InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Claimed. ❯ Fresh. ( Chapter 4 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: erinnight 
Inuyasha returns and puzzles poor Kagome even more. Who says women are the ones who don't know what they want?
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Drama / Horror / Romance / Supernatural | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 07.09.2009 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.0K | Visits: 322 | Status: Work In Progress
Inuyasha returns and puzzles poor Kagome even more. Who says women are the ones who don't know what they want?
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Drama / Horror / Romance / Supernatural | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 07.09.2009 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.0K | Visits: 322 | Status: Work In Progress
A/N: Here are some story notes:
For one thing, you may be a little confused by the environment. I'm not completely sure of the climate or population of Kyoto, but I figured that we should give Tokyo a rest from housing the rambunctious Inuyasha characters for a bit. But, as die-hard Twilight fans should know, the weather in Forks was mostly cold and cloudy, and that'll be how it is in this one.
Also, if you have not read that series, I suggest that you do so, as this MAY or MAY NOT contain spoilers for: "Twilight"; "New Moon"; "Eclipse"; and "Breaking Dawn." Some of the elements of "Twilight" and "Claimed" will be similar; others I will leave out entirely, as they would just complicate things for me too much. I am also doing that in order to associate this story with "Twilight" and also to keep it separate and original.
For one thing, you may be a little confused by the environment. I'm not completely sure of the climate or population of Kyoto, but I figured that we should give Tokyo a rest from housing the rambunctious Inuyasha characters for a bit. But, as die-hard Twilight fans should know, the weather in Forks was mostly cold and cloudy, and that'll be how it is in this one.
Also, if you have not read that series, I suggest that you do so, as this MAY or MAY NOT contain spoilers for: "Twilight"; "New Moon"; "Eclipse"; and "Breaking Dawn." Some of the elements of "Twilight" and "Claimed" will be similar; others I will leave out entirely, as they would just complicate things for me too much. I am also doing that in order to associate this story with "Twilight" and also to keep it separate and original.
*************************
Chapter Four: Fresh.
I didn't dare say anything to Grampa about what had occurred at school that day. So, when I came through to front door, fake smile in place, and he asked me, "How was school?" I only nodded and said, "Fine."
He smiled at me brightly, and I knew that that had been the perfect answer for him. As I slowly made my way up the stairs, I thought about that. 'So Grampa's one of THOSE parents,' I thought, dropping my yellow backpack on the floor just inside the door. 'He's one who doesn't seem to really want to know the truth, no matter how much he may ask for it. I'll have to remember to give him stock answers most of the time.'
Because that's exactly what I'd given him. A stock answer.
Truth be told, I was actually a little put off by what had happened at the new private school that afternoon. What on Earth had I done to anger this Inuyasha boy so? None of his reaction to my presence had made any sense; I was completely and utterly confused by the onslaught of hostility. I wondered if his attitude toward me would be the same tomorrow as it had been earlier that afternoon. I didn't know exactly what outcome I hoped for.
I sat on my bed and opened my laptop, checking my email. There was a message waiting for me from Souta; it basically said that he missed me and wished I was still around. It also said that Kenji had gotten a new job with less pay, so Momma was now supporting everyone.
That made me turn red a little in anger. I quickly typed back to Souta that that was totally wrong, but was it new? Momma had always been somewhat naive; why should she be any different just because I'd moved out? Sighing, I typed that I wished Souta had moved with me. I hit send, shut my laptop off, and set it down on the desk.
I missed my brother terribly. He was a good, smart kid, and we had lots of things in common. I was honestly quite worried about him; he was alone there with Momma and Kenji, in uncharted territory. I hoped secretly that he was okay.
The night wore on slowly and uneventfully. I cooked spaghetti for dinner; Grampa and I ate together at the kitchen table in silence once again. As we were finishing, I vaguely wondered how Grampa had eaten anything before I came along.
The next morning, I took a short shower before getting ready to head off to school again. The sky was, again, grey and bleak; the air was humid and cold. I wore a thin jacket over my short-sleeved white blouse, and I'd made sure to pick up a pair of leg warmers the afternoon before. I wore them now, and I could definitely feel a difference as I walked through the cold; it didn't seem to bother me near as much now that my poor legs had some sort of covering.
The school was just as bland and foreboding as it had seemed yesterday, but the classes seemed to fly past me rather quickly. I had to admit, I was dreading fourth period a little; that may have been why every other class went by so fast. No time for Kagome to gather her bearings and defeat the boy with the strange, golden eyes and a misplaced hate for me.
