AN: So, I've decided that I'm not even going to come up with excuses as to why I haven't updated in forty forevers…other than college. But anyways, here's chapter 9 in all of it's late goodness. Hopefully you all like it. I'm going to have one more chapter of the Homecoming Week arc (cause that's what it seems like) and it'll include the game and the dance, which I'm sure most of you are looking forward to. ^_^

To those that are reading this, thank you for being so patient and not giving up on me and From Riches to High School. I appreciate the reviews and hits you've given me throughout the years and they really do inspire me to continue writing this story.

Happy reading!

Disclaimer: As depressing as it is to say this… I don't own Inuyasha. I DO own Rei and the teachers. Please don't take them without my permission.

Quote of the Chapter:

*GASP* "Me, a PARENT? OOOOH no wonder this little brat annoys me so much!" *looks at Darien* "She takes after you!...don't you think?"

- Usagi (Serena) Tsukino as Sailor Moon from (hmmm, I wonder) Sailor Moon

Glossary for this Chapter:

Hentai – Pervert

Houshi – Monk

Itamae – Chef, Cook

Nyako – Kitty

Omodatta – Principal

Ookami – Wolf

Rei – Cold, actor, gratitude

Rimujin – Limousine

Shihyou– Teacher

Lita82890 Presents:

From Riches to High School

Episode 8: Homecoming Week – Feudal Era Day

"Sango, how on EARTH can you stand that?"

The tomboy pulled on the form-fitting black suit that she wore, "Actually, despite the tightness of the fabric, it's stretchy, so it's quite comfortable. The demon slayers used to wear this in the Feudal Era." She motioned at the pink armor on her shoulders, around her waist, and on her elbows tied with red ribbons, and the knee guards going down to her black boots.

Sango sighed, "I have an amazing six-foot-tall boomerang at home…but there was no chance in hell that I was going to drag that around here; so I settled for the sword."

The rich girl, dressed in traditional red miko hakama pants and a white haori, sweat-dropped at the sword that hung at Sango's waist, 'I hope that's not real…if Miroku gropes her, he's toast for sure!'

Kagome then glanced around the school yard as they walked towards the doors, "Hey, where are all the reporters?"

"Perhaps they gave up?" The mechanic stopped, "No wait, they wouldn't do something like that…"

"Mr. Omodatta said on the news that if any reporters or protestors go to the school between the hours of 6:00 AM and 8:00 PM they'd be dealt with by the police."

The two girls turned at the familiar voice to find Kouga and Ayame walking towards them, dressed as wolf demons. Kouga dressed in brown fur on his shoulders and around his waist. He had black and grey armor over his torso and his usual headband was, this time, fur. Ayame dressed in white fur and black and pink armor on her torso as well, along with a wire crown around her head and a small fur cape on her shoulders. Both of their feet were covered knee-length in fur.

Sango began to snicker, "Hey, you two really DO match!"

The ebony haired boy and flame-haired girl both turned red. There really were no differences in their costumes except the fur and armor accent color and the accessories that each had on their head or in their hair. They turned away from each other and Ayame pointed, "It's all his fault!"

Kouga sneered, "MY FAULT?"

"Yea! If you wouldn't have persuaded Ginta and Hakkaku to dress up as wolf demons today, they wouldn't have dragged me into this!"

"GAH! Whatever, woman." The football captain angrily stormed up the stairs into the door.

The rich girl quirked an eyebrow, "Wow, what's got him today?"

Sango rolled her chocolate eyes and held open the door, "Kagome, it's homecoming! He's stressed about the game!"

Suddenly a burst of maniacal laughter came from up the hall. The three senior girls turned to find Kouga sitting on the floor, leaning against a wall laughing. In front of the football captain were Miroku, Inuyasha, and Rei; each of them had an amused look on their face, save for the white-haired teen.

Miroku, dressed in a black robe with a purple robe over top tied at the shoulder, was a Buddist monk. Inuyasha was dressed in a red haori and hakama pants as a dog demon. Both of them looked at the jock as if he were crazy; the latter seemed rather pissed off.

"You…" laugh, "are wearing…" more laughter, "DOG EARS!" Kouga gasped for air as he continued to point and laugh at the bad boy.

