. : Blind Love : .
: . By Akikazu . :
They met at a night club, well she at least, met him for he would never be able to recall the events that occurred that night.
He was more drunk than she had thought humanly possible, even the bar tender was beginning to fear that the man had consumed enough alcohol to contract alcohol poisoning.
She was out with her friends, they had forced her to come when she would have been perfectly content to stay home with her fat cat and brother. Her name was Higurashi Kagome and when she went to sit at the bar she nearly tripped over him.
She offered to take him home and, after prodding a coherent address from the drunk, called her brother to pick her up since her friends whom had driven her here weren't ready to leave just yet. Her brother helped her drag him into his house, all the while muttering about how she should have left the man in the bar. As she waited for her brother to settle him into bed, she found a pad of sticky notes and a pen on a table. She peeled off the first couple of sticky notes and began to write on the pad. Her arm moved slowly as the pen scrawled out her message. Soon after setting both the pad and pen down, her brother came out to retrieve her.
"Come on Kagome, let's go home."
She allowed her brother to lead her back to his car and quietly listened to her brother lecture her about picking up strangers. She hardly heard him however, because she was thinking of the man from the bar. He was very lithe but his hands were large and strong, his chest had been firm with muscle. His hair was longer than she had known a man to have before, its texture had been very light and silky.
"Are you listening?"
"Mmhm…"
"No you aren't…" Her brother sighed.
"Mmhm."
"Kagome!"
"Sorry Sota, I was just hoping that that man was okay."
"Now I know you aren't listening."
"Sorry…"
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My name is Kagome, and though you probably don't remember, I brought you back to your home last night. I hope you are feeling better, but if you have need of something please feel free to call me at…
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Suzaku Hotohori mentally snorted, for performing the physical action would be unsightly even if he was alone, as he read the note once more. No doubt this "Kagome" person was planning to use his gratitude for her assistance in a way that she would benefit from.
This "Kagome" girl may have even been one of those girls that took one look at him and attempted to follow him about for the rest of their lives. Or maybe she had been one of his long term stalkers that had first noticed him on television. He sighed, although he did his best to remain out of the public eye a man as successful and beautiful as he was destined to be mobbed by the media.
Still it was beneath him to be ungrateful to a woman that had helped him out during a time when he had been incapable of helping himself.
Placing a slim fingered find to his throbbing head he recalled the reason he had gone to the club and gotten drunk in the first place. His first love, a girl he had met in high school, who had also worked for him a while after college, had informed him of her engagement to her near penniless and good-looking-at-best high school sweetheart.
Pushing his unhappiness back into the farthest recesses of his mind, he left his room to find something to relieve his hangover, after which he promised himself, he would call this "Kagome" person and thank her, less he become busy later and forget.
But first he had a far more important, personal problem to deal with.
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Because she didn't have anything else to do, Kagome spent the day after the "man" incident, as her brother liked to call it, outside in the shrine's courtyard with the telephone, just in case the "man" called.
The phone's sudden, shrill ringing startled her and she fumbled with the piece of wireless technology, giving it the opportunity to fall to the ground. Hoping to answer the phone before it stopped ringing, she dropped to her knees and groped for the phone. After finally finding it she hit the talk button and held the phone to her ear.
"Higure (sunset) Shrine, Higurashi Kagome speaking."
"Good afternoon Higurashi-san, this is Suzaku Hotohori, the man from the club last night. I just wanted to call and say thank you for getting me home."
She was surprised be the huskiness of the voice but after he finished speaking she wrote it off as going perfectly with the man with the silky hair and lithe body from last night.
"I'm glad I was able to help. Are you feeling better today, Suzaku-san?"
"As well as can be expected."
"I see, well I hope you feel back to your normal health soon."
"Higurashi-san, would you like to go out to eat with me tonight? My treat, a show of gratitude for your assistance last night."
"Ah, thanks Suzaku-san but no thank you. There is no need to pay me back. I wanted to leave and taking you back to your home gave me an excuse to leave my friends without hurting their feelings."
"I insist that I repay you somehow."
"Thank you again, Suzaku-san but I really can't. I really need to leave now, but thank you for calling and your welcome for the help."
Without waiting for a reply, she ended that call. Humming, she stood and put the phone back in the house before grabbing the broom and set about sweep the shrine grounds. She smiled as she thought about how nice Suzaku-san had seemed, her brother's fears about his character were clearly unnecessary.
Vaguely she recalled hearing the name Suzaku Hotohori, but the topic obviously hadn't been important to her because she hadn't paid any attention. Mentally she made a note to pay attention should his name come up again. She was very interested in learning more about this man.
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He was surprised by her refusal over his offer to take her out. He had never before met a woman who had been able to refuse any sort of offer from him.
Suddenly he was very curious.
He stuck the sticky note with her phone number on it on his phone and left to get ready to stop in at his office.
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"Higure (sunset) Shrine, Higurashi Sota speaking."
Kagome tilted her head towards where she heard her brother's voice talking. It was unusual for the shrine to get a call, especially this late. Disregarding it, because as unusual as it was, it had happened before, she returned her attention to her duty of stirring the oden.
"The Su- Wait! What do you want with my sister?"
She paused for a moment wondering who might be calling for her, and who among those people her brother might take exception to. But the moment soon she passed as she resumed stirring before the oden burned, figuring that her brother would handle the problem as he saw fit.
"That was you! As if I would let a man with your reputation, a man who disturbed my sister's girls' night out in his drunken state, talk to my sister."
There was a moment of quiet during which she assumed Suzaku-san, for it could be no one else, answered her brother.
"Fine, but if you do anything to her…"
Kagome turned the stove off and moved the pot off the burner.
"Sota, the oden is ready."
