.One.
"So, what do you say, Kagome? Do you wanna go?"
"Mm, wha-?"
A look of hope quickly morphed to aggravation as a girlish face pouted, pointing her finger at the accused as if she were holding an interrogation and the suspect just happened to be putting up a struggle. "Do you want to go to the Freak Show thing? It's this Saturday, at three, and we can go to my house for dinner! C'mon, what do you think?"
Brown eyes looked from the girl to the paper that had been thrust upon her person not ten minutes prior; Onigumo's Freak Show, in obnoxiously bubbly text, stared back at her, with the laughing persona of a cloaked man wearing a top hat. Was this really what she'd been fated to do in her last month of summer? Be dragged to a function where someone pulls the weirdest people they can find and puts them on display for others to mock? When had people become so cruel? Heaving a sigh, she searched the page for the answers.
"Well, I dunno…" the girl was a little anxious; she wasn't necessarily the kind of person to enjoy picking someone out of a crowd and being mean to them. It just wasn't her way. Kagome was an opinionated person, but was in no way cruel. "…You know I don't exactly like these kinds of things."
Her friend – Yuka, her neighbor and childhood friend – rolled her eyes. "I know, I know, but give it a shot! We'll just pop in, see what kinds of people we can find, maybe bump into a certain brown-haired hunk-"
Kagome's breath hitched; Hojo was the cutest guy in school, a total hunk, and was captain of the soccer team. He was tall, lean, but still had a boyish charm that made the girls in her class swoon. He'd been pining after her since they were in grade school, and truth be told, she'd never been interested. The mere thought of the brunet made her flush, but more at the memories that swam forth than at the mention of his name. Since she'd known him, and he'd made no effort to hide his obvious affections for her, he had brought her everything from flowers to jewelry, trying to get her to go out with him.
All he'd ever gotten was a single date, and it was awkward.
But still, the girl closed her eyes in thought, absently wringing the paper in her hands. It wouldn't hurt to go, it gives you an excuse to call out of work and sleep in.
…so it was decided then.
"I'll give Miroku a call, see if I can wheedle my way around working that day and opt for a double shift on Sunday."
Yuka wasn't as concerned with that statement as she should have been. "Great! I'll come by around 2, and we'll walk together!"
Donning a bright, but very forced, smile, Kagome waved as her friend retreated down the road. Once she was out of sight, she sighed and deflated. It wasn't exactly her ideal Saturday, especially if she could get the day off – she'd much rather spend the day around town, maybe do some errands for her mother, keep herself busy and do everything but partake in such a horrible event.
Yuka's such a weirdo, she thought with a small chuckle. She's always been into the unusual. She probably thinks we'll see a bearded lady or something. …wait, isn't that the circus?
Her feet had started moving on auto pilot, knowing exactly where she was supposed to be; it was 5 o'clock on Thursday, which meant she'd just gotten out of work. Yuka had met her by the door and, before she could escape, had thrust the poster into her face and threw her entire inner-schedule off course. Mom's probably having a fit, she thought, scratching the side of her face in thought. No doubt Grandpa's only made it worse by listing off scenarios where I was kidnapped or something.
"Sigh…"
Digging out her cell phone, she flipped it open – Kagome was pretty sure she was the only one who still carried around a flip-phone – and proceeded to routinely check her text messages and missed calls, breathing a sigh of relief when she realized the only text she'd gotten was from Yuka, telling her 'You better wait for me when you finish your shift, Higs!'
Higs. It was a terrible nickname, yet, she never seemed to get tired of it.
Stuffing the device back into her jean pocket, she adjusted her messenger bag on her shoulders, giving it an affectionate tap – it was a gift from her grandfather, one of the only ones she actually used or kept, and was a nice brown leather with her initials embossed in green thread – before looking up at the sky; bright blue had made way for reds and oranges, making her feel as if she were walking through flames, but the summer air was chilled and refreshing after a hot day. Her black hair licked at her cheeks, rosy already from the change in temperature, and she pulled a few strands behind her ear.
