¤¤The Coward¤¤

Oneshot #3

"How about him?"

"No… too nice."

"How about his friend?"

"Nope… too fruity."

"How about his cousin?"

"Genes can get passed on."

"Argh! You're hopeless!" a girl named Sango yelled as she stood, while managing to catch the attention of several people in the cafeteria. Giving them all glares, she sighed and sulked back into her seat. "What's wrong with Hojo, his friend and his cousin? I thought you had flings for all of them? Huge flings!"

Higurashi Kagome shook her head, and poked her lunch with her spork. She chose not to say that her lunch looked like it was about to crawl off her tray. "I used to," she said with a shy smile. "Notice the used to part."

Sango sighed again. "…Kagome, you know that I'm only looking out for you," she said, returning the smile. "I just started dating Kazzana Miroku… and I don't know if we'll be able to do girl stuff together as often." She thought that a boyfriend would keep Kagome company and not add her as a third wheel when she would be with Miroku.

Kagome nodded. "It's alright." She nudged the girl next to her, Ayame, who was busy staring at a boy across the cafeteria. "I've still got Ayame, go ahead and be with him when you want." Losing a best friend was something everyone could relate to, but it was impossible for her.

Sango dumped her food into the trashcan she was sitting next to. "You sure?" she asked across the table. "I have a date, and we always have sleepovers on Friday nights…" Not having crappy smores made over a tiny candle in Kagome's room on Friday nights wasn't right.

Kagome dumped her food in the trash as well, and smiled at her best friend sitting across from her. She was wearing a pink shirt that said "What." and a short blue skirt. "Go on! I don't need you around to have… fun?" The word fun didn't come out as she wanted. "I won't be the one telling Souta that his future wife left him for an older man."

Sango giggled.

Miroku was a senior, a year older than her, a driver, while she was only a junior, a year younger than him, and a permit permitted driver. "You and I both know that it'll never happen." Standing when the bell rang to tell the students that lunch was over, she pulled out her backpack from under the table. "See you in geography?"

Kagome nodded, and watched as Sango walked towards the cafeteria doors where Miroku was waiting for her. 'Such a cute couple,' she thought with another shy smile, as something soft touched the top of her head.

Snapping her head to the left, she blushed when she found that it was his hair that had touched her as he walked by.

Takahashi Inuyasha; his name sent radars through her entire body. He had amazing white hair that went down to his waist, and shocking yellow eyes that she thought were more of a golden color. His tanned skin and tall composure said it all; he was handsome. But she would have to get around to giving him advice on his girlfriend choices.

Kagome rolled her eyes at who he was holding hands with.

Higurashi Kikyo… her cousin. The two looked almost identical. Kikyo was a year older, a senior, a bit taller than her, and… a slut. She had been told since she hit puberty that she was acting like an embarrassment to the family, but she had never cared.

Standing, Kagome sighed and reached for her backpack. If Inuyasha and Kikyo were to ever break up, it wouldn't mean anything. It wasn't in her place to start a relationship with the most popular guy in school.

"Kagome! Wait for me!"

Smiling at her friend that was shoving her food down her throat, she sat back down. "Hurry! I blame you for staring at 'Crystal Blue Eyes' through lunch!" It had been a pet name they had given the boy who wore his hair in a high ponytail, for they never got around to asking for his name.

"No fair! I didn't eat this morning!"

Kagome soon found herself blaming Ayame more as she ran down the empty hallways. She would glance at her watch ever so often, watching with panicking eyes as the long hand ticked and ticked. She had about forty-five seconds before she would be declared late.

As she ran up the steps to get to the second floor, she tried to get Inuyasha's angelic face out of her mind. She had known him since the day Kikyo had brought him to her house to do homework. Kikyo had been staying with her mother and Souta while her parents were away on some business trip.

That was two years ago.

It was obvious to her friends that Kagome had a crush on Inuyasha by the way she would stare at him and get lost in her own world; to make it even more obvious, she would write his name on a piece of paper during class almost everyday. She couldn't help herself. He was the most beautiful man she had ever met. 'So cute looking… so everything!'

She knew very little about him though.

He seemed to be around eighteen, had his license, was popular, tall, beautiful, and all those other things boys of his type were equipped with by girls who were losers like her who did not have enough courage to talk to him.

Turning left, she continued on her way.

She could hear a shouting voice, but ignored it. It was a girl, a girl who sounded incredibly irritated with her man. When she heard the girl yell that her boyfriend was a useless idiot, she could tell that the girl had her hands on her hips. Soap operas were good feedback.

Smiling slightly, she remembered sitting with her mother on Saturday mornings, engorging themselves with ice cream and potato chips. At the end of the day both of them smelt like salt water and looked crazy. They laughed at each other until Souta would come home from softball practice and ask what had happened while he was away. In the end, the whole family ended up laughing about it over leftover pizza. The expression 'Dinner Tonight, Breakfast Tomorrow' proved to be true that was always written on the box.

