Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Unto the Few ❯ Not as Planned ( Chapter 8 )

Chapter Eight: Not as Planned

 

==

 

“Damnit!” Kurama swore to himself. “I'm hoping that he can't sense things as well as I can… I think I've done enough for now…It would be best to resume tomorrow night.” Decision made, he quietly stripped his robe, shirt, socks, and pants, and lay them over the edge of his bed. Barely rustling his silver sheets, he arranged his pillows more comfortably. He did not allow himself to sleep until after Malfoy's breathing had returned to normal…Unfortunately for Kurama, that was not until two a.m. Finally, he was able to relax but was once again woken by one of the ape's snores. After half an hour suffering the noise he woke himself enough to cast a time-limited noise-muffling spell.

 

When his alarm finally went off, Kurama roused himself grudgingly. “Dammit,” He muttered, waking from his fitful night's sleep and scratching behind his ears. Groaning softly, he pulled himself out of bed and looked around, counting the auras in the room. Only Malfoy's was absent.

 

Getting up silently, he opened his trunk and unearthed a pair of black slacks, socks, boxers, a button-up white cover shirt, and finally a green and silver striped tie and cloak with Slytherin's insignia. Folding his clothes into the cloak, he made his way into the Commons, and from there into the Boys' bathroom.

 

Malfoy was there—powdering his face? The Slytherin Prefect jumped visibly and put down the old-fashioned talcum powder.

 

The Prefect covered his embarrassment with disdain. “Minamino,” He said snidely, not taking his vision away from his reflection in the mirror after his quick glance to see who'd come in.

Kurama was surprised that he had pronounced his surname perfectly and his accent was just right. “Curious…” he thought.

 

“Malfoy,” he replied, just as coolly. It was strange though, that he did not use the Slytherin Prefect bathroom. “Probably because the other Prefects might be there and at this hour, most Slytherins are not up.” This seemed like a plausible reason and Kurama let it rest at that.

 

The kitsune made his way to the roomy bathroom stalls and found to his happy surprise that each upright shower stall had a small toilet cubicle for private use, and an individual mirror. However, the sinks were all located around a central place outside the large shower stalls.

 

Only the best for Slytherins, he thought to himself with droll sarcasm.

 

Kurama pulled a frosted glass door shut and entered the box-like stone stall and found the shower head with a drainage pipe near it, and a toilet with green frosted glass walling it in (for privacy; although, in his own private shower cubicle, he wasn't sure why this was needed), with the mirror opposite it.

 

Stripping down, Kurama grabbed an emerald towel with a silver “S” emblazoned onto the plush fabric. He let the hot water rush over him and for the first time in several long weeks, Kurama was relaxed.

 

==

 

Kagome woke to the sunlight streaming through the small aperture placed right above her head. The sun, as usual, bid her to rise and make the day. Surprisingly, she had slept well that night and found that, despicable though her dorm mates might be, they kept quiet and to themselves.

 

Kagome figured this was probably because they all lacked the patience to argue over who made too much noise and whose belongings were in whose space—well, this early in the year, anyway.

 

Slipping softly out of bed, she almost walked to her right to see if Yukina was awake, before she stopped herself and thought about where she was. Had she continued in her path, she would've run straight into Pansy Parkinson's bed.

 

“I'm so used to having Yukina to talk to in the mornings!” Kagome thought to herself. Making her way around the edge of her bed, she un-spelled and opened her trunk to dig out her new uniform.

 

“Let's see,” she mumbled at a low tone under her breath. “Black loafers, knee-length grey skirt with green trim, white button-up shirt, black cloak… These people aren't very imaginative…”

 

“Then again,” she thought to herself, “I shouldn't be one to talk, since all I ever got to wear in Japan was short skirts and sailor tops…

 

“Do I wear the vest and tie, too?” She wondered to herself. “The letter didn't say what we're required to wear; it just gave us the list of what we had to have…” Shrugging, Kagome left the vest off and put on the flashy green silk tie.

 

Going through her backpack, she brought out a small bag of owl treats, gave one to Aisling, and untied her leg from the post on the corner of her bed, allowing her to go where she liked. “I'm sending you home to Mom soon, so don't get too lazy,” Kagome warned.

 

Next, she let Kirara out of her kennel underneath her bed, with strict instructions to not bother the other animals. After Kagome was satisfied that Kirara would do as she was told, Kagome gathered her things and went down into the vacant Commons Room and exited into the girls' bathroom.

