Prologue… 8 years ago

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Her eyebrows shot up. This is new, she thought to herself as she stared hard at the report card that she was holding.

The boy that sat across from her was unfazed by the expression, since he expected a reaction something like the one she was showing.

"Are you sure that really is what you're interested in? I mean, there's no backing up." She persuaded, it was a miserable attempt to the white-spiked hair boy with the stoic expression on his face.

"Yes. It is my dream and my desire."

"Ok then. You need the prerequisite of 40 hours community service. It doesn't matter what functions you're doing to complete that. It doesn't even have to look for something in that field. Anything is fine."

"Well then, what does this school offers?"

"Tutorials."

One of the boy's eyebrows shot up.

"Which subject is open for me to participate then?"

"Sesshoumaru," the counselor messaged the bridge of her nose, "anything is fine. Your grade is the highest, I am sure anything is open for you."

"I'll take math then."

Sesshoumaru got up and walked towards the door.

"Are you really sure you want me to arrange the college application and the housing in England for you? For a career…" She wiggled her nose in disgust, "such as this?"

He stopped walking and looked at the counselor with his amber eyes that spoke coldness. If the counselor weren't so much older than him, she would not have questioned him in such a manner and would have been quivering in fear.

"I thought we went over that. For the last time; yes, I want you to help me arrange and yes, I want to go into hairstyling."

"But there is so much potential in you to be something more." The counselor's plea fell on deaf ears as Sesshoumaru slammed the door in his way out.

--

He glanced at the girl. Once in a while she would frown and interrupt him to verify a certain set of instruction and formulae. He wouldn't say she was annoying, but she never took a glance at him more than a second, and each time she didn't meet his eyes. There was also a little pet peeve to him that she would always talk to the notebook. That set of action he found annoying for the whole two months.

He closed the pen cap; indicating tutorial was over as she packed her things.

They never talk much except the basic greetings as they walk out of the classroom.

Most of the time, silence was the only exchange between them.

Kagome, being the shy girl that she was just couldn't get over the fact that she was standing beside the most wanted bachelor of Tokyo High.

Of course, she still wasn't use to the fact the famous Sesshoumaru has been tutoring her for two months.

His tall, lithe frame and the slight muscles on his arms were admired by the jocks as they stared at him enviously.

The nerds adored his grade as they swore to themselves that they would score higher than him one day.

To the girls he was perfect and was in fact, beautiful like a god.

His white and spiked hair would glisten under the sun and his amber colored eyes stood him apart the most.

Everyday, people would talk about him- mainly about whether he was gay or not, due to the fact that it was a fact that he didn't have a girlfriend. His hair and the color of his eyes would be the next subject they would talk about, whether they were neutral or dyed and color contacts.

Kagome Higurashi, the 16-year-old girl, was in fact, a lucky girl walking beside the literally 'holier-than-thou' eighteen-year-old boy.

The fact that he was single and the possibility of him being gay made girls from the whole Tokyo High crazy about him and many of them would disown their boyfriends just to have him look at them for more than a second or have contact with them more than the slight brush in the crowded hallway.

Kagome was not one of the girls, as she tended to be on the conservative side. She found the whole 'idol-chasing' a bit ridiculous to say the least. Sure, she gradually admitted to herself that he was hot, but that was that. His coldness and him being remotely stoic was a major turn off for her- something that was considered very unusual as that was one of the major points that Sesshoumaru was the girl magnet that he is today.

Besides, she has a nice and friendly but a bit too possessive boyfriend named Kouga.

"You need a ride home?" A black motorcycle stopped in front of her outside the school entrance.

It was beyond her how Sesshoumaru was with her one minute, and the next, getting ready to go home on his motorcycle.

Again, him riding a Yamaha black motorcycle being another 'turn-on' point for girls.

"Um..." She fumbled with the zipper of her wind blocker as light raindrops hit the pavement.

Now the bachelor asked her if she needed a ride home? Many girls would have killed her if they found out, she thought.

"Don't worry. It's save." The frigid voice assured her.

What the hell. "I guess." Kagome timidly placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Tighter. You're going to fly off with that grip." Sesshoumaru indicated her hands after she put on her helmet.

"Do you know where I live?" She held on tighter on Sesshoumaru's shoulders as he released the brakes.

"Yes."

That was it. He didn't elaborate further with his answers as to how he would know.

"How do you know?" Kagome couldn't help but ask. She wouldn't mind such a hot guy being her stalker… but still.

"I had to drop my girlfriend in your shrine before. She's the tutor of your brother."

"Kanna?" Kagome gasped in surprised- something she couldn't help doing.

Sota always stressed about what a bitch she was. The girl barely acknowledged the existence of her, and from the slight wince that always appeared on her brother's face, she believed the tutorials of her brother were painful. Mrs. Higurashi ignored that little known fact, since her son was improving greatly in school. Kanna didn't go to her school, but a preppy high school near the shrine. She became her little brother's tutor since Sota's home teacher recommended her in the teacher-parent interview.

"Yes. That's her."

Kagome sighed, so much for the 'known facts' that circulated in school- and how the girls would be disappointed.

--

She never thought yesterday was the last times he would see him. Kagome rolled her eyes. She thought she would be different than the girls in her class and possibly the half of the population of Tokyo High.

