InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Double Life ❯ Kicking Butt ( Chapter 8 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

[Edited on January 28, 2004: Yeah, so apparently I grew to dislike (hate's a strong word) how the storyline was going. I came to realize that if I kept going with current plot, the story would drag. And I know that both you and I do not want a story that will drag. 'Cause those are boring and we do not like them. So I'm changing this around. No more "going into the past" thing. I now think it's stupid and will only make it harder for me to write. So we're staying in the present, people. Everything in this chapter is the same except near the end. People who've read this chapter will notice the change.]

[Edited on September 17, 2003]

AN: Okay, I need to get this done and over with: this is NOT a self-insertion! For those who don't understand what that may mean, it's when the author inserts him/herself into the story he/she writes. This is NOT one of those fics. That's not how I write my original characters. Truthfully, Renko is made of a bunch of people I admired (both good and bad qualities) mushed together and so is Daisuke, Chiaki, etc. Believe me, if this was a self-insertion, I'll be a big-breasted, blue-eyed brunette will an inhumanely perfect body and drop-dead gorgeous enough to make Miroku abandon his polygamous nature (Yes, I love Miroku. I think he's so cute, it makes me want to cry). But hey, Renko isn't a big-breasted brunette so no, she isn't me. Actually, she's not a lot like me. But of course, some people will read this and still say, "Oh, this is a self-insertion?"

So to avoid further confusion, I changed Renko's name to Aki. So Renko's now ugly Aki because Saki's worse than Aki (unless you guys think otherwise). So I swear to God, if anyone says this is a self-insertion, they will be the first one I strangle because I spent these precious words to rant on how people thinking this fic is a self-insertion annoys me.

But for the people who confused this for a self-insertion, let me assure you that it's not your fault. It's really mine for growing so attached to the damn name that I just HAD to use it for everything. So don't feel bad. ^^

Okay, enough with the ranting and on with the story. This is actually where the plot starts going. Yeah, took me seven chapters to get here when it was originally only suppose to take me four. Sad, no?

"Aki!"

Aki laughed. "The one and only."

Kagome was ready to pounce and pull her into a hug when she remembered the many boys that surrounded her. So instead she went over and pulled Aki into a less noticeable hug; a manly hug. Aki looked at Kagome in surprise but laughed and returned the hug.

Kagome pulled away. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

Aki smiled as the crowds started to disperse. "Don't be surprised, okay?" Kagome nodded. "I'm here to study in Japan."

Kagome was happy. She really was. She was just really surprised at the same time. So surprised and caught off guard, she found that her tongue was no longer working. Well, it was more of she was too shock to do anything but to breathe in oxygen and out carbon dioxide. But then she started having trouble doing that.

"Well, considering that Kagome is too rude to introduce us to his new friend, I will." Shun walked up with his hands in his pockets with the others not too far behind him. "I'm Shun."

The others continued the introductions after him (despite Miroku's awkwardness and Chiaki's laughter in the background) and Aki regarded them each with a nod. "I'm Aki," she replied.

Kagome finally found her tongue and was about to pull Aki away so she could get more questions answered when Daisuke came panting over with Inuyasha close behind.

"Sorry, guys," Daisuke said as he ran a hand through his untidy hair. "The caretaker called me over. A bunch of new students just transferred over and I had to help set up their dorm rooms with the other dorm heads."

Why hadn't she noticed him gone? She usually did.

Kagome gave Daisuke a side glance and flushed slightly. He looked extraordinary handsome in the sun. His autumn eyes were shining brightly and...was still talking.

"--clean out my room now because we're running out of rooms in the dorms."

"So your days of having a large room to yourself are short-lived," Chiaki said.

"Yeah." Daisuke shook his head regretfully, making the sun rays bounced off his brown locks.

Pretty.

He scratched his head and started to turn rather reluctantly. "Well, I have to start moving some stuff."

Before he could leave, Kagome suddenly burst out. "I'll help you!"

Daisuke looked at her with slight surprise but returned to a smile. "Alright, thanks then. Follow me."

