InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Unexpected Ally ❯ Back to School ( Chapter 12 )

Unexpected Ally

 

Disclaimer: YYH belongs to Yoshihiro Tagashi; IY belongs to Rumiko Takahashi; Unfortunately, I am neither one of them. Pity me!

 

Chapter 12: Back to School

 

Kurama sat at his desk, staring out the window at the trees on the school ground. The golden afternoon sunlight kissed the leaves as they blew gently in the wind, calling to his kitsune soul. How he wished he could answer the call.

 

“Minamino-kun,” the teacher called, sounding slightly irritated.

 

Snapping out of his daze, Kurama answered, “Hai, sensei?”

 

“I asked you to please read the next passage from the book.”

 

Blushing slightly as he realized the whole class was staring at him, surprised that the school's best student hadn't been paying attention in class, he looked at his book trying to remember the last paragraph he had heard. He reddened further when the teacher walked to his desk and pointed out the passage he was to read.

 

“A-Arigatou,” Kurama said softly, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. He read the passage from his Japanese Literature book quickly, and the boy sitting in the desk behind him picked up where he left off. Kurama tried to pay attention better, but was soon gazing out the window again, lost in thought.

 

He had volunteered to watch the shrine to keep a lookout for the girl while his friends had gone into Makai. He was determined to be the first one to approach the girl, especially with the knowledge that Hiei might be… less than cordial… upon first meeting her.

 

Nothing new had happened in the week his friends were gone, however, and he'd left his post the night before last when Botan had come with an urgent message for him. Apparently, his mother was becoming very worried about him being gone for so long, and had been calling his friends, local hospitals, and even law enforcement, looking for him. It had been deemed in the best interests of all Reikai matters that Kurama return to his human mother for a few days. They'd managed to keep everything secret from her so far, and Koenma intended to keep it that way if at all possible. The fewer humans that knew about the matters of the three worlds, the better.

 

When he'd gone home, Kurama had apologized profusely to his worried mother, giving the excuse that he'd gone on a spur of the moment trip with his friends. Luckily, she accepted the excuse without question. She was, after all, at least partially used to his extended absences over the past couple years. Minamino Shiori had immediately called the police detectives she'd called earlier to let them know they could stop their search.

 

Other than the visit from Botan concerning his mother, there'd been no word from anyone in Reikai, and he'd been given no new information concerning the progress of his teammates in Makai. Therefore, Kurama had taken advantage of the short moment of peace and spent the whole next day with his mother. It had truly been ages since he'd spent much time with her, and he'd definitely not been paying as much attention to her since she'd gotten over her illness that fateful day two years ago. The day his life had been forever changed by Yuusuke's sacrifice for him and Shiori.

 

These were the things he had been contemplating, after waking in the middle of the night last night from a dream about that time so long ago, when Hiei had rapped at the frame of his open window around three AM. Apparently, he, Yuusuke, and Kuwabara had returned from Makai not long before, after a short detour to Koenma's office to give the Junior Ruler their report.

 

~Flashback~

 

“Come in, Hiei,” Kurama replied to the knock, already wide awake. “Did you just get back?”

 

Hiei dropped to his feet just inside the window. “Aa, not too long ago. The others are probably sleeping already by now.” The shorter youkai answered, his red eyes practically glowing through the darkness.

 

Kurama sat at his desk and turned on the lamp, offering an extra chair to his friend, who wordlessly refused by perching on the inside of the window he'd been standing in front of. The redhead was not surprised by the action, and had really only offered the chair out of tradition. He would always offer, Hiei would always silently refuse, and it never changed.

 

“So, were you able to catch any leads in Makai?” the kitsune-boy inquired, his former contemplations pushed to the back burner once more.

 

Hiei crossed his arms as he replied, “Iie.”

 

“Nothing?”

 

The hybrid shook his head, looking more than a little peeved, “Koenma was rather cross about it when we gave him our report. We heard a few more rumors similar to that Makai folk tale you told me about, and there were reports of more missing youkai, but no real leads. I wanted to go check out that Forest of the Void, but Koenma instructed us not to go without your plant manipulating abilities. About the only benefit that came from this mission is the great use I got out of my katana.” His hand absentmindedly went to his hip as he said this, stroking his thumb over the hilt of the sword.

 

Kurama laughed softly behind his hand at the reflexive gesture. Hiei shot him a glare and Kurama cleared his throat to speak, “He's right, though. It wouldn't be wise to go into any Makai forest without me, especially an uncharted one.”

 

“Are you saying you don't think I could've handled it?” Hiei questioned incredulously.

 

Kurama looked Hiei right in the eyes, “You know I believe you to be quite capable of handling yourself in dangerous situations, Hiei. But if any part of that legend is true, as we believe it to be, who knows what kinds of traps or enemies could be lurking in that Forest. At least if I'm there to influence the plants, we'd have more of a chance of all of us getting through if things become hostile.”

 

“Then you should've gone and left someone else to watch for that onna. You're wasting too much time that could be spent solving this case just because you can't control that perverted fox in your head.”

 

Youko was roused from his slumber by the remark, and quickly responded with a growl. Kurama slapped his hand over his mouth, soft golden eyes returning to emerald green when he realized the silver kitsune had snuck out for a moment.

 

It was Hiei's turn to laugh, but he didn't bother trying to hide it. `By all means, continue, Youko. You're only proving my point.'

 

(Perhaps you think you could control me?) Youko purred suggestively.

 

Kurama watched a gleam come into the hybrid's eyes, and felt a sense of foreboding.

