InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ A New Dream, A New Destiny ❯ Chapter 4

A New Dream, A New Destiny

 

Disclaimer: YYH belongs to Yoshihiro Tagashi; IY belongs to Rumiko Takahashi; I'm neither, pity me!

 

Chapter Four:

 

Kagome bolted for the door of the roof, and Kurama let her. He'd already pressed his luck with all he'd done, and anything else he longed to do would have to wait until she wasn't ready to purify him out of existence for saying or doing the wrong thing.

 

The door slammed closed and a voice immediately said, “So that's the miko, huh? She's what you've been hiding all this time? I must say, I'm not impressed.”

 

Kurama sniffed out an unhumored chuckle. “How long have you been there, Hiei?”

 

The fire hybrid walked out from behind a large air duct and smirked at Kurama. “Long enough, kitsune.” Hiei had his hands in his pockets as he leaned casually against the duct he had been eavesdropping behind. “I was able to see your little game during lunch just now, and unfortunately was also witness to your attempt to seduce the girl up here as well. I have to say, I'm disappointed. Normally, you would've sensed me long before now. Is that girl so distracting?”

 

Kurama said nothing, the knowing look on Hiei's face showing he needed no answer.

 

Hiei continued, “So, is she to be another of Youko's conquests? Is that why you're still keeping her to yourself, instead of turning her over to Koenma?”

 

Kurama blushed slightly, but the look he gave his friend was fierce. “It's not like that at all, Hiei. There's more to it than simple attraction, I'm sure of it. I don't know why, yet, but I know there's much more. I had a dream of her…”

 

“You both did,” Hiei interrupted, “Or so I heard in your conversation. So, you both had the same dream, a dream I assume you were in together, and you gave her a hickey in that dream? This is why you feel this need to pursue the miko? You do know this will complicate the assignment greatly, kitsune. Or have you forgotten what you're really supposed to do with the miko?”

 

“Of course I haven't forgotten Koenma's charge to us, Hiei, and I don't intend to keep her secret forever. I just can't yet. I promised; I told her not to worry, and my word is my vow,” Kurama answered his fiery friend. “In the meantime, what's the harm in wanting to get to know her better? We'll be working together once Reikaidoes learn of her, as long as she accepts Koenma's offer, and I already have an interest in her anyway.”

 

“You're walking a dangerous line, kitsune,” Hiei informed his fox friend. “Not only in deceiving Koenma, which I can't truthfully say I'm against, but getting involved with a miko… that way. And, if what little information Koenma had on her is true, a unique and powerful miko as well. Are you really going to take the risk that would come with being involved with a vessel of such strong reiki?!”

 

Kurama shook his head, “I'm not worried about that, Hiei. I just want to be with her.” He smiled pleasantly.

 

Hiei gave him an incredulous look, “Have you already forgotten that I was here the whole time? I did just see the threat she posed you so easily after a stupid comment to her, and your attempt to seduce her. If her temper is so short for you already, how would creating some kind of intimacy with the girl even work? She'll purify you to hell before anything happens.”

 

Kurama shook his head and smiled a little more. “She wouldn't, and doesn't want to, or she would've by now. She's just frightened by the circumstances she's coming into, because of something in her past.”

 

Interest sparked Hiei's crimson eyes for a millisecond, but before he could ask after the human girl's past, the roof door burst open with a flurry of long, blue hair.

 

“Kurama, you are up here!”

 

“Botan?” Kurama asked, surprised at her sudden appearance.

 

“Koenma told me to bring you to him. He said it's very urgent, concerning the miko,” the female grim reaper answered quickly. Turning to Kurama's rooftop companion, she smiled and greeted, “Hello, Hiei.”

 

The shorter youkai did not return her smile, and stared at her in his usual manner, somewhere between contempt and indifference. “Am I to be present at this meeting?” he inquired of the girl.

 

She shook her head, “He only mentioned Kurama. Though, I'm sure you could accompany him if you so wish.”

 

Hiei ignored her offer, as he was uninterested anyway. “Well then, I'm off, kitsune.”

 

The two youkai nodded goodbye to each other and turned away, Hiei leaping off the school as Kurama got on Botan's freshly-produced oar with her.