Ignoring Aki's raised eyebrows, Kagome quickly followed Daisuke out of the front of the school, trying her best to avoid eye contact with her. It wasn't her fault that she made that sudden outburst. She blamed it on her hormones.

"Wait, so why did he come all the way back here if he was only going to leave again?" Toji asked about Daisuke.

Aki regarded Kagome curiously as she went after that guy into one of the buildings. Her eagerness was definitely questionable. She wanted to know this boy's name but he kept rambling on, she wasn't sure when to cut in. Well, there was the other boy who was with him. She could just vent all of her curiosity on him.

She smiled as she turned to him. "I'm sorry, I never knew your name."

The long-haired boy looked at her for a moment before answering. "Makino Yasha. But I'm called Inuyasha."

She blinked. Maybe she wasn't hearing right.

Makino Yasha

Hmph.

Makino Yasha or Inuyasha, they all sounded the same to her.

Aki's smile disappeared as she nearly growled. So this boy was him. He was part of the reason why she had to haul her ass all the way from the US just because--

"So you room with Kagome," she said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Inuyasha shrugged, "Yeah."

"And you high jump?"

"Mm-hm."

Jerk.

"So you just jump over a stick. That doesn't seem to take much skill."

"Mm-h--" Inuyasha's face contorted into a snarl. "Jack off."

Hmph. She knew one thing for sure: she didn't like him. She could already tell that he was an insensitive, egotistical, loud jerk whose vocabulary was only limited to swear words. The temptation to attack him and the beat the crap out of him was too hard to resist. But of course, creating a scene wasn't something she wanted to happen either.

...The lucky bastard.

Kagome threw the pillows up onto the top bunk before climbing up and fluffing them. She felt oddly...nervous. It was like there was a whole flock of butterflies fluttering in her stomach, but she couldn't quite understand why. Maybe, it was Daisuke? They were the only ones in this room. Maybe her stupid hormones were trying to tell her something? Maybe it was her feelings? Honestly, it wouldn't be such a bad match. Daisuke was very good-looking. Not to mention kind, generous, fun, attentive, and like, the perfect guy for her. She fluttered her eyelids suddenly, almost in surprise. She rapped her head with her knuckles. What was she thinking? Feelings? For Daisuke? No way. That was. Wow. Er, no! Bad! She sighed heavily. Sometimes, she didn't even understand herself.

The room itself was nice and clean. It didn't look that much different from hers except that it had a T.V. and that it had a really nice...aroma to it. She felt content and serene. She fingered the casing of the pillow. If she did have feelings for Daisuke (if!), would it be so bad? Well, she was in an all boys' school so it wouldn't be such a good idea; Izumi was right on that one. But, she still deserved some kind of happiness, didn't she? Or was that something she was also sacrificing by going to this school? Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the knocking on the door. Kagome climbed half way down the ladder and jumped the rest of the way down onto the ground. She opened the door and nearly jumped in surprise when she saw who it was.

"Aki!"

Aki blinked, equally surprised to see Kagome at the door.

That was when Kagome remembered her whole speech that she would force onto Aki's ears about how she should send warnings before doing anything drastic. Not only that but she was also planning to squeeze out some answers from Aki. Why was she really here? Why didn't Aki come with her when she went to Japan? Why now? Did her father say anything to her mother and family?

"Hello," Aki drawled. "What are you doing he--"

Before she could finish, Aki found herself being dragged out of the building by Kagome, knocking over many of her luggages and boxes in the process. She was finally released when they were behind the second dorm building. Kagome turned to face her and poked her in the chest as to emphasized her following question.

"Now, tell me exactly why you're here."

Aki rubbed her chest in slight irritation. "I told you already. I'm here to study in Japan."

"Why?"

"Because I want to get that scholarship too."

"Why?"

"So then I don't have to pay my tuition for college."

"Why?"

"Um, to save money--"

"Why?"

"Er...so in case our country ever goes into an economic downfall, I'll still have money?"

She was happy to see Aki, Kagome really was. But considering it was so abrupt and happened without any warning, she couldn't help but suspect that there was something bigger behind this.