 

`I know I could, kitsune.' Came the fire apparition's equally suggestive reply.

 

`Don't encourage him, Hiei.' Kurama warned.

 

Hiei ignored the redhead, continuing his taunt at the silver kitsune, `You're too preoccupied with this human girl to take me on. You even convinced Kurama to stay behind on the chance she would show up and you could have her to yourself before taking her to Koenma.'

 

(Please, you could not handle me if you tried. Besides, what would you have had him do, leave you to watch for her? I would not say you are the best candidate to watch for a little human girl that knocked you out the first time you saw her powers.)

 

`That wouldn't have happened if I'd been watching her. I was rather busy with my own battle at the time.' Hiei insisted.

 

(Hmm.) Youko commented dismissively.

 

`Fine, you really think you can take me? Let's go for it!'

 

Kurama was shocked, to say the least. Ever since Youko had become a more vocal presence in his consciousness, he'd been propositioning Hiei. Kurama knew it was mostly to get a rise out of both he and his friend, but he also suspected that Youko truly wouldn't care whether his partner was male or female as long as his sexual appetite could be fed. Hiei had only played along like this a couple times, generally after a battle when his adrenaline and youki were still fired up, but he'd never gone so far as to actually challenge the kitsune back and agree in such a way.

 

Taking advantage of Kurama's dropped guard in his shock, Youko exerted his control over their body. Hiei watched as the emerald green eyes of his friend turned to the soft golden color, and silver slowly seeped down from the roots of Kurama's crimson locks, extending the hair's length by more than a foot until it flowed past his hips. His fangs lengthened slightly, as did the claws that were formerly human nails, and his height grew to seven feet. The white clothing that his youki created for him was incandescent in the dark room as Youko turned off the desk lamp.

 

Slowly, deliberately, the statuesque youkai approached the hybrid. The look in his eyes was mischievous, and he ran his tongue over his parted lips and slightly bared fangs seductively. “So you want to take me on?” the deep, sensual voice purred through the thick silence.

 

“Enough talk, kitsune,” the spiky-haired youkai demanded, stepping closer to Youko and staring defiantly up into his burning gaze.

 

Trapped within their consciousness for the moment, Kurama couldn't believe what was happening. `Youko, stop this nonsense. What about Kagome?' he said almost pleadingly.

 

(What about her? She has nothing to do with this.) The silver kitsune blocked out Kurama's further protests. Youko leaned down until his face was right in front of Hiei's, lips so close to touching, and put his hands on the other youkai's shoulders. Suddenly, he darted his tongue out, licking a vertical line up the center of the Jaganshi's lower lip to his top lip with the very tip of his tongue. Then, flashing a playful grin, he leapt out the open window behind Hiei and started running through the streets of Tokyo.

 

~End Flashback~

 

Kurama was brought out of his daydream by a tap on his shoulder. He shook his head, blinking his eyes a few times to clear their haze, and looked to see who had gotten his attention. He saw his teacher standing in front of his desk and noticed he was the only student left in the classroom. School had ended for the day, and he hadn't even noticed.

 

“Minamino-kun, I'm surprised at you,” she said in an almost motherly tone. “You've never daydreamed in my class before.”

 

“Sumimasen, sensei.” He apologized.

 

“Is everything okay, Minamino-kun?”

 

Kurama nodded, “Hai, just fine. Just a bit tired today.”

 

She looked at him skeptically, eyeing his cut, slightly swollen lip. “Hmm, well okay, but you know you can talk to me anytime you need to, ne?”

 

“Hai, arigatou, sensei,” he replied, gathering his things in his bag that sat beside his desk and walking out the door. He was glad he didn't have Sougi today. Finally, he could get back to more important things.

 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Hiei sat in a branch of a tree, waiting for the rest of the tantei to get out of school. He'd finished his assignment for the day early, and had nothing better to do than wait for his friends to join him. He waited half an hour, but soon gave into his exhaustion from the activities of the night before and fell asleep.

 

~Flashback~

 

Hiei grinned at the empty room, letting Youko have a full two seconds' headstart before chasing after him. Jumping to the sidewalk below the second story window, he quickly found which direction the silver youkai had taken and started off after him.

 

Youko Kurama was fast. He'd had to be to become such a magnificent thief in Makai. Hiei, however, was faster. His whole life he'd lived as an outcast, even when living with the bandits, and he'd learned to use his size to his advantage in order to survive. He ran faster than an accelerated fire. Therefore, neither he, nor the Youko, were surprised when he soon caught up to the fox. However, both had been holding back, toying with the other. Once Hiei had caught up to him, Youko put on a burst of speed and was out of sight again, heading towards the very outskirts of the city.

 

Hiei smirked, increasing his speed slightly in order to stay just one step behind his friend, letting Youko lead him where he wanted. He followed the kitsune's trail outside the city, along the highway, finally catching sight of him as they neared a thick forest. He soon lost sight of him again when Youko entered the forest, however.

 

Hiei slowed down just a bit, trying to feel through the conflicting youki he felt all around him. The trees and plants seemed to creep towards him from every direction, trying to close him in. `Kitsune tricks,' he thought to himself, realizing Youko had sent his youki into the surrounding greenery, using the forest to his full advantage to hide himself.

 

(What's the matter, Koorime? I thought you said you could take me.) Youko spoke mockingly into Hiei's mind.

 

`I can and I will get you, Kitsune. Use your best skills, it won't matter, you're no match for me.'