 

~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~

 

At the sight of Kagome and Shuuichi eating each other's lunches playfully, Nori had to squelch the desire to go over to the black-haired girl and flat-out deck her. She still didn't really know what was going on between them, though the gestures they were making towards each other seemed anything but familial to Nori. Then again, just because something wasn't necessarily normal family behavior didn't mean it didn't happen. Holding on to her last little piece of hope was the only thing that kept Nori calm enough to finish her lunch with her girls.

 

Then, even more unexpected than Kagome and Shuuichi's playfulness, Kagome pushed Shuuichi down and yelled at him. Nori, along with several other girls around her, turned her head with rapt attention towards the two as they walked quickly past. Shuuichi caught up to Kagome, then dragged her inside. Their audience could no longer see what was going on.

 

Nori quickly disposed of the rest of her lunch and grabbed Katsuki by the arm, dragging her inside just as Shuuichi had done to Kagome a mere minute before. After the girls quickly donned their school slippers, Nori looked around for a bit, trying to see if she could find them and spy on them, but no luck. She figured they must have gone to the roof, and dragged Katsuki up the stairs to check. But when they reached the third floor, where the staircase to the roof was, their way was blocked by three girls. Nori immediately recognized them as Kagome's friends.

 

~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~

 

Yuka watched Shuuichi chase after Kagome and pull her inside the school building, and silently cheered him on, hoping he would somehow manage to break through the ridiculous shield Kagome seemed to have constructed around herself recently. Her eyes narrowed when she saw two girls following after them, and she quickly dragged Eri and Ayumi along with her as she hurried to investigate.

 

Keeping their distance as the two girls slinked through the halls of the first floor of the school, Ayumi soon recognized one of the girls and whispered to her friends that the pink-haired girl was the very girl that had been asking all those questions about Kagome-chan the other day. Yuka and Eri were almost certain the girls were up to no good, and Ayumi followed behind them as they turned down an opposite hallway from the blonde girl and her shorter companion that they now knew was Hino Katsuki.

 

Coming to a staircase at the end of the hallway, they hurried up the six flights of stairs to the third floor. Once they reached the top, Yuka led them to a set of stairs at the other end of the hall; the stairs that led to the roof. They made it just in time, as the blonde that Ayumi now recognized as Imano Nori, who was in her Advanced Math class, and Hino Katsuki came to the top of a different set of stairs nearby. Eri and Ayumi flanking her, Yuka crossed her arms and stood firm in front of the stairs to the roof.

 

“Where do you think you're going?” Yuka asked, eyes narrowed.

 

Nori tried to ignore them and go around, but they guarded the stairs well.

 

“I don't see how that's any of your business,” the blonde spit out. “Move aside.”

 

“I don't think so,” Yuka replied coolly. “You think Kagome-chan and Shuuichi-kun are up there, don't you? And you're trying to follow them. We're not going to let you butt into their business.”

 

Nori's eyes were slits as she glared at the girl. “Listen, you, I'm going up those stairs whether you like it or not. I know you're new here, but now is as good a time as any to learn how things work in Meiou. I always get my way, one way or another, so move aside before someone gets hurt. I can assure you, that someone will not be me or Katsuki-chan.”

 

The pink-haired girl, who had been trying to blend herself into the background, suddenly turned red and stuttered, “N-Nori-chan! Please don't say such things. Onegai!”

 

Nori turned her head back to the girl and ordered, “Urusai! These outsiders need to learn their place!”

 

“Excuse me?!” Yuka asked indignantly. “Learn our place? I don't care who you are, or how popular you may be, you don't have any right to be following my friends around like this. Why are you following them anyway?”

 

“Once again, none of your business. Now move!” Nori stepped towards the girls, dragging Katsuki by her arm behind her as she protested and tried to stop her friend.

 

Just as the three girls guarding the stairs thought things may actually get physical, Nori was halted by a hand on her shoulder. It belonged to another girl in their grade.

 

“Ne, Nori-nee-chan, what seems to be the problem?” the taller girl purred.

 

“I want to go up to the roof, but someone won't let me,” the blonde answered, her gaze not leaving the three girls in front of her.

 

The other girl smiled pleasantly, her eyes closed, and she stepped around behind Nori, taking her hand off Katsuki's arm and coming between Katsuki and Nori. “Ne, but lunch is almost over, nee-chan. Perhaps you should give up on the roof for today.”

 

“But… Shizu…” Nori tried to protest, finally turning her head to the girl.