"Besides, I was a little worried about how you were doing," Aki continued, "and it'd be nice to study with a competent person again."

"Who was your study partner?"

"Yuka is a horrible study partner," Aki said flatly.

Kagome giggled. "Right, and what about the girls' school here?"

"I refuse to wear a skirt. It's too high. It's like up to here." Aki hovered her hand six inches above her knee.

Kagome hesitantly reached over and lowered Aki's hand so it was just above the knee. "Actually, it's about there..."

Aki blinked but shrugged it off. "Point being, attending Yusako High would be better because one --" She started counting off her fingers. "--I don't have to wear a skirt (Thank God). Two: I get a decent study partner for the next couple of years. Three: I can apply for the scholarship program and not some other shitty one. And four: I don't have to worry about prissy ditzes who only care about nails and scholarship. So it's all good."

Kagome cocked an eyebrow. "So instead, you want sweaty jocks who only care about food and cars. (And not all girls are like that!)"

Aki stopped for a moment and looked thoughtful. It quickly disappeared and she continued on as if Kagome never made the remark. "And sure, if I get caught in my masquerade, I'll be kicked out of the school, shunned by my fellow peers, and it'll look horribly bad on my college transcript...But it's only 'if'."

Kagome grinned. "You're pretty optimistic about this."

Aki folded her arms across her chest. "And you're pretty pestimistic. Has living a boy's life lowered your cheerful-I'll-still-be-smiling-if-the-world-exploded mood?"

Kagome smiled and was about to shoot back an quick remark when-- "Kagome!"

She turned around to see Sango running towards her. "Oh, hi Sango. You're just in time, I want you to--"

"Where have you been?"

Kagome blinked. Huh.

"Ever since Miroku took you, I've been worried shitle--"

Aki coughed purposely, interrupting Sango to remind her who was also there besides Kagome. Sango looked irritated for a moment by ended staring slightly in awe at the "pretty boy" in front of her.

Kagome cleared her throat. "As I was saying, Sango, this is my friend from America, Aki."

Sango blinked several times before holding out her hand for Aki to shake. "Um, pleased to meet you."

Aki drew up a pleasant smile. "No, the pleasure is mine." She bowed down and pressed Sango's fingers to her lips. Sango blushed and withdrew her hand once Aki released it.

Kagome's jaw was itching to drop. What in the world was Aki trying to do?

Face still red, Sango quickly excused herself and walked away. She shot a sideglance at Aki, who noticed it and waved, and blushed even harder.

Once Sango had disappeared out of sight, Aki's hand shot and gripped Kagome's arm tightly. "Tell me that she's the only one who knows."

Kagome pouted. "How did you know?"

"Well, if everyone knew what I knew, then everyone would be able to tell too."

Kagome reached over and gently pried Aki's fingers off her arm. "Well, there's only one other person and he's the school doctor."

Aki's grip tightened and prying them off just grew a wee bit harder. "Someone in the faculty knows?!" Aki hissed.

Kagome huffed irritably. "Don't worry, Aki. Doctor Izumi won't tell anyone, I'm sure. I trust him."

"You're too trusting."

"Well, attempting to cut off my blood circulation won't change anything." Aki released Kagome but the scowl remained on her face. Kagome smacked Aki lightly on the arm. "What was that, anyways? With Sango?"

Aki rubbed her offended arm. "What?"

"You were so..."

"Charming?"

"--Annoying!" Kagome snapped. "I mean, all that--that gentlemen-polite stuff was totally uncalled for."

Aki grinned broadly. "Aw, are you jealous?"

Kagome gave her a deadpan look. "I'm amazed by how your mind works," she said wryly. "What were you trying to do?"

Aki shrugged. "Isn't that what guys do? Well, I mean the ones that aren't jerks," she added, seeing the look on Kagome's face. "I mean, I do want to make friends here. So, I gotta make good first impressions."

"Yes, well, you do have a twisted way of doing it." Kagome shook her head. It reminded her strangely of Miroku, except the sole purpose would be to pick up girls no matter how much Daisuke frowned upon it.