"Okay, I'll pour our bowls, you take the phone, he wants to talk to you."
"Alright."
She waited for her brother to take the spoon from her hand before raising the phone he placed in her other hand to her ear.
"Hello, Kagome speaking."
"Good evening, Higurashi-san," his voice was a purr of satisfaction. "This is Suzaku Hotohori."
"I know, I could hear my brother shouting at you."
"I'm sorry for disturbing your piece."
She smiled, he sounded sincere to her.
"I was hardly disturbed."
"Still if you are doing something right now I can call back tomorrow. I know it's close to dinner time but, I haven't had any free time earlier considering my disappearance on the day of the incident."
"It's no trouble, dinner's not ready just yet so I have a couple of minutes free. Is there anything in particular that you wanted to speak to me about?"
"I only wanted to ask you out for dinner this weekend."
"I believe I told you before, Suzaku-san, you do not need to repay me for the help I gave you willingly."
"It's not that, truly. Not to be conceited but no woman has ever rejected the chance to go out on a date with me before. You have me curious about you now."
"I'm sorry Suzaku-san, but I really can't. I need to go now, dinner's ready."
Once again, she hung up before he could say anything more.
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He couldn't believe that she had rejected him again. A small frown curved his lips. Why was this woman so set on not going out with him? Setting the phone back on the receiver, he made a mental vow that he would call her every night until she gave into him. Then he would see whether she was only attempting to play coy or if she truly didn't care for his looks.
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He called her every night.
Sota didn't even bother to answer the phone after a while, he merely handed it to her while it was still ringing.
At first he was persistent, constantly attempting to convince her to go out with him. But eventually the conversation became very normal, as if she was speaking to a friend.
At last she felt as if she had a close friend whom she could confine in.
It was two and a half months later when she was sitting with the phone in her lap, waiting for a call from Hotohori-san, as she now had permission to call him, when she realized that she was in love with him.
By the time the phone rang out, she had made a decision that had the potential to break her heart and spirit. Firming up her resolve, she turned the phone on and pressed it to her ear.
"Higure (sunset) Shrine, Kagome speaking."
"Good evening, Kagome-san."
His voice sent a chill of delight down her spine.
"It's nice to hear from you again, Hotohori-san. How was your day today?"
"It was busy, but work is always that way. How was your day, Kagome-san?"
"Boring as usual, Hotohori-san. Your call is defiantly the high point of my day."
"It is the same for me Kagome-san. I do not suppose that your eagerness to speak with me means that you are prepared to take dinner with me tomorrow?"
"Alright Hothohori-san, let's say seven?"
He was silent for a moment and she was afraid that he really hadn't meant for her to accept his offer, after all she had never before taken him up on his offer.
"Seriously?"
"Hotohori-san?"
"You really will go out to dinner with me tomorrow night?"
"Yes."
"I'll pick you up at your house at seven, then. Wear something nice."
And for the first time since she had first spoken to him on the phone, he hung up on her.
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She was nervous.
Seven was rapidly approaching and she was ready, the only thing left to do was to wait for Hotohori-san to arrive.
It was the first time she had gone on a date since Inu Yasha had broken up with her after the "street light" incident. Since that incident several years back, she had never had the confidence to approach a man. Her days and nights had been very lonely.
And she was going out tonight with just any man, she was going out to dinner with Hotohori-san.
Her face flushed with excitement and embarrassment as she thought about the man she loved. So lost in her mind was she that she almost didn't hear the doorbell ring.
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At long last he was going to meet the mysterious Kagome in person.
Hotohori checked himself in the mirror one last time before leaving. She might not have cared for his looks before but he did want to see her reaction to him mow, especially now that he was completely sober.
He felt excitement bubbling in the pit of his stomach and knew that if Kagome was everything that she was over the phone, he might have found the woman that he would want for the rest of his life.
Seven drew near and he had successfully located the Higure (sunset) Shrine, climbed the step, and was now preparing to rind the doorbell to the shrine keeper's house. The button pushed in easily and he waited a moment before he heard a fumbling coming from beyond the door. The weight on his chest lifted as he thought that Kagome might be just as nervous about this meeting as he was.
The door swung inward.
"Hotohori-san?"
"Who else Kagome-san? Are you ready?"
He still couldn't see her from the darkness inside the house.
"Yes."
Finally she stepped out of the house and he was surprised by her beauty. She had classical Japanese feature and a slight, feminine frame.
He had only a glimpse of her front as she turned away from him to lock the door.
When she turned to face him again, she still didn't look up at him and mentally he frowned. Gently he placed his hand on her shoulder while his other hand caught her chin, and he tilted her face up towards him.
Finally he understood why this woman, whom given a little more time he was sure he would love, had never said anything about his looks.
She was blind.
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He knew.
She felt anxiety burning in her stomach. Would he be disgusted? Would he immediately abandon her like Inu Yasha had?
A pair of warm, smooth lips pressed to hers and she froze in shock.
The man that she loved had kissed her, just after finding out about her inability to see.
"Are you ready to go?"
She grinned and her hand reached for his hand, the one holding now cupping her cheek and she tugged it down, gripping it with hers.
"Yes."
Her lonely days were through.
. : End Story : .
: . Author's Note . :
Yay, I finished typing it! It took me a while because it feels repetitive to write something and then to have to type it but I did it!
It's a FY IY xover and AU and I'm sure that it doesn't make sense to so people why I would do it but I liked the idea that an egotistical man who's jaded about his looks could fall in love with someone who can't see his looks at all. And that's the idea behind this story.
Well, I've got to go write some more, I'm working on a crossover with Prince of Tennis and IY, I like it so far but don't expect it to be up for a while, I have lots of other work to do.