please don't maim me! *begs and whatnot* Anyway, more soon! Finals! Yay! *drops her head in her hands* And, for your information, to anyone who thinks that Kagome covering up her burn with make-up is unrealistic, I would like to beg to differ. u.u |