InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ You Wouldn't Understand ❯ Embarrassing Memories ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: If you don't get it by now, there's honestly nothing I can do for you. You're hopeless.

A/N: I was recently asked why criminal youkai are sent to the Center. To tell you the truth, I don't exactly know. I think it's something that will come up later, but just in case it doesn't, I'll try to explain my reasoning. You see, the youkai prisons are getting really full really fast, so I figure that the courts decided that it would be more productive for someone like Kouga to be sent to learn to read or whatever than to go to jail and take up a whole bunch of space that could be used for demons who have committed more serious crimes. The part where he's working for Kagome is sort of like community service. Does that make sense?

Oh, and before I forget, I know NOTHING about the Japanese courtroom procedure. I am, however, somewhat versed in the American style, so I'm just using that. Sorry if someone sees something amiss with it!

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Kagome was floating in a void. It was surprisingly comforting, considering it was technically nothingness. And she was…warm. She sighed contentedly.

But then something was shaking her, pulling her out. She clawed at the edges of the abyss, trying to stay where she was happy.

She frowned slightly and opened her eyes. A blurry plane of smooth, tanned surface greeted her. She blinked to clear her vision, sitting up slightly. There, in front of her, was the unmistakable face of Kouga. He grinned at her.

"Sleep well, babe?" he asked, winking cheekily. "You were certainly hard enough to wake up."

Kagome blushed, slightly embarrassed. Then, it hit her like a ton of bricks.

"What are you doing in my bed?!" she cried, suddenly afraid. Did I do something I'll regret? she asked herself frantically.

"Shh, don't worry. You fell asleep in my car and I put you in bed, is all. I was tired too and you looked cold, so I just decided to get in with you. I wouldn't take advantage of you or nothing," he soothed.

Kagome's face flushed a deeper crimson. "I never said you would," she snapped, but her words held no conviction.

Kouga smiled and pushed her off him playfully, allowing for room enough to get up. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stretched, yawning. Kagome wrapped the comforter around herself, suddenly self-conscious. An awkward silence passed between the two.

"Um…d'you got a bathroom or something? I need a shower," the wolf youkai said finally.

His companion nodded. "Yeah. Across the hall, one door to the right. Take whatever you need from in there. I think there's a clean toothbrush under the sink, if you need it," Kagome explained, motioning with her hands. Kouga nodded and disappeared, grabbing his clothes as he left.

It was only after he had gone that Kagome felt she could truly relax. She let the covers fall off her body as she waltzed over to her dresser. Not bothering to change her top or underclothes, she pulled on a comfortable pair of black sweatpants and tied her hair back in a messy bun. She winced as she brushed her hand against her still-prominent bruise on her head, but the pain faded after a moment. She glanced at herself in the mirror that hung from her door. She looked all right, she supposed. Not bad for a recent victim of a car crash. There weren't any dark circles beneath her blue-gray eyes, which was unusual during the middle of the school year for her. Her skin was a little paler than normal and her raven hair mussed, but not horribly so. Nothing that couldn't be helped, at least. She smiled radiantly at her reflection and bounded out of her bedroom and down the stairs to an empty kitchen.

Kagome's grin broadened and she began bustling about the room, singing a happy tune. She gathered ingredients for French toast, deciding that her guest should be treated well after his help last night. Sunlight streamed in through the yellow-curtained windows, only making her good mood better. Today was going to be a good day, she could tell.

* * *

Kouga glanced at the cover of a book as he placed it on the shelf. "Damn, it's weird to see these again…" he muttered.

Kagome, having heard him as she repositioned a circular table in the back, laughed. "I could imagine! It was a really long time ago when we started reading them, huh?"

The wolf made a noncommittal noise as he flipped through the pages. He shrugged and found a spot for it amongst the dozens of easy-to-read children's books.

Just then, the Kagome's cell phone rang from her desk at the front of the room. She frowned and went to pick it up.

"Hello?" There was a brief pause. "Oh! Mr. Nakamura! What's up?" She sat down in a chair.

Kouga tried to look uninterested as he put up a simple alphabet poster at the front of the room, but in truth he was listening intently. Why the hell is the boss calling Kagome on her cell? he wondered.

"No, no trouble at all, sir. Do you think we can get this guy?" Kagome leaned back in her seat, tipping it onto two legs precariously. "Good, good. Yeah, don't worry about it. I'll get the slave here to finish up today's work." She winked at her companion cheekily and he grinned in return. "Perfect. I'll be there in an hour. I have to stop at home and change first. Bye!" She turned off her cell phone and sent Kouga an exasperated look.

"Another demon got himself caught by the TYP being naughty," she explained, standing up and gathering her purse and jacket. "I have to go to his trial to see if we can't get him into the program."