 

Youko laughed, a rich sound that echoed through the trees. It was slightly disorienting, and Hiei couldn't tell which direction the true sound came from at first. He stopped suddenly to get his bearings back, leaning against a tree for a moment to ground himself. He could feel the youki pulsing through it and felt a slight rush as it spoke to the desire of his own youki. He smirked suddenly, eyes gleaming in triumph even as they narrowed. He could feel the direction from which the true youki flowed.

 

Hiei picked up the trail once more and sped off after the tricky fox, using his katana on any plant or vine that tried to block his path. As he felt the pulse of youki grow stronger, he saw a flash of silver and white. Leaping into a tree, he stalked the kitsune from the branches of the canopy, finally dropping down right in front of Youko as they entered a clearing in the center of the forest.

 

The smaller youkai grabbed the taller one's wrist, spun him about quickly, and pushed him to the ground on his stomach. He put his weight onto Youko's back with one knee, the other knee on the ground beside the kitsune's left hip. One hand held Youko's arm to his own back by the wrist Hiei had grabbed, the other hand held the kitsune down by his left shoulder. Leaning down, he put his face right beside his friend's and breathed into his ear, “Gotcha.”

 

Youko smiled, pleased at the rare playfulness of his friend. Suddenly, he rolled, twisting his arm to bring the Jaganshi under him. Hiei soon found himself on his back on the ground, Youko looking down at him smugly as he straddled him, arms crossed across his chest. “Who got whom?” the kitsune asked, a slight laugh behind his voice as he raised an eyebrow.

 

Hiei growled low and thrust his hips upward, quickly rolling backwards as Youko was lifted off him just enough to allow the action. He landed in a crouch, his head bent to face the ground. Looking up slowly, he grinned ferally at the silver kitsune.

 

“You haven't gotten me yet.”

 

“No, I guess not,” Youko agreed, “I will soon remedy that, however.”

 

He sprinted forward even as Hiei leapt up once more and landed behind him. Youko spun around to meet him just as Hiei shot a fist towards him. The kitsune caught the fist, sending one of his own at the fire apparition's face. Hiei leaned back out of the way just in time, watching the fist skim just past him as he pulled his hand back out of Youko's palm. He leaned back completely and planted his hands on the ground behind him, springing himself backwards to land on his feet a few feet away, and quickly dashed forward once again. This time, his punch made contact with the kitsune's stomach.

 

Even as the blow came to Youko's stomach, he returned the favor to Hiei. They soon were in a dance of give and take as they sparred with each other, each trying to get the upper hand but continuing to come out even. If one landed a punch, so would the other. Every kick was met with one of equal value, and every miss spurred them to push their limits even more.

 

They used only their bodies, feeding off their youki just to increase their endurance, and both were soon panting hard from the energy they'd expended. Finally an end came when Youko swept a long leg at Hiei's legs, knocking him off his feet. The kitsune quickly straddled the fire apparition once more, holding him down with his knees squeezing Hiei's hips and twining their ankles together. Youko held Hiei's arms down above his head and put his face down to his, grinning triumphantly.

 

“Tell me again, who got whom?” the fox asked in mock confusion.

 

“You can't win all the time, Youko,” was Hiei's reply.

 

Youko simply licked the Jaganshi's lips the same way he had to start their game, and rolled off of his friend and onto his back beside him, releasing a heavy sigh of satisfaction.

 

They lay there for a long while, even after they had both caught their breath, gazing up at the stars in the moonless sky. They stayed that way, their hands cradling their own heads as they stared up through the opening in the canopy. Finally, as the sky began to lighten, Hiei looked to his side to see his friend had returned to the redheaded human form he usually took. Kurama was looking back at Hiei, green eyes smiling, though he looked tired and a little worse for the wear. Both boys had cuts and bruises all over and their clothes were a little more than ruffled from their fight; Kurama had a bloody lip, and Hiei had a nice shiner on his eye and few gashes on his shoulders from Youko's claws.

 

“Thanks, Hiei,” the redhead said sincerely. Though he hadn't realized what the challenge had been about at first, he was extremely glad for it now. He and Youko had both needed a good romp in the woods, as they hadn't really had the opportunity while keeping surveillance on Kagome's shrine, and now the silver kitsune was sleeping deeply within his consciousness.

 

“Anytime, kitsune,” Hiei replied, sitting up and smiling at his friend. He offered his hand to Kurama as he stood up, and they both started the trek back towards Tokyo. They ran once more, though not as urgently as they had before, and slowed to a casual pace once they hit the sidewalks of the city.

 

Heading back to his house so he could clean up and dress for his first day back to school, Kurama soon noticed that they were passing through Kagome's neighborhood. Hiei noticed as well, and knew Kurama was thinking about their location.

 

“Fine, but quickly,” Hiei said, answering the unasked question, and followed behind his friend as he came to the shrine entrance and began climbing the many steps to the top.

 

When they finally set foot on the shrine grounds, both youkai immediately knew something was different. Hiei walked with Kurama as he sniffed around, both boys finally ending up in a tree outside Kagome's window.

 

Kurama gasped as he peered inside. “She's here.”

 

“So is that Inuyasha guy, it seems,” Hiei pointed out. “I thought he had white hair, though.”

 

“He does,” Kurama answered.

 

“Looks black to me.”

 

Kurama took a closer look in the window, searching for the boy he hadn't noticed at first glance. There Inuyasha was, on a futon on the floor beside Kagome's bed. He looked the same as he remembered, even down to the white hair and red kimono he'd last seen him in. “What are you talking about, Hiei, his hair is white.”