"AT LEAST I'M NOT WEARING A FUR SKIRT!" When Inuyasha saw Kagome, he paused, 'That's not Kikyou is it?'

Inuyasha blinked once more, '…no wait, that's Kagome!'

Upon seeing the fuzzy ears on the bad boy's head, Kagome could not resist.

Tweak

"They're SO CUTE!" She raised her hands up and began to feel the ears.

'That is DEFINITELY Kagome…' Inuyasha turned rather red and then glared at Rei beside him, "Damn you, Nyako…"

The girl was dressed as a snow leopard demon, complete with armor worn almost like a sleeveless dress with slits up the thigh, underneath was a golden, short Chinese dress a little longer than the armor, a white sash tied around her middle holding a katana, and a tail attached. She grinned at her power over the bad boy, "Aw, c'maun Inuyasha, you make a really cute dog hanyou." Rei brought her golden Chinese slipper clad feet together, leaning up to pat her friend on the head.

"Shut. Up."

Ignoring Inuyasha's death glare towards her, Rei turned toward Kagome and Sango, "So…what are you guys doing before the parade?"

Kouga stopped laughing, Inuyasha stopped glaring, and everyone looked at each other in pure puzzlement. School would be released at 12:00 today, serving no lunch. They had two hours before the parade.

Sango snapped her fingers, "Crap, totally forgot."

Rei brought a hand up to her face to ponder, "Well, we COULD hit WacDonalds…."

The mechanic shook her head, "True, but all of us need to pick up our banquet uniforms; by the time we get there the lines would be outrageous…at any place we choose to eat!"

A look of realization came upon the artist's face, "Ugh, right."

Kagome snapped her fingers with an idea, "We could call Rimujin and have him pick up a pizza."

Sango shook her head once again, "No, that would take too long. Rei hasta be at the starting point of the parade by 1:30, if not earlier."

"And with traffic like it is, it'll probably take us 15 to 30 minutes just to get to Main Street and park." Miroku crossed his arms; this was getting to be too difficult.

"Screw it, I vote we just hit a grocery store, pick up some Chex Mix or something, get to the parking spot early, and just eat there!" Inuyasha frustratingly threw his hands up into the air, "We'll just have our actual meal at the banquet tonight."

Nodding slowly, Kouga spoke up, "For once, I agree with Dog Breath over here."

"Ok, so what about afterwards?"

Ayame quickly answered, "The parade gets over around 2:30 to 3. Since we need to be at the Homecoming Dinner around 3:30, we'll book it back to the high school right after the parade. We'll work at the dinner and then eat around 5:45-ish." She finished going through her notebook and peered her head up at the rest, "This way, we'll have around an hour to eat, get changed, and then get to the game by 6:45, so we can get the seats near the pep band, as usual."

Everyone stood in awe at the laid-out plan of Ayame's. Rei patted her back, "Ayame, what would we do without you?"

"Run around like a chicken with it's head cut off?" She supplied as an answer.

"…Thanks, Ayame."

.V.

"Crud, crud, crud, CRUD! We're gonna SO late!" Rei began to run up the steps of the school, her hands flinging to the many buttons of her uniform as she went.

"Rei, wait up!" Kagome and the rest of the gang began to run up the stairs as well, "It's not so easy to run in these shoes, you know!" She was replied with a green band jacket in her face. The flutist opened the door and continued down the hall in a white tank top and her black pants. Kagome tossed the uniform jacket behind her, "GRRR, REI!"

The jacket then proceeded to hit Inuyasha, who just glared, grasped it in his hand, and kept running, "That girl has it coming to her…" He also opened the door and began to run down the hallway, "Where is this thing being held at again?"

"Gymnasium."

Inuyasha turned and ran down another hallway, jumping as his foot hit the floor, "This floor is f-ing cold! Why in the hell did I go barefoot?"

Ayame and Kouga narrowed their eyes, "You're not the only one."

Sango raised one of her eyebrows, "Was I the only one that dressed smart for the occasion? Jeeze, guys, quit complaining!"

"Says the one in lycra/leather material who was complaining about the sword on her waist jabbing into her every time she sat down…"

"Would you like to see the usefulness of this sword, Miroku?"