 

At this early hour of dawn no one else was up yet, and Kagome enjoyed the escape from the smothering auras in her Dormitory. The young miko was enjoying the luxurious separate bath stalls when she heard the door open and she sighed quietly, the soft sound suffocated in the heavy mist from her hot shower. So much for silent reprieve, she thought to herself, carefully picking over the selection of magical shampoos provided.

 

There were several kinds: Rainstorm, Emerald (Huh? Kagome thought when she saw this one), Pride (An even bigger HUH? from Kagome), and Sunshine. Kagome had sniffed at Pride, but found its musk offensive. Emerald had a clear, crisp smell, like morning dew, but with a hint of…iron?

 

Kagome opened the lids on Rainstorm and Sunshine and liked the smell of them both, so decided to try the Rainstorm today and Sunshine tomorrow.

 

“It says here that the contents in this bottle are not to be tampered with via magic of any kind. `The scented surprise inside each bottle is guaranteed to be of the highest quality on the market and will last up to 48 hours. Due to each person's different chemical make-up, the scent and effects will vary depending on the user. Keep out of contact with eyes and do not consume orally. If irritation occurs, cease use and see a MediWitch. Not tested on Pixies, Mooncalves, Unicorns, Dementors, Bicorns, Hinkypunks, Muggles, or Grims.'

 

“Wow,” Kagome said softly. “They don't leave much out of the disclaimer, do they?” Not quite sure who she was talking to, Kagome quieted and lathered up the shampoo, which she then rinsed out.

 

The miko-witch dried off with an emerald colored towel with a bright silver `S' emblazoned on the hemline. When she was done, she realized that the towel must've been either of a special make or spelled to remove the water from the body and hair, because when she discarded the material, it was still dry. “That's a wonderful little trick!” She said, pleased with all of the conveniences of this magical life.

 

The mirror was by the green frosted glass door leading back into the main row of sinks and Kagome walked over, clothes slung in the crook of her elbow, to comb out her hair. She almost screamed when she saw that her hair was gray and had lightningand drops of rain all through her scalp!

 

Running back to the shower stall, Kagome grabbed the bottle and read the Warnings. “Warning,” she mumbled, her finger tracing the word paths. “Due to each person's different chemical make-up, the scent and effects will vary depending on the user.' Oh, great! Leave it to me to get the malfunctionatory chemical make-up!”

 

Kagome grimaced and looked in the mirror, taking in the unnerving way lightning made parts of her hair stand up for a few seconds before laying back down and rain gathering like frozen diamonds. Thunder, without sound, was shown by rapid color changes from light gray to white, to slate gray and black.

 

“Oh no!” Kagome gasped, picking up locks of her hair with two fingers, almost afraid that the bolts of lightning would shock her. “What is it with me and bad hair days!?”

 

Taking her wand out from her pile of yet-to-be-donned clothing, Kagome decided to try and delete the spell. Closing her eyes and hoping for the best, she held the wand tip to her scalp and murmured, “Deletrius.”

 

BANG!

 

After the smoke cleared somewhat, Kagome nearly cried when someone started banging on the glass door that connected the cubicle to the rest of the bathroom. “Hey! Whoever is in there, it's way too early in the year to be getting our points docked so whatever you just tried knock it off!”

 

“Sorry!” Kagome said, but kept muttering. Looking in the mirror, she saw that now her hair had turned bright orange. Restraining herself from taking a leaf out of InuYasha and Yusuke's book and swearing profusely, she instead decided to try again with a different spell.

 

“Well, since this is a `magical mess', maybe I can use…” Holding the tip of her wand again to her head, Kagome squeezed her eyes shut and prayed as she cast her next spell. “Scourgify.”

 

There was no noise this time, but there was a lemon yellow flash of light. When she looked up again, she sighed in relief; her hair was back to normal (with the exception of the extremely strong smell of humidity and rain). “Thank you, Kami!”

 

Now able to get dressed, Kagome did so hurriedly and exited to the main bathroom and brushed her teeth. When that was done, she checked her watch and made her way quickly out of the lavatory.

 

After making her way out of the dungeons, Kagome asked a helpful painting for directions to the Great Hall. As she walked, she saw Yukina, flanked by two other girls, making their way down a staircase.

 

“Yukina!” Kagome called, waving her hands.

 

The koorime looked up from her conversation and smiled hugely. “Kagome-chan! Ohayo!”

 

“Ohayo, Yukina!” Kagome replied, not noticing the suddenly vapid and nervous looks that were directed at her as Yukina walked over to the miko.

