Broken Glass
Chapter One

Author's notes: No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make this seem like an original story… in a way it's not. It, like many other fanfictions in this fandom, takes place mostly in a high school. However, I'd like to think it's not like the other stories out there. I'll try my best to make it original and I hope you all give it a chance. Thank you!

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The rain fell steadily outside the school bus's window as the large yellow automobile pulled to the front of the school. Rain droplets drizzled down the windows on both sides of the giant bus lazily, causing patterns of little rivers to cross zigzags around each other A girl with long black hair, shining blue eyes, large glasses, and a slouch sat at the front of the bus, her hands tightly clasped in her lap and her eyes shut tight as she breathed softly through her nose. If there was one thing the girl hated, it was being on the bus… surrounded by screaming high school students as they talked amongst themselves.

The girl, named Kagome, sat up at the front for three reasons. The first reason was because she liked talking to her kind, old bus driver, since he was often times very friendly and had very interesting things to say. Secondly, her friends either didn't ride the bus or got a carpool with someone else; therefore Kagome often sat alone on the bus. Lastly, Kagome hated the idea of having to walk down the aisle of her bus, with everyone waiting for her to be seated so they could be on their way again… to have to ask someone if she could sit with them and risk the embarrassment of a refusal. Yes, Kagome preferred the solitude of the front part of the bus to the back any day. Kagome Higurashi, a junior at her high school, was the shyest person anyone had ever met. Just the simple thought of speaking in front of a group of people sent shivers up her spine and caused her to shake with the force rarely rivaled.

Her bright blue eyes, hidden behind large glasses, stared out the window as her finger lazily traced designs along the fogged up windows. True, as a junior, Kagome was able to drive a car to school, but her fear of driving overpowered her fear of being humiliated on the school bus. Her father had died in a car crash when she was younger, and she'd been in the car as well when their little Toyota had been t-boned by a drunk driver. Kagome, thankfully, had left the wreck with a few broken bones and a twisted ankle… her father, however, died on impact.

The funeral had been bleak, as most funerals are, and had left Kagome with a fear of moving vehicles. Kagome didn't suffer from fear from all automobiles, mostly small mobiles on highways or whenever she was driving. She never felt safe behind the wheel, and it was rather evident that it dampened on her driving skills. As long as she was a passenger in a fairly large car and she avoided crowded high ways, the girl felt safe inside a car. If one of those factors were added, she got nervous…

Her blue eyes left the wet scenery her bus ride provided and turned towards her bus driver. Despite the fact that she had lovely conversations with the elderly man, she didn't know his name. At this point in time, Kagome felt it rude to ask him. Clearing her throat, she sat up a little; though it was evident she still had a very bad slouch.

"How are you today?" she asked politely. She heard giggling behind her and felt her cheeks redden. She hated it when she was laughed at, even more than being stared at.

The old bus driver smiled, sporting dimples in his old, wrinkled cheeks, his warm eyes twinkling happily. He enjoyed speaking with Kagome and was rather happy to see that she was speaking with him today. Though she often spoke with him, it went without saying that it was their own unwritten tradition.

"I'm fine," he commented quietly, his voice cracking slightly. "Though its hard to drive this thing in the rain."

Kagome nodded her head absently, her cheeks blazing from the giggles that resounded in her ear. The likelihood that they were actually laughing at her was slim, but still, Kagome couldn't find the strength within her to turn around and determine whether or not their laughter was directed towards her or something else entirely.

---

The girl was rather relieved when the bus pulled up to its specified spot at the schoolyard. Taking another deep breath, the girl hopped off the bus and quickly darted to the sanctuary of the downstairs level of her school. Most of the students enjoyed spending their mornings up in the commons. However, Kagome felt it much safer to find refuge downstairs near her Spanish class. Luckily, her three friends joined her often and she never felt too alone during the few minutes in the morning she had before the first bell rang.

"Kagome, over here!" A girl with beautiful maroon eyes and her long black hair swept up into a pony tail waved over the slouching girl.

Kagome, smiling gratefully, plopped down next to her best friend, Sango. "Good morning," she said with a small smile as Sango returned the gesture.

"Morning right back at you," Sango said with a wink. "I'm so glad that it's the second semester finally. A new slate!" Sango's grades from the last semester had been perfect, except for a 'B' in her math class. In Sango's mind, however, that was a sign of failure and the new semester was welcomed with open arms.

Kagome, however, was happy if she got even a 'B' in her classes.

"I don't know…" Kagome said faintly as she nudged her backpack with a foot. "I hate that every semester we get new classes." It was true; due to a new school program the district board had set up, every new semester students were assigned new classes with new students and sometimes new teachers. Kagome hated it, due to her shy nature and her inability to make new friends very well.

