38AN: I am alive! I know it has been nearly a year since I last updated this story, but I have not abandoned it. I had a bit of a writer's block and then life got busy, but I am back. I am sorry that this chapter is short, but I wanted to get something posted ASAP. I am already working on the next chapter so hopefully that will be out in the next week. Now read and enjoy! Don't forget to let me know what you think by reviewing once you are done!
Chapter 3
Sunday morning Sango showed up bright and early bearing a bag of fresh pastries and an earnest look on her face. Sango wanted details. She did not give Kagome a chance to say hello or rub the sleep from her eyes before she barreled through the open door. Sango made a beeline for the kitchen where she started to make a strong pot of coffee and place the pastries on a plate. Kagome took a seat at the dining room table and watched her friend work. There was no point in fighting Sango off. She always managed to get her way.
"Tell me everything" Sango demanded. She placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of Kagome's face before taking a seat across from her. Sango munched on an enormous muffin while she waited for Kagome to begin.
Kagome took her time to respond. She took a sip of her coffee. Then, as she felt the caffeine work its rejuvenating magic, she carefully perused her pastry options. After deciding upon a delicious cheese Danish, Kagome met Sango's anxious gaze and chose that moment to answer her question.
"Kouga wants me to wear his letterman's jacket to this Wednesday's game."
Sango choked on the coffee making its way to her esophagus. She stared at Kagome with widened eyes as she tried to catch her breath. Once her coughing spasms subsided Sango was ready with another round of questions. "Really? That's pretty fast. This was your third date right? What happened to taking things slow? What did you say?"
"Sango slow down." Kagome laughed. "Let's take it one question at a time. First, yes he did ask me to wear his letterman's jacket and I said yes." Kagome paused to give Sango time to digest the information completely.
This time Sango choked on the piece of muffin that she chose to swallow at the same time Kagome began to answer her questions. Sango was quickly learning that eating and drinking during this particular conversation was going to be hazardous to her health. "Kagome, you do know what that means don't you?" Sango wheezed.
"Yes, I do know what it means Sango. This won't be the first time that I've worn a guy's jacket to a football game. However, even though I agreed to wear Kouga's I still have not agreed to be his girlfriend." Kagome examined her friend to make sure she was handling the news well. She was worried that Sango was going to hurt herself if she got any more shocking news.
"Interesting"
"Interesting?" Kagome echoed. "What do you mean by interesting?"
"Well it's just interesting how history seems to be repeating itself. Kouga is the first guy you have really dated since freshman year and the progression of this relationship seems to be mimicking the progression of your last relationship. You are just being a bit more cautious with actual relationship labels."
Kagome's face scrunched into a look of disgust. She was not happy to hear the words that came out of Sango's mouth. "I was naïve when I dated Inuyasha. He was my first serious relationship and I did not know how to handle many situations that he and I went through together. I have learned from that past mistake and I am not going to let my relationship with Kouga mimic what I went through with Inuyasha."
"You're right." Sango conceded. She did not try to push the subject any further. Sango could see that Kagome was getting annoyed with the direction of their current conversation. It was better to agree with Kagome, for the moment, instead of starting a battle of words.
"You know what you are doing with Kouga." Sango finished. She offered no other words of advice or encouragement to Kagome regarding this subject. For now, she had to let Kagome make her own decisions without any interference.
After the end of that conversation, Kagome stared into the half empty coffee cup and enjoyed the surrounding silence. Unfortunately, it did not last long. "So now tell me about your tutor session with Inuyasha."
Kagome released an exasperated sigh. Sango knew how to pick great Sunday morning conversation topics. Before answering the question, Kagome got up and refilled her mug with coffee. She was going to need another caffeine infusion to tackle this topic.
"It was surreal." Kagome began as she reclaimed her seat besides Sango at the dining table. "I have not been that close to Inuyasha for years. There were moments where he was the same arrogant bastard that I remember. Then there were moments where he surprised me."
"Surprised you how?" Sango reached for another muffin and prepared herself for what she hoped would be a detailed account of Kagome's recent Inuyasha encounter.
"He was patient." Kagome began. "He never got frustrated when I could not understand the math concepts. Instead he took the time to explain every confusing topic to me over and over again until I understood. Gone was the short-tempered guy from my past."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Sango forced out around a mouth full of food. If she knew Kagome's explanation would be so short, Sango would not have taken such a large bite.
The question made Kagome scoff. "You'd think that, but then all thoughts of change died when he strayed away from precalculus and started commenting on my relationship with Kouga." Sango's eyes bugged and her brows shot up into her hairline. Kagome knew she owed her best friend further explanation. Unfortunately, that meant Kagome would have to relieve that mortifying moment.
"Kagome, did you ever stop to think that maybe Inuyasha was trying to dissuade your interest in Kouga?"
It was now Kagome's turn to choke on her second pastry of the morning, a delicious donut that was now uncomfortably lodged in her airway. "Absolutely not!" Kagome croaked. After several gulps of lukewarm coffee, Kagome was able to finish her rebuttal without a rasp. "He is dating Kikyo."
Sango would have commented on Kagome's lame response, but she was more distracted by what she had just revealed. "How do you know he is dating Kikyo? Miroku never mentioned that to me."