 

“Did you sleep well, Kagome?”

 

“I did, surprisingly! What about you?”

 

“Uh-huh! Oh, you must meet my new friends, Hannah and Laura!” Yukina ushered the other two girls over from where they'd been whispering secretively to each other on the bottom step of the staircase.

 

“Hanna-chan, Laura-chan, I want you to meet my good friend, Kagome!”

 

Laura looked unsure of what to do, so she just stood there quietly, looking shyly at the miko. Hannah on the other hand, said bluntly, “Yukina, she's a Slytherin.”

 

Kagome stared at Hannah without comprehension, complementing Yukina's unabashed look of confusion. “Why is that a problem, Hanna-chan?” the koorime asked.

 

Instead of directly answering Yukina, Hannah turned to Kagome. “You got sorted into Slytherin for a reason and while I'm a pretty accepting person, I've never met a Slytherin I liked.”

 

Kagome looked a bit surprised before she replied, “Then I might be the exception. And plus, Hannah, if you're so accepting, why do you have a problem with my being friends with Yukina? She didn't tell you, I take it, that we met over the summer at the house we were staying at and made instant friends. She still likes me even after we've been sorted into different houses, so perhaps you could learn to do the same.”

 

Kagome grabbed Yukina's arm and they locked elbows, walking down the hallway. Slipping into Japanese Kagome told Yukina, “These stereotypes are ridiculous, Yukina! I'm trying to be polite, but…! We haven't even been here two days and already people are judging us!”

 

“Oh, Kagome, it will be alright! They really are nice girls!”

 

“I'm not worried so much about them, but rather the rest of the school that we've yet to meet...”

 

==

 

Kagome joined Kurama at the Slytherin table for breakfast after swinging by the Gryffindor table to say hello to Yusuke, Hiei, Kuwabara, and Ron. However, she just nodded and gave a weak smile to Harry and Hermione, who granted her the same strange, fumbling courtesy.

 

“Did you sleep well, Kurama?” Kagome asked, sitting down opposite the kitsune.

 

“Not exactly. I was trying to put some defenses of my own on my bed when I sensed Mr. Malfoy watching, so I had to stop. I waited to sleep until he reached deep sleep, and by that time two of the other boys in my dorm were snoring too loudly for me to get any amount of comfortable rest.”

 

“Were they louder than Kuwabara?” Kagome wanted to know.

 

Turning a tired eye to look at her, he nodded wearily. “Twice as loud as Kuwabara, with Yusuke's nasal sound.”

 

“Ooh,” Kagome murmured. “That's too bad!”

 

“I finally got some sense and spelled my ears to block out noise, but it took some concentration to put a time-duration on the spell, not to mention it was hard to focus with those… baboons making such a racket.”

 

Kagome had to giggle at that description, but stopped mid-chortle when she heard a flurry of air movement and looked up, startled to see hundreds of owls descending from the rafters. The hunters clattered onto tables and knocked over drinks and ate from their owner's plates while said owners untied the parcels and letters attached to their legs.

 

Kagome's owl, Aisling, was not among them, because she had just been released to go to the Owl's Tower this morning. However, Kurama's owl, Koi, had returned with replies for each him and Kagome.

 

Kurama fed the bird a strip of bacon and Kagome stroked her wings in a show of thanks before they ripped open their letters.

 

Kurama looked up from halfway through his letter when he sensed a change in Kagome's aura. “Salt?” He thought. “Is she crying?”

 

“Kagome?”

 

Kagome didn't answer, except to utter a half-restrained cry as she leapt up from the table and out the nearest exit. In order to exit, however, she had to bypass Gryffindor table, and in doing so she alerted the rest of the Tantei of the trouble, who all got up and followed her out; Kurama wasn't far behind. Yukina saw them leaving and excused herself from her housemates to follow.

 

Sprinting ahead, Kurama made it past his teammates and reached Kagome first. She was sitting in the corner of a nearby staircase with her head bent and shoulders shaking with silent sobs. Her hand still held the crumpled letter.

 

Resting a hand on her shoulder, Kurama knelt down and stared curiously at her. “Kagome?” Now the rest of his friends had arrived.

 

“What's going on, Higurashi?” Yusuke asked, crossing his arms and staring down at the girl blankly. The rest of them knew that his stance and tone that meant he was worried, despite all appearances.

 

“Kagome-chan?” Yukina asked softly, kneeling by Kagome on the opposite side of Kurama.