Bankotsu found me as I was exiting algebra, and he walked me down the halls to the biology lab, talking my ear off the entire way about some dance coming up the next month. I let my attention float back and forth between Bankotsu and Inuyasha.
But it seemed that all of my worrying and comeback-creating was for nothing; as soon as Bankotsu and I rounded the corner into the biology lab, I immediately turned my attention to the seat Inuyasha had occupied on the back row. It was empty. No books, no bags, nothing. As I sat down in the chair beside it, I felt the seat; it was cold. He wasn't here.
A sort of strange, unreasonable depression set in right then. A flurry of alien emotions fluttered through me: disappointment, anger, relief, sadness, worry, self-consciousness, guilt.
The strongest had to be guilt. He had obviously stayed away from here today because of me; the reasons, though, were completely unknown.
At lunch, his seat at the table across the cafeteria was empty as well; only Sesshomaru, Rin, Sango, and Miroku sat there, laughing and playing and joking as they had the day before. A couple of times, however, I could SWEAR that they would turn their heads to glance at me, one at a time.
I went home immediately after school that day, feeling very odd about the whole ordeal. We spent a quiet evening together, Grampa and I, and then I went to bed.
The next day was the same: no Inuyasha in sight.
A week passed with the same results every single day. I was beginning to get frustrated. 'Why can't that bastard show himself?' I wondered. 'What the hell did I ever do to him to make him run for the hills like that?'
I didn't have to wait long to get my answer.
The next Wednesday, Bankotsu walked me down the hall and into the room as usual... and there was Inuyasha, sitting placidly in his seat as if he had never gone anywhere. My first instinct, obviously, was to stay there at the front of the classroom, frozen as I stared him down. Then our gazes locked again, the same as they had the week before, but this time... the expression on his face was warmer, friendlier.
The ice in my bones melted when I looked into those bright, golden eyes. Slowly, I walked to the back and sat down beside him.
We didn't speak as the class started, but he was watching me through the entire thing. I knew that because I was watching him as well. Every time he'd glance over, I'd look away; every time I snuck a peek, he turned his head back to facing the front. It was a very weird sort of competition between us; neither of us could ever win. I got the strangest feeling that he actually enjoyed the challenge, though.
"I realize that I was a bit brash before," Inuyasha finally said in a quiet, pleasant tone as the teacher rambled on about chromosomes. I dared to look at him; he was smiling. For some reason, that unsettled me. "I would like to apologize for the rude way that I behaved and begin anew. A fresh start." His smile widened as he extended his hand to me. I stared at it, then up at him, not speaking. Almost AFRAID to speak.
Finally, after I still hadn't taken his hand, he released a barely audible growl, his scowl from the week before returning. "Fine," he said, spinning his chair a little so he was facing the front again. "Have it your way, bitch."
The bell rang; he was out the door before I even saw him get to his feet.
I shook my head as I gathered my books. 'What a strange place this is turning out to be...'
Lunch was different that day.
For one thing, Inuyasha came waltzing right over to the table I was sitting at and started up a conversation. "Hi, there, Kagome," he greeted me. I stared up at him absently. Looking around, I saw that everyone else was staring at him, including his brothers and sisters across the room. Miroku had even gotten to his feet; what for, I had no idea.
Trying to hide the slight shake in my voice, I responded, "What's up, Inuyasha?"
He shrugged, his hands dug deep in his pockets. "Nothing, really," he said, his voice loud enough for everyone to hear. Miroku still didn't relax. I thought that was a little strange.
Suddenly, another astonishing smile lit up Inuyasha's pale face. "Well, I just wanted to see how you were doing. I wish you would accept my apology for last week. I wasn't... feeling well." His smile became forced, and the light disappeared.
I nodded, my lips breaking rank to give him a sincere smile of my own. "It's all right. No harm done," I told him.
His smile became genuine once more, and it made me tingle all the way down to my toes. "Good," he murmured, stepping back from me. "Good. I guess I'll talk to you later then." He walked away and rejoined his siblings, taking his usual seat at the end of their table. Miroku was still tense when he sat back down next to Sango.
Ayame leaned closer to me, her eyes wide. "Oh, wow," she said, obviously dumbstruck. "That was unbelievable. Those guys rarely speak to anyone, and Inuyasha, the hardest one to get along with, actually apologized to you for something!"
I nodded. "I know."