"What do I have to do to get these GIRLS off of you! You're mine!"

Stopping mid-step, she gasped when her shoes made the dreaded squeaking noise, and she heard something snap her direction. Quickly disappearing behind the corner of the green wall, she stopped breathing. She had seen who the shouting person was, and by the look on her face, she knew that she would have to wait until the fight was over to go to class.

"Kagome, you can pass."

Kagome cursed herself, and twirled a strand of her long hair with her finger. She had always been afraid of her cousin since the two had met when she was four and Kikyo was five. She had the strangest eyes that could cloud at any moment, showing nothing but cruelty and hatred towards everything in her path. She didn't posses any of these genes, and was currently gaining the fruity guy's trust. At least he had looked stable...

Clearing her throat silently when she heard Kikyo tap her doll shoe on the cold floor, her mouth shook as it opened, obviously doing its best to not say anything that would make Kikyo's brain snap. She hoped that she still had a voice. "I-if it's alright with you, I think I'll stay here." Wait a go.

She heard hissed laugher, and a blush crossed her face. It can't be, she said while shaking her head. Inuyasha's next class was on the top floor, and being on the second floor wasn't scheduled until fifth period when he would have to get his Algebra 12 book. Oh wait! She gasped. His locker was on the second floor.

"Nonsense, dear Kagome," Kikyo's voice rang through the hallways. "Go to class. I don't want you listening to what I have to say to Inuyasha anyway."

Kagome's heart sang. So it really was him! She soon found herself running her fingers through her wavy hair, making sure that it wasn't puffy like it would turn when it was humid outside. She wished she had a mirror to check her face. The last thing she wanted was to walk past her future husband and have a gigantic booger sticking out of her nose.

When she considered herself presentable, she gripped the strap of her brown backpack on her shoulder. Her heart was beating so fast that her blinks matched the pattern of pumps. She looked down at her attire. She was wearing a red shirt that advertised "Coca Cola" in Japanese letters, and faded blue jeans that she had cut so they went to the middle of her legs, giving her the summer look. Her black van slip-ins gave it a dead giveaway.

While flipping her hair over her left shoulder, she stepped out from behind the corner, charcoal and golden eyes staring at her. Gulping when Inuyasha stared at her with angry eyes, she walked slowly towards them, letting the sound of her shoes take her attention.

She kept telling herself that she would talk to him one of these days, perhaps on his graduation day. He would probably never see her again, so all he would have to do was watch an episode of CSI and forget about the name Higurashi Kagome. It was that easy.

Kagome had always been a coward, so not talking to Inuyasha would not affect her that badly. She was the quiet type, unlike Sango who liked to stick her nose in matters that didn't concern her, like the way she had tried to get her a boyfriend less than five minutes ago. But that was Sango, and Sango had the role of the best friend.

Ayame completed their group. She was the nerd who always had her face buried in a book and liked to watch anime 24/7. Without her, she and Sango would be nothing. She was adorable when she would space out at lunch and stare at the guy with the ponytail across the cafeteria. She had the shy description since she had met Kagome in the eighth grade.

She kept her eyes low as she walked past Kikyo. All her life she had been told that Kikyo was the model, while she was nothing more than the brains of the family. Of course Kikyo's family had said this, and she was thankful to have an understanding mother who always took her side on everything, particularly when it came to this subject. It got rather embarrassing at times, mostly when she and Kikyo's mother would discuss which one of them had a bigger bust size.

Her eyes widened when she felt someone forcefully grab her backpack in their hands, turning her to the right so she was facing Takahashi Inuyasha. She was held firmly, making it impossible to move. For awhile she stared at his white shirt, before lowering her eyes from him. He was far too handsome for someone of her standards to be looking at him.

"You see this?" Kikyo stated, as she shook Kagome's shoulders to get her point through Inuyasha's head. "Girls like her leave little love letters in your locker for you! It's disgusting, and you collecting them won't get you anywhere!" She had come by to steal her boyfriend's science book after lunch since she had forgotten hers at home. Knowing the combination, she figured all would be well when the locker clicked open. What she expected was to get a simple math book. What she wasn't expecting were boxes of chocolate, photos of girls in Kagome's grade, and love letters to fall out instead.

She pointed a black and white checkered fingernail at her cousin. "People like her do this to people like you to make people like me feel bad. Understand?" she said extra slowly. Even if her boyfriend was one of the smartest people in the school but kept it to himself, he could be idiotic sometimes. "This has been going on for years!"