 

Hiei tried to open his Jagan to see if he could find out what was going on, but the levels of magic were so intense in this place, he might end up doing more damage than good. By allowing the Eye too much power and trying to open her mind, he could handicap her or worse—neither were acceptable.

 

Kuwabara also seemed as though he wanted to help, but didn't know what to do, so he merely stood by, watching silently.

 

The quiet strength and support of the group was broken when Harry, Hermione, and Ron ran up the stairs, shouting about wanting to know what was going on.

 

“SHH!” Yusuke said, glaring at them.

 

“What?” Ron asked, indignant.

 

Yusuke retaliated with a glare and by pointing his right index finger, his thumb cocked back, at the trio. Ron shut up and told his friends to do so, too. He knew what that gesture meant.

 

The leader of the Tantei nodded approval, and then approached them.

 

“What's going on!?” Harry demanded, trying with difficulty to keep his voice down.

 

“Higurashi's upset about something,” Yusuke replied, facing the crying girl instead of the newcomers.

 

“Oh, yes. She's the girl from the train that was sorted into Slytherin.” Hermione commented.

 

Without any warning, Yusuke turned and slammed his fist into the stone railing of the staircase, leaving a huge crack with small pieces falling and cement dust scattering. “DAMNIT!”

 

There was dead silence, except for Kagome's sniffles, before Yusuke filled the hush with angry words. “What the HELL is wrong with SLYTHERIN, HUH? You all seem to think I'm a pretty cool guy, right? What if I'd been put in Slytherin? You all would be acting completely different, wouldn't you?”

 

“I wouldn't—” Ron began, but stopped himself when he looked at Kagome again, still hunched in on herself, being quietly consoled by Yukina. He gulped when he saw the freezing look he was being given by Kurama. Ron remembered his second thoughts about Kurama (and even Kagome) once they were sorted into his rival House. He decided to keep his mouth shut—besides, it would've been difficult to talk around his foot.

 

“Well, dammit, Higurashi's been with us for the whole summer and she'll be here with us all year, and if you all don't get over this `Slytherin people are evil, ooh, we don't wanna go near anybody from Slytherin' phobia you've got going on, you'd damn well better be able to cope with me having you on my Shit List. And that is one place you never wanna be, are we clear?”

 

The three Gryffindors nodded quickly. Hermione, the first to try and set things right, stepped forward. “Mr. Urameshi, I'm very sorry for—well... I just… Let's just say that our prior experiences with the Slytherin House have been less than good. If you don't mind, I'd really like to make an apology to Mr. Minamino and Ms. Higurashi.”

 

“How'd she remember their last names?” Ron asked Harry, who shrugged. “It took me weeks to get it straight!”

 

“She's Hermione.” He said simply.

 

Yusuke smiled grimly at Hermione and nodded. “Sure. Kurama will appreciate it, but in her state, I don't think Higurashi's heard a thing and at this point, I don't think she cares much, neither.”

 

“Kagome?” Yukina asked again. “Look, what's wrong?”

 

Finally bursting out with it, Kagome exclaimed, “It's my grandpa! He—He's…”

 

Kagome didn't need to say more, and she simply barreled into Yukina, hugging her for all she was worth. The koorime squeezed back and tried to console her friend in her time of grief. Her eyes met with Kurama's over the priestess's shoulder and they both nodded.

 

Kurama reached behind his head and pulled out a seed which instantly transformed it into a twiggy, thin plant with frosty green leaves. Yukina's eyes grew fearful, but she was confident that Kurama wouldn't let this particular plant's magical abilities hurt her.

 

Ripping off a leaf Kurama reduced the plant he'd taken it from back to a seed and replaced it in his hair. “Kagome?” Kurama asked, grabbing hold of her sleeve, trying to pull her away from Yukina so the Icebane wouldn't harm the koorime. “Here, Kagome. Come here.”

 

Uncertainly, the miko sniffed, then decided this might be appropriate and switched her grip off of Yukina and faced Kurama, head down, sniffling. “Kagome, I need you to chew this and swallow it. Do you understand?”

 

She sniffed again and nodded. He handed her the leaflet and she mindlessly popped it into her mouth and chewed then swallowed. She shivered at the taste but otherwise did not react. Within thirty seconds her face had a very pale, almost blue color, but she had calmed down and her face was no longer puffy.

 

“Thanks,” Kagome mumbled and tried to smile, but sobs just began to creep back into her voice.

