InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ In Fate's Hands ❯ A Bunch of Villains ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and its characters aren't mine. Only Miroku is. ;p

A/N: Many, many apologies for posting the same chapter twice. *bonks self on head* I HATE it when I do stupid things like that. Ack…. And thanks for the reviews, too. You have no idea how encouraging they are. ^_^

This is probably my longest chapter yet, and I'm pretty proud of it. I already have future chapters planned and it just annoys me that I can't do the Miroku and Sango ones soon enough. Oh, and by the way, for people who remember that Sesshoumaru is supposed to come after Yura and before Hiten and Manten, I intend to put that part off, since he's really hard to write and I don't want to have to re-introduce him so many times.

Anyways, please, review! I beg of you! ;p

In Fate's Hands - Chapter Four

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A Bunch of Villains

Kagome could barely find her way home that night. She stumbled around the area for at least half an hour before finally reaching a familiar spot of town. Over the next few days, too, she had tried looking for that secluded part of the neighbourhood, but she couldn't find it at all. It was like one of those fairy tales she'd read as a child - a magical place that only popped up when you weren't looking for it. Of course, she'd been looking for that place yesterday - but she had only found it when Inuyasha showed her the way, hadn't he?

It had been four days since her meeting with Myouga, supposedly Inuyasha's guardian. Kagome trudged into school on Monday morning, the pendant still tucked safely in her skirt pocket. It went everywhere she went now, and she was rather used to having it there now, too. She could not stop worrying about Inuyasha, however, and his reaction once he found that she had his possession.

School that day was every bit as boring, stifling and silly as she'd expected it to be. When she stumbled out of History class later that day, sleepwalking towards her locker, she found the person she had least expected standing right beside it.

She stopped and stared at him, dropping all of her books with a loud clatter. Students walking past her in the corridor turned to stare at her with question-marks and exclamation-marks appearing over their heads. He, too, turned to look at her.

Both of them stared at each other in a kind of shocked silence, and then he turned around, threw open the locker next to hers, and stuck one arm within. He drew out his arm, his hand clutching a bundle of cruelly mistreated papers.

"Oi. You, there." He shoved the papers towards her. "Do me a favour. Be my tutor."

"What?" Kagome said incredulously.

He grunted, grabbing her hand and stuffing the papers into it, and then turned back around so that his back was facing her. "Be my tutor. I haven't opened a book in like one year. I don't even recall anything that I've learnt before then. So. Do I have to say more?"

Kagome blinked. "U-Um… Inuyasha…"

"I want those papers back by tomorrow morning, right here. At my locker. You got it?"

"What??!!"

He had slammed his locker shut with a bang and was walking through the crowd of students now.

"Wait! Inuyasha!" She could feel her veins popping. "Just because I agreed to be your tutor doesn't mean that I'm gonna do your homework for you!"

How dare he? Call her a bitch right in her face one day, refuse to acknowledge her presence, acted like he hated her, and then the next thought that he could put her to excellent use? Just because she had made an effort to be friendly? How dare he?

And then she realized she had forgotten this very important task that was entrusted to her.

The next moment she was up and running, her schoolbooks abandoned, waving the papers wildly in her hand.

Best to get it over and done with.

Her insides squirmed at the thought of his reaction.

"Inuyasha! I've got your heirloom!"

At once he stopped. He spun around, an incredulous look in his strange, yellow eyes. Kagome could see those yellow orbs burning with rage. As she reached him, she felt as though anger was radiating from all parts of his body. She fished hastily within her pockets. Somehow she seemed to have forgotten whether it was the left or the right pocket. Finally she found it, handing it over to Inuyasha.

A strange, slight regret grew in her as he snatched the jewel from her palm.

By now she could feel eyes from numerous directions fixed on them both.

"You bitch! How the hell did you get your disgusting hands on this?!"

Kagome opened her mouth to reply, but Inuyasha had raised a hand, as though he wanted to strike her.

"You must have stole it, you - Where the hell are you taking me, you slut?!"

"I have a name, dammit! It's Kagome!"

Kagome panted heavily as she raced through the hallways, her hand firmly clamped around Inuyasha's wrist. She pulled them both into an empty classroom and let go of him, holding both hands up in an apologetic manner as she looked around to check that no one was around.

"Look, Inuyasha. I can explain, please let me…"

"Hmmmph!" Inuyasha's eyes were fixed upon her. He wore a scornful look on his face, and was turning the jewel over and over in his fingers. Kagome was relieved to see that at the very least, some of his anger had dissipated.

Kagome was not sure where to begin. "I, er, went to the hospital, and one of the nurses gave the pendant to me, saying that you had, er, absentmindedly left it behind. She thought I knew you and wanted me to return it to you…"

"I absentmindedly left the heirloom behind?!" Inuyasha demanded.

"We-ell… you did," Kagome said, raising her chin.

He growled under his breath, turning his back on her.

Kagome wondered what to do now - whether she should leave, and then she remembered Inuyasha's homework.

"Look, I'm never going to do your homework for you. I can tutor you, but -''

Inuyasha snorted. "Tutor?! How could a stupid, dim-witted girl like you tutor me?!"

