On the Outside by SunsetMiko

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Chapter 44 - Return

*Phoenix* (Stella's Soundtrack Challenge)

A week had passed, and what a confusing week it was. Neither Kagome nor Sesshoumaru knew where they stood relationship-wise. Because of the awkwardness, and due to her extreme worry over the hanyou, Kagome had thrown herself into coddling Inuyasha, whether he wanted it or not. This created a rather spoiled and somewhat smothered hanyou and a very frustrated Sesshoumaru. They needed to talk, but every time he tried, she found a way to wiggle out of the conversation, using Inuyasha as an excuse.

Now the hanyou was fully healed and had been released by his doctors to return to school. Mr. Taisho had been hesitant to allow his son to return to the place where he'd been so viciously attacked, but Inuyasha begged and pleaded until he got his way. He had no desire to start over at another school, not when he'd finally found a true friend in Kagome. He didn't want to be shipped off to a special hanyou boarding school and leave both the miko and his brother behind. Sesshoumaru had fought for him, saved his life, and he no longer doubted the taiyoukai's conversion. It wasn't just for Kagome. Sesshoumaru truly cared about him as a brother should.

The principal had been warned about Inuyasha's return and he made sure that everyone that had been identified as involved had been dealt with before it occurred. Some students were still suspended, while others tried to fight their expulsion. The ringleaders of the assault had all been bailed out of jail and were on house arrest, so there should be no one left to hassle the hanyou. An assembly had been held instructing the remaining students that any harassment of Inuyasha, be it verbal or physical, was grounds for expulsion. The school was taking this very seriously, as they had lawyers breathing down their neck.

*Undertow* (Stella's Soundtrack Challenge)

Inuyasha walked back into the building for the first time with Kagome on one side of him and Sesshoumaru on his other, as if they were his personal body guards, and the miko shot a dark glare at anyone who dared glance in their direction. The hanyou's schedule had been rearranged so that one or the other of them were in each of his classes, something his father had required if he were to return. He felt ridiculous, being escorted and protected every second, but he understood it as well. He couldn't fight against the whole student body; that had been proven.

It was depressing, knowing that he was hated so much that they'd nearly killed him, all because his parents were a human and a demon. He found he had a hard time looking anyone in the eye. All this fuss was his fault, for existing in the first place. He noticed that there were no whispers about him in the halls anymore and he wondered why.

Some of the students held their tongues because they didn't want to get caught or reported for harassing the hanyou, but a great deal of the others were shocked by what their fellow students had done to him. Sure, he was an abomination, but to actually almost kill him was going too far. The fact that he'd survived such a brutal beating earned him a modicum of respect amongst them. He was obviously stronger than he'd been given credit for. A few students even found their views on hanyou changing because of what had happened. Blind hate had nearly ripped their school apart. Maybe that hate was wrong.