The students around me picked up their conversation where they'd left off, leaving me in their wake to ponder the new feelings Inuyasha was stirring in me. No one's smile had ever made me feel like that, all light and feathery. His golden eyes entranced me whenever our gazes met, and his smile pinned me wherever I was. This was new.
This was definitely a fresh start.
Chapter Four: Fresh.
I didn't dare say anything to Grampa about what had occurred at school that day. So, when I came through to front door, fake smile in place, and he asked me, "How was school?" I only nodded and said, "Fine."
He smiled at me brightly, and I knew that that had been the perfect answer for him. As I slowly made my way up the stairs, I thought about that. 'So Grampa's one of THOSE parents,' I thought, dropping my yellow backpack on the floor just inside the door. 'He's one who doesn't seem to really want to know the truth, no matter how much he may ask for it. I'll have to remember to give him stock answers most of the time.'
Because that's exactly what I'd given him. A stock answer.
Truth be told, I was actually a little put off by what had happened at the new private school that afternoon. What on Earth had I done to anger this Inuyasha boy so? None of his reaction to my presence had made any sense; I was completely and utterly confused by the onslaught of hostility. I wondered if his attitude toward me would be the same tomorrow as it had been earlier that afternoon. I didn't know exactly what outcome I hoped for.
I sat on my bed and opened my laptop, checking my email. There was a message waiting for me from Souta; it basically said that he missed me and wished I was still around. It also said that Kenji had gotten a new job with less pay, so Momma was now supporting everyone.
That made me turn red a little in anger. I quickly typed back to Souta that that was totally wrong, but was it new? Momma had always been somewhat naive; why should she be any different just because I'd moved out? Sighing, I typed that I wished Souta had moved with me. I hit send, shut my laptop off, and set it down on the desk.
I missed my brother terribly. He was a good, smart kid, and we had lots of things in common. I was honestly quite worried about him; he was alone there with Momma and Kenji, in uncharted territory. I hoped secretly that he was okay.
The night wore on slowly and uneventfully. I cooked spaghetti for dinner; Grampa and I ate together at the kitchen table in silence once again. As we were finishing, I vaguely wondered how Grampa had eaten anything before I came along.
The next morning, I took a short shower before getting ready to head off to school again. The sky was, again, grey and bleak; the air was humid and cold. I wore a thin jacket over my short-sleeved white blouse, and I'd made sure to pick up a pair of leg warmers the afternoon before. I wore them now, and I could definitely feel a difference as I walked through the cold; it didn't seem to bother me near as much now that my poor legs had some sort of covering.
The school was just as bland and foreboding as it had seemed yesterday, but the classes seemed to fly past me rather quickly. I had to admit, I was dreading fourth period a little; that may have been why every other class went by so fast. No time for Kagome to gather her bearings and defeat the boy with the strange, golden eyes and a misplaced hate for me.
Bankotsu found me as I was exiting algebra, and he walked me down the halls to the biology lab, talking my ear off the entire way about some dance coming up the next month. I let my attention float back and forth between Bankotsu and Inuyasha.
But it seemed that all of my worrying and comeback-creating was for nothing; as soon as Bankotsu and I rounded the corner into the biology lab, I immediately turned my attention to the seat Inuyasha had occupied on the back row. It was empty. No books, no bags, nothing. As I sat down in the chair beside it, I felt the seat; it was cold. He wasn't here.
A sort of strange, unreasonable depression set in right then. A flurry of alien emotions fluttered through me: disappointment, anger, relief, sadness, worry, self-consciousness, guilt.
The strongest had to be guilt. He had obviously stayed away from here today because of me; the reasons, though, were completely unknown.
At lunch, his seat at the table across the cafeteria was empty as well; only Sesshomaru, Rin, Sango, and Miroku sat there, laughing and playing and joking as they had the day before. A couple of times, however, I could SWEAR that they would turn their heads to glance at me, one at a time.
I went home immediately after school that day, feeling very odd about the whole ordeal. We spent a quiet evening together, Grampa and I, and then I went to bed.
The next day was the same: no Inuyasha in sight.
A week passed with the same results every single day. I was beginning to get frustrated. 'Why can't that bastard show himself?' I wondered. 'What the hell did I ever do to him to make him run for the hills like that?'
I didn't have to wait long to get my answer.
The next Wednesday, Bankotsu walked me down the hall and into the room as usual... and there was Inuyasha, sitting placidly in his seat as if he had never gone anywhere. My first instinct, obviously, was to stay there at the front of the classroom, frozen as I stared him down. Then our gazes locked again, the same as they had the week before, but this time... the expression on his face was warmer, friendlier.