 

Hiei looked again and, sure enough, the hair was white. `But… I'm sure it looked black before.'

 

`The sun has just risen fully; perhaps it was a play of the shadows before.'

 

`Perhaps.'

 

`Well, you'd better go tell the others, Hiei, so we can decide what to do next now that she's returned.'

 

`You'd better watch yourself, Kurama. It appears we've been found out,' Hiei said into his friend's mind, and gestured to the stirring hanyou just beyond the window. Unseen to the two friends outside the window, Inuyasha's ears were twitching as well.

 

Kurama nodded and leapt out of the tree, quickly finding a new lookout point where he could not be easily seen, and masked his youki by blending it with the surrounding plants. Hiei approved of his friend's new location, and hurried off to get Yuusuke and Kuwabara.

 

~End Flashback~

 

“Oi, Hiei!” the call came up to the branch the youkai was dozing on.

 

Realizing he'd let himself fall asleep, Hiei growled to himself and leapt from the tree, doing his best to look wide awake.

 

“Never thought I'd find you sleeping like a baby in public, Hiei,” Yuusuke chuckled.

 

“Yeah, especially in Ningenkai,” Kuwabara agreed.

 

“Hn,” Hiei snorted, crossing his arms and closing his eyes in irritation, “Urasai, baka.”

 

Yuusuke laughed and spoke again, “Anyway, Kurama's not out here yet?”

 

“Iie,” the small youkai replied.

 

Just then, a call came from near the school entrance. “Yuusuke!”

 

The boy turned at the sound of Keiko's voice and waved her over to where they stood on the edge of the school grounds.

 

As the girl approached them, he saw a look of disapproval on her face. “Why weren't you here on time this morning, Urameshi Yuusuke?!”

 

Yuusuke gulped. It was never good when she called him by his full name. “Hey, at least I made it to second period. You know I can't help it if I'm called for Reikai business. That Kagome girl came back this morning and we had to have a meeting with Koenma about her right away.”

 

“Kagome came back? What happened? You guys didn't hurt her, did you?”

 

“Keiko-chan!” Kuwabara exclaimed, putting his hand over his heart, “What kind of men do you take us for? That would go against our honor!”

 

“Okay, okay, enough with the dramatics, Kuwabara,” Yuusuke said. “No, Keiko, we didn't hurt her. We still haven't gotten the chance to question her yet.”

 

“You haven't?” the girl asked. “Why not?”

 

“Evidently, she has a guard dog,” Hiei quipped.

 

“Nani?” Keiko asked, confused.

 

“Inuyasha.” Kurama answered simply, finally joining his friends.

 

~Flashback~

 

Hiei had been gone not even two minutes when Kurama suddenly felt youki again. He sniffed and realized it was Inuyasha.

 

`I can smell him and sense him now, though I couldn't before. I wonder why.'

 

“Come out, yarou, I know you're there.” He heard Inuyasha growl. “I'd recognize your scent anywhere, lousy, rose-stinking kitsune.”

 

Knowing he'd been discovered, Kurama jumped down from the tree he'd been sitting in. He watched as Inuyasha's expression grew even angrier.

 

“What the fuck were you doing in my tree?!”

 

“Your tree? This tree doesn't belong to you. It's a being of nature. It's free.”

 

“You see the fence around it and protection talismans? That's a sacred tree and I'm the only one who gets to sit in it, with the possible exception of Kagome.” Remembering why he'd come out in the first place, Inuyasha added, “What are you doing here, anyway?”

 

“I need to speak to Kagome.” Kurama answered.

 

“No chance.”

 

“Listen, I understand your concern, but it's an important matter. I must see her at once.” Kurama stated diplomatically.

 

“And I'm tellin' ya, that's not gonna happen.” The hanyou retorted. “Whoever you're workin' for, you can go right back to them and tell them they'll never get what they want, so they can just forget it.”

 

“Can't she speak for herself?” Kurama countered.

 

“Why bother? The answer will be the same. It's my job to protect Kagome, and I'm not letting her put herself in danger just to talk to some strange kitsune.”

 

Kurama sighed, pulling a rose out from the thickness of his hair. He'd hoped it wouldn't come to this, especially since Kagome did seem to have an attachment to the inu. Plus, now he was tired from lack of sleep and sparring with Hiei. He would try not to injure the hanyou too much in order to get his cooperation. “I'm sorry, I don't want to hurt you if I don't have to, but I cannot leave without Kagome. It's very important that she come with me to Reikai.”

 

“She's not going anywhere with you, especially not this `Reikai' place, whatever that is. And unless you've got something other than that frilly rose, I don't think you need to worry about hurting me.”

 

“Hmm,” Kurama nodded, holding the rose in front of himself, and quickly brandished his rose whip in a flourish. He snapped the whip at Inuyasha and grabbed his sword arm with it, preventing him from drawing the weapon that was on his hip. “Sumimasen, but I must insist I be allowed to speak to Kagome.”

 

Inuyasha growled and tried to tug out of the thorny grip, but the whip, and Kurama's hold on it, held tight. He tried to claw it apart, but the plant was tougher than it looked and remained intact. He tugged again with his arm, and the thorns snapped on the sleeve of his haori, surprising Kurama. He was shocked, in fact, when the next tug from the hanyou caused the wrapped vine to completely break apart. Inuyasha quickly drew Tetsusaiga and pointed the giant transformed fang at the kitsune-boy.