"Yeah, quick, let's compare schedules," Sango said happily as she dug into her pocket and fished out a crumbled piece of paper. Kagome rummaged through her backpack, searching with a sense of dread looming over her. Pulling hers out, she handed it to Sango.

Sango observed it with a small frown. "Well… the good news is that we have the same Spanish class again."

"That's it?" Kagome asked, shocked at this predicament.

Sango nodded her head gravely. "We don't even have lunch together…" She frowned.

Kagome smoothed the pleats of her knee-length skirt, acting as if she wasn't affected by this information but knowing perfectly well that her stomach was doing flops and she was growing nervous. Hopefully she'd have classes with Miroku and Shippou…

Kagome frowned again. That, too, was unlikely seeing as how Miroku was a senior and Shippou was a sophomore. Kagome was most likely going to be alone for the second semester of her junior year.

"I can ask the counselors to change my schedule around. I can make up some shit about my learning environment being distracted by the people in my classes," Sango suggested with a gentle, sympathetic smile.

Kagome quickly shook her head. "No, no. Don't do that, Sango." She would have preferred if her best friend was there with her, but didn't want her to go to the trouble.

Suddenly, the rather quiet hall was filled with the muffled sound of music. Seconds later, the heavy thud of feet walking to the beat of the music accompanied the loud music. A tall boy turned the corner, his lips moving with the words of his music. His hands were stuffed into the pockets of his jeans, which Kagome noted seemed a little tighter than most guys wore. Chin length, uneven silver hair swayed in the gentle swing the boy walked at, golden eyes staring ahead, his chin held high. He wore a hat and his headphones were around his neck.

He turned and started walking towards the two girls. Sango raised an eyebrow and smiled politely at him and Kagome just stared openly. Taking one hand out of his pocket, complete with a thumb ring and a wrist band, the silver haired boy flashed a peace sign and reached out to grab the door handle.

Tipping his hat, he smiled charmingly. "Ladies," he said politely before closing the door behind him.

"Who was he?" Kagome asked in surprise after she was positive the boy couldn't hear her exclamation. Her high school was small enough that everyone knew each other in their grade. However, Kagome didn't recognize the boy. Which was rather surprising considering the fact that his hair and eye color were very unique. Kagome noted silently to herself that the colors worked for him and gave him an exotic look. A blush quickly painted her cheeks and she gulped down a lump in her throat.

"He must be new to this semester." Sango shrugged. A couple minutes later the boy reappeared in the doorway and threw his backpack to the ground with a rather large thud. Kagome jumped in surprise and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. She shakily stared up at him, realizing that he was even taller than Sango (who was a rather tall girl). Golden eyes stared down at her and she let out a small yip of a surprised embarrassment and quickly ducked her head.

"Ladies," he said once again, his smile in place. Kagome noted that his canines were sharper than normal as she looked up at him through her long eyelashes and her ebony bangs. "Would you both give me the pleasure of sharing this bench with you, seeing as how there are no other seats available?" His smile remained on his face and tilted to the side partially. It was true; Sango and Kagome had claimed the only seating area in the hallway.

Kagome felt her throat tightened up as she got a better look at him. She discovered that he was rather handsome. He was obviously taller than her, at least six feet, silver hair, golden eyes, charming smile, and not too muscular (in fact, he seemed rather scrawny). He continued to smile and Kagome felt herself begin to shake. Luckily, Sango spoke on their behalves.

"Sure, be our guest," Sango gestured with her hand and scooted over, pulling Kagome with her.

He flopped down and pushed his feet on top of his backpack. Kagome noted the combat boots. She'd never seen anyone wear those before. Now that she thought about it, he had a very different style compared to most guys his age. Most of the guys in her school were either clean-cut prissy boys, gangster wannabes, or skaters. Out of most of them, he seemed to be more skater… but it was obvious he wasn't at the same time.

He turned down his music and turned to the two girls he now sat by. "And, what are your names?" he asked with a sweet smile. Kagome felt as if her cheeks would never stop being red.

"I'm Sango and this is Kagome," Sango said before Kagome could speak (which was for the better).

"I'm Inuyasha," he said with a wave of his hand which really wasn't necessary. Kagome's eyes narrowed in recognition. That name rung a familiar bell inside her mind but she couldn't put her finger on it. She didn't have the guts to ask the boy if they'd met before. A blush painted across her cheeks and she felt her heart race just at the thought of talking to a boy. She already felt uncomfortable with a rather adorable looking guy sitting right there next to her, not even two feet away. She gulped, a lump forming in her throat, and remained silent.

