Chapter One
Ages:
Gabriel- 5 years old
Kagome- 20 years old
"Excuse me, ma'am?" Gabriel poked the woman's shoulder lightly with his finger, and her eyes opened sleepily, and she mentally thanked the gods that she had remembered an umbrella to block the sun, as she sat up from her light blue beach towel. The sand shifted under her fingers as she moved; he watched her brown eyes scan her surroundings until she saw him and she smiled gently at the sight before her; a young boy, about five years old, with messy black hair and hazel eyes, dressed simply in blue striped swimming trunks and black flip-flops. He had a slight English accent, but that was to be expected, seeing as she was on a college break in a small seaside town near London. He shifted uncomfortably under her gaze, but she smiled comfortingly.
"Yes?" Kagome looked curiously at the boy, who seemed a little nervous to be speaking to her. She shifted slightly, looking down subtlety to make sure that her swimsuit; consisting of a dark blue tank top and swimsuit bottoms hadn't moved so much as to disturb the young boy, and luckily, it hadn't.
"I'm sorry to wake you, but you're the only person on this beach who hasn't told me to leave them alone or thrown something at me." Kagome's eyes widened in empathy for the young boy, "Would you please tell me where the snack bar and help desk are? I've lost my uncle, and I need to get some help."
Kagome smiled sympathetically, and checked her watch before answering, "Well, I could help you. You woke me up at a great time; I was supposed to get up in a half an hour, and I feel oddly rested, so I have some extra time. So, how about this, as a thank you, I'll help you to look for your uncle." At his nod, she smiled "My name is Kagome, what's yours?" She stuck out her hand for him to shake.
He looked at her with slightly wide eyes, and grinned childishly, his eyes bright with excitement, putting his small hand in hers and shaking it enthusiastically, "My name's Gabriel, and thank you, thank you, thank you, Miss Kagome!!" She stifled her giggling as he hugged her, then realized that he was hugging a complete stranger, and blushed profusely, pulling away and lowering his head with his cheeks a burning red. She laughed outright, ruffling his hair and getting up; pulling on some black shorts she had with her over her swimsuit.
Then, she got up, offering her hand, which was taken by the young boy, and after Kagome put her things in her bag and put it over her shoulder, the two walked quietly along the edge of the water, "Gabriel?"
"Yes, Miss Kagome?"
"You could just call me Kagome, if you wanted, you know that, right?"
"Oh, thanks, but my uncle always told me to be polite, and to call ladies Miss or Mrs." Kagome nodded, deciding that if it made him feel more comfortable, she could deal with him calling her Miss Kagome.
After a while, Kagome felt that she needed to know something about the man she was looking for, "So, what's your uncle look like, Gabriel?" Gabriel had been making designs in the sand and laughing.
"Well, he has dark hair, like mine, and is really tall." She smiled as the boy gestured his uncle's height with his small arms, "He would be a little taller than you, even, and is pretty skinny. He's got muscles though." Kagome laughed out loud, and Gabriel looked up curiously before muttering something about weird adults and continuing, "He's got green eyes and wears glasses, and was wearing green and black trunks. Does that help, Miss Kagome?" Kagome smiled and nodded, still trying to calm herself down from Gabriel's 'muscle' comment.
They walked in silence for a long time before they passed the snack stand, and Gabriel gave a longing look at the slushie machine, but tried to hide it, not wanting to bother the woman who was already helping him so much. She smiled at him and guided him over, asking him which kind he wanted. He blushed shyly and pointed at the blue raspberry, and the woman behind the counter smiled, pinching his cheek a little and mentioning how cute the little boy was. Kagome just smiled and paid for the drinks, deciding on getting one herself. So, they walked a little longer, slushies in hand, until they'd finished them, deciding it was too hot and they should go for a swim.
They went straight to the water, dropping Kagome's things on the sand, and laughing as they started a splash fight. They played for a while, until Kagome looked up to see a man standing on the beach watching them. She tried to identify him, but he was too far away for her to see his features. Gabriel, however, decided to go closer, and was followed by Kagome, just in case. When he got close enough to see features, Gabriel rushed out of the water and launched himself into his arms, "Uncle Harry!" The man, who definitely fit the young boy's description, picked up the child and started speaking to him quietly, as Kagome walked to the shore, wringing out her hair.
"Don't worry, Uncle Harry, I'm fine. Miss Kagome was really nice and she bought me a slushie. She helped me find you, didn't you, Miss Kagome?" She nodded, smiling at the young boy and his uncle.
Harry smiled back, shifting
Gabriel to one side so he could shake the woman's hand, "Thanks
for helping him find me. I guess this little guy wandered off from
the shop down that way. I've been looking for him."
"It's
no problem, he's an absolute joy to be around. I'm glad we could
find you," Kagome smiled and the little boy blushed slightly.
Harry smiled fondly at Gabriel and tickled the boy, putting him down so he could go back and play in the water, "I'll pay you back for the slushie you bought him, ok?" he pulled out his wallet, counting out some the bills and offering them.
Kagome shook her head, "No, but thanks. It's my pleasure." She smiled at him and Harry couldn't help but give her a grin of his own, as she waved and walked towards the parking lot.