 

“Like I said, it's not gonna happen. Get outta here now, before I'm forced to use my Tetsusaiga on you. Kagome would really hate it if I had to destroy half her city for one puny kitsune, but she'd get over it. She already knows you and your friends were harassing her family while she was gone, and she's not happy.”

 

Just then, the other three tantei arrived. When Yuusuke and Kuwabara saw that Inuyasha had his sword drawn, they hesitated.

 

“Careful, guys. Remember what he did to the Makai portal with that thing.” Kuwabara cautioned.

 

“Inuyasha, we're not here to harm her,” Yuusuke spoke up, “We just need to talk to her and ask her some things.”

 

“Keh! Yeah, right! I don't know what the hell you two are,” the inu-hanyou said, gesturing to the two humans, and then pointed to Kurama and Hiei, “but you two are definitely youkai. And this redhead is a kitsune on top of it. I've learned not to trust kitsune, and there's no chance I'm forgetting that now just because you say you won't hurt her.”

 

“This is pointless.” Hiei said and drew his sword. He disappeared suddenly, and, before anyone could stop him, appeared right in front of Inuyasha with his sword ready to strike. Before he made even one slash at the hanyou, however, a flaming pink arrow flew past him, just missing his nose when he stopped dead in his tracks. It hit Goshinboku with a `thunk' and the pink flame was instantly extinguished.

 

The four spirit detectives turned towards the direction the arrow had come to see Kagome standing there in her blue pajamas, another arrow already notched and aimed at Hiei.

 

“That was your warning shot. Leave my shrine now or the next one won't miss!” The raven-haired girl declared firmly.

 

Kuwabara addressed the girl, “Kagome-chan, you don't understand. I don't know what you think we want, but trust me—''

 

“Trust you? How can I trust you? I saw your powers on the beach. How do I know you don't intend to use them to attack me and steal it?”

 

“Steal what?” All four boys asked at once.

 

“Please, like you don't know,” Inuyasha exclaimed incredulously.

 

“No, we really don't know. In fact, we don't know a lot of things.” Kurama answered. “For instance, how did you get into Ningenkai without setting off the monitors in Reikai? What is your purpose for being with Kagome? How were you able to hide your youki before? Why can't I sense any reiki from Kagome, even though I know she has it?”

 

“Yeah, we have too many unanswered questions. That's the main reason Koenma sent us on this mission to find you.” Yuusuke agreed.

 

Inuyasha growled. “There's that name again, `Reikai.' What the hell is Reikai?”

 

“Reikai. You know, Spirit World,” Yuusuke answered, “Ruled by King Enma, supervised by Koenma. The place where the souls go to be judged and where criminals from Makai are punished.”

 

Seeing the two teens' confused looks, Kurama stated, “I've never met a youkai that didn't know about Reikai, and especially not one who didn't know about our team. Usually our reputation as Reikai Tantei precedes us to anyone from Makai. How is it that you and Kagome don't know about Reikai, yet she knows about Makai and you know about Ningenkai, Inuyasha?”

 

“What's this “Makai' and `Ningenkai' now?” Inuyasha asked. “Kagome, you know what the hell they're talkin' about?”

 

“No idea.” She answered simply, even more confused than before. What made them think she knew what the hell they were talking about?

 

Hiei didn't believe a word of it. Sneering, he asked, “You don't know about Reikai, Makai, or Ningenkai; yet you fight youkai as if it were second nature and figured out a way to seal the barrier when they escape from Makai? I highly doubt your claimed ignorance.”

 

“Hey, we're telling the truth!” Kagome insisted. “I didn't know where those youkai were coming from. I just knew they were attacking me!”

 

“See, this is exactly why you need to come with us. We have a lot of things we need you to answer, and obviously you have some things you need to find out from us.” Said Yuusuke.

 

Inuyasha growled at the boy. “Look, I already told flower boy over there she's not goin' anywhere with you guys. She's here to go to school and that's it. She wastes enough time doing that when we have more important things to do, so I forbid her to spend her `school time' on your bullshit.”

 

“Inuyasha,” Kagome began warningly.

 

“You can't say it now, and you know it, Kagome,” he reminded her, knowing she wouldn't risk `sitting' him while they were having this kind of confrontation.

 

Kagome growled her human growl in frustration. “Inuyasha, I don't have time for this nonsense. I need to go get ready for school!”

 

“Like it's my fault they won't leave you alone?!” he exclaimed incredulously.

 

“Look,” she said, addressing the tantei, “If I agree to answer your questions later, will you let me go to school now? It's my first day back and I'm already really behind from before.”

 

“I suppose that would be acceptable.” Kurama agreed.

 

“Okay, good. We can meet at the park near here after school at four. Now, will you all please go before my family sees you? They're already worried enough about me without having to think I have stalkers.”

 

Reluctantly, Hiei finally sheathed his sword and the four boys left the shrine and immediately contacted Botan to take them to Koenma.

 

~End Flashback~

 

“Wow, she actually shot an arrow at Hiei?” Keiko was shocked and impressed at the same time.

 

Yuusuke nodded, “Aa, barely missed him, too.”

 

“But, if you didn't actually fight him, what happened to you and Kurama, Hiei?” the girl asked curiously.

 

“Oh, that? Just a little early morning sparring,” Kurama answered, scratching his cheek and grinning sheepishly.

 

“Oh,” was Keiko's intelligent reply, “So I guess you have to go meet her and Inuyasha now, ne?”

 

“Aa.” He repeated.