"Ok, shutting up."

The tomboy's eyebrow began to twitch.

"HENTAI!"

Miroku sheepishly grinned as all of them started to enter the gym, "Hey, just because I said that I was shutting up doesn't mean that I wasn't going to use my hands to talk for me." He then rubbed the red mark on his cheek.

"Ahem!"

Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, Kouga, and Ayame turned to find Mr. Shihyou, arms folded, his eyes narrowed into his usual glare, "You're late."

"I beg to differ, sir. We were told to be here at 3:30." Ayame then whipped her cell phone out of her purse, "It's 3:25. We arrived with minutes to spare."

The three guys and Sango turned to each other, panting, 'How in the hell did we get here so fast?'

The teacher shook his head, "Fine, all of you, get into your uniforms and you better be out here ASAP!" He turned to Miroku, Rei, and Inuyasha, "NO EXCUSES!"

"But where do we—"

"They're in the locker rooms, just GET YOUR BUTT MOVING!"

The group said nothing as they split up to the locker rooms.

The men, of course, were the first changed, each wearing a pair of black pants, a white button-up shirt, and a green vest.

Miroku continued buttoning his vest, "Why do they order these uniforms for one day of the year?"

"We ordered new ones because the previous uniforms were falling apart, quite literally." Miss Itamae checked their names off a list on a clipboard she held, "But we do reuse the uniforms each year, Mr. Houshi."

The tenor nodded in understanding, "Ahhh…"

Seeing Kouga walk out of the locker room, Inuyasha blinked in surprise and anger, "Why in the hell do we get stuck in these uncomfortable waiters' uniforms while YOU get to wear a loose, chef's uniform, you wimpy-ass wolf?"

Rolling up the white sleeves of his chef uniform, Kouga narrowed his sapphire eyes, "Because, you moron, my family's restaurant is cooking all the food."

"If you don't like the waiter uniform Mr. Taisho, then you should have signed up for a different job." Miss Itamae threw Miroku and Inuyasha white waist-aprons, "You two are covering tables four, five, and six. Get to work."

"KOUGA OOKAMI YOU WILL BE LUCKY TO BE ALIVE ONCE I'M THROUGH WITH YOU!"

The badboy turned towards the football captain, "What in the hell did you do now, fleabag?"

"Hell if I know," Kouga shrugged, "Last time I checked, Miroku was the only one who violated them in any way."

Miroku instantly retorted, "I did no such thing. I was just…getting familiar with my surroundings."

"Of course, because you're still not familiar with your surroundings, even though you've seen them everyday since 2nd grade."

"Oh, no harm done; it was a hands-on experience."

"You're not going to HAVE any hands if you keep this up!" All Inuyasha could do was shake his head at his long-time friend.

"KILL HIM!"

Inuyasha jumped in surprise as Rei, Ayame, and Sango lunged at Kouga.

The badboy then realized the problem: the uniforms. They were forced to wear a fitted green button-up polo and a short black skirt; the problem was mainly the lower half of the outfit.

"GET OFF OF ME!"

Miroku sighed and grabbed Sango's arm and pulled her away from Kouga, "I don't see what the problem is."

The brunette glared at him, "The SKIRT, you idiot!" She tried to pull on her arm for him to release her.

He didn't, "The skirt is longer than your school uniform, what's there to complain about?"

"But it's TIGHTER!"

The pervert nodded, "Yes it is…indeed." His eyes wandered down and then up to her face, "However, not by much." A grin then spread over his handsome features, "Think of it this way, at least when the wind blows, no one will see your olive green polka dot underwear."

"Why you...!" SLAP! "HENTAI!"

Life continued on.

.V.

"I'll have the turkey dinner with lemonade."

Inuyasha made a small head nod towards the older woman, "I will get on that."

"Thank you, young man." The badboy handed the note to another waiter and began to clean up a nearby table.

"Inuyasha being nice? Now that's something new."

A silver eyebrow twitched, "Shut up, wench."

Kagome narrowed her brown eyes, "Perhaps I spoke too soon." She sighed, and began to pick up the disposable placemats on the table, "Ya know, I was only kidding. You need to have fun once in a while."

"Keh, whatever, wench."