Oh, crap.

She forgot. Daisuke. Still in room. Alone. Cleaning by himself.

Again, crap.

"Okay, I have to go," Kagome said with a sudden burst of happiness. "Daisuke's by himself cleaning up and I said I'd help him. See you!" She turned and disappeared into the building.

Aki watched her leave. She was so optimistic regardless of her surroundings. It was something she had to admire. But that only made Aki feel worse than she already felt. Now she didn't have the heart to tell Kagome the real reason why was she at this stupid school. The truth why she was studying in Japan in the first place.

Aki sighed and walked in the second dorm building. Who was this Daisuke person anyways? Kagome did seem excited about him. Well, whoever he was, she would end up knowing him anyways. He was going to be her roommate afterall.

Annoyed.

He was annoyed.

And irritated.

They both meant the same, but that wasn't the point.

He was peacefully reading his sports magazine (as usual) when Kagome came bouncing into the room with a ridiculously goofy smile on her face. When he asked where she was, which he now terribly regretted, she answered in an annoying yet very cheerful voice that she was with Daisuke.

Actually, Inuyasha wasn't sure why he was irritated. He didn't know if it was because Kagome came from being with Daisike all happy and cheerful or it was because she was now blabbering about Daisuke. That stupid Daisuke. He was always--

Wait.

He wasn't annoyed with Daisuke, He had no reason to. He didn't know why he felt annoyed with Daisuke or why he felt something eerily like jealousy. Nah, it couldn't be. Besides, Kagome had already started on how he was such a nice and kind person, much to his chagrin. But Inuyasha sitill didn't understand why he was irritated. Usually if anyone talked to him, he wouldn't really care at all. Kagome was blabbing like a nut so probably anyone would be annoyed.

Except Daisuke.

Perfect kind Daisuke.

Inuyasha shuddered. He didn't feel like himself. Well, so many things had been happening it was actually hard for him to tell whether he was himself or not. But still. It was weird.

...And Kagome was still talking.

"...and I heard he was also in the Martial Arts Club..."

Inuyasha felt like he was zoning in and out. Actually, he was zoning in and out.

"...I think he's pretty high in ra--"

Kagome stopped short when a loud series of screeching, screaming, and yelling echoed down the halls and through the walls. Kagome and Inuyasha exchanged confused glances before walking out into the hall and following the raised voices they heard. It didn't take them too long to realize that it was coming from the "205" room.

Kagome frowned. "This is Daisuke and Aki's room."

Inuyasha shrugged indifferently and reached to open the door.

"Wait, Inuyasha! Knock first!"

But it was too late and Inuyasha had already pushed the door open.

"--wrong with the top bunk?"

"I could fall!"

"It has railings, Daisuke! Railings! How could you possibly fall?!"

"I don't know! I could roll over them!" Daisuke's arms flew up in frustration.

"Only an idiot would do that."

"Right! Therefore I should get the bottom bunk--"

"No! You put my stuff there!--"

"That's because I had to--"

"We sure came here at the perfect time," muttered Inuyasha as the arguing pair continued to shout at each other, oblivious to everything else.

Suddenly, sound of angry footsteps erupted from behind Inuyasha. He turned around and saw Miroku stomping over with an unpleasant scowl on his face. Miroku shoved past him and pointed angrily at Daisuke.

"You! Bottom bunk!" He pointed to Aki. "You! Top bunk!"

Aki opened her mouth to protest but Miroku stopped her. "No! That's final! No more arguing! So shut up!"

Aki's mouth flew close. After a few awkward moments, Miroku stormed out with the same annoyed look on his face that he came in with. Inuyasha and Kagome decided to go also, leaving the other fuming pair in their dorm.

"Any idea why Miroku was in such a bad mood?" Kagome asked as she and Inuyasha walked out to the hallway.

Inuyasha snorted. "The moron lost his Barry White CD. He's angry because now he can't lure girls into his car." But Kagome had already zoned out at "Barry White." She was now pondering about Daisuke's unusual behavior.