Before an awkward silence could befall the trio, Sango spoke up, "Just move here, then?"

"Yeah," Inuyasha said with a light shrug. "I used to live here, though, so it's rather interesting to see all that's changed and what's stayed the same."

Kagome continued to stare openly at him, trying to determine where she'd seen him before. He noticed her gaze and turned to look at her. Her face ignited into a bright red and she quickly ducked her head and stared at her feet like they were the most interesting things in the world.

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow in a mix of amusement and confusion at the girl's odd actions, but continued to smile nonetheless. Sango noticed his gaze was locked on Kagome and she shifted slightly, drawing the boy's attention away. Sango gave him a warning look which he chose to ignore.

"So I take it you have Spanish next period?" Sango asked with a small frown. She didn't like Inuyasha… there was something about him that just rubbed her the wrong way.

"Uh, yeah." Inuyasha dug around his jeans and pulled out a schedule, crinkled and ripped. He unfolded it and tried smoothing out the piece of orange paper so that he could read it better. "Spanish first period and… after that." He narrowed his eyes. "Math."

Kagome peeped and Inuyasha turned to look at her, a surprised expression on his face.

"What math?" Sango asked, trying to pull Kagome closer to her and away from Inuyasha. She simply continued to speak with Inuyasha to be polite, but as he turned his eyes towards his orange schedule, she sent daggers in his direction.

"Algebra two," he said with a frown and a furrow of his eyebrows. "With Ms. Shim…"

"Kagome has that class, too," Sango said, trying to smile. "That's great; she can help you to your class."

Inuyasha smiled. "Good, because I always get lost in schools." Kagome tried not to giggle too loud lest the twos attentions were drawn to her. Her cheeks still flamed red.

"Let me see your schedule," Sango ordered and snapped her fingers. Inuyasha, not daring to contradict a rather demanding female, handed his over without a word of protest. Sango snapped out her schedule and plucked Kagome's from her still open backpack. After a few minutes of silence as Sango compared the three schedules, Sango handed back their specified schedules.

"Well," Sango announced with a faint smile. "You have four classes with Kagome here and two with me." Sango's smile widened, but underneath the calm exterior, Inuyasha could see that same warning vibe coming off her in waves. "You have one period free of us crazy girls."

Inuyasha wasn't sure if he was supposed to laugh at that or not. Underneath his hat, two dog ears detected a faint giggle coming from the silent girl beside him and he allowed a smile to paste across his lips. The girl, Kagome, who hadn't spoken yet to him, seemed rather shy, that much was clear. He found himself captivated by her.

'Well, you have four classes with this girl and two with the psycho one… plenty of time to get to know them… it will be good to have some friends this time around, I think.' He frowned slightly as his gaze shifted to Kagome. 'But where have I seen her before?'

The bell sounded in the halls and shortly afterwards, students flooded the hallway. Rising to his feet, Inuyasha picked up his backpack and slung it over one shoulder. "Well, ladies," he said with a bright smile and another tip of his hat, "I shall see your beautiful personages inside." Sango gave him a withered glare, though her lips were quirked into an amused smile and Kagome faintly nodded her head.

"Well, Kagome," Sango said softly, watching as the girl shyly raised her head. "Time for the first class of our second semester? Are you ready to go?"

Kagome faintly nodded her head. "Yeah…"

---

Weeks passed as they often did, and the school soon returned to its normal swing of things. Advertisements for school functions littered the walls of the school, stray hackie sacks were found in classrooms and behind garbage cans, pointless busy work was assigned in classes, school pep assemblies failing to enthrall Kagome, the pointless things that the high school student wished wasn't part of high school.

'I cannot wait until I get out of here,' Kagome decided one particularly boring morning in her Spanish three class. The seating assignment had just been changed, and to Kagome's horror, she was set at the back of the classroom away from Sango, who was positioned two rows ahead of her.

She let out a small sigh as she scribbled little doodles in the margin of her Spanish workbook.

The teacher was about to return to the lecture he was currently putting the juniors (and some seniors and sophomores) through when the door opened slowly. The sound quickly attracted the attention of every student and they each turned their heads to see who was interrupting their school. The teacher stopped mid-sentence and turned to see Inuyasha standing there with an apologetic smile on his face.

Despite having four classes with Inuyasha, Kagome didn't know much about the boy. She'd heard rumors about him but had yet to determine whether they were true or not.

"I heard he does drugs before school," a senior in her science class, Kikyou, had gushed to her friends one afternoon. "He sounds sexy…"

"I heard that he hangs out with Naraku and all his friends and they beat up people who stay out at night," Kikyou's friend, Kagura, had added in, her red eyes glittering mischievously.