The ice in my bones melted when I looked into those bright, golden eyes. Slowly, I walked to the back and sat down beside him.
We didn't speak as the class started, but he was watching me through the entire thing. I knew that because I was watching him as well. Every time he'd glance over, I'd look away; every time I snuck a peek, he turned his head back to facing the front. It was a very weird sort of competition between us; neither of us could ever win. I got the strangest feeling that he actually enjoyed the challenge, though.
"I realize that I was a bit brash before," Inuyasha finally said in a quiet, pleasant tone as the teacher rambled on about chromosomes. I dared to look at him; he was smiling. For some reason, that unsettled me. "I would like to apologize for the rude way that I behaved and begin anew. A fresh start." His smile widened as he extended his hand to me. I stared at it, then up at him, not speaking. Almost AFRAID to speak.
Finally, after I still hadn't taken his hand, he released a barely audible growl, his scowl from the week before returning. "Fine," he said, spinning his chair a little so he was facing the front again. "Have it your way, bitch."
The bell rang; he was out the door before I even saw him get to his feet.
I shook my head as I gathered my books. 'What a strange place this is turning out to be...'
Lunch was different that day.
For one thing, Inuyasha came waltzing right over to the table I was sitting at and started up a conversation. "Hi, there, Kagome," he greeted me. I stared up at him absently. Looking around, I saw that everyone else was staring at him, including his brothers and sisters across the room. Miroku had even gotten to his feet; what for, I had no idea.
Trying to hide the slight shake in my voice, I responded, "What's up, Inuyasha?"
He shrugged, his hands dug deep in his pockets. "Nothing, really," he said, his voice loud enough for everyone to hear. Miroku still didn't relax. I thought that was a little strange.
Suddenly, another astonishing smile lit up Inuyasha's pale face. "Well, I just wanted to see how you were doing. I wish you would accept my apology for last week. I wasn't... feeling well." His smile became forced, and the light disappeared.
I nodded, my lips breaking rank to give him a sincere smile of my own. "It's all right. No harm done," I told him.
His smile became genuine once more, and it made me tingle all the way down to my toes. "Good," he murmured, stepping back from me. "Good. I guess I'll talk to you later then." He walked away and rejoined his siblings, taking his usual seat at the end of their table. Miroku was still tense when he sat back down next to Sango.
Ayame leaned closer to me, her eyes wide. "Oh, wow," she said, obviously dumbstruck. "That was unbelievable. Those guys rarely speak to anyone, and Inuyasha, the hardest one to get along with, actually apologized to you for something!"
I nodded. "I know."
The students around me picked up their conversation where they'd left off, leaving me in their wake to ponder the new feelings Inuyasha was stirring in me. No one's smile had ever made me feel like that, all light and feathery. His golden eyes entranced me whenever our gazes met, and his smile pinned me wherever I was. This was new.
This was definitely a fresh start.
****************************
Sneak Peek:
Chapter Five: Legends
I stared at Koga as he snorted, his laughter loud and carefree. "Vampires!" he bellowed in his squeaky, puberty-hijacked voice. "Can you believe that, Kagome? I can't! I can't believe that I actually come from an Indian tribe that thinks VAMPIRES of all things are real!"
"And shapechangers," Ginta chuckled with him, his smile big as the light from the bonfire flickered across his pimpled face. "Don't forget, Koga! We're s'posed to be a bunch of werewolves!" The three boys huddled together right then and howled, loud and long, at the full moon sitting in the dark sky above us.
I laughed nervously with them. "Yeah, what a riot."
I couldn't be too sure about the werewolf part, but I had a weird feeling that the vampire part had some twisted truth to it.
Sneak Peek:
Chapter Five: Legends
I stared at Koga as he snorted, his laughter loud and carefree. "Vampires!" he bellowed in his squeaky, puberty-hijacked voice. "Can you believe that, Kagome? I can't! I can't believe that I actually come from an Indian tribe that thinks VAMPIRES of all things are real!"
"And shapechangers," Ginta chuckled with him, his smile big as the light from the bonfire flickered across his pimpled face. "Don't forget, Koga! We're s'posed to be a bunch of werewolves!" The three boys huddled together right then and howled, loud and long, at the full moon sitting in the dark sky above us.
I laughed nervously with them. "Yeah, what a riot."
I couldn't be too sure about the werewolf part, but I had a weird feeling that the vampire part had some twisted truth to it.