InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Mistaken Illness ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Mistaken Illness

By Obsessor

 

Chapter 3

 

A/N: thanks for the reviews, they helped me start writing the new chapter sooner. There's nothing for morale like a couple of good reviews! Well, this chapter starts the more angsty part of the story. So, without further ado, enjoy!

 

****

 

“Hey….Wake up, Kagome. Kagome….” The girl in question rolled over, not wanting to wake up. She tried to ignore the persistent tapping on her shoulder. Rolling over more, she felt something struggle out of the sleeping bag before her.

 

“Why does she have to wake up? And why'd you have to wake me up to? Baka!” Shippo went and settled next to Kirara on Sango's bedroll, intent on getting back to sleep.

 

“Keh. She has a test runt. Kagome, you're gonna miss your test. Don't come crying to me when you do.” With that, the persistent poking stopped. Kagome sighed happily and snuggled back into the blankets. Yet something was nagging her, at the back of her mind. She kept felt she was missing something important. Remembering what Inuyasha said, she sat up with a start.

 

“Test?!” Her eyes popped open, and she jumped up.

 

“Yeah, wench. You told me to wake you up. Can't say I didn't try.”

 

“Now I'm going to be late! I can't be late! This is a huge test….”

 

“Kagome….What is it?” Sango rolled in her sleeping bag so that she could see Kagome. With the racket they were making, they had begun to wake up the other inhabitants of the hut. She sighed dejectedly, now she knew that there was no way she could go back to sleep. `You'd think they could be quieter this early in the morning….The sun's only just come up…'

 

“Nothing. I have to go back to my era.” She rummaged through her backpack, pulling out all nonschool-related items. It would have been hard to explain some of them. She could only imagine what her friends would say. `Kagome, why do you have a pocket knife in your backpack? You aren't supposed to bring knives to school! …What were you doing with it? You…you aren't…..c-cutting yourself are you?' Needless to say, they would only get the wrong idea, and she would suffer from the rumors. `Wonder what Hojo would get me to cure that? A psychiatrist?'

 

Jumping up, she slung her backpack over her shoulder and ran out the door with a shouted “Bye.” She heard someone exit after her, and Inuyasha walked over.

 

“Get on my back. It'll be quicker.”

 

“Thanks. I thought you hated me going back to my time….and tests. And now you're helping me.” Climbing on, she grabbed hold of his haori, slinging her arms around her neck.

 

“Keh. Quicker you get there, quicker you get back.” He grabbed a hold of her legs, and ran into the forest.

 

Kagome smiled, knowing that Inuyasha was again hiding who he really was. Always using his gruff manner as a shield, so as not to let someone see his true personality. She sighed, enjoying the feel of the wind on her face. She liked this. Just the two of them, even though they usually didn't talk. It calmed her.

 

As the neared the well, she began regretting these tests. Reviewing the material mentally, she realized that there was no way she would do well. The best she could hope for was a passing grade. With all of the shard hunts, she rarely had time to study. And when she did, Inuyasha always found a way to distract her. Usually by stealing her book. Today she had a math test. Her worst subject.

 

They reached the well without incident. Inuyasha let Kagome go through without making it into a big deal. He had been able to smell her apprehension all the way there. And he had learned from experience not to piss off an already stressed out Kagome.

 

*****

 

Kagome gripped the ladder and climbed up the stairs, wishing she didn't have to go to school. Usually she loved getting to see her friends, but today was different. She kept feeling that something horrible was going to happen, but she didn't know what. Biting her lip in apprehension, she decided it must just be because she had that math test. She slid the door open, and hurried outside into the sunshine. Knowing there was no time to stop at home; she turned and walked quickly towards the street. Making it down the stairs without incident, she hurried through the streets of Tokyo to her school, not wanting to be late for her test.

 

*****

 

Walking through the hallways, Kagome entered the doorway to her classroom and quickly entered, mumbling a “sorry” for being late. She kept her head down, nervousness for her test overwhelming her. She didn't look up, not wanting to see the panicked looks on the faces of other students who didn't study. Seeing other stress about the test would only increase her anxiety. Only looking at the desk legs, and the pairs of legs belonging to her classmates, she didn't notice their stares. She didn't notice that instead of staring at the test trying to decipher a question, all of their gazes were locked on her.

 

“Ahh…Higurashi-san. Take your seat and I will give you your test.” As Kagome sat in her seat, the teacher walked over holding her test. She looked up, noticing that all of her classmates were focused intently on the sheets of paper in front of them. She took hold of the test her teacher offered, deciding that the odd look he gave her was only the result of her frequent absences from school.