 

“Can I come with you?”

 

“Actually, Keiko, I don't think that'd be a good idea right now. Why don't you take Puu and go to Shizuru's, and I'll meet you there later?” Yuusuke suggested. He'd found out from Shizuru that morning that Keiko had pretty much done that everyday while he'd still been in Makai.

 

Keiko sighed. “Okay, Yuusuke. I'll see you later then.” She kissed him on the lips chastely since they had an audience. Puu had already been in her backpack all day, so she left immediately for Shizuru's apartment.

 

“So, how did your assignment go, Hiei?” Kurama asked once the girl was gone.

 

“Depends,” the fire apparition answered, shrugging. “I tracked Kagome down to Tokyo Central High School, but there was nothing much out of the ordinary. She met up with those three annoying onna from the beach, and I did hear them say something about her being in some kind of trouble for missing so much school. Then, a disturbingly doting brown-haired boy showed up, making sure she was keeping herself healthy for some reason.”

 

“That sounds like Houjou, her date from the beach party.” Yuusuke said, laughing as he remembered the hopeless boy.

 

“Well, everything seemed pretty normal at her school other than that, so I went back to the shrine to check out Inuyasha since I didn't see him around the school. Nothing really to report from that, either, though it was rather odd to see him helping her grandfather around the shrine.”

 

“Inuyasha was doing chores?” Kuwabara asked, chuckling.

 

Hiei ignored the interruption. “So then I went to Makai to see if I could find out if anyone had ever seen him or heard of him, since he claims to know nothing about Makai. Pretty much everyone said they didn't know him, but one old guy that overheard me did come up to me in a bar. He said the last time he'd heard the name Inuyasha was as a child when the ancient youkai would tell stories of the good ol' days in Sengoku Jidai. He said there was a story they would tell about an inu-hanyou named Inuyasha that traveled the Musashi countryside with his companions, slaying demons. He said he couldn't remember any of the specifics of the stories, though, because he'd always thought Inuyasha was a traitor to his kind and he didn't like that.”

 

“Well, that's probably not important anyway,” Yuusuke commented, “I mean, this Inuyasha is definitely still young for a youkai, and the Inuyasha from those stories would hafta be 500 years old at least, ne?”

 

“Hai,” Hiei confirmed the boy's calculations.

 

“Well, shall we go meet Kagome?” Kurama suggested.

 

They all nodded and left for the park.

 

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`Damn,' Kagome thought to herself as she ran towards the park where she was supposed to meet the tantei. `I'm already late.'

 

Kagome was still at least fifteen minutes away from the park, even with her fast pace, and already ten minutes late. As she ran, she thought of the events that had led to her tardiness.

 

~Flashback~

 

After the four boys left the shrine, Kagome and Inuyasha went back inside. Kagome went to get ready for school, while Inuyasha joined Souta in the TV room where the boy was playing a video game. When Kagome returned, the two boys were in a heated battle with their usual on-screen fighters.

 

Kagome rolled her eyes, but smiled thinking, `At least they have fun together.' She hated to break up their game, but she had to. “Inuyasha, will you come here, please? I need to talk to you.”

 

He followed her to the kitchen, sitting at the table while she made breakfast for the family.

 

“Inuyasha, I want you to be on your best behavior today, okay? Especially since those guys could still be watching us, we don't need to cause anymore suspicion than we already have. So I want you to dress in modern clothing and help out around the shrine today to avoid trouble.”

 

“Kagome, I already told you I'm not letting you go around by yourself anymore.” Inuyasha insisted stubbornly.

 

“Baka, if I have you following me around here all the time it'll just make things more complicated. What would I tell people about you? How would I explain that I need a bodyguard just to do a regular, everyday thing like going to school? Not to mention the extreme danger we'd be in if anyone found out what you are, or where you're from.”

 

“Well, if it's so dangerous to tell people about me, why'd you agree to tell those people anything, baka?!!” Inuyasha replied heatedly.

 

Kagome smacked Inuyasha's hand with her chopsticks when he tried to grab his cup of ramen before the timer went off. “I'm not gonna tell them everything, Inuyasha. I'll answer what I can without giving away the important information,” she reassured him, “but I may have to tell them at least a little bit about the jewel.”

 

“Keh, as if they don't already know.”

 

“I don't know, Inuyasha. I think they were telling the truth when they didn't know what we thought they would steal.”

 

“Oh, please, wench, why else would they be after you?”

 

“I don't know, that's why I'm meeting with them!”

 

“Well, you're not going alone, that's for sure. I'm going with you.”

 

“Fine, Inuyasha, but you have to stay here until then. I'll tell mama and jii-chan when to send you to the park, ok? I'll show you where it is on my way to school if you promise to come straight back after you walk me there.” Then Kagome added, “Oh, I need to put the spells on you and Tetsusaiga before we leave, too.”

 

Inuyasha scoffed at this. “Keh, what's the point? They already know what I am now.”

 

Kagome huffed frustratedly. “They might, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't still be cautious. Besides, you can't be running around Tokyo with a sword in broad daylight!”

 

Inuyasha gave in, though grudgingly.

 

The morning had progressed exactly as Kagome planned, and she watched out a school window to make sure Inuyasha really did leave after he dropped her off. She thought once she got to school everything would be smooth sailing, but she was severely mistaken.

 

No sooner had she sat in her seat at her desk than she'd been surrounded by her three friends. They were immediately asking her questions about the mysterious boys she'd run from, whether she'd begun a double-life, why she couldn't tell them about it herself, and many, many more questions that flew at Kagome but never really sank in. Thankfully, she'd been saved by the teacher calling the class to attention and starting the lesson. However, as soon as the class was over, she was swarmed again.