Yes, it was going to be a nice walk home.
-x-
Just as she had predicted, Kagome had been swarmed by the usual 'Where have you been' in three different tones of voice. She'd barely managed to kick her shoes off – worn from overuse – and drop her bag down next to them. As she had no reason to get defensive, she let her mother and grandfather nag – "Why didn't you call?" "You could have been kidnapped!" "Father, please…" – until they were tuckered out by their own antics. Flashing her deepest scowl, the brown-eyed girl shot the two a look that had absolutely no effect what so ever.
"I'm sorry, Mom; Yuka met me after work and before I knew it, we'd talked for an hour. And I guess I got too distracted to call afterwards. I'll remember next time for sure, though."
And yet, the look in their eyes remained unconvinced. Her grandfather shuffled back over to his recliner, finishing off the rest of his nightly tea, mumbling about spacy granddaughters. Kagome only shook her head before heading into the kitchen to search for leftovers.
"Oh, Kagome," her mother came up behind her, worrying her apron in her fingers, leaving wrinkles in the embarrassing striped garment that had 'Kiss the Chef!' stitched in black lettering on the chest. The girl in question opened the fridge door and seemed to mechanically close it before taking a look inside. "There didn't end up being any leftovers – but I went out and picked up some noodles from the supermarket if you'd like to heat them up. I'm sorry, dear."
For some reason, even after a long day at her part-time job and being swarmed by her incredibly-chirpy neighbor-slash-childhood-friend, the girl couldn't find it in herself to be annoyed. "Oh, that's fine! I didn't have that large an appetite anyway." As she turned to rummage through a cabinet and plucked out the cup of instant noodles, she suddenly turned around and fixed her mother with a hopeful look, though she wasn't sure what she was hoping for exactly. "Oh, and mom, can I hang out with Yuka on Saturday? If I get all of my chores done, I mean?" As if I wouldn't- I'll wake up bright and early if I have to!
Mention of the girl's name made her mother smile. "Of course! You know when it comes to Yuka, you don't have to ask permission. I trust the two of you, you know that."
Probably not the wisest of choices, mom… For the greater good, Kagome kept that thought trapped in the secret parts of her mind. "I'll text her and let her know- thanks mom! Can I sleep over that night, too? I'll head right from there to work and come straight back, no excuses!"
"Absolutely, dear."
As her mother walked out and left her to her own devices, heavy eyelids closed as she collected her thoughts, breathing a loud sigh before preparing her dinner as if she'd been doing it for years. Well, I guess that's settled then. No going back now.
Howdy-ho, junior rangers! How ya doin'?
This is an Alternate Universe. Thus, I'm changin' a few things. As we go along, you'll see that I haven't made any significant changes to anyone's personalities, but just modernized them a bit. I will say, however, that not all of the characters will make an appearance - namely, Sesshomaru and his group (including Rin, sorry SessRin/Sesshomaru/Rin lovers), Kikyo, Shippo, and probably a couple of others that I can't recall. (Though, I might mention names, I won't really give them screen time. Whoops? :p) The rest will eventually make an appearance. Not to say you'll like my version of them for this particular story. But just remember guys, it's FICTION and an AU.
About a day or two before I update, I'll post a sneak peek on my Tumblr (see profile for link). So look for those!
ONE FINAL THING, and I'm sorry this is so long, but this story is mainly centered around Inuyasha and Kagome. I intend to make side pairings eventually, but as the main pairing is InuKag, I'll only give little moments here and there. You'll just have to use your imaginations - or, I'll have the two dorks talking to one or both of the characters. (Also, for my own fangirlish amusement, I'm going at my own pace. Sometimes the chapters take place day to day, and others they're weeks apart. I'm random like that and honestly am just writing for fun.)
If you have questions, comments, suggestions or complaints, please let me know. As long as you are kind and polite, I'll do my best to do the same.
Please enjoy.
-Cookie-