 

****

 

She slammed her pencil down onto the desk, stretching her arms out behind her. Her test was over; it was already in the teacher's hands. She had understood most of the problems fairly well, though some she had no idea how to solve. She had completely missed the fact that they were supposed to know all those theorems by heart. [O: It's horrible… T__T]

 

She looked over and smiled at Eri and Yuka, who were conversing behind their hands. They immediately stopped talking and smiled warily back. Kagome's brows furrowed, wondering why they looked so guilty. Shaking it off, she stood and walked over to them as the teacher dismissed the class. As she passed her classmates, she noticed them giving her odd little looks. Some looked disgusted, others fearful, and some just looked surprised.

 

Reaching her friends, she smiled at Ayumi who was walking over from her seat in the front of the room. Ayumi smiled back, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. Kagome was starting to get freaked out. Why was no one looking at her like they normally did, with smiles on their faces, happy that she was back.

 

“What's up?” Kagome voiced after a moment of uncomfortable silence. “Usually I can't get you guys to shut up, and you aren't saying a thing now.” Her voice echoed in the room, no one else was talking, everyone was staring at her. “What, do I have food on my face?” She joked, knowing there was no way it could be true, she had rushed to school without eating. Staring at her, no one seemed to notice the teacher slipping out of the room.

 

“Umm….It's good to see you're healthy again, Kagome.” Ayumi's voice shook in the stillness, though she at least looked up into Kagome's confused face when she talked to her. She really hadn't wanted this to happen to her best friend, but once the rumor had gotten out, it spread like wildfire. It didn't matter if it was true anymore or not, the entire student body and most of the staff believed it. She herself had to admit that it would explain for the inexplicable absences from `diseases' that her friend had had over the past two years.

 

“Yeah….I'm glad to finally be able to come to school…..but, it seems that….” Kagome tried to continue, but she suddenly found that she couldn't. No one would look at her in the eye, save Ayumi. Eri and Yuka were standing there, staring at the floor rather than at their best friend.

 

Having enough, Kagome lost it. All the stress she had been feeling came crashing down on her, and she couldn't hold it in anymore. Breaking the silence with her voice, she yelled, “Why won't anyone look at me? I don't get it. What's wrong with you all? Yuka, why are you and Eri acting like I'm not here? Why do you look so guilty? Stop staring at me, I know you are!” Her last comment was directed at the other students in the class, whose eyes had been burning wholes in her back ever since the test ended.

 

“It's not like you don't know. Just fess up already. We know what you've been hiding.”

 

She turned to find the speaker to be Akira, known as the most brutally honest and cruel person in the class.

 

“W-What do you mean?” Kagome felt her heart stop beating. `We know what you've been hiding…' That phrase kept repeating itself over and over in her head; she couldn't get it to stop. They couldn't have found out that Grandpa had been lying all those times. What if….what if they knew about the well? They would destroy it! But then she realized, no, no one would believe that story. No one could. If they heard it, they would think she was insane. That was it….they must believe her to not be mentally stable. Her knees began to weaken, and she slumped across a desk, her face resting in her hands.

 

`Then they would send me away. Can't have an insane person staying here. No, they can't! I can't leave Sango and Miroku. Or Kirara. And Shippo….he needs me. We're like his second family. I can't….I could never leave….Inuyasha.'

 

Time seemed to stop for Kagome, but for the rest of the class it passed normally. The other students in the room watched as Kagome's face paled, and she slumped over at the news. Akira stared at the scene with amusement. Just as he was about to elaborate, the door slid open, thudding loudly from the force it was opened with. Their teacher entered back in the room, followed closely by…the principle.

 

She stepped purposefully into the room, her face set in an emotionless mask. It had come as a surprise to her when a teacher had come to tell her that Kagome Higurashi was in the school. She had figured her grandfather would have told her about what he had disclosed, and was expecting her withdrawal from the school at any moment. But, there was not mistaking that the girl slumped across the desk, her face hidden in her hands, was Kagome Higurashi. She sighed; this was not going to be a pleasant conversation. Bringing her self from her reverie, she called out, “Higurashi Kagome. Please follow me.” Satisfied that the girl had heard her, she turned around and exited to room, walking slowly but deliberately towards her office.

 

Kagome had ignored the opening of the door. It couldn't be anything important. But then she had been called. Looking up, she saw the principle exiting the room. Was she to be expelled? Or sent to an institution? Whatever it was, Kagome quickly decided that she would face it head on. If living in the feudal era had taught her anything, it was to not run away from an impending meeting. She stood up, straightened her skirt, grabbed her backpack, and headed out of the room, away from her classmate's whispers.