Kouga felt a little disappointed, but he swallowed the emotion and kissed her cheek. "All right. I'll hold down the fort here."

Kagome saluted him jokingly and trotted out the door. Suddenly, it occurred to her that they had taken Kouga's car. She poked her head back inside.

"Um…hey Kouga? Can I borrow your car?"

He chuckled and fished the keys out of his pocket, tossing it to her. "Don't get hit by any limos!" he warned. Kagome rolled her eyes. She left the building once again and was soon on the road to her ancestral home.

* * *

Inuyasha tapped his foot impatiently. "This bites," he muttered.

Kikyo, his lawyer, snorted in a most unlady-like manner. "Just remember that you got yourself into this mess," she replied, somewhat more stoically than her previous rude exhale.

Inuyasha growled at her, the sound rumbling easily from his chest. The woman beside him gave him no reaction, which only served to annoy him further.

"Would you look at that? It seems that the jury has reached a verdict," she commented. She may as well have been talking about the weather instead of her charge's future.

Inuyasha scoffed, though Kikyo noticed how he gripped the armrests of his chair. His knuckles were bone white and his claws were making imprints on the brightly enameled cherry wood. She put a hand on his own and he relaxed, but only slightly.

The last of the mixed human and youkai jury took their seats.

"Have you reached a verdict?" the judge asked, as was customary.

An old fox demon stood and nodded. "Yes, your honor," he replied, holding a piece of paper in front of him. "We the jury find the defendant Inuyasha Takahashi guilty on charges of breaking and entering, aggravated burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, and destruction of personal property." He sat down as hushed whispering rippled through the crowd.

"Oh, fuuuuuuuuck…" Inuyasha groaned.

"I TOLD you it was a stupid idea," Kikyo murmured. "You KNEW your brother would catch you!"

"Oh, can it, wench," the hanyou snapped.

The judge banged the gavel, calling for order. "Now, Inuyasha, you have a few choices. You could go to prison for six years, work at the docks for three, or mine in the mountains for the same amount of time. Which do you choose?"

Inuyasha made a disgusted face. All of them sounded awful.

"I'll take him," a bold yet feminine voice sounded from the doors of the courtroom. Inuyasha turned in his seat to see the speaker. "I'm from the Western Youkai Literary Centre. We can always use assistant teachers.

Inuyasha studied the woman standing. She was pretty, he decided, but in a different way. There was something familiar about her…

"That's wonderful of you, miss, but I'm afraid my client can't read," Kikyo replied, seeing that Inuyasha was occupied. When he heard this, he looked at her, horrified.

"He can come to learn, then!" the woman protested passionately. The hanyou in question noticed she hadn't looked at him yet. He wasn't sure if it was on purpose or if she was just too busy.

"Well?" Kikyo demanded. "What do you say, Inuyasha?"

* * *

"What do you say, Inuyasha?"

The smartly dressed lawyer's words rang in Kagome's ears. Inuyasha...she thought, in a mild state of shock.

"Feh," he answered, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's better than any of the other options," he finished grudgingly.

"Settled then. Inuyasha Takahashi will be enrolled in the next semester at the Western Youkai Literary Centre. Afterwards, he is to return to court to decide amongst working there, at the mines or docks, or to serve his remaining sentence in prison."

Kagome sighed, glad to have won another student for her class. She felt even better than normal, since she was repaying this kind hanyou for his help the other night.

Definitely a good day, she thought jovially as she all but skipped out of the courtroom to wait for Inuyasha and his lawyer.

* * *

Kikyo dragged her employer's son out of his seat and down the aisle once the end-of-court ceremonies were through with to find this representative from the literary centre.

Sure enough, the young woman was leaning against one of the great marble pillars in the main hall, waving to them. She rushed to meet them as soon as they stepped off the stairs.

"Hello, I'm Higurashi Kagome from the Western Youkai Literacy Centre," she introduced, holding out a hand to the older woman.

"Ah, Kagome. I'm Yamamoto Kikyo, and this is-"

"Takahashi Inuyasha, I know. We've met before." She smiled slightly at Inuyasha, who had been gaping at her since she introduced herself.

"Isn't that handy?" Kikyo said blandly. Kagome was slightly taken aback by the lawyer's cold, emotionless voice, but she didn't let it show.

"Look, the next semester starts on Monday. I expect you there at 8 o'clock sharp, Inuyasha," she said, addressing the hanyou.

"8 o'clock? As in at night, right?" he asked incredulously.

"No, Inuyasha, I mean the morning. Don't you dare be late," she warned. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some work to do." Kagome bowed to the two and rushed outside, her mind already on picking up Souta and Kouga.