"It was kinda weird seeing Daisuke like that though. I never seen him argue like that," she thought out loud.

Inuyasha grunted in response. He was annoyed again. He didn't know why, he just felt immensely annoyed. And irritated.

Both words meant the same but that wasn't the point.

As he walked towards his room with Kagome, he decided to sulk all day, even though he had no idea why he felt the way he did.

Annoyed.

Irritated.

kdf;sdlafsm

It was a beautiful Saturday morning. The sun was bright and the blue skies were clear of clouds. The trees were filled with songbirds filling the air with their morning songs. The water in the fountain in the school quad rushed quietly down the convulated slopes and crevices of the fountain's intricate patterns. The leaves rustled in the morning breeze, creating small dustdevils of autumn leaves.

Of course, all of this was immediately distrupted by the baggy-eyed students that trudged out of their dorm buildings, Kagome, being one of them.

Last night was the night when Aki and Daisuke became infamous for using their vocal cords in their arguments at the most inconvenient times. No one in a five mile radius was able to fall asleep as a result of Aki and Daisuke's excessive use of their voices. Miroku, who was already on the edge, stalked in the room with a look of inevitable murder on his face. He threw a pillow in the room, smacking Daisuke full in the face, ending all disturbances that night much to everyone's rejoicing. The only bad news was that everyone lost nearly two hours of sleep which resulted to very unhappy students.

It took a while for Kagome to realize that Daisuke, Aki, and Shun were not among them. Toji later explained to her, with one of Daisuke's homemade dumplings in his hand, that they had left early for the Martial Arts Club. Today was orientation where new members would spar with the older ones to determine their rank in the club.

"I'm going."

Kagome looked at Inuyasha. "Really? I didn't know martial arts interested you."

"Hey, if it involves kicking other people's asses and looking cool at the same time then hell yeah, I'm there."

The school dojo was unusually crowded.

Well, according to Shun it was.

Shun who now had a swollen upper lip and bruised cheek.

Kagome was tempted to ask but the others pushed her forward to get to the center of the dojo where the sparring square was. It was a huge square and it was divided into sections where each sparring match was held. On the side was a long table with three chairs behind it. Only one of the chairs were empty while the other two were seated with two judges.

"The club is divided into five units. Five being the lowest rank and one being the highest rank," Shun explained with slight difficulty since his upper lip was swollen. "Each unit is led by a section leader and the first unit consists of only three members: Third Assistant Captain, Second Assistant Captain, and Captain. Each new member spars a section leader. If they win, then they spar with the next section leader. If they lose, then they either become section leader from the previous section they fought or become a member of a unit depending on the points the judges give them. Whoever gets knocked out of the square or is unable to continue the match, loses."

"Hey, where's Aki?" Kagome asked.

Shun frowned. "I don't know. He should be sparring with Second Assistant Captain, Ashiya Tetsukuke, right now."

Toji whistled. "That far?"

Shun nodded. "He ain't that bad. But you can kinda tell that hand to hand combat isn't really his strongest point. He started having trouble when he sparred with Third Section Leader."

"What position are you, Shun?" Kagome asked.

"I'm Second Section Leader. My match with him was pretty close. He gave me these," Shun pointed to the injuries on his face. "But I gave him a black eye and a bruised jaw. But you should've seen the match with him and the Third Captain. It really was a close match. Even the judges were unsure who to give the match to."

Suddenly, the people on the sparring square scampered off to avoid a rigorous match that started to take the whole square. The two fighters were throwing punches and kicks so fast, Kagome's eyes couldn't keep up. It was then when she noticed that there were numberous holes in the floor and broken wooden planks.

Chiaki noticed it too. "Hey, how did the floor get all jacked up--"

He was interrupted when Aki was flung to the floor. She skidded across the floor but slammed her hands down on it to stop herself. Kagome could clearly see her black eye now and the bruise on her jaw looked very painful. Then, Tetsukuke was in front of Aki in an instant with his fist raised. His fist dove down but Aki rolled away and it hit the floor, splintering the wood and creating another hole.