"She left her lipstick mark on his neck yesterday. She is the only girl who owns that unique shade of red. During freshman year Kikyo bragged nonstop about how her mother got her lip shade custom made. It is her 'signature color'."
"That doesn't mean Inuyasha isn't jealous of your relationship with Kouga."
"And it doesn't mean he is."
"Higurashi you're late again." It was Monday afternoon and the smirk accompanying Inuyasha's condescending remark made Kagome rethink the promise she made to herself that morning. How could she be nice to a boy who found pleasure in taunting others?
"Please Inuyasha, explain to me how I am late? It is 3:55 and we are not scheduled to meet until 4. I am actually five minutes early." Kagome did not stop there. She sauntered over to Inuyasha's seated form and gracefully took a seat beside him before going in for the kill. "Now I can't help it if Kikyo refuses to put out during the thirty minutes between the final bell and now, thus leaving you with nothing else to do with your time while you anxiously await my arrival."
Inuyasha was not going to let Kagome get the last word. "First, being on time to a session is showing up late. Arriving fifteen minutes early to review material from the previous meeting is being on time." He paused to give Kagome time to process his words. The twitch in her eye let him know that she was getting annoyed. "Second, rest assured Higurashi, I was satisfied in more ways than one before arriving, on time, to our session today."
"You're disgusting Inuyasha"
"And you love it. Now let's get down to business." And surprisingly those words ended their little spat. Kagome backed down and began to pull her material from her bag while Inuyasha looked for a pencil. Maybe the pair was making progress?
"Alright, let's take a look at the equations I assigned you last time."
Kagome nervously handed Inuyasha her worksheet. Her stomach twisted in knots when she saw him take out a red pen. She hated red pens. In less than a minute Inuyasha already had the cap off the pen and was marking up all her hard work. Kagome had to look away. She could not watch all her hard work being defaced.
His sigh ten minutes later let Kagome know that he was done grading. She cautiously focused her attention back on Inuyasha and could not believe all the red covering her sheet. There was barely any white space left on her page. Maybe this tutoring idea was hopeless. It was only the start of her second tutor session, but shouldn't there be some improvement? She only managed to get two out of twenty problems correct. Two out of twenty!
"I am such a failure." Kagome moaned. Her head fell onto the table and she just covered her face in defeat.
"Kagome stop being so dramatic, it isn't as bad as you think."
"That's easy for you to say Inuyasha. You're not the one failing in math." Kagome whined. "I can't even get half of the equations right!"
Inuyasha released an exasperated sigh and shook his head in slight disgust. He was never good at pep talks, but he knew if he was going to help Kagome succeed in math he would have to cheer her up. "Kagome, pull it together." Inuyasha grabbed Kagome by the shoulders and hauled her head off the table. He smushed her cheeks between his hand and turned her face in his direction. "I know what I am doing. I am an amazing tutor and you will not fail precalculus. Now stop freaking out and let's focus on what you did wrong on these equations so we can correct it."
It probably wasn't the best pep talk, but it had the desired effect. The look of desperation in Kagome's eyes was replaced by determination and she nodded her head in agreement. "Good." Inuyasha announced. He released her cheeks and grabbed her marred worksheet.
"We are going to start by putting away that calculator."
"NO!" Kagome screeched. She grabbed the calculator away from Inuyasha and cradled it against her chest. "How am I supposed to succeed in precalculus without my trusted math partner?"
Inuyasha just had to laugh. Kagome was actually stroking her calculator as if it was her beloved pet. "Kagome give me the calculator." He made another grab for it and got into a tug-of-war fight with Kagome. Fortunately he was the victor.
"Inuyasha you are horrible." Kagome pouted.
"Kagome obviously the calculator is not helping you solve these equations." Inuyasha pointed out. He placed the calculator in his bag and moved it out of Kagome's reach. "You need to learn the basics to get these equations correct and you do not need a calculator to learn them. I will give you the calculator back once you learn how to correctly answer these questions on your own."
He could feel her death glare bore holes into the side of his head. Kagome was furious, but she would be thanking him in the long run. "Now stop glaring at me Kagome, open your book, and let's start figuring out where you went wrong."
"Correct" Two hours had now passed by and Inuyasha was getting exhausted. On a better note Kagome was able to solve all her missed equations from the weekend.
Kagome breathed a sigh of relief. She dropped her pencil on the wooden table and rubbed her temples. Her mind felt like mush. "So we are done for the day?"
"Yes, but you will need to complete these equations for tomorrow." Inuyasha handed Kagome another page of twenty equations. "And no male distractions." He added in the same authoritative voice.
"What is that supposed to me?" Kagome asked. Were they going to have the same arguments during each session? If so, she better work on her snarky comebacks.
"As your tutor I have the right to prohibit you from becoming distracted by people like Kouga Wolfe."
Kagome scoffed. Inuyasha was an entitled ass. "As I said on Friday Inuyasha, my relationship is none of your concern. You have your whore and I have my prince. So let's just stick to math and leave our relationships out of it."
With those two it was always one step forward and two steps back.
AN: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you thought by reviewing! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! Show me your love and REVIEW!