~ladybird duo
What the heart wants�
�Osuwari!� Kagome screeched as she, albeit foolishly, attempted to outrun the rather enraged hanyou currently chasing her. It was that time again, her monthly trek back to the Bone Eater�s well to her own time. This time was different, though only she knew it. This time, it was February 10, and she planned on staying the week. Mostly due to the stress of a week of entrance exams, Kagome was feeling particularly strained and was therefore very generous with the sit command. �It wouldn�t have had to happen if Inuyasha�d just stayed asleep! Stupid heightened sense of smell, if not for that I would have made a clean get away! Grrr, and now he�s going to be pissed off and will probably try to drag me back early, before the exams are done!� Kagome had told Miroku and Sango that she�d be away for a week, and that she needed to study really hard. �They understand, all I got from them was a �good luck!� and �come back soon�. I wish Inuyasha would realize that I�ll be back soon; I don�t know why he gets so upset when I go home�he�s in love with Kikyo�� Kagome�s train of thought lead her to think of Kikyo; she�d never really understood who to handle the girl. What was the relationship with someone, if you are supposedly that person�s reincarnation? Instead of thinking of Kikyo and Inuyasha together, she just shook her head to clear it and focused on the well.
She still had about 50 meters to go, and the hanyou was still down on the sit command about 150m behind her. �I�ll be back soon, I promise! Just the end of the week and I�ll be back here. Byeeeeeeee~� Kagome�s voice disappeared as she did. Inuyasha clutched the ground in annoyance, unwilling to sacrifice his dignity to chase after a pathetic human (even if she did control his heart). �End of the week?!? That�s 7 whole days! Keh! Like we need her anyway.� Inuyasha grumbled to himself while walking away to go sit in his favorite tree and contemplate.
Present day, Japan
Kagome ran to her up to room, and after meeting everyone and getting her laundry cleaned, she was set to study. She studied diligently all night as well as the next day, and had even managed to catch up to where the class was by the time she went to bed on Sunday. The next morning she ran to school and caught up with her friends on the way. After assuring them that she was better from the nasty bout of Tiempo Fever and that the severe Sway Meningitis Rickettsia rash was not contagious, she settled into the class routine. After the day of review, she was ready for the exams. �Oh look, Kagome! It�s Hojo-kun!� Yuka squealed and pointed. Hojo had just come around the bend. He looked up, saw Kagome, and his face brightened. �Higurashi, I look forward to seeing you in English class.� He said this with a wave. Kagome looked to her friends for help. �English class? What�s so special about that? I learned all the vocabulary and grammar that was assigned�� Kagome trailed off as her friends started smiling. �It�s Valentine�s Day in the United States too, and so Smith-sensei (1) decided that since the test should only take an hour, the second half of the testing session could be used to exchange Valentines and learn about the holiday as it is celebrated in the U.S. It�s soooooo romantic.� Kagome felt a sense of dread. If Inuyasha were to come around and see Hojo� Kagome trailed off, because she had a feeling that it�d be similar to her experience with Kouga, only Hojo would not benefit from either youki blood or Shikon shards. �It would definitely be a one-way fight�unless I pulled out the �osuwari,�� Kagome thought with a sigh.
The days flew by until it was the 14th. Kagome approached the day with dread. Not only had she not seen Inuyasha, she�d not found paw prints, smashed or missing alarm clocks, not even a single silver hair. She spent the morning getting ready and reminiscing about how funny Inuyasha would look with his hair in pigtails. After spending the entire morning looking over her shoulder, she assured herself that he wasn�t there. Now she just had to face Hojo-kun. She didn�t know how her feelings on Hojo stood; she liked him as a friend, she�d even had a crush on him a few years ago. But now� �Now there�s Inuyasha� but he loves Kikyo. Inuyasha no baka! He�s ruined my heart *sigh* but I wouldn�t have it any other way� Kagome thought as she began the trudge to school.
�Oi! You keep sighing, if you�re sick you need to rest, or go back to �baba�s (2) hut.� Kagome�s thoughts were slammed to a halt as the object of her thoughts appeared before her, well above her, in a tree. �Inuyasha!� Kagome turned on him. �What are you doing here? I told you, I�ll be back at the end of the week. That�s two more days.� Inuyasha turned away from her �Keh! I�ll do what I want, it was boring and I wanted to make sure you knew you only had 2 more days. Besides, we ran out of that really good ramen stuff, and I�m about to make a Shippo hat if that darn kitsune doesn�t quit bugging me, and Miroku�s asked 23 women to bear his children and has a slap count of 87 because he keeps groping Sango and all Sango does is play with her boomerang and Kaeda-baba doesn�t do much either�� Inuyasha trailed off as he realized Kagome had walked on ahead and wasn�t paying him any attention.
