3

 The girls sat around the table, talking small menial conversations.  Kagome found herself drawn to this group of friends; they had accepted her into their group without much fuss, and were now talking to her as if they'd known her their entire lives when it had only been a few minutes.

"So Kagome, you're from Okinawa?" Ayame asked.

Kagome nodded her head.  "Yes, I moved here with my mother and younger brother because my grandpa needed help."

The girls were all listening now to Kagome while she explained her story.  They only had a little longer left until they had to return to their classes so Sango thought to change the subject to something fun.

"So," Sango began, "What did everyone do over winter break?  I went to visit my aunt in Hokkaido and she took me shopping; not the most eventful break, but it was fun."

 "Well, as you know, I went to visit my grandfather," Ayame spoke up.  "We didn't do much, he was sick most of the time, but he's a lot better now."

The girls all nodded at each story.  Kagura was next to share.  "I got a part time job at one of the local restaurants; I saved a decent amount of money in efforts to get a car; I'm only a couple thousand short," she said with a slight laugh.

Kikyo smiled when she decided it was her turn.  "I spent my break with my sister.  She and I took long drives around Japan and stayed in various towns.  It was very entertaining; you don't realize how much we don't see until we see it."

"What about you Kagome?" Ayame asked their new friend who had been really quiet.  "What did you do over winter break; or did you have a winter break?"

Kagome blushed.  "Yes I had a winter break.  I went on a ski tip with my mom and younger brother to Hakuba."

The other girls stared at her.   "And?" they all said at once.

Kagome looked up at them from staring at the table.  She blushed once again before she continued.  "Well, I sort of met someone there; he was on a ski trip too with his family."

"See this is the kind of thing that's supposed to happen on school breaks!" Sango cried out.  "So tell us what he was like!  How did you two meet?"

"That's a funny story actually.  I was teaching my little brother how to ski and his little sister skied down the hill and ran straight into me.  I fell into the snow and when I looked up he was standing over me.  He was so...beautiful; I thought he may have been an angel."

The girls gave a collective sigh.  "Then what happened?" Kikyo asked anxiously.

Kagome smiled at the anticipation radiating off of her new friends.  "Well, we spent the rest of our time there together doing nothing in particular; three weeks.  He was so sweet to me; he was always bringing me hot tea or coffee, and we liked to wrap up in a blanket in front of the fire together..." she trailed off with a dreamy look in her eyes.  "Oh and the way he kissed; I swear if I died today I would die a happy person."

"Wow...he sounds nice; I wish the guys around here were like that," Sango said wistfully.  "So what happened?  Where is he now?"

Kagome's smile dropped a bit.  "Well, I went back to Okinawa and all he told me was that he did not live anywhere near there.  We didn't exchange addresses because we both felt a long distance relationship would never work out.  So...I don't know where he is."

Kagura rolled her eyes at the now tender moment.  "Eh, don't worry about it Kagome, no one is that special to have you pine away for him.  I say you move on and get on with your life."

Kagome gave her a smile.  "Yeah I know, thanks Kagura; I guess I have been sort of hung up on him."

"So..." Ayame started.  "Did you guys, um, you know...DO anything else?"

The girls around her gave her an incredulous look.  What happened to their sweet innocent Ayame?

"Ayame!" Kikyo shouted.  "That's none of your business.  You should apologize to Kagome for that."

Ayame slumped her shoulders.  "Sorry Kagome."

"Oh, don't worry about it Ayame," Kagome quickly mended.  Ayame quickly perked up and Kikyo looked over her shoulder to see if anyone was listening before she whispered to Kagome.

"So did you?"

"No!  I mean...we kinda wanted to, but when I told him that it would just make it harder for us to leave each other, he agreed with my decision and didn't pressure me into anything.  All he said was that it was hard to control himself around me," Kagome said with a smile.

"You spend what-three weeks with him and he didn't touch you?" Kagura asked disbelievingly.  At Kagome's nod she added, "He sounds like a creep."

"Well I think he sounds amazing; I wish we could meet him," Sango said to them.

Ayame rapidly nodded her head in agreement.

The bell rang signaling the end of their lunch break so the girls reluctantly got up to go to class.  Kagome and Sango said a quick good-bye to the other girls and went their separate way.

"What class do you have now Ayame?" Kikyo asked the redhead.

"I have gym; good thing too, I get to work off what I ate for lunch," Ayame replied with a grin.  "What about you?"

Kikyo looked at her schedule.  "I have art history; the vibrant works of Sengoku Jidai."

The two of them looked over expectantly at Kagura.  She in turn rolled her eyes and took out her schedule card as well.

"I have economics; maybe I'll get lucky and see Sesshoumaru there, ne?" Kagura said.

The girls smiled and shook their heads; Kagura was indeed a handful.