He pulled out his fist and looked up just in time to see Aki's foot fly toward his face. This was the end of the match and once the kick hit Tetsukuke, he would fly out of the square. But it never hit him.

Tetsukuke grabbed her heel, lifted her up and twisted her around in the air. Kagome cringed when Aki slammed into the ground with a painful bang. Aki pulled herself slowly and painfully to her feet and shifted into a ready stance.

Kagome looked around and saw Daisuke seating at the judging table. She squeezed through the crowds and stopped at his side. His head was slumped forward and the pen in his hand was held in a weak grip.

He was sleeping.

She gave him a small shove, waking him up instantly. "How can you sleep at a time like this? You're judging, aren't you?"

Daisuke scratched his head. "Yeah..."

"How can you score anyone if you're sleeping?"

Daisuke grinned. "Easy. I just look at the assistant captains' scoring sheets and copy off of them."

Kagome opened her mouth to scold at him when was a screeching sound. She turned and saw Aki on the ground, trying to use her hands to stop herself from sliding out of the square. The friction was rubbing her hands raw and her face was contorted with agonizing pain. Then, her hands gave out and they slipped off, sending her tumbling out of the square.

The referee signaled the end of the match and declared Tetsukuke as the winner of the match. Tetsukuke wiped the sweat that was dripping from his forehead and approached his fallen opponent. He reached out and helped Aki to her feet.

He gave a small smile. "Good job," he said. "You did well."

Aki gave a weak nod before allowing the other members to help her off the sparring square.

"So what does that make Aki now?" Kagome asked as she looked after Aki with worry.

Daisuke smiled with a slightly impressed look on his face. "Well, I think it's safe to say that we're now looking at our new Third Assistant Captain," he said as Aki's hands were being wrapped in gauze and her bruises were being treated.

Even though Aki was an annoying, rude, and stubborn asshole, the guy had skill and a lot of potential. The match that he had just witnessed was very...impressive. Very impressive, indeed.

"That was some match wasn't it?"

"Yeah, that Tetsukuke can kick some major ass. Everyone else kinda sucked."

"That's mean, Inuyasha."

Even though it was true and most of the new members weren't quite that good, it was still quite a cruel thing to say. Inuyasha and Kagome had left the crowded dojo for the cafeteria which was hopefully nearly empty since everyone was at the dojo. If everyone stayed there for a couple of extra hours, they might be able to get seconds.

"I wanted to see Daisuke spar though," Kagome said wistfully. "Is he any good?"

Inuyasha wanted to gag. Daisuke, again? Instead of going to cafeteria, Inuyasha just wanted to go back to his dorm and sulk in his bed in annoyance. Well, he was actually hungry at the moment, so he'd just have to save the sulking for later.

"I'm guessing he's pretty good," Inuyasha replied, not bothering to hide the bitterness in his tone but Kagome didn't seem to notice it.

"Really?"

"Well, he's captain so I figured that --"

"He's captain?!" Kagome exclaimed.

Inuyasha looked at her as if it was the obvious thing in the world. "Yeah...He was sitting at the judges' table and only the first unit people can do that..."

She was ignoring him. He knew because she was even looking at him. He bet she didn't even hear a single word that he had said. He couldn't believe she wasn't even listening! He--

"Did you see that?" Kagome was looking at the shrubbery with a strange look on her face.

Inuyasha followed her gaze. "See what?--"

"Right there! It's right there!"

He looked around wildly. "What? What's there? I don't see anything."

"It was like some furry orange thing. You didn't see it?"

"Well, if I saw it, I wouldn't be asking where it was now would I?" Inuyasha snapped.

Kagome hesitated before speaking again. "I think it might be Jirou."

"Jirou isn't orange."

"Well, it wasn't exactly an orange color that I saw. And the sun was probably bouncing off his coat, making it look like he was orange. Come on, if we hurry we can catch him."

Inuyasha sighed irritably but followed Kagome anyways. It wasn't too soon when they saw Daisuke and Aki emerging from the cafeteria. Aki had an angry look on her face while Daisuke looked slightly tired yet annoyed.