 

She merely received a deeper, closed-eyes smile, as the other girl put her arms around Katsuki and Nori. “We don't want to be late for Study Hall. Ne, Katsuki-chan?”

 

The cheeks of the pink-haired girl were rosy as she answered, “H-hai, Shizuka-chan.” And the purple-haired girl steered them away and back down the stairs they'd come up.

 

Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi looked at each other, wondering what exactly just happened. Realizing the purple-haired girl was right, and they should also be heading to their homerooms, they gave up their sentinel guard and headed back to the second floor before Shuuichi and Kagome came back down.

 

~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~

 

After leaving Kagome's friends at the bottom of the roof stairs, Shizuka slowly steered Nori and Katsuki down the second floor hallway, towards her own homeroom as she spoke. “Ne, Nori-nee-chan, I know you are upset with me. You believe Shuuichi-kun and Higurashi-san were on the roof. You wanted to spy on them, and I stopped you.”

 

“Why'd you have to butt in, Shizu?” Nori asked, frowning. “Those girls had no right to stand in my way!”

 

“Mmm, perhaps not,” Shizu answered, nodding her head, “but it would not be prudent to cause such a disturbance. If I had not stepped in, those girls could have gotten hurt. Ne, do you think Shuuichi-kun would approve of such brutish actions? Please do not hold my actions against me, nee-chan. I merely have your best interests at heart.”

 

Nori hung her head, knowing her cousin was right. She sighed, “Of course I don't hold it against you, Shizu. Arigatou.”

 

Having reached her homeroom, Shizuka took her arms from around the two girls, turned to them smiling her usual smile, and bowed slightly. She entered her classroom and Nori and Katsuki turned around to walk to their own homeroom, which was in the opposite direction and around a corner.

 

Entering the classroom, they both took note that Kagome was not there yet, and took their own seats. Suddenly, after not even thirty seconds, Nori tapped Katsuki roughly in her back to get her attention. Listening to her blonde friend's latest plan, Katsuki agreed for Nori to switch seats, moving away from Katsuki and Kagome so they could speak freely without Nori getting upset.

 

However, when Kagome came into the room, and Nori switched seats, Katsuki was not able to get her attention to talk to her as she'd hoped and Nori had planned. Kagome seemed too preoccupied to talk at the moment. She hadn't even touched her pencil to her paper, let alone done any homework, either. Katsuki wondered what she was thinking about.

 

Before she knew it, Study Hall was over and Kagome had left. Nori was waiting for her by the door and Katsuki hurried to join her. When they got out into the hallway, however, Nori said she had to split early to her next class. She had English, whereas Katsuki had Japanese Literature. Nori said she would pick Katsuki up from class so they could walk to P.E. together.

 

~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~

 

“You wished to see me, Koenma?” Kurama greeted when he entered the Junior ruler's office.

 

“Ah, Kurama, you're here. Good. Would you take a seat? I have something I need to discuss with you,” Koenma answered, offering the fox-boy a chair.

 

Kurama sat, crossed his legs and clasped his hands in his lap, waiting.

 

“First, Botan has informed me that you and the others haven't found that miko in your schools yet.”

 

“Yes, that is true, Koenma,” Kurama nodded.

 

“Is it?” Koenma arched an eyebrow and pursed his lips around his pacifier.

 

“It is…” Kurama replied slowly at this reaction.

 

Koenma sighed heavily and clasped his hands on the desk. “George! Bring it in!” He called to his faithful servant.

 

The blue oni entered the room when he was called, carrying what looked like a DVD case, and handed it to Koenma. The childlike Enma Jr. popped the disc into his desktop DVD player as the giant monitor came down from the ceiling in the middle of the room.

 

At first, Kurama had no idea what Koenma was going to have him watch, but as soon as it began to play, he instantly blushed hotly, feeling both embarrassed and angry at his privacy being invaded this way. How the hell was Reikai able to peek into his dreams anyway??! Kurama tried not to scowl as Youko started a barrage of insults and accusations about Reikai voyeurism in their head.

 

Oblivious to the thoughts of the boy, however, Koenma merely let him watch the events of the morning a few days ago, when Kurama and the miko had seen each other outside their school. He paused it there and turned to Kurama.