Kagome felt anger rising in her as she snapped, "Well, then you shouldn't have asked me to do your homework in the first place, Mister Smarty-pants! You can get held back another year for all I care!" She thrust the papers at him. "Take them back!"

A long, high-pitched giggle rang out from a corner of the room. Inuyasha and Kagome both turned to find someone standing in the doorway.

"My, my!Kagome… and the boy with the nice hair! It's Inuyasha's first day at school, and already he has a girlfriend!"

Yura.It was Yura, that tall, flirty and coquettish and somewhat annoying senior with an obsession with hair. Her short hair was always pulled back by a red headband, and always she pulled out that famous, glittering, shiny comb of hers to comb her perfect hair. Outside of school she was always scantily-clad to show off her excellent figure. She was the envy of hundreds of female students in the school.

Kagome could feel her face burning scarlet as she opened her mouth to protest.

But Yura sauntered over to Inuyasha, laying a hand on his shoulder. He barely looked at her. Kagome wondered at Yura's nerve.

"Inuyasha, I so love your hair! Do you think you could cut a lock of them off and give them to me to profess your undying love for me?"

Rather audibly, Inuyasha muttered, "Get lost."

Yura'sexpression did not change; she beamed, tangling her fingers in his hair (Kagome had to admit that Inuyasha's hair was indeed attractive in a strange, new sort of way). "Aw, c'mon! How about you give me a lock of your hair, and I do that homework for you?" She winked over her shoulder at Kagome.

"Feh."

Kagome was relieved when Inuyasha shrugged off Yura's hand and stalked out of the classroom, his pendant in hand, though she could not explain why.

Yura let out a long, high-pitched squeal, and ran over to Inuyasha.

"Oh, my!Inuyasha! What's that you have there? Let me see it, pretty please?" she begged, as Inuyasha closed his fingers completely over the jewel.

"Please?" Yura continued, wringing her hands. "Oh, please?"

Inuyasha stowed the pendant away in his pocket and marched away. Yura's expression was rather unpleasant. She was not used to the idea of being rejected.

"I'm not gonna give up, Inuyasha! I still want your gorgeous hair!" she called after him. Kagome hurried from the classroom, heaving a sigh of relief that it was over. The next moment she realized she was in another nasty bit of trouble - she was terribly, terribly late for her next class…

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School was out for the day and Kagome was standing beside her locker, sighing to herself while waiting for Yuka and Eri to arrive. She could not help feeling overly impatient - she was desperate to get away as soon as possible before the inevitable happened and Inuyasha returned to his locker, right beside hers. She found he was constantly on her mind. But why? Why?

Lady Fate sure had a brilliant sense of humour.

"Hey, Higurashi!"

Kagome jumped, her books nearly falling out of her arms again. "H-Hojo-kun!" she exclaimed, relieved.

Hojo ran a hand through his hair, bobbing his head lightly at her as he smiled. "It must have been a really hard day for you. You've been extremely jumpy throughout the whole day."

"Uh… yes, I'm a little stressed," Kagome admitted tiredly.

"Need me to walk you home?" Hojo offered.

"No, thanks. I'm waiting for Yuka and Eri. We're going to see Ayumi together after school."

"How is she?"

"She's fine. She's already out of the hospital; she's just resting at home. She'll be coming back tomorrow."

Hojo beamed. "That's good to hear!"

Kagome smiled back. This very friendly and casual conversation between them both was somehow making her feel more nervous. Any time soon Inuyasha would pop up and she didn't want to create another awkward or unpleasant scene between them both. Where on earth were Yuka and Eri?

What is this? I'm becoming just as paranoid as Ayumi is…

Shouts erupted from somewhere along the cramped corridor, and Kagome sighed, recognizing the voices. One of them definitely belonged to Inuyasha. She would know that loud, unpleasant voice anywhere, although she'd only known him for such a short while. Trust that Halfling to create trouble and get into a quarrel on his first day here. Inuyasha was without a doubt an excellent target for members of both genders. The other voice sounded familiar, although she couldn't quite place her finger on exactly whom it belonged to. Curiosity got the better of her, and she peeked out from behind Hojo to catch a glimpse of the commotion.

"Return it, or you're gonna pay!"

It was Inuyasha, and he was shaking a clenched fist at Hiten. On Hiten's right-hand side was Yura, and on his other side was his brother, Manten.

Hiten was tall - very tall. Much taller than Inuyasha, even, which made him taller than just about everyone. This made him excellent as a basketball player. His basketball abilities and his overall good looks, however, did not do much to cover up his nasty personality. He was well-known throughout the school for his long braid (his hair was definitely longer than even Inuyasha's), and for his mistreat of his brother, Manten, who idolized him. Manten was not a very likable fellow - he was just as mean as Hiten, to begin with, and he definitely did not possess his brother's good looks. But everyone could see the way Hiten treated Manten - he used him to his advantage, and then tossed him aside when the deed was done.

Inuyasha was diving at Hiten, who was skillfully dodging out of Inuyasha's way, keeping something in his hands safely out of Inuyasha's reach. Kagome felt her heart clench as she saw what was in Hiten's grasp - Inuyasha's family heirloom.