****

Sesshoumaru rubbed the bridge of his nose; he hated being back here again.  All the students here acted as if they hadn't a care in the world and therefore thought is was okay to act like complete morons.  His brother and his small group of friends included.

"Come on Sesshoumaru!  Dad hasn't got me the car yet so you're our only ride!" Inuyasha whined.

"I told you he wouldn't go for it," Miroku quietly interjected.

Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest and huffed.  "Alright," he said wearily, "what do you want for this?"

Sesshoumaru looked at Inuyasha and smirked evilly.  Oh the things he could get his brother to do.  This may be worth considering.

"I will think on it and give you my answer tomorrow; no sooner, so don't ask me again until then," Sesshoumaru said as he walked off.

Inuyasha grew pale.  If Sesshoumaru was going to take a day to think about it, he did not want to know what he was going to ask for in return.  Kouga reached up and smacked Inuyasha on the back.

"Good going mutt, we may just get a ride to the barbeque this weekend!" he said joyfully.

Inuyasha frowned.  "Guys, Sesshoumaru hasn't been acting himself lately.  He's been in a bad mood-"

"Your brother is always in a bad mood," Miroku interrupted.

"Yeah, but it's been even worse lately.  Ever since we got back from our ski trip over break he's been like this.  I think that girl did something to him."

"Girl?" Kouga and Miroku asked simultaneously. 

Miroku tried to hide his mirth, but was losing the battle.  He placed a fist in front of his mouth to keep from laughing outright.  "Don't tell me your icicle of a brother actually got with a woman?  I've never even known him to have interest in females before!"

"Yeah, apparently he met some chick while he was out skiing.  I never got to meet her, but they spent a lot of time together there," Inuyasha explained.

"She probably put out," Kouga said with a shrug, "that's the only reason I could see your brother letting some girl hang all over him."

"I dunno; he's just never struck me as the type to let a chic get to him like this.  He walks around all day like someone just kicked his puppy...no pun intended," Inuyasha said.  "Whatever, I don't want to talk about him anymore; someone change the subject."

"Did you guys see that new chick at the attendance office; man she is HOT," Kouga exclaimed.  "Give her some time and she will be all over me."

"The only things coming near you are the flies," Miroku joked.  It earned him a punch in the shoulder from an offended Kouga.  "Ow."

"You guys are idiots," Inuyasha said giving them a bothered look.

"You're no better than me Miroku or even you for that matter Inuyasha," Kouga said as he pointed to them.  "You have a girl that keeps kickin' your ass for touching her," he said as he motioned to Miroku, "And you can't even get your woman to go out with you!" he added motioning to Inuyasha.

"You are all nimrods in my eyes," another voice sounded from in front of them.  They looked ahead to see another one of their friends (actually more of an acquaintance), Naraku, coming their way.

"What's goin' on Naraku, the day's half over, where ya been?" Kouga asked him.

"Here and there; I have a lot to do before this weekend's barbeque, the team has been hounding me to get new mats as well," he said with no small amount of exasperation.

"Well if you could get your sorry excuse for a Jujitsu team to actually win a tournament, the school may be more apt to buy stuff for you," Inuyasha said sharply.

As much as Naraku wanted to beat him for saying such, the truth hurt.  The team hadn't won a competition in three years; it was disgraceful.

The bell rang effectively ending the break that they all wished lasted longer.  With a sigh, they headed to their classes. 

"How long before our next break?" Kouga asked Miroku.

"Fifty-six..." Miroku sighed.

"Fifty-six?!"

Miroku nodded his head.  "I'm counting."

****

Kagome walked out of her last class dragging her backpack behind her.  She had promised Sango that she would meet her and the other girls after school in front of the gym so that they could all go to try-outs together, so she directed herself thusly.

When the girls had all changed into workout clothes they headed out of the locker room.

"So what other sports do they offer here?" Kagome asked.  "I'm just asking because I'm not all that great at volleyball."

"Well," Sango started, "there's swim, track, fencing, Jujitsu, softball, and baseball."

"Jujitsu?" Kagome asked as her head snapped up.

"Yeah," Sango said with a raised eyebrow.  "You know Jujitsu?"

"Well, um, yeah.  My mother insisted that I take classes when we moved to Okinawa; you know, all those military men around.  She wanted to make sure I could defend myself incase any of them decided to get fresh."

Kagura laughed at Kagome's choice of words.  "Fresh?  What are you twelve?"

Kagome stuck her tongue out at Kagura.  "Whatever.  If you guys don't mind, I'd really like to go try out for the Jujitsu team."

"Sure Kagome," Ayame spoke up.  "Whatever's gonna make you happy here, you should do it."

"Thanks girls; would you mind meeting me after tryouts?  I'm still not too familiar with my way around and could use a tour guide around the area," pleaded Kagome.

They all agreed and left for their tryouts.

Kagome walked down the hallway to the dojo and opened the screen.  There were about ten people occupying the room and were all sitting in a circle in the middle of the floor.  The man standing in the middle of the group looked up at her and then ten heads were staring in her direction.

