In the End

Disclaimer: I own nothing from Fruits Basket or Inuyasha!

Summary: Kagome, a new teacher at Kawaia High, found something oddly familiar about a few of her students. Inuyasha/Fruits Basket Kagome/Hatori

Chapter One
The Substitute

Yuki turned from his argument with Kyo when he heard the approach of Uo and Hana.

"Hey, did you hear we have a substitute today? Apparently Mrs. Hashida is sick," explained Uo as they made their way toward their math class.

"Oh, that's terrible!" exclaimed Tohru as her wide, concerned eyes turned toward Arisa as she continued.

"Yeah, according to a few of the other students who had her earlier, they say she's pretty good. Even better than Mrs. Hashida they say."

Yuki looked curious as he said, "I find that almost hard to believe. Mrs. Hashida is one of the best teachers I have ever had."

"Yeah, well I am just telling you what they said. Of course it could have something to do with the fact that she is only, like, ten years older than us."

"Really?" Tohru asked. "She sounds so young." Putting a fist firmly in her palm, Tohru exclaimed, "I can't wait to meet her! She sounds like fun. What do you think Hana?"

Hana turned her hauntingly purple eyes toward Tohru's own blue-green. "I will not know until I can get a clear look at her electric signals."

"Hehe, of course," she agreed with a sweat drop. "Um… what about you Kyo?"

"It doesn't matter how old she is or what she looks like, she is still just a teacher. She gives homework just like the rest of 'em," he stated uninterestedly, with his hands in his pockets and his red-brown eyes closed to the world.

Tohru laughed awkwardly before she turned her head when the warning bell sounded. "Oh, we better hurry. Don't want to be late to class."

The others nodded in agreement as they made their way to their next class. The anticipation of meeting their new substitute teacher was running thickly through their veins. At least… for most of them.

Kagome finished erasing a math problem from the previous class before she turned to watch the last of the students make their way into class and to their designated seats. She smiled welcomingly at them as she gently clasped her hands in front of her. Her smile dropped a fraction of an inch when she felt the familiar aura of the family she once knew. Gazing around quickly, Kagome spotted the two boys that gave off the same feeling as the Sohmas she used to know. Mentally shaking her head, Kagome smiled brightly at her temporary students and greeted them.

"Hello, my name is Miss Kagome Higurashi," she stated as she pointed back at the board where her name stood out starkly in blue against the bleach white of the board. "I will be your substitute for the next few days as Mrs. Hashida recovers from her sickness. You can call me Miss Higurashi, Miss Kagome, Kagome-sensei or Higurashi-sensei; it does not matter too much to me. Anyway, I thought for today I would start by introducing myself, before we get started.

"First, I would like to say that I am glad to be here, and I hope to get to know each one of you while I am here. As I will be returning in a couple months to start next school year to fully take over for Mrs. Hashida's math classes. She is well in her years, and has decided to finally retire. I will also be teaching a history class on the side. I hope to see most, if not all, of you in one of my classes next year. But until then, I am pleased to have this opportunity to give this school a... test run, you could say." Kagome gave an amused smile as she said this.

Laughing softly, she continued, "It may surprise you to hear, or it may not, but I went to this school when I was your age, roughly ten years ago. Mrs. Hashida was my teacher then, and I hope to continue her ways of teaching. She was one of the main reasons I went into teaching in the first place. After I left here, I went on to get my degree in teaching and spent the past few years teaching a history class at a college close to my old home. I returned here to teach, and to help take care of my family's shrine." Kagome stopped talking and took a breath.

"Well, now that you know a little bit about me, Mrs. Hashida has prepared a short quiz to test you on the last chapter. If you have problems, let me know and I will help you. I will also like to go over the chapter after the test and help you with any problems you may have.

"Tomorrow we start on chapter eight, so make sure to bring your books and have them out by the start of class. Because we will be doing a few problems from the book and you will need it to follow." Kagome ignored the groans as she handed out the short quizzes. She had to repress her shiver of anticipation as she handed the quiz to the two boys. Their names she found out were Yuki and Kyo Sohma.

Their unique auras brought back the memories of her years in high school, and she had to bite down the urge to flee from her past. After all, another reason she took the job as a teacher at Kawaia, was to face her past, not run from it. Taking a breath, Kagome returned to the desk and began to grade a few homework assignments that had been turned in that day.

Time passed by quickly, and before she knew it, class was over and she was letting them go as she collected the tests and allowed them to leave a few minutes early to their lunch break. Once they left, Kagome slumped down in her chair. She did not know that simply being back in contact with the Sohmas could cause such a reaction. Though she was not physically hurt, she found herself remembering what happened. Flashes of her past zoomed through her brain, and it took all she had not to scream in both frustration and annoyance.

Deciding that worrying about it would do nothing for her, Kagome shook her head and began to prepare for the next class. There was no reason worrying over a confrontation that may not even happen. There was no reason to get all worked up over possibly nothing. Sighing, she shook her head once more before looking out the window. No matter how much she told herself not to worry, she still found her thoughts returning to the past, to her memories of her time in high school. The time with her friends, the time she spent getting over her petty crush on Inuyasha and instead moved on to someone more deserving. The times where she once again gave away her heart, only to be hurt in the end. She knew it was not his fault; he had no choice in the matter. But it still hurt that she was not able to stay with him, be with him, love him. Blaming it on his family did nothing to alleviate the pain she felt. It only made the separation all the worse.

Kagome was not even sure if he remembered her. She knew that he had meant to be rid of her forever – even if it wasn't his desire – but she did not know if he remembered her, or if he simply blocked out that part of his life.

She knew that she was acting pathetic. But she couldn't help but hope that he remembered her, and he somehow had waited for her. That thought floated in front of her for a moment, before retreating to the recesses of her mind. Always there, but never a constant thought. She shook her head violently, and almost reeled at the headache that followed. It would not help her in the least if she continued to think about him. He would not come to her. He would not search her out to apologize and try to make up. After all, why search and apologize to someone he thought didn't remember who he was?