Inuyasha folded his arms across his chest. "Then why are you still around?" He hated being told what to do. "You're going to damn Hong Kong for college anyway." He raised an eyebrow at the girl before him. She was different. Even if he wasn't able to see her face, he could tell that she wore little makeup, perhaps gray eye shadow and little lip gloss. He was two heads taller than her, and he could also tell that he was older than her from Kikyo's explanation. Her body was tiny, which made him worry when he saw her thin wrists. She would have to eat more…

He seemed little affected when Kikyo tossed him a photograph she had been holding in her hand, and dashed down the hallway, making sure to let her hips and hair sway at every step she took. He scowled. Typical Kikyo. Making others feel bad was her specialty. With her going to Hong Kong on an acting scholarship it was obvious.

He dropped the photograph to the ground.

His eyes snapped down when he heard something leave the girl below him. Extending his left hand, he gripped her chin and turned her head upwards so her blueish eyes were looking at him. Now that he was seeing her face fully, she resembled Kikyo a lot. The same facial structure, the same pale skin, the same colored hair. Though with this one she looked nice, unlike Kikyo.

"Shouldn't you be in class?" Being late on a daily basis was considered a happy day for him. This girl looked like she valued her education a great deal.

"Shouldn't you be in class too?" Kagome asked with a shy smile. Here she was, practically leaning on Takahashi Inuyasha, and she was at a loss of words. There were so many questions she had wanted to ask since she had first set her eyes on him. So, she chose to ask the question she had said earlier, which she guessed he hadn't heard. Class could wait. "…Wanna talk about it?"

Digging into his pocket, Inuyasha pulled out a pair of car keys with an ever so sly smirk on his face.

"Not here I don't."

Kagome had a look of confusion written on her face as a burger with fries was set down in front of her by no other than Inuyasha himself. He was quite the charmer, as well as quiet when he wanted to be. The car ride all the way across town consisted of silence. The only noises were the sounds of cars passing, horns honking and people yelling at each other to get out of the way.

Kagome didn't know whether this was a joke or plain comedy, and she was starting to get the hint that Ashton Kutcher would appear and shout that she had just gotten punked. She had always bought her own food since Kikyo had gotten in the habit of spitting in hers when she would offer to pay for it.

"Is this… food?" She blushed when Inuyasha laughed at her.

"What'd you think it was?" he asked with a smile. "It's easy to see the look of disgust on your face when you attempt to eat at school." He sipped his soda he had gotten for himself. "It's funny," he said while looking directly at her.

"HEY!"

Inuyasha shook his head. "No! Not like that!" he said, still keeping the smile on his face. "You're not like Kikyo at all…" he said in amazement. He knew that the looks had gotten passed on, but the attitude had managed to only stay in Kikyo. "And you're her cousin?" Kikyo liked to dress so tons of skin was showing, Kagome did not. Kikyo liked to have jewelry on at all times, while Kagome was only wearing two rings on her left hand and a silver chain around her neck.

Kagome stuck a French Frie in her mouth, unaware that the man across from her was checking her out. "Thanks for noticing," she commented, as she started eating the food.

Occasionally she would shove a friend potato slice down his throat, just to keep him occupied and not staring at her. He seemed fascinated about the fact that he wasn't with his girlfriend. After shoving half the burger into her stomach, she wiped her face. "You and Kikyo must have really been close," she said with a friendly smile. 'I'm just the one who looks like her.'

Inuyasha's face had turned pale. If he even thought about stealing another French Frie she would have bitten his hand off. "Yeah, guess so." He put a lock of white hair behind his ear. "…Well?"

"Well what?" Kagome asked as she covered the burger in ketchup, hoping he wouldn't notice that she was a vegetarian. She had stopped eating meat when she was nine thanks to Kikyo, and whenever she would get a burger at a burger joint while on a date with a current boyfriend, she made sure they were seated near a trashcan for easy disposal. Besides, eating a cow's face was disgusting, the taste nonetheless.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Aren't you gonna ask questions?" he asked, as he pulled out a small chocolate box he was able to fit in his jacket pocket, as well as a love letter that was attached to it. "You're not exactly the brightest."

Kagome giggled. "Somehow I'm not affected by that." She knew where he was getting at. His white hair, his golden eyes, his uniqueness—everyone had questions for him all the time. She knew this, even when she was on the second floor while he was on the third with the rest of the seniors. "Well… I guess I have a few." She blushed and made circles in the table with her finger. "…Do you dye your hair?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "That makes you the ninety-seventh person to ask me that." He pulled on a piece of hair with his hand. "It's natural." He sighed when Kagome raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't ask, I get enough of it from Koga, you know, the one with the ponytail? One of my jackass best friends?"

'So that's his name!' Kagome giggled again; he seemed to always be moody.

"Hai," she said while eating a few more bites of her burger. "Uh… what about your eyes?" she asked with a small smile. She was finding that he was an easy man to talk to. If she were to meet him for the first time, she would have thought he was female. Her eyes widened as he put his hair in a low ponytail, watching as his muscles flexed as he twisted the thin black ponytail and his hair in the process.