Now, as he stood in the doorway of their science class, Kagome felt herself shiver. 'Just the thought of being in his shoes makes me all nervous,' she thought with wide eyes as Inuyasha began walking to the teacher. He had no idea where he sat due to the seat change. 'How can he be so calm when everyone's staring at him?'

Mr. Kyo pointed to an empty seat and Kagome realized in horror that the boy was going to sit right next to her. All the rumors surrounding Inuyasha resounded in her head. Doing drugs, drinking in the bathrooms, beating people up, robbing people, smoking cigarettes they stole from their drama teacher, taking a different girl home every night, how he used to be in juvenile hall, how he had to go to boarding school, how he almost killed someone (Kagome didn't believe that…). She paled as fear assaulted her. She didn't want to be seated next to a bad boy…

After learning where his seat was, the boy walked slowly to his seat and plopped down. His seat slammed against the desk behind him and his combat boots pounded to the ground with a loud screech and slam. Kagome, along with half the class, jumped in surprise.

Inuyasha, despite all the eyes on him, smiled charmingly. "Please, do not allow me to interrupt your lesson." He said it so soothingly, so nonchalantly Kagome was positive he'd gone insane.

"It's a little late for that, Inuyasha," her Spanish teacher said with a deep frown as he returned to the lesson.

Inuyasha's smile never left his lips as he scribbled down notes when necessary. Gradually the eyes of the students left Inuyasha and returned to the teacher. Kagome, however, kept stealing glances at him. When she'd talked to him all those weeks ago, he seemed very nice. Why would he do all the things he was rumored to be doing?

Kagome had no choice but to not believe the rumors, since they were bad things to listen to. But she couldn't help but wonder if they were true.

"Okay, partner up and practice speaking to one another using the questions on page sixty-five," her teacher said in perfect Spanish. Kagome bit her lip and realized with horror that her partner would have to be Inuyasha.

She cautiously turned her head and gulped when she saw that Inuyasha already had his gorgeous golden eyes on her and was smiling charmingly at her.

"I have really bad pronunciation," he said apologetically when he scooted is desk so it was lined up with hers. Kagome nodded her head. "Do you want to answer the questions, or do you want to ask the questions?"

"I don't care," she whispered faintly, staring at her desk like it was the most interesting thing in the world. Inuyasha frowned.

"Okay, you can ask the questions, then," he decided, realizing that the shy girl hated speaking right away. After speaking to her his first day back after five years of absence, Inuyasha realized that Kagome was not the one to talk. Disregarding the fact they were supposed to be working, Inuyasha asked, "What elementary school did you go to?"

Kagome jumped in surprise, preparing to ask one of the useless questions in her Spanish textbook. "Um…" She blinked her eyes and looked at him nervously. "Sunny Hills Elementary…"

"Really?" Inuyasha seemed surprised, "I did, too. Maybe we were in the same classes together?"

Kagome's eyes dimmed as memories of her elementary school years assaulted her. She frowned and shook her head. "I hope not…"

"Huh?"

Kagome shook her head. "That would have meant you were a jerk."

Her statement was followed by a tense silence and Kagome quickly shook her head. "Sorry! Sorry," she whispered out, feeling downright embarrassed and stupid under his intense gaze. She quickly muttered out the first Spanish question.

---

Kagome rolled down the sleeves of her button up shirt and smoothed the wrinkles in her knee length skirt before standing up and rolling a cart of books down one of the rows in the public library. Kagome had a small part time job at the local library, about two blocks away from her school and it served the girl well. Her need for work in order to pay for her college tuition was very important, but she was glad she didn't have to interact with many people at her job.

Checking out of the library and making sure she told her supervisor, the old librarian, that she was leaving, Kagome grabbed her backpack and extra books that wouldn't fit inside and quickly left the building.

It was dark and cloudy outside, the dark clouds shielding Kagome from the stars that would have glowed warmly in the sky. It looked like it had rained a few minutes ago, but for the time being it was just cold and crisp.

Kagome inhaled the scent of the fresh rain and felt a calm overtake her. The one thing she hated about her job was the fact that she had to walk home in the dark. She didn't live too far away, but it was far enough to cause Kagome's feet to hurt on the last leg of her walk. Shouldering her pack and shifting her books so they were more comfortable, Kagome began her silent trek home.

She was walking rather pleasantly through the dark streets, feeling foolishly calm when a stone idly was kicked by someone in behind her. Kagome felt her heart leap in her throat and she quickly gulped down her growing apprehension. It was probably just a stray animal, she decided, trying to soothe her ruffled feathers.