 

She gave them the best excuses she could think of, wishing the whole time that she'd spent a little time in the past two weeks thinking of better excuses. Kagome said the boys she had run from had started a fight with Inuyasha. She and Inuyasha found out that the boys were more dangerous than they'd thought at first, and decided it would be best to cut their vacation short before things got worse. Kagome told her friends that she couldn't call them herself because she had gone somewhere where there were no phones, and she'd barely had time to tell Juri and Souta what happened. She'd told Juri to call them and warn them about the boys because she didn't want them to get hurt.

 

Kagome's lame answers, luckily enough, seemed to appease her friends for the moment however. Kagome had felt very relieved, to say the least. That is, until they started in on her frequent absence from school.

 

During their lunch period, Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi had again cornered their friend. This time, they told her they needed to have a serious talk with her about her future.

 

Kagome groaned inwardly as Yuka started the discussion.

 

“Kagome-chan, we're really worried about you. These past couple of years, you've really been letting your life get out of control. You're absent all the time, and I know you're not really sick. Those crazy excuses you had your poor grandfather tell everyone were only believable for so long before people started getting suspicious. No one said anything before because they thought it wasn't their place, but now I believe it is our duty as your best friends to help you. Whatever it is, Kagome-chan, we're here for you.”

 

“Yuka-chan, you don't need to worry about me. I asked jii-chan not to make all those illnesses up, but he said it was better that way. I can't tell you why I'm gone so much, but I swear there's nothing for you to worry about.” Kagome insisted with a forced smile. She wanted the conversation over with.

 

“Kagome-chan…” Ayumi said, a tone of pity in her voice. She didn't believe there could be nothing to worry about.

 

“Really, I'm fine!” Kagome exclaimed, waving her hands in a gesture of `don't worry, it's nothing.'

 

“Well, there's still the issue of Houjou-kun,” Eri added.

 

Kagome let her groan be audible this time. “Houjou-kun? What about him?”

 

“I'd say that reaction of yours is a pretty good place to start. Honestly, Kagome-chan, I just don't understand what you see in that two-timer that you'd choose him over Houjou-kun.” Yuka proclaimed. “Inuyasha is a possessive, two-timing thug who doesn't consider your feelings, and Houjou-kun is a polite, smart, cute guy who adores you. The choice to us is obvious.”

 

Sighing heavily, Kagome replied, “You guys, I'm glad that you're so concerned about me, but I'm just not interested in Houjou-kun. He's too wishy-washy for me, and way too much of a health nut.”

 

“But Inuyasha—'' Eri began.

 

“—is a friend! Inuyasha hasn't made any moves towards me, so we are just friends, okay? I still like being with Inuyasha, though, even if we are just friends, and nothing you say will change that. But, even so, please stop setting me up with Houjou-kun. In the end, all you're going to do is set him up for heartbreak because I can't return his feelings.”

 

“Kagome-chan, you can't ignore your love life forever, though,” Ayumi cautioned.

 

Kagome smiled at her genuine concern. “Don't worry, Ayumi-chan, there's plenty of other guys besides Houjou-kun. Besides, I'm only sixteen, there's plenty of time to worry about guys later, and I really need to concentrate on my studies right now.”

 

“Yeah,” Yuka agreed, “speaking of which, there's something else I really need to tell you, Kagome-chan. Before summer break, I heard a rumor that you may be transferred to a different school because of your poor grades and attendance record.”

 

Kagome paled at this news. “How can they do that, though? Wouldn't I have to take another entrance exam?”

 

The three girls shrugged at their friend. “We don't know,” Ayumi answered, “We've been wondering about that as well.”

 

Just as the conversation ended, Houjou came up to Kagome to inquire about her health as usual. He was his usual cheerful, oblivious self, and asked no probing questions about what had happened at the beach. Houjou gave her a basket full of health and body products, which Kagome accepted with the usual forced smile, and he made her promise to take better care of herself. Then he waved goodbye to the four girls as he returned to his classroom.

 

For the rest of the day, Kagome couldn't concentrate because her thoughts were preoccupied with worries about her future at school. This, of course, didn't help the situation she was worrying about, but she couldn't help it. The only thing she seemed to remember throughout the whole day was the new student that had been introduced to her class that morning.

 

The teacher had introduced him as Shindo Yukio. When Kagome looked at him she almost gasped, and most of the other girls in the class actually did. He was cute, very cute. He had jet black hair, which wasn't especially uncommon in Tokyo, but it was longer than any of the other boys in school. It cascaded past his shoulders in thick layers, and had a silky quality to it, almost as if you could feel it just by looking at it. His skin was pale and flawless, and his eyes were an odd mixture of ruby red flecked with golden brown. Quite possibly, he was now the cutest boy in her school. Yet, something about him made Kagome feel a little uneasy.

 

Maybe it was the vacant look on such a pretty face, the way his thin, pale lips and strange eyes seemed to let no emotion cross them, or the way he seemed to stare right into her soul when he looked at her, Kagome wasn't sure. Most likely, though, the creepiest thing about him was the fact that he had not stopped staring at Kagome all day.