Inuyasha was looking around at the corridors, at the crowd of people that now surrounded them. He was keeping watch, Kagome realized. He was on the lookout for teachers. She could see he was barely restraining himself from delivering a blow to Hiten's nose. Kagome wondered why was he even bothering - hadn't he been expelled from his school for attacking someone? A guy like that probably couldn't care less about ruining his chances here in school - or did he?

" 'Returnit, or you're gonna pay!' '' Manten mimicked Inuyasha in a high-pitched voice.

"If we sell this thing, it'd make us a bomb, wouldn't you say, Manten?" Hiten remarked.

"Higurashi…" Hojo was saying.

Kagome barely heard him. She jostled her way through the crowds, her mind only on the pendant that lay in Hiten's grasp. It was only when she reached Hiten's side that she realized what she was doing. Everyone was looking at her now. She shrank back.

"Higurashi?" Hiten said, smiling an amused, only half-pleasant kind of smile.

Inuyasha shot her a swift glance, and then dove once again towards Hiten. Hiten blinked, surprised, losing his balance as Inuyasha pushed him over backwards. The jewel fell from his fingers. Inuyasha made a dash for it.

The jewel fell neatly into Yura's outstretched palm.

"Ooooh!" Yura exclaimed, holding it up to the light. "It's even prettier than I imagined! Can I keep it, Hiten?"

"Yeah, right," Inuyasha spat. "I don't care if you're a girl; you'd better give it nicely back to me or I'll make you regret that you didn't take that option as well."

Yura smiled. "Give me some of your hair, and I'll return you the pendant! That's fair!"

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. "Stop spouting crap." He strode over to her, grabbing her wrist. Yura gasped as his hold on her tightened. Doing the only thing she could, she brought her hand up and tossed the jewel high up into the air.

Before Kagome realized it, the ball was hurtling towards her face.

"Oi! Get the heirloom!"

Kagome barely had time to react as the ball hit her head. "Ow!" She reached up a hand to massage her scalp…

"KAGOME!"

With a start, Kagome realized that this was the first time Inuyasha had ever called her by her name. She looked up at him, startled, surprised to see his eyes blazing with rage.

"Don't - let - it- hit - the - damned - floor!"

"Ack! It breaks?!"

Kagome reached out a hand. The ball hurtled towards the floor, and then dropped nicely into her open palm. In the very next second, Hiten's hand came right on top of hers, curling around her fingers. They both stared at each other. The scene seemed to freeze, and then as the people near them broke out in cheers and whoops, Hiten removed his hand from hers, glowering as he dusted off his hands.

"Bah!"

He was already stalking off, Manten following close behind. Yura had one arm draped around his broad shoulders; with her other hand she was playing with his long braid. "Aww… Hiten…"

Kagome straightened, the pendant in hand. The crowd was already dissipating, the excitement over. She could feel Inuyasha coming up behind her. She turned around, a small smile on her face as she placed the heirloom carefully in Inuyasha's hand.

"You ought to take more care of your things. How could you be so careless about something so valuable?"

Inuyasha glared at her. "Who're you to lecture me?" He put the chain over his neck, and tucked the jewel under his shirt.

"Besides, this whole affair doesn't concern you. I don't care what Myouga-jiji or Kaede-babaa may have told you, but you'd better mind your own business if you want to be whole and healthy, girl."

Kagome folded her arms. "Hey. You just showed that you could remember names earlier, so use my name from now on, alright?"

Inuyasha looked startled for a moment, and then folded his arms as well. "Whatever. This whole thing wouldn't have happened if it hadn't been for you…"

Kagome's eyes widened, outraged. "That's so unfair!"

"Yeah?"

"Ah, get lost, Manten. It's all your fault." They could hear Hiten continuing to hurl accusations at his poor brother as he left the area.

"That's unfair, too. Poor Manten," Kagome remarked.

"Keh. Whatever. I'm going." Inuyasha marched towards the exit.

Kagome stared at him. "You're not even going to thank me for returning the pendant to you?!"

"Why should I, since you started this whole thing in the first place? If Yura hadn't seen it, this might not have happened…"

"Oi. You were the one who left it behind in the hospital and I had to so kindly return it you by myself! You don't have any idea of the pains I went through just to give that thing to you. If I had known you'd be so ungrateful, I needn't have bothered."

"Keh! You bitch…"

Kagome realized that this conversation wasn't going to end if both of them refused to give in and continued snapping back at forth at each other. Sighing, she turned her back on him, realizing that Yuka and Eri had finally turned up.

"Well, if you don't want to thank me, then that's fine. I'll see you tomorrow."

She headed over towards her friends, pasting a wide smile on her faces and waving as she reached them. Turning around, she could see the departing forms of Inuyasha, who had already caught up with Hiten, who seemed to be walking extremely slowly, probably because Yura was clinging to him. Inuyasha seemed to be in a dreadful hurry. And, as Kagome stared after them both, she had a strange feeling that the conflict between them both was not over yet, and that this was not going to be the last of her encounters with the Halfling.

Lady Fate. You're really weird…

To be continued…