 

“Now, Kurama,” Koenma then began, “As I'm sure you can tell from this video, I already know about your dream and the miko you shared it with. The very same miko that it is your duty to find and deliver to Reikai. This instance occurred just two days ago, and was not the only time you met her, either, yet your reports say you haven't found her. Explain yourself, Kurama.”

 

Kurama wasn't able to hold back Youko anymore. “How the fuck are you able to see all that? Outside the school, I can see, if you have someone following me, which I would not doubt. You still do not really trust me; you do not trust any youkai truly, except George; he has been with you so long. But besides that, how the fuck did you see into our dream?!” Youko spat out at Kurama's childlike boss.

 

“I assure you, Kurama, that I do trust you. You are one of the most reliable members of the tantei team, but I cannot reveal all my methods to you. Suffice to say that I was not merely spying on you, but, rather, keeping an eye on all my detectives after an important prophecy was made. Bringing the miko into your team is very important to our future, apparently, that is all I can say. Now, tell me, why have you been lying about not having found the miko yet?”

 

“You are the clever Junior King, with your special surveillance, why should I even need to tell you? If you have been watching these past couple of days, you should already know what has transpired between myself and the miko, and my reasons for having not revealed her existence yet.” Youko countered indignantly.

 

“Youko,” Koenma began warningly, now realizing, through the manner of speech used and the contempt coming through, not to mention the golden eyes, that Youko truly was who he was talking to; Koenma was not happy about that in the slightest. “First, as I already stated, we were keeping surveillance on all of you. I certainly don't have the time or desire to watch all four of you constantly, and once I knew you had found the miko anyway, I only checked in here and there to see if you had been able to come into real contact with her; in order to have an idea when you would be bringing her. Secondly, if you noticed while watching this video, the surveillance has no sound. So, take this opportunity to explain yourself. If your reasoning is valid I'm sure we can resolve this without any further trouble.”

 

Kurama sighed resignedly and closed his eyes a moment as he gathered his thoughts, finally having regained control over Youko. Then he told Koenma. He told him about his first meeting with the girl, and about her sudden fear of him when he told her he was a youkai, though she suspected already. Kurama told of the connection he felt, and how he was sure the girl felt the same, but something from her past was holding her back. Finally, he told of his promise to her that she didn't have to worry about the tantei finding her for now. He did not tell Koenma her name.

 

“And just how, Kurama, are we supposed to get the miko to work with us if she hasn't even met us and doesn't even know who we are?” Koenma demanded after hearing out the boy.

 

“She will know. I won't leave her in the dark forever, just as I wasn't going to keep her a secret from Reikai, either. I was just going to use this time to get to know her and create a bond with her, to earn her trust so that she won't be scared off by what we face on a regular basis, knowing she can count on me to keep her safe.”

 

Koenma scratched his chin contemplatively. “Hmm, keep her safe? You believe the miko is not powerful enough to fight on her own merits? She will need help?”

 

“Surely you don't expect her to be able to jump right in with us right away? Even a miko as powerful as her would have trouble if she's not used to the conditions we are often under, fighting powerful youkai, retrieving stolen magical items, and saving the world as we do on a regular basis. Even a powerful reincarnated miko, who seems to already know a bit about youkai and how her powers work, will need time to adjust to the idea; and surely Reikai will want to test her first to see if she needs additional training from whatever she has received. Also, she isn't just any miko to me, so I don't want to throw this all at her at once. I want her to ease into the idea of working with us, and be able to trust us with her life.”

 

“Hmm…” Koenma pondered the kitsune's words. “Okay, Kurama, I'll admit you have a point. I do see the merit in you easing the girl through the transition this way, and I have no qualms about you establishing a relationship with her in order to do so. After all, it was foretold to me—”

 

“What was foretold to you, Koenma? What exactly did the prophecy say?” Kurama asked curiously.

 

“Ah, don't bother yourself with that, Kurama,” Koenma said, waving his hands about. “It will be revealed in due time. Just continue as you have been, but do try to quicken the pace. I want her to be part of the team as soon as possible, before the next major mission.”

 

“Koenma, won't you please tell me why it's so important to have her on our team? How do you know it is she who is meant to be found? What is this next important mission you keep bringing up when we talk of the miko?” Kurama couldn't keep his questions in anymore.

 

Koenma merely frowned and pursed his lips around his pacifier again. “As of now, we don't yet know what the future holds in that light; just that it is coming. But that is of no concern to your assignment, Kurama. Just do as you have been told.”

