FicWad

This piece was originally inspired by something sashlea said in response to chapter thirty-two of TCBG. I've been holding off on it for a while.

I did not invent Inuyasha, Hojo, Souta, Kagome or her silly friends. Long may Rumiko Takahashi's pen be sharp!

Diana R. Flynn



Here's nothing you ever wanted to know about my boxer fetish.

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"I'm really glad you decided to come with me, Kagome!" Hojo beamed as he gave his duffel bag a good heft. "This is only the third tournament I've been to. I've taken lessons since I was twelve. My father insisted, of course. He's always been a fan of western-style boxing. Did you know that the first boxing tournament in Japan was held in blah blah blah..."

Kagome smiled and nodded.

She threw her head back and took a deep breath in the perfect sunshine. A whole day at a college-hosted tournament! Junk food, other girls her own age, overpriced soft drinks with melting ice and no demons, curses, jewel shards or little brothers in sight!

And what a sight. Aside from the loose crowd that had shown up for the tournament, there were students carrying books, walking to class, chatting happily about history, science, assignments... Kagome forced something thick down her throat. With the way her grades had stagnated, she would be lucky to get into a decent high school, let alone a university.

Kagome shook her head and tried to focus on how pretty everything was. These weren't the palatial grounds that all the colleges in American movies seemed to have, but the walkways chiseled a clean path beside tiny, immaculate flower beds and overpruned little trees. And this wasn't even a top-tier school. She'd expected something much more modest.

Well... She'd expected a certain stupid dog boy to jump out of the well house and drag her kicking and screaming back to the sengoku jidai like he had the last five times she'd tried to leave home with her friends. Kagome smiled thinly. Inuyasha wouldn't be happy when he found out that she'd left for something other than school.

But after what he did, it serves him right!

He'd shout, he'd fume, he'd stomp on the ground, and he wouldn't be able to do a thing about it!

"So when do we meet up with Yuka and Eri?" Kagome asked, interrupting Hojo's story on the history of mouth guards.

"Not for another two hours," he answered chipperly. "That's when I have to register."

"What?"

"I can't believe your friends are coming too!" he went on. "I'll have more people to cheer me on, and you'll have someone to sit with in case your contact dermatitis flares up again."

Kagome held in a sigh. So the girls were being "thoughtful," again. An afternoon with the school hunk was nothing to sneeze at, but they'd also neglecting to mention that they'd told him it was a date.

There was nothing to be done about it, Kagome allowed. Yuka, Eri and Ayumi would only give up on trying to find her a boyfriend if she managed to get one on her own. And then they'd probably go on about how I should drop him for someone else. The girls might still be under the impression that she had rheumatoid arthritis, but they weren't stupid, and Kagome was a crummy liar.

If I try to make up a boyfriend, they'll ask me what he's like, and I know I'll end up talking about Inuyasha. And as far as the girls knew, Inuyasha was nothing but a loud-mouthed, two-timing, violent, arrogant-

"-ale?"

-stuck-up, over-possessive, way-jealous, total /jerk /about anything that wasn't-

"Kagome?"

"Hm?" she looked up.

"I said, 'Can I get you some ginger ale?'" repeated Hojo. "You were starting to look a little flushed again, and there's a soda machine right there."

Kagome felt her mood brighten. "That's sweet of you, Hojo. Thank you!"

This was why she'd agreed to come out here. She was going to sip soda in the sun, and then go cheer for a friend as he competed in public after months of hard work and practice. Kagome enjoyed a thin smile. And a certain overbearing dog demon had no clue where she was.

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"Okay," Inuyasha held the city map up at arm's length. "I turn left where?"

"By the bridge. It's right after you get off the subway," said Souta.

"I still don't see why I can't just run there."

"Because I only know how to get there from the subway and can't give you directions," he answered.

Inuyasha snorted. "You only need to get me close enough to catch her scent. Now tell me again what these stupid clothes are for."

"So that no one thinks you're a crazy person in a demon costume and calls the police."

The dog demon grumbled, "But why do they have to itch so much?" he demanded, scrabbling at one leg of his baggy jeans.

"Careful!" Souta called out. "I had to borrow those! I can't return them if they're clawed to bits!"

Inuyasha wadded the map into a messy square, tucked it into his shirt, and headed for the door. "Thanks for the help, brat."

"Have a nice trip, Inuyasha-nii-san!" Souta shouted as his hero ran off after the truant shard detector. "It's my pleasure, really!" he called as the dog demon flew down the sidewalk.

Souta enjoyed a wicked chuckle as a smile stretched across his mouth.

"Still think telling my friends I sleep with a Hello Kitty doll is funny, Sis?"

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drf24@columbia.edu