Once Upon a Time...

Hana admitted, "It did, a little, towards the beginning of the day. But I've pretty much ignored it afterwards. How did you two do?"

Sesshoumaru looked up. "There were rumors?"

Hana gave him a hard stare. "Your sarcasm is not appreciated, Sesshoumaru."

He only smirked.

Shinki looked at Ayame and rubbed her shoulders while his sister and the others talked. "I know you want to slap Ranka. I understand. I totally understand. But it's currently not a great idea considering everything, so please try to get it off your mind?"

---

Inuyasha snorted. "It's kind of pathetic, really." He piled onto his plate. He blinked and Yuki was gone. "What the...?"

---

Yuri nodded. "Always a good reason to keep people around."

Kenji took out his sandwich and started to munch down. Haru preferred not to eat.

Kagome blinked and then blushed from the kiss, "Oh...well alright." She looked to Inuyasha, "Erm, we should go sit and eat now."

----

Ayame sighed, "I just....I just want to smash her face so bad."

Yuki placed his tray of foodon the table before sitting beside his female friend. He grinned at everyone. " what's crack-a-lackin'?"

"I'm guessing this is the reason you've been too busy to get laid recently," Fae noted, "Busy is one thing, but when your mind is elsewhere it's just about the worst feeling in the world."

Shinki rubbed her shoulders. "I know, but she's no one anymore. She can talk all the shit she wants."

---

Inuyasha looked over. "Are you going to sit with your... crew over there?"

---

Kenji bit into his sandwich. "Lunch."

"The nourishment of life," Yuriko commented off-handedly. "Besides the other appetites."

---

"Tell me about it."

"You're right." Ayame frowned before putting her head on the table.

---

Kagome nodded, "Yeah, you should sit with me." She smiled.

Shinki felt a pit of guilt sink into his stomach, not knowing how badly this whole situation would blow up in their faces. He comfortingly rubbed Ayame's back, trying to somehow make it better.

---

He looked over at his usual table to see Ranka sobbing and grimaced. "Yeah. I like your idea." Woman + tears = not his ideal situation.

Memories of her and Kouga flashed before her eyes. Memories of his promises to her, how he'd take care of her, of how she were the only woman for him after he realized that Kagome was not interested in him. Even now she loved him as much as she hated him. She hated the hold he had a hold on her, but she loved him through it all. Even after his deceit and his lies she loved him. Ayame lifted her head up and a thought came to her, "Was if it was all just a lie...?" Her eyes widened and tears started to fall and she hurriedly stood up, "I um...I need to go check on something." She told Shinki before rushing out of the cafeteria.

Kagome made it over to the table as soon as Ayame left, "Hey, is she alright?" She said sitting next to Kikyou.

"I believe she is still mourning the failure of her relationship with the vulgar wolf she was dating." Kikyou commented writing down notes into her journal. She looked up, "Oh, hello Inuyasha."

"Right, so I'm absolutely starving," Fae remarked, inadvertently causing whiplash with her sudden subject change, "You wanna get a bite to eat?"

Inuyasha awkwardly sat down. Shinki stood up. Hana held him down. "Leave her alone, Shinki. She needs to be alone right now."

He scowled at her, but reluctantly sat.

---

Akira crossed her legs. "I guess I could get something to eat."

"What're you in the mood for?" Fae asked, "I'm too hungry to have a preference. Ever have one of those moments where you suddenly realize you're starving?"

Ayame ran into a restroom, slammed the door behind her, and slid down a wall sobbing. "This is so unfair!" She cried out.

"Geez the auras around here are very somber over here, c'mon everyone cheer up!" Kagome smiled. "No one in the school will remember this years from now."

Hana groaned. "God, I'd hope not!"

---

"Any slop the cafeteria serves should do," she answered.

"Meh," Fae sighed, "Sounds... adequate."

Young Jae plopped down next to Hana with his food, "Oh you look nice today even though what's-his-face paraded Kikyou in front of you yesterday."

If Kikyou were the type to facepalm, she would have done so that moment.

"Jae! Don't be so insensitive." Kagome frowned.

"What do you mean?" Jae said innocently.

Both Kikyou and Kagome rolled their eyes.

Sesshoumaru shot a glare at Jae. Hana shrugged and lulled her head from side to side. "Kikyou looked pretty yesterday. I can't see why someone wouldn't have wanted to be seen with her." She grinned at Jae. "I feel sorry for you, Mr. Forever-Friend-Zoned. She looked hot."

Inuyasha picked at his food, trying his best to ignore the conversation. Shinki chuckled at his sister's retort.

---

Akira looked at her phone. "You go on ahead. I have something I need to do."

Jae laughed, "Well you're one to talk. You got friend zoned by default."

Kagome sighed, Hana and Jae never did quite get along.

He continued, "Well now that you don't have a sugar daddy anymore you should probably go sit among your own people. You know...the poor ones."

"I'm sorry," Hana said, looking at him. "People actually like me and want me around. I was sitting at this table long before Sesshoumaru joined it and I'm not leaving it just because some half-assed Jay-Park-wannabe says so."

Shinki sighed and shook his head. Hana could never back down from a fight.

Jae smirked, "Who said that? I'm sure it wasn't Kikyou. Inuyasha I know for a fact doesn't care much for you, and that..." He gave Sesshoumaru a look, "Over there doesn't need his ex staring at his face while he woos his new girl. So other than Kagome and your thing of a brother who never sits here and is only here because he found someone else riding his "bicycle" who asked or wanted you to be here? Because surely I don't want the smell of your poor on me."

"Inuyasha doesn't really sit here much either," she retorted. "And he's being pretty quiet and I'm not bothering him. How Kikyou and Sesshoumaru feel about me and how I feel towards them is none of your business; all I know is that I don't go out of my way to antagonize them and make the situation, spouting nonsense about shit I don't even know about." Hana snorted. "Let's pretend for a second that I really am so friendless that I only have Kagome as a friend. Cool. At least she genuinely likes me. I think Kikyou keeps you around mostly out of habit than anything.

"I couldn't see how someone as decent and intelligent as her would keep someone who is a genuine jackass otherwise."

Jae was staring at her while she talked and when she finished, "...Are all poor people really ugly? Or is it just you?"

"Jae!" Kikyou snapped. "Shut. Up."

"What? The peasant started it. I even complimented her today." Jae huffed. "Ill mannered hussy..."

Hana closed her eyes, taking in deep and cleansing breaths to hold herself back from retorting again.

Shinki slinked away from the table. The tension was kind of high for his tastes. He wondered with a frown where Ayame was.

Inuyasha asked Kagome quietly, "Is it always like this?"

Sango chose that moment to take a seat at the table.

Kagome shook her head no, "Normally they ignore one another..." She noticed Sango, "Hey Sango!" She smiled.

Kikyou glared at Jae, "Stop being petty. It is unnecessary."

Jae sighed and looked over to Hana, "...Sorry." He mumbled.

Kagome and Kikyou both each other a look before looking at Jae in surprise.

Inuyasha took what she said, not sure if he believed it.

Hana blinked in surprise that Jae actually apologized. "Ah... I'm sorry I took it further?"

Sango asked Kagome behind the back of her hand, "Is there an end of the world that I should know about...?"

"Dude...I don't even know anything anymore." Kagome whispered back.

Jae nodded and started to eat in silence.

"Are...you alright?" Kikyou questioned.

"I'm fine." Jae replied.

Kikyou stared at him and then continued with her school work.

---

Ayame sat in the bathroom still crying, but not as hard as before. Her makeup ran down her face, "I'm really starting to hate my life..." She mumbled to herself. "What did I do to deserve this?"