 

That whole morning, she'd felt the prickles of his gaze on her, and it had taken all she had to not jump up and bolt out the door. After lunch, she had art class, and hoped he didn't have it with her. Unfortunately, she had no such luck, and groaned inwardly when he was assigned to the same work table as her. A couple times, she had dared to look back at him, but even that had not deterred him. He stared boldly back, those strange eyes boring into hers, and Kagome quickly turned away as a chill ran up her spine.

 

She'd been able to avoid him outside of class all day, but at the end of her last class her luck ran out. Kagome was just about to leave the classroom when her teacher called her back.

 

“Higurashi-san, I need to speak with you, please.”

 

“Hai, sensei?” Kagome said, turning around. Then her heart dropped to her stomach. Yukio was standing by the teacher's desk as well. Kagome approached the desk, leaving as much room as possible between herself and her classmate, who was still staring at her.

 

Her teacher, oblivious to Kagome's unease, addressed her, “Higurashi-san, I need to talk to you about your grades.”

 

Kagome held her breath, waiting for him to continue. He started flipping through papers in a file folder.

 

“According to the scores from your entrance exam, you are a very bright student. Yet, since you started school here, you've missed a lot of school and your grades are severely suffering. If this situation doesn't improve, you may not be able to continue attending this school. So I've arranged for you to work with a tutor.”

 

Kagome let out her breath, relieved that it wasn't something worse. “A tutor, sensei?”

 

“Hai, Higurashi-san,” he answered, then gestured to Yukio, “Shindo-san here just transferred from Kyoto, where he was the top student at his school. He's agreed to tutor you three times a week after school.”

 

The feeling of relief immediately left her as Yukio bowed to her, still keeping his eyes on her. “A-arigatou, sensei. Arigatou, Shindo-kun.” Kagome forced herself to say, bowing.

 

The teacher smiled at her, “I hope this will help you, Higurashi-san. You two have Sougi together today. Why don't you take some time to get to know each other and set up a schedule for your tutoring after you're done with the classroom chores?” He had then left them alone in the room, closing the door.

 

 

As they cleaned, Yukio kept trying to ask Kagome about herself. They were normal enough questions. How old was she? Did she have any siblings? What were her favorite classes? When he asked her where she lived, she hesitated, not sure if she wanted him to know. She distracted him by asking him to tell her about himself instead. He told her about his many academic achievements and activities at his old school, but when she asked about him personally, he suddenly grew quiet.

 

Just as Kagome finished her last chore of sweeping up the floor, Yukio suddenly grabbed her hand, “Higurashi-san, come sit.” He then pulled her to a desk and pushed another one up to it, setting them facing each other. He smiled at her as they sat across from each other, working out their schedules. The whole time, however, she kept thinking there was something odd about his smile. It was a nice enough smile, not scary or crooked, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something about it was wrong. She looked at the clock, just to have something to look at other than him, and suddenly remembered she was supposed to meet the detectives in the park.

 

Kagome apologized to Yukio, saying they'd have to finish figuring out her tutoring schedule tomorrow. Then she grabbed her backpack and ran to her shoe locker to change out of her school slippers and, putting on her regular shoes, she ran full speed towards the park.

 

~End Flashback~

 

“Oi, Kagome, where the hell have you been?”

 

Kagome looked ahead to see Inuyasha standing on the sidewalk in front of her. He was dressed in his modern clothes, just as he'd been when he dropped her off at school, but seemed to have forgotten as he tried to cross his arms in his usual manner. He looked extremely irritated.

 

“Oh, hi, Inuyasha!” Kagome called, happy to see a friendly face after spending so much time with her creepy classmate. “Gomen nasai, I got held up at school. Did you come to get me?”

 

“Of course, wench, I thought you might be in trouble!” Inuyasha practically yelled in her face.

 

Kagome put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “I said I'm sorry, what more do you want? I can't help it that my teacher thinks I should get help studying!”

 

“Well, come on, already,” Inuyasha said, leaning down so she could climb on his back. He then leapt off in the direction of the park to meet the four boys he'd left waiting there.

 

End Chapter 12

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Words First Appearing in Chapter Twelve:

sumimasen: excuse me/I'm sorry

Koorime: this is the name of the ice kingdom that floats above Makai; it is also the name given to the race of ice maidens that live there; since Hiei's mother was a Koorime, he's half-Koorime as well; in this chapter, Youko uses it to mock Hiei, using it in the “ice maiden” sense of the word.

yarou: bastard (literally, it means “farm hand” which is, evidently, a huge insult)

Sougi: chores/cleanup done for about fifteen minutes after the regular school day ends, before after school clubs commence, which students rotate duty on daily

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A/N: Just a note that, in Japan, most schools group certain students together for all normal academic classes for the whole year. Therefore, instead of the students switching rooms for each class period, the students remain in the same homeroom all day for classes, and the teachers switch rooms. Classes such as music, art, P.E., etc. are generally the only classes they will go to a different room for.

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A/N 2: MUWAHAHAHAHAAAA!! Bet you didn't expect THAT to be how Hiei got his injuries… Anyway, as you probably noticed, it took awhile to update this. Well, as I told you last time, I'm now working on two fics. Also, now that it's getting nicer I'll be busier outside with my son so updates from now on will probably be slow as well, but I will still be working on it!! Please stay with me, I promise no matter what I will keep writing! *ahem* Okay, I think that's all for the author's notes.

 

Review Replies: Thanks to all you guys that read and review! Really, really, your reviews make my day!! Sorry I don't have time to say thanks to you all individually, but I'm sure you'd rather me write more on the fic anyway, ne? Just one individual thanks though…

 

Diane: Thanks for the correction, never knew that before (obviously).

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