"Someone stole my bag," Aki said furiously. "I was on my way to the dorms when some furry thing came back and snatched my bag away!"

"It's just a bag--" Daisuke started.

"No one asked you, dim-OW! Bruise! Bruise!" Aki cried out when someone collided into her. She clutched her bruised arm and cradled it.

"Oh, s-sorry, Aki," Miroku stuttered as he hopped up and down and around with his thighs squeezed together.

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "Care for an explaination?"

"I have to go!"

Daisuke frowned. "Then go."

"No, you don't understand. I have to go pee!"

Inuyasha pointed to his right. "Well, there are a couple of bushes here and there that you can--"

"That isn't funny." Miroku sat on a low brick wall, fidgeting and twitching.

"What do you mean, I was serious."

"Okay, now look here you--"

"Oh, why this is a surprise to see you all gathered here."

Everyone turned to see Sango standing in the breezeway. She came over and much to everyone's surprise, Miroku didn't stand up to perform his usual greeting. It was probably because he was itching to go pee.

"What are you doing here, Sango?" Kagome asked.

"I'm visiting Izumi. My mom wants him to come eat dinner with us so now I have to figure out someway to lure him out."

Kagome was about to ask why when a sound of rustling bushes stopped her. Suddenly a streak of orange and yellow burst out and tackled Aki to the ground, dropping a navy bag that it had in its mouth. She screamed as Jirou's weight slammed her onto the concrete with a thump.

"Get 'em orff! 'Et 'im orrf!!" Aki shouted as she tried to get the overexcited dog off her poor aching body. Her words was muffled as she tried to avert her head away from the dog's licks.

Inuyasha grabbed Jirou around the belly and heaved him off. Kagome kneeled down by Aki's side.

"'Are you okay?" She asked worriedly. Aki managed to let out a whimper of pain.

"What's going on here?"

Izumi appeared around the corner. His eyes looked agitated and his glasses was low on the bridge of his nose, giving him a menacing look.

"Jirou knocked Aki over."

"And that was what caused all this ruckus?"

"Well, Aki's still hurt from the Martial Arts Club..."

Izumi glowered at Daisuke. "After so many calls of injuries from that damn club, I'm starting to think you have something against me."

Daisuke shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry. But you know how it is, Izumi. Rules are rules."

"I'm hearing this from the Captain of the Martial Arts Club. I know for sure that this is not a good thing." His eyes narrowed at Daisuke suspiciously. "It's your aunt isn't it? She's making you make my life hell, isn't she?"

Daisuke was about to protest indignantly when Aki interrupted. "Student in need here."

The doctor looked like he was about to reject her outright but he gave an irritated sigh and helped her up to her feet. "Come on. We're gonna have to have a look on those bruises. Don't want any severe internal bleeding, now do we?"

Aki looked at him cautiously. "Why did your voice sound earnest in that last bit that you said?"

Kagome waved her hand almost discretely as she tried to get Izumi's attention. She knew that Izumi was, in fact, not a stupid person. He was bound to find out about Aki and her secret; and he was definitely not going to be happy once he found out. He caught her movements from the corner of his eyes and looked at her questionably. She pointed at Aki and then at her. He looked at her, confused. She tried again. She pointed at Aki again and then pointed at her own chest.

He blinked for a moment. Then his eyes darkened considerably and gave Kagome a stare that could've froze fire. Well, at least he knew now.

Sango pounced to the glowering doctor's side. "Uncle!" she said in a singsong voice. "Guess what?"

Izumi snapped out of his gaze and looked down at Sango. He thought for a moment. Then, he gripped Aki's upper arm and started to pull her away to the Health Room. "I don't want to."

"No, wait. You don't know what I'm going to say, yet."

"Yes, I do."

"No, come on. Guess what?"

"Chicken butt."

Izumi's and Sango's voices faded away as they disappeared from the corridor.

Miroku hopped off the brick wall. "Well, I'm going now. Gotta find me a bathroom."

