Inuyasha: A New Generation

A Stray's First Day

Just like every anime dedicated to the subject dictated, on the first day of his first year at senior high school, Tsukino Kohaku overslept.

To be fair, it wasn't exactly his fault. He hadn't been able to sleep the night before and had spent most of the night perched on his favorite viewing spot up on the roof before crawling into bed. Too late had he remembered he had forgotten to set his alarm.

It wasn't until his sensitive ears caught the sound of the city bus driving away and Mom shouting up the stairs that he jolted awake, saw the time, and realized he was in trouble.

Kohaku quickly jumped up, leaving his sheets in a pile to make later, when he was less in a rush, threw on his school uniform, and was fiddling with his tie when his foot slipped, he not having noticed in his hurry how close he was to the stairs.

While Kohaku didn't have to worry about being too injured on the stairs (he had yet to find anything that could give him more than a bad sprain) it still hurt quite a bit going down.

"Goodness! Haku, when I said hurry up, I didn't mean try to kill yourself on the way out the door!"

Kohaku, dazed but otherwise fine (the rugburn and bruises would fade by the time he got to school at the latest), grinned at Mom.

Tsukino Chihiro was now approaching her forties, but anyone who looked at her would have pegged her at half that. She was currently dressed in a business suit, her long black hair braided, preparing to leave for work. Dad had already left, judging from the new bowl stacked in the sink and the faded nature of his scent.

"You know me, Mom. Never do anything by half, that's my motto," Kohaku joked.

Mom hid a laugh behind her hand. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just slipped on the stairs," Kohaku replied, rubbing his head and wincing when he struck a sore spot.

"You make me worry too much, Haku-baby," Mom scolded.

Kohaku felt hot at the embarrassing nickname. "Mooom. Of all mothers in the world, you should have the least to worry about. I'm indestructible, remember?"

"Not quite indestructible," Mom corrected. "You certainly seem to think so, given how many scrapes you end up in, either that or you enjoy giving your mother a panic attack. Here," she said, handing him two cereal bars.

Kohaku frowned at the second cereal bar.

"It's for Jun'ichi," Mom explained. "Now, come on, you're going to be late."

"Oh, right!" Kohaku remembered, hurriedly brushing off his uniform and tying his tie. Mom sighed and adjusted it for him.

"Three years of junior high and you still don't know how to tie that. I can't do everything for you forever, you know that, right?"

"Hey, I'll figure it out... eventually."

He picked up his school bag, slung it over his shoulder, and hurried out the door, all the while unwrapping and taking the first bite of his cereal bar.

"Haku, wait!" Mom called.

Kohaku froze in the doorway, only to register the wind blowing past his ears and the cap Mom was holding, a long suffering look on her face.

"Oops, my bad," he said, taking the cap and fitting it snugly over the dog ears pricking up from his head. Years of practice had taught him how to lay his ears flat against his skull and adjust the cap so no strange bulges were made by the white, furry appendages. "See ya, Mom!"

"Good luck at school!" Mom called after Kohaku as he ran down the sidewalk.

Kohaku was a fast runner, even holding back his true speed. However, one look at his watch told him he was still going to be late.