The rich girl turned to slap the badboy over the head, but then her eyes widened and she grasped his shoulders and hid behind him.

"What the-" Inuyasha narrowed his gold eyes, "get off of me!"

"Shut UP!" Kagome hissed through her teeth, "Just stand still!"

"WHY THE HELL SHOULD I?"

"HUSH! They'll hear you!" Panic entered her hazel eyes.

"WHO?"

She hissed again, "Why must you question everything I ask?" Kagome breathed in deeply and then began to whisper, "Look to your right; Naraku and his father just sat down a few tables away." She pressed her face to his back, "Don't let them see me!"

The silver-haired teen grunted in disgust, "This is not what I needed…" He shook his head and hissed back, "What do you expect me to do then?"

"Get me outta here!" Kagome attempted to bury her face in his back even further.

Inuyasha folded his arms and began to look at the numerous students and families eating. His eyes then landed on Naraku and his father. The brunette rival's head then began to turn.

Eyes widening, Inuyasha ducked to the ground, taking Kagome with him. The rich girl shook her head, surprised, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Hush and go along with it!"

The two of them peeked around the round table to see Naraku calmly eating his meal. Both of them had the same thought run through their minds.

'We need a plan'

The two of them crawled underneath the table to be hidden by the white tablecloth.

"Where did they go? They were supposed to-AHH!"

Inuyasha cringed as he pulled his foot in. He turned around to look underneath the other side of the tablecloth to find Rei; she had tripped over his foot and was now most likely inwardly swearing.

The artist narrowed her eyes, "What the hell are you two doing down here? You were supposed to clean the damn—" A hand shot out over her mouth. Her amber eyes only narrowed more at Inuyasha.

The bad boy began to hiss through his teeth, "Naraku is on the other side with his father; Kagome needs to get out of here."

"And you need me to come up with a distraction…" She rolled here eyes again, "Well, I hate to break it to ya, but I hafta start changing so I can eat before pep band!"

"I don't care WHO does it…" Inuyasha growled, "but at least help me get her out from under here!"

"Hello, I'm right here; don't talk as if I've disappeared!" the rich girl sighed, "But they're sitting right next to the locker room entrance!" Kagome hissed, "I need to get my clothes!"

Rei snapped her fingers quickly, coming up with a plan, "I know!" The soprano took an always-there hair-tie off of her wrist, "Put your hair up differently; they won't be able to recognize you from behind then."

"Right."

After swiftly tying up her hair, the ebony-haired girl watched as Rei got back up and proceeded to re-wipe the table.

"Weren't Kagome and Inuyasha supposed to wipe this table?"

The artist jumped and turned around to find the football captain behind her. She growled, "What the hell? Aren't you supposed to be in the kitchen?"

Kouga simply raised an eyebrow, "You honestly think that I don't have somewhere to be when it's an hour and 45 minutes before the game?"

The girl sweatdropped, "Right…" An idea then came to her, "Kouga, I need you to do me a REALLY big favor…"

"Oh no here it comes…" a toothy grin came across his face.

"I need you to cause a distraction so Kagome and Inuyasha can get out from underneath this table and get out of here."

"WHAT THE HELL—"

She clamped a hand over his mouth, "HUSH!" she hissed, "Naraku's here with his father…they need to get out of here."

The jock groaned in discontent, "Why must I do anything for that mangy mutt?" A sharp pain went through his foot and he kicked underneath the table, "That HURT you ass—"

"Kouga…distraction, please?" Rei's golden eyes held desperation.

The captain rolled his sapphire orbs, "So what's your plan for getting past those guys?"

Rei couldn't help herself, "Live bait." She turned pointedly towards the football captain.

"Good idea—hey!"

"C'maun, Kouga, you HAFTA create a diversion!"

"WHADDYA WANT ME TO DO!" the onyx-haired jock was confused, "Dress in drag and do the hula?"

Beneath the table, Inuyasha cringed mentally, 'oh HELL no…please… no one wants to see that!'

The artist doubled over and laughed, "That'll work!"

"…Two words: HELL. NO. Just because I unintentionally quoted Disney with you does NOT mean that I'm going to put on a performance; YOU are the actor, not me." Kouga sighed and ran a hand through his bangs, "I'll just gather up some of the team and cheerleaders to have a little pep rally or something."