But as she continued to walk, she thought that perhaps she'd heard footsteps behind her. Her steps quickened.

'It's nothing… I'm just scaring myself. This is a good, safe neighborhood… no one would hurt me,' she tried to comfort herself, ignoring her growing fear bubbling within her.

She turned a corner and quickened her pace even more. Trying to resist running, but wanting to go quickly, Kagome clenched her books tighter and closed her eyes for a brief second, trying to will the onslaught of tears that were beginning to surface.

'Be strong… you'll be home soon,' Kagome tried to assure herself, 'Don't run…'

She was certain she heard footsteps now. Before Kagome could stop herself, she was running full force, her eyes clenched shut, her shoes pounding against the cement, her hair flying behind her. Her throat tightened for air as she panted through her mouth, her heart beating faster than it ever had in her life. She felt the fear encase her in a realm of turmoil and anguish as thoughts of police finding her dead body in the morning assaulted her minds eye.

'She didn't stand a chance,' they'd say on the news that night, 'No one heard her scream!'

She turned another corner just in time to hear, "Kagome is that-"

She slammed into a rather tall body and was knocked to the ground. She heard the body drop something and gasp loudly. She clenched her eyes shut and allowed herself to go falling to the ground. She softly gasped as pain sprung from her backside and she opened her eyes to be met with a blurry image of a staggering figure. She paled when she realized who it was.

'Inuyasha…'

Suddenly all the rumors of him and his friends taking advantage of girls in the dead of night and beating up innocent people came into her minds eye and she shivered uncontrollably as she fruitlessly tried to search for her glasses, which had been knocked from her face.

Her bottom was getting wet and her hands were scraped up. Inuyasha, lumbering above her, slowly dipped down so that his blurry image came into focus and she could see his concerned golden eyes staring at her.

"Are you okay?" he asked politely and realized who he was talking to. "Kagome…?"

"I'm fine," Kagome said quickly as she continued to search the ground blindly for her glasses. "I'm fine," she repeated, her voice wavering as if she were on the edge of tears. Inuyasha was going to hurt her and no one would hear her scream. The footsteps she heard back there must have been one of his friends leading her into his deadly trap. She sniffled as she imagined her mutilated body washing up in the gutter, her mother screaming and wondering why a person would do this to an innocent schoolgirl…

"Are you sure?" he sounded genuinely concerned for her well-being. The jerk.

Kagome weakly nodded her head, half wishing that he'd just get it over with and do whatever it was he was going to do to her.

"Hey." He grabbed her arm and she tensed up as he picked her up. Blurry blue eyes stared at him, shivering from the cold in her backside and the fear of what the tall boy was going to do to her. "You're crying," he remarked and Kagome shook her head, trying to break away from his grasp.

"I am not," she said and closed her eyes, willing the feeling of liberation of death to come quickly so that her constricted chest and her tense muscles could relax. "Crying…"

He took a step towards her. She took a step back. "Just do what you have to do," she said firmly.

"Uh…" From what Kagome could see, the silver haired boy looked rather confused. Shrugging his shoulders, he knelt down and began collecting things into his arms. Kagome stared at him in shock.

"What are you doing?" she found the courage to ask.

"Doing what I have to do," he said gently as he grabbed a paper bag and began piling food articles into the damp carrying case. "I'm collecting back up the food I dropped when you abruptly ran into me because I need to get home and give these to my grandma," he said with a small shrug as he stood back up, bag tucked into one arm.

"Oh…"

Kagome was confused. If he was going to kill her and beat her to a bloody pulp, why was he so concerned over groceries? Unless… Kagome's eyes widened in realization. He wasn't going to do anything to her. This was all a coincidence.

'It was just a rumor…' she scolded herself and looked at the boy, his confusion evident as he stood awkwardly on the sidewalk. 'And you listened to it, too. You allowed your fears to overtake you…'

"Uh, Kagome…" He took a step towards her. But whatever it was he was about to say was abruptly cut off as a loud, sickening crack echoed down the dark street. Kagome watched in horror as Inuyasha's combat boot landed on top of her glasses, lying hopelessly on the ground.

---

Author's notes: Inuyasha and Kagome may seem out of character (Of course they do…) but it's an alternate reality and that's the way I want it to

Fanart:

Inuyasha and Kagome:
www(dot)deviantart(dot)com(slash)deviation(slash)12709679

Kagome:
www(dot)deviantart(dot)com(slash)deviation(slash)13548899

Inuyasha:
www(dot)deviantart(dot)com(slash)deviation(slash)13602403

Inuyasha and Kagome:
www(dot)deviantart(dot)com(slash)deviation(slash)13680072