Inuyasha smirked. "Would you care to find out yourself?" Constantly girls and guys would get close to his face, trying to find the outline of his supposable contact lenses. This was normal for people in his family.

Kagome set her soda down she had been sipping, and carefully leaned over the table, making her face come in contact with Inuyasha's. There wasn't a blemish on his angelic face, and she set a hand on his cheek without control of herself. He was so perfect, so right.

As she looked into his eyes, she came to see that there wasn't an outline in sight. "Ohm," she said with a blush, as a smile formed on his face.

She felt time freeze; this was it. His lips looked so soft, so untouched by Kikyo that day, and so… lonely. 'Stop it!' Her heart was beating so fast that it could run a mile and have room for more extra conditioning in the end. A few strands of his hair were loose in his face, making him look completely angelic. 'He's so-'

Closing her eyes, she kissed him.

'Perfect…'

Kagome sighed, and once again pecked at her food that was about to walk off its tray. This had happened three days ago, making it Monday. His response to having a junior kiss him was shock, but she continued to kiss him for about three more seconds.

As soon as their kiss was over, she had grabbed her backpack from under the table and dashed out as fast as her legs would go. Since then, she had thought of nothing but him; day in and day out, and even while eating breakfast that morning, it had all been about Takahashi Inuyasha.

Setting a hand on her cheek, she sighed. 'How embarrassing! I blew my chances with him!'

She would never look at him again. He wasn't meant to be with her, that was why Kikyo was brought into the world. Her life must be open to new things, and she had wasted two of them strictly on Inuyasha. She could be doing things like… figuring out how the pear got in the bottle.

"That's it," she mumbled with a blush as she continued to play with her food. Convincing her mother to come pick her up was unforgivable, and all Kagome had explained was the word boy, and her mother laughed and said she understood perfectly. The Higurashi women seemed to have the worst luck with men…

"He took me out to a movie! Oh my gosh girls, it was soo romantic!"

Snapping back into reality, she dumped her food into the trashcan next to her with a smile. "Oh really?" She hadn't seen Sango this excited about having a new boyfriend in quite awhile. She would be happy for her, even when she was sad and confused. Ayame seemed to be lost in her own world and staring at Koga; just like old times.

"-and then he said my shirt was funny!"

Kagome looked down at her own shirt. It was orange and had the slogan "I'm going through depression…" with the back saying "Where's the ice cream?" in bold purple letters. She really needed some. 'Inuyasha... I'm so sorry.'

He was sitting on the other side of the cafeteria with Miroku and Koga. She would glance at him sometimes, and so would he, but both made sure that this was not at the same time to prevent more awkwardness.

She crossed her legs when he stood and grabbed Koga by the arm. 'He's not!' She watched him with apologetic eyes, and blushed when he pointed a finger at her, and Koga nodded towards Ayame, obviously liking what he was seeing. 'Don't!' She felt better when they walked around the cafeteria and not towards her. She looked down when Ayame gripped her right hand that was rested on her thigh. 'I know something's wrong, Ayame. Where are they going?'

What she didn't expect was for someone to tap her on the shoulder.

Turning, she was met with a pair of lips that felt like silk. 'Inu… yasha?' Her eyes slowly closed, and she whimpered slightly when he pulled away. When she opened her eyes, he was staring at her with a happy grin on his face. The sun shining through the windows of the huge room made certain areas of his body glow. "Y-yes?" she asked cowardly, and winced when she got a kick in the leg from Sango.

Inuyasha grabbed Kagome's left hand, pulled her up so she was standing, and lifted her over the bench-seat so she was next to him. Grabbing her backpack off the floor, he handed it to her. "We're going out for ice cream since you seem so depressed," he said while eying her shirt, never once letting go of her hand.

Looking down, he set his left hand on Ayame's shoulder, and turned her so she was facing him. "This is Koga, you know, the one you keep staring at all the time. He'll keep you busy." He motioned to Sango with his eyes that was already walking out of the cafeteria with Miroku.

Ayame blushed, and gasped when Kagome ripped off the glasses that were perched on her nose. Her hair was long and wavy that went down to the middle of her back. The part she chose not to talk about was that the orange was natural.

She was currently eating the so called "spaghetti" she had purchased, and had about half of it falling from her mouth as she managed to stare at the man with the crystal blue eyes. Eating it with her hands was out of the question, but she had forgotten to get a spork, and Kagome had already thrown hers out. Her first impression had pretty much gone downhill. "Hi…"

Then some more spaghetti fell that she didn't know was in her mouth.

Brijustme: I dug this out of my recycling bin in my laptop. It may be old, need corrections and non-exciting, but I needed something to post!

Much Love,

Brijustme