Inuyasha just stared after her. "What the fuck!" he hissed. "How the hell am I supposed to get up that early, Kikyo?"

"Inuyasha, you know how I detest whining," she replied, but Inuyasha caught the hint of laughter in her eyes. Laughter at him. He glared at her. Then her remembered something that he'd been meaning to ask her.

"And why the hell did you have to tell the whole courtroom that I couldn't read?" he asked, upset.

Kikyo flinched. She hadn't meant to say it. "It just sort of…came out, Inuyasha. I'm really sorry." Anything that had to do with his education was a touchy subject to the young demon, and to have it said so plainly in public was a humiliation that got him down every time.

He clenched his fists, and then let them relax. "Yeah, whatever. I'm leaving." With that, he stalked off, but not before Kikyo noticed the hollow look in his eyes. He was remembering, and she knew it.

"Poor guy," she muttered. He really has had a rough time of it.

* * *

An hour later, Inuyasha sat in his living room, staring at the TV. The curtains were drawn and the lights were off. His entire apartment was pitch-black aside from the shaky light of the television, despite the fact that it was only 4:30 in the afternoon. He stared unseeingly at the images that flickered across the screen, his mind miles away and years in the past.

A five-year-old Inuyasha sits at a desk, a bright smile lighting his face and his ears pricked forward. He is squirming in his seat, obviously waiting for something. Suddenly, a shrill bell rings and he lets out a sound akin to an excited yip. Two other young children filter in through the door, hanging up their coats and placing their lunchboxes in specific cubbies. They spot Inuyasha and look at him curiously. The little girl with a long, brown ponytail giggles and skips over to him. She reaches out to touch his ears and Inuyasha growls playfully. The girl giggles again and rubs the twitching appendage. She squeals delightedly as a low purr sounds from her newfound friend. A boy of the same age, dressed in purples and blues, walks up to the pair, smiling mischievously. He asks something of the girl, who blushes and replies that she doesn't know how. The three laugh together and the boy and girl sit on either side of Inuyasha.

Another bell rings, startling all of them. The rest of the class enters the room in a pack, a snotty-looking girl at their head. She shrieks as she sees Inuyasha, crying out "MONSTER!" at the top of her lungs. Inuyasha covers his ears, desperately trying to shut out the loud sound. Soon, the whole class but the original three are screaming shrilly. The teacher arrives and begins to screech as well.

Inuyasha, hands still over his ears and eyes screwed shut, sprints from the room and out of the school.

Inuyasha frowned, hating the memories that flooded his mind. But still more came, flying through his brain like a badly edited film. This one was from the same year, hardly a week after the previous.

Inuyasha lies on the ground, blood pooling around him.

"Stupid hanyou!" a wolf demon pup sneers. "You're weak and slow! I could beat you at anything!"

The rest of the class jeers at him, following the ookami youkai's lead. "You don't belong here!" one of them shouts. The first pup, presumably their organizer, kicks the already-injured Inuyasha, laughing.

"Get out of here, mutt-face! We don't like half breeds around here!" he cries as a kick lands on Inuyasha's nose. He staggers to his feet, staying silent. Two teachers stand in the corner of the playground, watching with eyes narrowed. The young hanyou runs as best he can towards the exit, children throwing stones and spitting at him. No tears, however, can be seen on his face.

Inuyasha frowned. He hated the stupid full-blooded youkai, but wanted nothing more than to be one of them. To be on top of the food chain, instead of left off it entirely, had been his dream for as long as he could remember.

"That's not true," he murmured to the darkness. Before he had gone to school, he was unaware that anything was wrong with him. His mother and father had loved him, hadn't they? And Sesshoumaru was tolerant, when he was around. He had been content then, but that was the only time in his sixty-year long life. Six decades, and he had only known true happiness for five of those years.

A knock came from his front door. "Inuyasha? You in there? It's Miroku." His voice was quiet, but Inuyasha could hear it with his superior senses.

"Yeah, I'm here," he called out, and went to open the door for one of his only friend.

"Kikyo told us what happened in court. I'm sorry, man," the former monk said sympathetically.

Inuyasha shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I got off way better than I thought I would."

Miroku nodded. "That's true." There was a silence for a moment. "Do you want to go out clubbing tonight?" A mischievous grin that so resembled the boy's in Inuyasha's first vivid remembrance split across his face, causing the hanyou to snort.

"Feh. I'm gonna make myself some dinner. You get out of here!" His tone was gruff, but Miroku knew better.

"See ya at ten!" he said cheerfully as he was shoved out the door.

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Amagad, Inu-kun has such a depressing past, ne? Teehee. I do well with skeletons. ^_~