 

The Youko in Kurama bristled at being ordered around, but the red-haired boy ignored it to ask, “Can you at least tell me what her history with youkai is? She will not let me past her defenses because of whatever happened in her past, and whatever it is, I know a relationship with a youkai was involved. If you tell me, it would really help my efforts in getting close to her.”

 

Koenma sighed, still partially wearing his frown. He closed his eyes. “I'm sorry, Kurama, I do not have that information. As you'll recall, I did not even know of her until recently, and the fortune-teller told me nothing of the miko's past. Not until this week did I even know who she was or what she looked like, let alone anything of her or her past, and your still-obvious refusal to tell me her name prevents any investigation in Reikai files.”

 

Kurama did not miss the `subtle' hint, but remained silent, still not offering his miko's name, and the conversation lasted a mere minute longer, as Koenma restated his revised assignment and they said their polite goodbyes. Kurama made it back to school before his last class started.

 

~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~

 

The whispers were once again surrounding her in the halls, but Kagome barely registered them. Too many thoughts were crammed into her brain, making her mind fuzzy. Her body and brain were having many conflicting responses to the events of the day so far, and she wasn't sure how much more she could take. And since she'd heard that conversation on the roof, not only did she have these intense desires and thoughts of Kurama, but she also had anger in there as well. Anger at Kurama for telling about her when he said he wouldn't, anger at being played with and manipulated; anger at not being told the truth.

 

She had to admit to herself, though, mixed with the anger was also fear. When their task of collecting the shards of the Shikon no Tama was complete, Inuyasha had entrusted the complete jewel to Kagome rather than using it himself, having decided to honor his promise to Kikyou. It had been ages since she'd had to protect the Shikon no Tama on her own, and those few times had never turned out well for her. The very first time had ended with the jewel being split apart when her arrow hit it inside the crow demon. Yet another time, Kikyou had stolen the jewel shards from her. Kagome could think of a few other times as well, and the outcomes had all been similar.

 

Now, Kurama had said he knew what he was really supposed to do with her. What the hell did that mean? Was he just pretending to like her, to get past her defenses and take her into whatever scheme these Reikai people had planned for her? Were they after the Shikon no Tama? Kagome wasn't sure anymore what was truly going on, or what she was feeling.

 

On one hand, she knew from experience she couldn't just go around trusting any and everyone she met that knew of the world that lurked beyond the `normal'. On the other hand, Kurama had seemed genuinely nice and sincere in his intentions towards her. Now, after the events on the roof, she couldn't be sure and it nagged in her stomach, like an irritating little monster that would grow and dig its way out if she didn't figure it out.

 

Also, now there was the appearance of that weird… sort-of-dead girl… Kagome also couldn't be sure of this, as she hadn't been able to get out of homeroom to go check, but she figured that girl was also someone Kurama knew. As she'd sat in Study Hall thinking about it, she realized the girl looked older than the high school girls, though not by too much. The strange aura about her also helped with Kagome's suspicion, and the fact that she'd been looking for Kurama as well; though she had called him by his human name, but if he was trying to keep up appearances as a human that was to be expected, wasn't it?

 

Kagome had been so caught up in her thoughts during Study Hall, she didn't get any of her homework she'd been planning to work on done. She didn't even notice when, at the beginning of the period, Imano Nori asked the teacher if she could switch seats to an empty seat near the back of the class. She also didn't notice that, as soon as Nori moved, Katsuki was once again trying to get her attention in a `let's be friends' type of way.

 

When Kagome left her homeroom for her next class, amidst the whispers she was quickly growing used to, she took a quick detour around the halls, trying to sense Kurama's presence, or the presence of either of the other two that had made contact with him on the roof, but she found nothing.

 

In her next class, Japanese Literature, Kagome took a seat in the back of the class. Hino Katsuki sat in the desk next to her and immediately drew Kagome's attention.

 

“Hi, Kagome-chan! You're in this class, too?” the girl greeted with a bright smile.

 

Kagome nodded and smiled back, “Hello, Katsuki-chan. How are you?”

 

“I'm good,” Katsuki answered, “I'm glad it's finally this period. This is my favorite subject! How about you, Kagome-chan? Your favorite subject is History, ne? Do you like Lit, too?”