 

Yukina gave her another hug and stroked her back soothingly, focusing a small amount of her healing energy on Kagome, only to stop short as she felt a small zap of energy snap across her mind. “Kurama!” she whispered, beckoning him close enough that she might murmur in his ear what she had discovered.

 

His verdant eyes went wide and he asked, “Are you sure?”

 

“See for yourself!”

 

Kurama put his hand on the crown of Kagome's head and focused, only to withdraw his hand and stare in wonder. “You're correct. It is what you suspected.”

 

`Suspected' caught Yusuke's attention and he walked over and knelt down beside the three. “What's going on?”

 

“Yukina has discovered something about Kagome,” Kurama supplied.

 

Kagome surfaced from her sudden depression when her name was said and asked, “What about me?”

 

“I tried to help you heal, Kagome, to help calm you down at least, but I was stopped.”

 

“Stopped?” Yusuke asked.

 

“Yes, by a blockage.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Like Mr. Potter,”

 

Upon hearing his name, Harry came over, accompanied by Hermione and Ron. “What's this about me?”

 

“Yukina found a blockage in Kagome, too,” Kurama replied.

 

“A soul-scar,” Yukina said, answering Harry, Yusuke, and Kagome's next question. “Except it does not have a physical form; it simply is in the soul and when I tried to help numb her spirit so she would not feel so much, the scar prevented me from getting close. When I healed her the first time in the Wand Shop and her wand exploded, I think I was only able to do so because it was a physical wound.” She shook her head. “This is different. This is a wound on a spiritual level; that, I think, is why I am blocked from helping.”

 

“Wait, isn't she awfully pale?” Hermione asked earnestly, leaning over Yukina's shoulder to get a better look.

 

“Yeah, she looks almost dead!” Ron agreed.

 

“I am still aware of my surroundings, thanks,” Kagome muttered, but her protests were barely audible, as her tongue seemed to be numb from whatever Kurama had given to her.

 

“It's the affects of Icebane,” Kurama said. None of the three outsiders noticed Yukina's flinch at the mention of the name.

 

“Huh?” Harry asked, his glasses shifting as he arched an eyebrow. “What's that?”

 

“It's a plant that can reduce heat and swelling. It can also act as a depressant—similar to the effects of your Calming Draught, I believe. On occasion, for some, it can act as a hallucinogenic or intoxicator. If it's taken in excess amounts, it has the ability to freeze the victim from the inside out.” Kurama explained.

 

The three Gryffindors shuddered, but then Hermione's eyes lit up the way they always did when she just had a very interesting question brought to her attention. “But wait! How did you get such a thing on hand? If the Ministry found out a student had their hands on something that powerful-—”

 

Before Kurama could reply, Ron cut in. “Oh, you see, about that! He can manipulate plants and stuff. Genius, really—any sort of plant, isn't that right?” He looked to Kurama, who was cleverly masking his annoyance at the boy disclosing his personal information. He settled for a slight nod to acknowledge what Ron had said.

 

Hermione's brows drew together and she looked slightly down, gnawing on her bottom lip. “Oh, no!” Ron moaned. “I know that look!” He looked back to Kurama. “You'd better run while you can, because now she's got your scent and she won't leave you alone until you've answered all of her questions!”

 

Kurama cocked a brow at him and Ron sighed, “Your funeral, mate,”

 

Hermione began her onslaught after drawing a deep breath. “But that defies all of the laws of magic, stated in An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe, Important Modern Magical Discoveries, and not even Magical Theory mentions anything about this kind of wandless magic! So how can it be possible to create something—“

 

“Correction, Ms. Granger,” Kurama cut in, finally understanding why Ron had tried to warn him. “I do not `create' anything. I am already in possession of the seeds or pieces of the plant and manipulate its energy to suit my needs, supplying its energy with my own. Nothing is created. When I am out of energy, so are my channels.”

 

“Oh…” Hermione said, pondering this. “…But—”

 

Kurama held a finger to her lips and said, shaking his head and laughing a bit, “Hush, Ms. Granger, please.”

 

“But, this defies all logic!” She said, aghast.

 

Kurama replaced his index finger to her lips, silencing her; her cheeks seemed to puff up from the air she had been going to use to rattle off more questions. “Again,” he stated calmly, “What does logic, Ms. Granger, have to do with having the ability to practice things thought to be impossible, merely by speaking certain Latin phrases and waving a stick with a part of an enchanted creature in it around? As a matter of fact, what does logic have to do with anything around here?”

 

“No logic back home with Koenma, either, kitsune,” Yusuke threw in Kurama's face, who glared back at him.