 

****

 

Yamamoto Chiako walked through the silent halls, her heels clicking on the tiled floor. As she contemplated how to tell Higurashi that her secret had been divulged to everyone, she entered the school office. Making sure the girl was still behind her (she was); she nodded to the secretary at the front desk, and continued into her own personal office.

 

She moved and sat in the leather chair behind her desk, motioning for Higurashi to take the seat opposite, and telling her to “Please shut to door.” Higurashi did, and then perched on the edge of the wooded chair, allowing her backpack to fall onto the carpeted floor. Chi8ako sighed mentally. She had no idea on how to break the news. The poor girl already looked worried, confused, and scared. She shuffled through papers on her desk, in an attempt to buy time. Giving up, she decided to be direct and honest. Giving up, she decided to be direct and honest. `Yes, that would be the best way…' No dulling the news down, no dancing around the matter. Taking a deep breath, she looked the girl in the eyes and spoke.

 

“Your grandfather told us you have AIDS.”

 

Kagome jerked at the news, her mouth dropping open. She could barely process what the principle had just said. On the walk here, a thousand scenarios had run through her mind. In each one, the consequences had been different, and had steadily grown worse. But one had come close to this. She could have been knocked over with a feather.

 

“I will give you a moment to collect yourself, then I expect an explanation.” Chiako watched the girl's face go slack when she heard the news. Her skin had become as pale as rice paper. She berated herself mentally. Brutally honest was obviously not the best way to go with this girl.

 

Kagome's surprise was quickly replaced with indignation. How could Jii-chan do this to her? Teas were beginning to form at the corners of her eyes, threatening to spill over. She blinked them back furiously, refusing to cry. Her heart felt like it was going to explode from everything she was feeling. Clenching her hands, her hatred grew. They couldn't do this to her…it was all a lie.

 

“What do you mean explanation?! There isn't anything to explain. But, since you seem to already know so much, I shouldn't have to tell you anything.” Her voice was dripping with sarcasm, she was relishing in being able to let out her anger. She could feel the tears begin dripping do9wn her face, leaving a wet path in their wake.

 

Snatching up her bag, she ran out of the room, slamming to door behind her. She hurried past the secretary, sprinting through the empty halls. She wanted to go home. But Jii-chan would be there. Confronting him would be a mistake right now. She needed time to calm down, to sort through the mess of information inside her head.

 

Bursting out of the school, she heard the doors shut behind her with a satisfying clang. Slowing down, she meandered through the streets of Tokyo. The crowds began to get on her nerves. Since it was a beautiful spring day, everyone was happy, optimistic, and so very full of live. All Kagome wanted to do was go and curl up in a ball somewhere.

 

After staying in the hustle and bustle for a while, her stomach began to growl. Glancing at her watch, she stared at it again, to make sure she had seen the correct time. It definitely said 3:00. She had been walking mindlessly through the city for longer than she ever would have guessed. As her stomach growled again in hungers, she spotted a WacDonalds on the corner of the intersection.

 

Walking inside of it, her thoughts yet again took a hold of her. She laughed silently. It was weird, as she walked along, she didn't feel like Kagome Higurashi. It didn't seem as though this was happening to her. Rather, she was simply watching someone else's life. Funny how just one word could turn her life upside down.

 

She dazedly walked up to the counter, staring at the neon menu. Standing there for a few minutes, Kagome decided on chicken nuggets. Once she ordered, paid, and grabbed her tray, she walked around slowly. Seeing an isolated table in a corner, she made her way to it. That way she wouldn't be as noticeable. She had gotten her fair share of stares earlier. It was quite obvious she was skipping. She was, after all, wearing her uniform.

 

Setting her tray onto the table, she sat down, letting her backpack slide off of her shoulders. Munching slowly on her nuggets, she mulled over today's events.

 

****

 

A/N: Well, I ended it a little sooner than expected. But if I had made it longer, then it would have taken me at least 2 more days to get this chapter out. So I went with giving you guys the chapter now. Please ignore some of the spelling errors, I found out that you can't not type for a week and then come back and expect to be able to. >.< I don't like where I ended it….but, I suppose that's better than having some angry reviewers kick my ass. Also, I really appreciated all of your reviews! I'll update this chapter with review replies soon….its sunny outside now, and my mom's yelling at me to `get off the computer and go outside'. -_-” But lots of writing this week, since its spring break, and, being the geek that I am, I have nothing to do. ^_^

 

Japanese:

Haori: the upper, red part of Inuyasha's outfit

 

Predicted Update:

Within 2 weeks…..hopefully….no, most definitely within two weeks, if not earlier.