 

“Oh, you talked to Ayumi-chan, didn't you, Katsuki-chan? Yeah, I like Literature, too.”

 

“Great! So we get to sit together during one of our favorite subjects, Kagome-chan. Maybe there will be projects to work on together!”

 

Kagome had let the girl chatter on to her. Idle chit-chat was definitely better than the other things on her mind at the moment. However, it wasn't idle for long as the subject came around to what it seemed to always these past few days, no matter who she was with.

 

“Oh, yeah, I hear you're in History with Shuuichi-senpai. Maybe you'll get to work with him in that class. You two are already friends, ne? So it's an even more likely possibility than it is for anyone else.”

 

Kagome groaned, “Shuuichi-kun and I aren't friends, Katsuki-chan.”

 

The girl looked confused, “But… you sure were acting like it during lunch. Oh, do you mean you're not friends because you're a couple? That would explain why he's so open with you. Where'd you two go after lunch anyway? I saw you walk past me while I was eating by the doors. Did he take you up to the roof? I heard from some of the older girls that guys take their girlfriends up there to… kiss… sometimes…”

 

Kagome blushed but replied firmly, “We're not a couple, Katsuki-chan. Shuuichi-kun and I just went to have a talk about a disagreement we've been having. That's all.”

 

“You're not a couple?” Katsuki asked insistently.

 

“No, definitely not,” Kagome answered. “Can we talk about something other than Shuuichi-kun now, Katsuki-chan?”

 

“Oh, h-hai, Kagome-chan… gomen…”

 

Any further conversation between the two was cut off, however, as the sensei finally started the lesson. As most of the lesson was spent reading aloud in turns, Kagome found herself spacing out quite a bit, once again thinking of Kurama, the jewel, and her own inner turmoil. She didn't notice class had ended until Katsuki tapped her shoulder and told her. The short, pink-haired girl left the classroom with Kagome, meeting up with Nori, who was also accompanied by a purple-haired girl, just outside the door as Kagome split off to head to gym.

 

~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~

 

As she walked down a shortcut to the gym with Nori and Shizuka, Katsuki told her two friends what Kagome had said about not being involved with Shuuichi-senpai.

 

“Mmm, this is good news, ne, Nori-nee-chan?” Shizuka said, smiling.

 

“Hmm, maybe,” Nori pondered skeptically, “If she's telling Katsuki-chan the truth. For the time being, we'll still keep an eye on her, but Mika is still my main concern. She may act like a cute little airhead, but I can tell she doesn't plan on being a pushover this year like she was in the past.”

 

“Mmm, so the plan is still to focus on Mika-san?”

 

“No holds barred,” Nori answered cryptically.

 

Katsuki took in her friends' conversation in silence, and Shizuka smiled on.

 

~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~

 

Kagome, Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi met at the bottom of the stairs near the gym. On the orientation day, they had been given their lockers and combinations. They already had their gym bags and uniforms in their lockers, so they left for the gym quickly and entered the locker room.

 

Kagome thought she saw a flash of red hair near the boys' locker room entrance from the corner of her eye as she went in the girls' locker room last behind her friends, but there was no one when she turned to look. She wasn't sure if it was good or bad when she found she felt disappointed rather than pleased at not seeing Kurama again. Though, if it had been him, they would see each other in class, wouldn't they?

 

Then Kagome wasn't sure if it was good or bad that she was hopeful.

 

She still, after all, had her anger and fear over the conversation they'd had, and the one she'd overheard shortly after. Kagome would not be able to trust him enough for anything like that if she didn't confront him. She also realized that may be another reason she wanted to see him again; to get it off her chest and into the open, and ask him what the hell his assignment regarding her was and who exactly he worked for.

 

Kagome was, once again, so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice they'd reached their lockers. Her friends were already changing, though she was just standing there. Luckily, everyone was too busy to notice at the time, so Kagome hurried to open her locker and get out her things. She changed speedily, trying to catch up to her friends, and was soon already socked and shoed and locking her locker, while they had just started on their socks.

 

The whole minute that had taken, Kagome had noticed an almost eerie quiet in the room. It was eerie, not just because it was quiet, but because it was a room full of 15 and 16 year old girls, still quite full in fact, and it was dead silent. It was… unnatural. Kagome, now that she could take the time, looked around to see what was up.