"And why didn't you go earlier?" Daisuke inquired.

He grinned. "I heard Sango."

"You dork."

Miroku did a mock bow and left. Daisuke turned and smiled at Kagome and Inuyasha.

"Well, I'm going to go take nap then. I better go and sleep as much as I can before loudmouth (Aki) comes back."

Inuyasha watched him leave and turned to Kagome. "Now what?"

Kagome grinned and pointed to the troublesome canine in his arms. "We put this guy back where he belongs." She laughed when Jirou whined guiltily.

A small smile quirked Inuyasha's lips but it quickly disappeared as he schooled his features. "Come on, then."

He turned towards the building behind him with Kagome right by his side. And honestly, even though he never would admit it, he kind of liked it like that.

* * *

It was early Sunday morning. The sun had just rose over the horizon and was tinkling light through Kagome's curtains. Kagome rubbed her eyes wearily. She might as well wake up considering that she couldn't go back to sleep; and she blamed it on the rustling noise outside her curtain. She stucked her messy head outside of her curtain. She blinked in surprise.

Inuyasha was awake and completely dressed. In neat clothing. It wasn't like the sloppy style she sometimes found him in. It wasn't fancy. It was nice and simple. Kagome's lips quirked. A date perhaps?

Kagome pulled her curtains apart. "Where are you going?"

"No where," he immediately answered without looking up from his cup of coffee.

Kagome's grin grew wider. "Uh huh. So who are you meeting?"

"I'm not meeting anyone."

"Yeah right. I know you wouldn't dress up for anything unless you were meeting someone...special. So where are you taking your date?"

Inuyasha's face grew irritated. "Yes, I'm going on a date. I'm taking her to a cemetery because that's what I like to do on dates," he said sarcastically.

"Cemetery? Why are you going to a cemetery?" Kagome questioned.

He didn't answered. Instead he reached for his jacket.

"Inuyasha," she said. "If you don't tell me, I'm going to follow you. You know, I will."

He hesitated for a minute. "It's been four months," he paused. "...since Kikyou d- left."

Oh.

Um.

Kagome was speechless. What was she suppose to say to that? She merely stared at Inuyasha.

"I'm...just going to go visit her." Inuyasha cleared his throat and regain his composure. "I'll be back in a few hours." He turned to leave.

"Wait," Kagome called out. He turned to look at her and she lowered her gaze to the blanket on her lap. "I - I know it's not any of my business but...it's been bothering me for a while, so I hope you could clear it up for me."

He waited for her to speak again.

She took a breath before continuing. "How did Kikyou die?"

He stared at her. His face was expressionless. It was a while until he answered.

"She was killed."

Kagome dared to press on. "By who?"

A small sad smile graced Inuyasha's lips and his eyes were the saddest she had ever seen them. She felt that if he didn't look away, she'd cry. He answered and he closed the door gently behind him, leaving Kagome back in the room, dumbstrucked. Her features were transfigured in near horror and shock as his smile and words echoed back to her in her mind.

"By me."

AN: Yeah, I know. I updated late. I was writing at night and I was really tired so what did I do? I fell asleep. Well, it's up now, so yeah. Well, now everything's gonna be on hold for a bit so I can start on making a section on my website for Double Life. I'll keep you guys informed weekly.

Time to answer some questions :

Is Kikyou coming back?

Erm...next question!

Aki should've come as a girl and pretend to be Kagome's girlfriend.

To tell you the truth, that was my first idea but it didn't fit into the storyline that I was setting up...so Aki's a boy now!

Will Kagome end up with Inuyasha?

...Did you not read the summary in the first chapter? I mean, I could've sworn I stated the pairing there. Didn't I put Inu/Kag...? Or did "Inu/Kag" suddenly mean something else?

I didn't edit this chapter so it's probably saturated with grammar mistakes. I'll fix it later...

[09/13/03: It has been edited.

...Well, most of it anyways.]

[January 28, 2004: Yes, now I think this revision was a smart idea. Because now I have found the motivation to write this story again. Yay for me.]