"Volleyball tryouts are down the hall in the gym," Naraku said.

Kagome narrowed her eyes at him and put her hands on her hips.  "That would be helpful if I was looking for them," she spat.

"Am I to assume you are here for Jujitsu?" Naraku asked her.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am," Kagome said on the border line of angry.

Naraku eyed the girl with scrutiny.  After a moment he shrugged, "Take a seat then," he said as he motioned to an empty spot in the circle.

Kagome did as she was told and then looked at him expectantly.  Naraku, as well as the other guys in the class, looked at her.  It had been a while since they had a girl on the team; it should be interesting.

"Alright men...and lady, this year we are doing things a little differently.  Since our instructor has effectively quit, I will be in charge until we get another one, which shouldn't be too much longer.  Until then, I expect your respect, and in turn I will give you mine.  Any questions so far?" Naraku asked as he eyed the group.

When no questions were forthcoming he continued.  "We will be holding trials for the next couple of days; this will be your tryout.  From the numbers here, I don't believe any will not be on the team; just don't get too cocky.  Now-we will team up in pairs to begin; everyone find someone or I will choose for you."

The group got to their feet and paired up.  There was an even number, but since no one was willing to partner with a girl, Kagome was left to pair up with Naraku.

The each got into a line and awaited their next instructions.

"Pair by pair you will each spare; nothing too rough, we want to last until competitions.  I just want to see what skill level you are each at.  You two," Naraku pointed to the first pair, "you will go first."

And so went the pattern for the other four pairs.  When it came time for her turn, Kagome was a bit nervous.  All eyes were going to be watching her carefully, no doubt faulting her every move.

Kagome stepped up to Naraku and bowed, never taking her eyes off of him.  He bowed in return and then stood up again.  "Begin," he said.

Naraku wasted no time in rushing Kagome; if he were to be quite honest with himself, he did not expect much out of this small woman before him.  He came at her fast and she rolled backwards while grabbing his wrists and then threw him over her.  She got back up on her feet fast and once again got into a defense position.

Naraku stayed on the ground only for a moment before he was on his feet once more.  He circled slowly taking in her stance and noticed that her eyes never left his.  He moved his eyes to the right and noticed that she very minutely shifted herself, expectant of a move to the right.  Naraku went left instead and grabbed her waste from behind in an attempt to bring her down.

Kagome chastised herself for her lapse, but swiftly thought to remedy the situation.  When Naraku grabbed her from behind, she quickly bent over and grabbed his ankles and pulled, knocking him to the ground once again.

Yet again, Naraku found himself on the floor.  He jumped up again and moved to kick her.  Kagome caught his ankle and turned her body before quickly sweeping his only other leg out from under him, causing him to crash to the ground face first.

From the ground Naraku gazed at the floor.  Perhaps she was a bit better than he thought.

"Enough," he said.  He got up to his feet and bowed to her, and she did so back.

"You've done quite well; I think you'll do nicely on the team.  All of you have done well.  We meet again tomorrow; same time, same place.  You are dismissed."

The all bowed to him and then left the room.  Kagome got a few pats on the back and a couple of ‘well done's' as she walked back to the locker room.  She felt extremely proud of herself as she changed and waited for her friends.  She was the only girl on the team and now she had earned the respect of her teammates; and on her first day there!

Kagome waited outside for only a few minutes before her new friends found her.

"How'd it go?" Sango asked Kagome.

"It went great; I made the team!" Kagome shouted.

They all congratulated her as they began walking towards town.

"Well, no you don't have to worry about the boys here getting fresh with you," Kagura teased.

"Hey she might need someone to do so in order to get her mind off of her break fling," Ayame acknowledged.

"Hey Kagome, what was the name of your ‘angel' anyway?" Kikyo asked.

"Sesshoumaru, Sesshoumaru Taisho," Kagome said nonchalantly.

The girls all froze in their tracks.  Did they just hear her right?  Sesshoumaru Taisho?!

Kagura clenched her jaw; there could not be many Sesshoumaru Taisho's.  She took a couple of breathes to calm herself.  Ayame and Kikyo looked wearily at her, this could not be good.

"Well," Kagura said, "I think after all you've told us he sounds just wonderful.  Who knows, maybe if you wish really hard he might just show up one day; someplace unexpected.  If you'll excuse me, I really must be getting home.  Ayame, Kikyo, would you mind coming with me?"

The other girls nodded dumbly and said absent good-byes to Sango and Kagome.

"Do you really think that could happen Sango; that I may meet up with him again?  I'm not usually one to believe in things like serendipity," Kagome told her.

Sango shifted a bit uneasily; should she tell her?  "Sure...any-anything's possible.  Come on, I'll by you a burger."

Kagome nodded and the two went on their way.  One completely oblivious and the other completely confused.