 

It was easy to spot, right there in the middle of their locker room, in the row of lockers behind and perpendicular to Kagome and her friends' benches, Nori and Mika sitting on facing benches. Kagome turned towards them just in time to see Nori whisper to Katsuki and Katsuki nod and leave. She had only a split second to wonder what was up with Katsuki, as then next came the purple-haired girl, who seemed to have a weird air about her and almost seemed as if she was the one in control of this all, fangirl leaders be damned; dance, my little puppets, dance!

 

…Or maybe that was just Kagome's suddenly wild, unoccupied imagination showing its head again.

 

It had been doing that a lot lately, anyway. Especially in her dreams… and with Kurama. Though Kurama was also in her dreams… he wasn't in all of them. And her imagination didn't care either way. It had been too long since something exciting had really happened to her, she supposed, though she still didn't want to admit that she simply wasn't made for a `normal' kind of life just yet. She just needed to get used to normal again, that was all.

 

And once more, Kagome's thoughts had gotten away from her and she'd completely missed what happened. Her friends were staring at her as if some little demon had popped out of a locker and run about the locker room before their very eyes and she'd missed it all. Kagome thought, truly, that could even be a likely possibility. She was completely out of it today, and if youkai like Kurama still exist, and among humans, what's to say other little hellions weren't around here as well?

 

Kagome shook her head, wondering what the hell was wrong with her today that she was thinking such things, and followed her friends out to the gym.

 

~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~

 

Mika and Nori sat on opposite benches, glaring at each other. Katsuki sat next to Nori, staring down at her gym shoes. A few other members of each girls' `gang' stood off in the background, watching the two rivals kill each other with the daggers in their eyes. Kagome, Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi also stood in the background, not as attentive to the situation as they changed into their gym clothes, but noticing nonetheless. No one else seemed to notice the outsider girls, though, as everyone else that wasn't even a part of either fanclub, and was already dressed, had their eyes on the two most popular girls in their grade as well.

 

Finally, Nori broke the glare and looked away so she could whisper to Katsuki. No one could hear what the blonde girl whispered to the smaller, pink-haired girl, except perhaps the taller, purple-haired girl smiling serenely, and leaning against the lockers behind them.

 

Katsuki nodded her head yes to Nori and stood, leaving for the gym, without ever looking at Mika's face.

 

After Katsuki left, Shizuka leaned forward from the lockers and put her arms around her cousin. She gazed into Mika's face for a moment, with her true eyes, but immediately brought up her smile again as she spoke. “Mika-san, how we have missed you around the house,” her silky-smooth voice purred into the sheer silence of the locker room. “You really should visit more often, it has been ages.”

 

“Shizuka-s-san,” Mika seemed to stammer out with a slight hesitation.

 

If possible, Shizuka's smile got even bigger, and she nodded to Mika. Shizuka then turned her head to the girl whose shoulders she was wrapped around. “Nori-nee-chan, I'll go with Katsuki-chan.” With that, Shizuka squeezed her cousin's shoulders once more and followed out after Katsuki. A few people here and there began filing out, but none of Nori or Mika's girls; they all waited for their leaders.

 

“I guess… I will be out tonight, girls,” Nori said suddenly, and met Mika's eyes once more for a split-second, before looking at a group of four girls closest to her. “Doin' anything later? Want to go to the mall with me?” Nori asked in a deadpan tone that gave no room to say `no'. The girls gave no thought, but immediately shook their heads emphatically in agreement. Nori nodded, stood, and also left for the gym.

 

Mika gathered her things that were still strewn about her, put them into her bag and stuffed them into her locker, before leaving the locker room. Her girls followed.

 

Kagome, Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi looked around the room. They looked at each other. They closed their lockers and also exited.

 

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After the strange confrontation in the locker room, Kagome expected class to be crazy, and was ready for anything. Or at least she hoped she was. She sensed now that these Meiou girls were ruthless, and believed it even more so as, while they waited for the sensei, Yuka told her about their confrontation with Nori earlier that day. Hearing the mention of Katsuki as well, Kagome wondered if the girl was merely being friendly towards her because she'd been ordered to. Nori did seem to wield complete control over the girl when they were together.