�Oi!� He dropped to the ground, generally Kagome would use her word if she was annoyed, but it looked like she was okay, if very distant. He decided he�d follow her; it was easier to figure out than ask. He remembered the last time he asked when she�d been acting differently. She�d been much quieter and more easily angered. She smelled like a dog in heat. All he did was ask how much longer it�d be before she started not smelling like something that needed to be mated (though worded slightly different), and she�d given him so many �sit�s that he�d gotten bruises that�d not healed for a few days. He sat quietly (out of Kagome�s view) on the windowsill and watched her. It appeared no different than the other times he�d gone. Though he did notice everyone in the room seemed very nervous; what were these exams and why would anyone willingly inflict them on themselves? �Keh. Baka!� he murmured. Then the exam ended early. Then the old guy in the front started talking, and Inuyasha tuned out.
Though when he looked again, all the girls had hearts in their eyes and the boys had blushes. He looked frantically for Kagome. She looked the same way she had look she had earlier; maybe she was sick. Then he saw a boy approach her with a piece of paper. He growled and bristled. How dare this boy approach his Kagome. Kagome looked slightly uncomfortable. �If this boy even makes her upset, I�ll grind his bones!� He used his sensitive ears to listen to what they were saying. �I�m sorry Hojo-kun, but there is someone else who I like.� Kagome said with a blush. �Someone she likes? Who?? If it�s that Kouga�� Inuyasha fumed and ran back to the well. Two hours later he came back, he was going to confront that wench! He caught up with Kagome and her three friends. He jumped above them onto a building roof. He listed to what one of Kagome�s friends was saying �� and I can�t believe you told Hojo-kun that! He�s such a catch. Don�t tell me that you are still pining for that two-timing annoying violent jerk. Come on Kagome, didn�t you tell us he�s still smitten with that old love of his? Kagome, you can do so much better!� Inuyasha, far above their heads was confused. Kouga had an old girlfriend? Below, Kagome was saying, � I told you, it�s complicated. He loved this woman so much; he�d die for her. And he�s got good traits too. He�s incredibly loyal, and he�s strong, and I always feel protected. Besides, he�s made me soup when I feel bad, hand made it!� This made Inuyasha confused, when had Kouga done that? �Wait a minute, he�d done that for her too. Why was Kouga so special? Wait� does she mean me?� Inuyasha smirked to himself. So Kagome liked him. This was good news. But that didn�t explain why she was so upset. He ran back to Kagome�s home. There he found Sota and asked him about the Valentines. As Sota had a girlfriend now, he told Inuyasha about the tradition. Inuyasha was quiet and contemplative.
Kagome returned home. She wondered where Inuyasha had been; she�d not seen him at school. Maybe he�d gone back to the feudal era. As she went up to her room to study, she noticed Inuyasha on her bed talking with Sota. At that moment, Inuyasha looked up and noticed her in the doorway. Sota did too, and he jumped off the bed and stumbled out of the room mumbling something about a man-to-man promise. Before Inuyasha could say anything, Kagome said, �I�ve got a lot to study, I can�t go back for another two days. There�s no point in arguing, because I have exams. Now, I have to study.� Instead of arguing, Inuyasha just grunted an acknowledgement. Surprised, Kagome sat down and began studying, with Inuyasha at her back on her bed, sitting in his usual style with Tetsusaiga. Several hours later, Kagome�s mother called the two down for dinner, after which Kagome returned to studying while Inuyasha and Sota took another, though slightly less eventful, bath. Then, Inuyasha returned and took his post by the bed. Kagome studied hard the entire night.
Kagome heard birds chirping. Then she opened her eyes. It was morning! She�d fallen asleep sometime during the night. Then she noticed that she was in her bed, with the covers pulled up around her. Inuyasha sit at the foot of her bed in his customary half-dozing position. Kagome smiled. He was so sweet looking when he was asleep; so innocent as well. From looking at him, one would never guess he had a mouth on him that would make a hardened sailor blush. Unable to help herself, she rubbed his ears. Inuyasha gave a soft smile before waking with a jump. �Ohayo (3) Inuyasha!� she said. Then she jumped out of bed and went downstairs. It was her hardest exam, it wouldn�t pay to be late. She got dressed in record speed, and was racing out the door when she was stopped by a red and white blur. �Oi! Your mom told me to give you this� he gave her the lunch her mom had made. �And Sota told me that you had your hardest exam today and so here, this is for luck.� Inuyasha hastily gave her a small pendant of bloodstone. With a blush on his cheeks he leapt away. Kagome smiled, perhaps things would work out eventually.
Author�s notes:
1-Smith-sensei = basically we�re assuming that Teacher Smith is American and teaching them English and has decided to let them have a mini party
2- �baba- well, given the fact it�s like calling a woman �old hag� or some equivalent, it�s assumed he�s talking about Kaeda
3- Ohayo is an informal �good morning�
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