Gold eyes glistened, "Kouga…" She clasped her hands together, thanking him, "you're amazing…"

"Yea, I know."

"…Egotistical ass."

Meanwhile, Kagome and Inuyasha peeked underneath the tablecloth at the scene. A shoe then came into their immediate view and they heard a pair of hands on the table, cleaning it.

"Don't poke your head out; he'll see you!" Rei hissed above them. She then leaned closer when she heard the shouts of cheerleaders, "Ok, they've got everyone's attention. If you run towards the back of the gym and go up the stairs, you should be able to walk across to the other side without being seen. I'll bring your stuff to you later, just meet me at the field." The audience was now getting into the cheers and dances; "Go!"

Kagome didn't have time to blink as Inuyasha grabbed her wrist and pulled her out from the table. The two of them bowed at their waists, running towards the stairs to the track.

As the rich girl to a look behind her, she caught a pair of dark hazel eyes. She gasped and when she turned around, tripped on the first stair.

"You're a klutz…" Inuyasha quickly helped her back up and then continued up the stairs.

Once out of sight, the two of them sat down on the steps for a small breather. Kagome let a few words run through her lips, "He knows…"

Inuyasha became somewhat puzzled, "Who knows?"

"Naraku…" she breathed, "He was watching us the entire time."

His golden eyes narrowed, knowing that was what she meant the entire time, "Shit…" Inuyasha grabbed her wrist again, "Ok, we're going to keep on with the plan. Remember to keep quiet and follow my every move."

Kagome nodded in reply as they silently moved up the stairs and found themselves at the entry to the bleachers below the track. Inuyasha ducked into one of the cement areas where feet would normally rest upon watching a game and began to crawl forward.

The rich girl's nose wrinkled in disgust, "This is gross…ew, someone stuck gum in here!"

Inuyasha turned around, "Hush!" As he said that, the two of them looked towards the numerous tables and people to find that one person was not paying attention to the last-minute pep rally, his eyes searching the track and the bleachers above.

The ebony-haired girl furrowed her eyebrows, "Would he actually do anything if he saw us?"

"I dunno." Inuyasha said, his eyes never leaving Naraku, "But we can't chance it. Stay low and crawl."

Once again cringing her nose in disgust, Kagome followed without a word.

The two of them reached the stairs, knees and hands covered in dirt. After descending down to the lobby, Inuyasha took one last look around the wall towards the gymnasium, finding that everyone was still occupied with the cheers. Kagome could only stare in complete wonder at the antics of their friends.

Inuyasha then pulled on her hand, "C'mon, you can't stand there like a deer in the headlights!"

After snapping out of her daze, the rich girl nodded and continued running down the hall towards the exit.

Once off the campus, the two teens soon found the nearest bench and sat down, relieved.

Inuyasha turned to Kagome, "You know," He took in a breath, "you tend to get in a lot of trouble."

An ebony eyebrow rose, "It's not my fault!" But then she looked towards the cement sidewalk, "But I thank you for helping me, all the same."

"…No problem."

A growl was heard, and after turning his head in different directions, Inuyasha found Kagome clutching her stomach with an embarrassed smile.

"Guess I'm pretty hungry; I never got the chance to eat at the dinner."

Inuyasha nodded as well, "Same here." He paused for a bit, then looked at the rich girl, "do you want to just pick something up from WacDonalds and walk to the football field?"

The ebony-haired girl nodded, "That would be great, but there's one problem—I left my purse in the locker room along with my clothes. I wouldn't be able to get anything."

"Feh," said the rebel, "I'll pay for your food; I have my wallet on me."

"But—"

"Just think of it as payback for letting me stay the other night." His cheeks turned a slight pink and crossed his arms.

Kagome smiled at him, "Thank you."

Inuyasha's cheeks turned even more red. He shook his head to get rid of it, and Kagome laughed.

"C'maun," he said, "My stomach is about to start eating itself, too."

He didn't wait for her to respond as he started walking off in the direction of WacDonalds, still red in the face, and as confused as hell.

'Why is something as simple as her smile so intoxicating?'