After all, she knew he has a girlfriend.

People said he went to England to study law. Others said he went to study commerce. There was the minority that said he's studying hairstyling in England, but jeered by all others.

One certain fact- if there was one established in the midst of rumors considering how 'reliable' rumors were about him being single was he went to England after his completion of exams and early graduation.

"Kagome-chan."

She found herself surrounded by a flock of girls.

"Was it true?"

"What?" A puzzled smile stayed on her face.

"Was it true that Sesshoumaru-kun gave you a ride home after tutorial yesterday?"

"Was it true he kissed you good-bye?"

"Was it true he loved you?"

Kagome shut her eyes. Oh gosh, what the heck are they talking about? Sesshoumaru did give her a ride, but after that, they said goodbyes and she stepped into her house.

"Is it true you love him?"

Kagome held out one of her hands, telling them to stop.

"He gave me a ride home. That was it. Nothing else." She opened her eyes and flashed them a friendly smile.

"That was it?" One of the girls eyed her skeptically.

She nodded her head.

The girls looked at one another and at Kagome with envy before leaving and her in peace.

--

Her legs excruciated pain. Kagome tried to stand up. Her legs gave up on her as she collapsed on the floor.

Never had she felt pain such as this. She bit the bottom of her lips as she tried again.

No avail.

Footsteps were heard outside of her closed door. The door opened and both her brothers, mother and grandpa stepped into the room since they heard the huge crash.

"Are you ok, nee-chan?" Miroku, her older brother asked.

Sota looked at his sister paled with fear written on his face. He had never seen his sister ever twisted her legs in such horrific angles and her face that flushed before.

"Call the hospital!" Kagome's mother yelped at her father-in-law. He ran into the room for the phone.

"I don't know what's wrong with me! I just got up like any other day. I can sit up, but my legs!" Kagome cried when pressure was put on her legs once more. Angry and painful tears rolled down her face.

Her mother, not knowing what to do, wrapped her arms around her daughter. Her daughter felt hot in her arms. She touched her forehead and gasped. Kagome was burning. She took a look at her legs- they were swelled with redness.

"I'd never felt pain like this, mom!" Kagome breathed out, tears sliding from the corners of her eyes.

Miroku paced around the room like a caged animal. Sota, a younger version of Miroku chose to sit Indian-styled and stared at his older sister helplessly.

They too, don't know what to do until the ambulance arrives.

--

"Mrs. Higurashi." The doctor began. Lines were written on his forehead. He didn't know how to tell the family. He was a fresh and young doctor that just stepped out of university. He was not tainted with pain and death yet.

The family peered at him anxiously. Kagome was stationed in a room. Her older and younger brothers both had frowns on their faces, the old man stared at him straight on, trying to read his eyes, and the woman had puffy and red eyes- signs of crying.

They were not making his job easier. "Your daughter was sick for three days with fever, correct?"

The family nodded their heads.

He continued, " did you check her temperature then?"

"She said she can check it herself, every time she told us her temperature was in the range of 102-103 Fahrenheit." Mrs. Higurashi replied.

The doctor looked at her gravely. "Not so. She was burning beyond 103 Fahrenheit. By the time she was sent to the hospital, she was burning with 108.5. Her nerves from her hips to her toes suffered and burnt."

"What the hell does that mean?" The older boy with black hair slammed his hand on the desk in grief.

The woman patted her son's shoulder trying to calm him down.

"To be direct," the doctor gulped inaudibly, the family of the patient didn't need to know he was nervous about breaking the news. He stared at the family, meeting each of the member's eyes a few moments, behind his frameless glasses. "Meaning Kagome will be paralyzed from this day onwards because of the fever she is suffering."

The family gasped before they bombarded him with questions.

--

Beginning theme song: At the Beginning- Richard Marx and Donna Lewis
We were strangers, starting out on a journey
Never dreaming, what we'd have to go through
Now here we are, I'm suddenly standing
At the beginning with you
No one told me, I was going to find you
Unexpected, what you did to my heart
When I lost hope
You were there to remind me
This is the start
And life is a road and I wanna keep goin'
Love is a river I wanna keep flowin'
Life is a road now and forever wonderful journey
I'll be there when the world stops turning
I'll be there when the storm is through
In the end I want to be standing
At the beginning with you
We were strangers, on a crazy adventure
Never dreaming, how our dreams would come true
Now here we stand, unafraid of the future
At the beginning with you
And life is a road and I wanna keep goin'
Love is a river I wanna keep flowin'
Life is a road now and forever wonderful journey
I'll be there when the world stops turning
I'll be there when the storm is through
In the end I want to be standing
At the beginning with you
Knew there was somebody somewhere,
Like me alone in the dark
Now I know my dream will live on
I've been waiting so long
Nothing is going to tear us apart
And life is a road and I wanna keep goin'
Love is a river I wanna keep flowin'
Life is a road now and forever wonderful journey
I'll be there when the world stops turning
I'll be there when the storm is through
In the end I want to be standing
At the beginning with you
Life is a road and I wanna keep goin'
Love is a river I wanna keep goin' on
Starting out on a journey
Life is a road and I wanna keep goin'
Love is a river I wanna keep flowin'
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you.

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