 

Kagome also learned that the purple-haired girl that was often with Nori and Katsuki was Aizawa Shizuka. She was also in the same Advanced Math class with Ayumi, Kurama, and Nori; though Ayumi hadn't realized it right away since the soft spoken girl did not draw attention to herself loudly the way Nori did. Evidently, Kagome's friends thought she wasn't too bad, since she had saved them from a fight with Imano Nori. Kagome, however, wasn't so sure. She sensed something odd about the girl and it didn't sit right with her; she decided she couldn't let her defenses down for a second here.

 

Though she had expected class to be chaos, with herself and the two heads of `Shuuichi's' fanclub thrown together, it was amazingly peaceful. Perhaps it was the fact that all they did was go over rules and regulations, take a couple quizzes, and review the schedule for the year. The class was to be split up between physical fitness and actual classroom lessons in health. After explaining that their first health class would be next time, the teacher had them stretch and run laps outside.

 

Kagome stuck close to her friends, though from her journey in Inuyasha's time she could now far outrun them. She was just beginning to think she'd lucked out with a normal class despite the circumstances, when she suddenly felt the familiar tingle of youki. Looking to her left she saw Kurama running beside her. He turned his head and smiled, emerald eyes twinkling, and she glared and sped up, forgetting for the moment her plan to stay near her friends for their protection.

 

As Kagome ran faster and faster, so did Kurama; not really competing with her, merely staying by her side. Still, no matter how much she put into it, Kurama was always right there, not even breathing heavily. Kagome wasn't doing badly either, but she at least looked like she was putting effort into it by now. They finished their laps around the outside court far ahead of everyone else, and Kagome ran off the track to stand against the school and catch her breath. Kurama followed her, barely panting, causing Kagome to glare harder at him.

 

As he neared her, Kagome started to walk away, though now that she'd stood still for a few seconds her legs felt a little shaky. She almost lost her balance and he caught her easily, steadying her with an arm around her waist, his other hand holding hers.

 

“Are you okay, Kagome?” he asked concernedly.

 

She regained her balance and pushed him away, though more gently than she might have normally since he did help her. “I'm fine. Leave me alone.” Once again she started walking away, a little more quickly.

 

Kurama walked after her, “Won't you even let me be your friend, Kagome? Even if you claim you don't feel the same things for me that I do for you, must you refuse my company completely?”

 

At these words, she stopped and turned around to face him as he stopped as well, her eyes narrowed. “How can I be friends with someone I don't trust?”

 

“You don't trust me? I swear to you, I won't try anything else with you unless you want me to,” the kitsune-boy said, just a slight smirk playing on his lips.

 

“That's not what I meant,” she gritted out and turned back around, hurrying toward the lockers to shower and change since class was now almost over. Right before she stepped through the door to the girls' locker room, he grabbed her wrist.

 

“Kagome, what do you mean then?”

 

She struggled to loosen his grasp, though he wasn't hurting her; merely restricting her. “You want to know what I mean? I heard what you said to whoever was eavesdropping on the roof. You know what you're really supposed to do with me? What are you supposed to do with me, Kurama? Tell me the truth!”

 

End Chapter Four

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A/N: *gasp* I'm putting a new AND2 chapter out before up'ding UA??!! That's right, this is no mirage… this chapter suddenly wanted to pop out of my head *finally*, so here it is before I even have a chance to start work on UA again! Hopefully I'll have another UA ch out soon also, but I got bit by the Gravitation-writing-bug and have been working on that lately rather than what I *should* be working on. (feel free to check the fic `Disappearing Act' out in Gravitation section, if you're interested in that..) :p Oh well… can't force it… I'd rather take a little longer to write it how I want it than slap something together quickly and hate it later. I'm sure you guys would rather read a real update rather than some crap for update's sake also, ne?

 

To My Reviewers: Thanks for all your reviews guys. Letting me know what you like (and dislike) helps me improve and makes me want to write more sooner. ^__~ I'm glad you all seem to be happy with the pace of Kagome and Kurama's relationship; I'm trying to keep it at a semblance of reality in that way, but those of you waiting for them to just get together already won't have *too* much longer to wait… at least, I don't think… we'll see how the next few chapters turn out. Heheh. Those of you with questions about will such-and-such happen or will so-and-so show up… I'd looooove to answer you now, really, I love getting those kinda questions in reviews… but answering it now would spoil it for later! *cries* and I don't wanna spoil my own fic… so, patience my precious readers, patience. ^__~

 

That's it for my notes for now, I think. Ja ne!

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Thanks for reading, please review!