 

Hermione was silenced and her brows drew together again; now recognizing the signs, Kurama moved off, but not before chuckling a bit when he heard her mutter, “It's a bit more complicated than just `waving a stick'…”

 

“Kurama?”

 

He turned when he heard Kagome's voice. In the time it had taken his attention to be diverted, she had collected herself somewhat and was leaning against the stone railing, taking shallow breaths. “Yes?”

 

She beckoned him closer until he knelt beside her. Yukina nodded slightly and moved away to give them some privacy.

 

“Do you think you could somehow…” she waved her hand in a tiny gesture, but it broadly pointed at the other Tantei and the three other students. “I really, really don't like being seen like this.”

 

He nodded to her once, a bitter but soft smile on his lips. “Let me see what I can do.”

 

Kurama stood and caught his teammates' eyes and nodded his head back towards the Great Hall with complete subtlety. Hiei merely blurred and went out of sight, leaving Kurama to assume that he was still in the vicinity; he really couldn't tell for sure, because all of the energy around made it difficult to concentrate his sixth sense. Yusuke and Kuwabara, however, made their exit while talking in low voices.

 

The Golden Trio wasn't so observant and Kurama had to verbally ask them to let Kagome be. Reluctantly, they ventured back into the Great Hall to finish their breakfasts, leaving Yukina and Kurama to sit on either side of Kagome and help her to compose herself before being seen publicly again.

 

“I'm very sorry for your loss, Kagome-chan,” Yukina whispered, gently patting her friend's hand.

 

“Me too,” she whispered back in reply. “Oh, me too.”

 

“Was there any warning?” Kurama asked, delicately.

 

Kagome shook her head. “Mom said that there wasn't. He just was sweeping the step about four days ago and fell over, dea—.” She could hardly say the word. “His funeral is this morning. And I can't be there! He was always there for me and how do I repay him?” Kagome put her head into her hands dismally.

 

Yukina frowned and grabbed Kagome's hand and interlaced their fingers in a show of small compassion while Kurama traced his fingers up and down her back in soothing motions. Soon, she reined herself back under control.

 

Just in time, as well, because no sooner was that done than their newest instructor, Professor Myer, came spinning around the corner, his pine green cape floating behind him. He was striding down the hall with purpose, three slips of paper clutched in his hand, when the soft sounds of Yukina's voice made him stop and look up at the stairwell.

 

He paused for a moment, then smiled and took the steps two at a time with his long legs to reach the first landing. “Ah! There you three are! I was sent by Professor McGonagall to—Miss, are you alright?” He crouched down to be at eye-level with Kagome.

 

Kagome sniffed and wiped her eyes before looking up at him bashfully. Up close, he was even better looking than he had appeared last night. He had bright, dark blue eyes and dark, curly-q hair that was held back in a small ponytail at the base of his neck. He already had a bit of a five o'clock shadow, but his teeth were even, straight, and white. He was gorgeous.

 

Blushing at the turn in her thoughts, Kagome spoke to herself, “I still say he's too tall.” “Uh… Yes, sir, Professor. I just, uh… I got some bad news, is all.”

 

“Oh,” he frowned. “What bad news could it be to make such a pretty thing like you cry like this?”

 

Kurama arched a brow at his words and resisted the urge to `correct' his manners.

 

“My grandfather, sir, he…passed away and I missed his funeral.” Kagome said, trying to keep her voice from cracking.

 

Professor Jerome Myer frowned and placed a large-fingered hand on her shoulder. “I'm sorry to hear about your loss, Miss—uh…”

 

“Higurashi, sir.” Kagome replied in a small voice, not meeting his gaze.

 

“Miss Higurashi, then. As I said, I'm sorry for your loss. But I've been instructed to give you three your schedules, if you care to take a look at them. Classes will begin in about half an hour, and breakfast will be over in about five minutes, if you wanted to…go somewhere else a bit more private to grieve, for awhile.” With a final pat on Kagome's shoulder, he stood and nodded to Kurama and Yukina, giving them their respective papers, and left them to their business.

 

“Come, Kagome; let's get you somewhere more—” Yukina began, but Kagome cut her off by standing and smoothing the pleats in her skirt.

 

“No,” Kagome said, wiping tear streaks away with the back of her hand. “No, I'm fine now. Come on, breakfast is almost over and we've got a full day ahead of us.”

 

Kurama and Yukina shared a look and shrugged, following Kagome back to the Great Hall.

 

==