The wind breezed through his silver hair as he ran down the crowded city sidewalk. He glanced at his watch again. He was twenty minutes late because of a meeting with his professor. Inuyasha knew that his best friend Miroku would give him an ear full because of it as soon as he saw him.
Sometimes, he often found himself enjoying being late; it gave him a chance to run. He was the only person he knew that could run twenty blocks in under two minutes. It didn't help that he was a half demon, as defined by the perky silver dog ears atop his head.
Inuyasha, a senior at Tokyo University, loved the city. He and his best friend had both been raised in the country their entire lives and at the first chance, they escaped. They moved into a small, two bedroom apartment that over-looked a large park. As damaged as the apartment appeared, it was home.
He slowed when the old diner came into view. Its old-fashioned look and simple function kept him satisfied and calm. It was a relaxing atmosphere, filled with people who all knew one another. It was as if the place and the people were taken out of some small town and put in that section of the city. It was shocking to see the skyscrapers tower above it from the windows. It seemed so out of place. And that's what Inuyasha loved about it. It was like he could relate. He, himself, had always felt somewhat out of place, for the sheer fact that he was different.
Another reason for his love of the diner resided inside it. It wasn't actually part of the diner. It was the beautiful Kagome Higurashi, a waitress that worked at the diner. She was a goddess in Inuyasha's eyes and he spent hours, days, months thinking only of her. The first time he had walked into the diner, directly in front of him at the register, she was seated. She smiled and asked him if he wanted smoking or non. He just stared at her dumbly and nodded. That was the first time he heard her laugh. His heart damn-near stopped.
He couldn't catch his breath and was basically panting any time she was near. The slightest touch from her was enough to send him into a panicked frenzy. He'd babble and ramble, not making the slightest sense. What made it worse was that she was blissfully unaware of the hold she had on him. All she had to do was bat an eyelash in his direction and he was rendered helpless.
As he neared the diner, his best friend, Miroku came into view. He was staring into the diner intently. Inuyasha knew that he was eyeing Kagome's best friend and co-worker Sango. A feisty young lady, Sango could keep Miroku's lecherous behavior at bay. As beautiful as he thought Kagome, Inuyasha had to admit that Sango was quite a looker as well. She always wore her hair in a tight ponytail and had on loose fitting clothing, regardless of the fact that she has the body of a fighting champion underneath. He and Miroku saw her at the gym nearly every morning when they went. Inuyasha supposed that in a past life, Sango must have been a warrior of some sort.
Kagome's beauty, on the other hand, was much softer than Sango's. He knew that she was a master archer and had the upper body strength to rival some of the world's top gymnasts. Her long, lean legs were always visible from the skirts that adorned her body. He felt himself blushing when he thought about her bare legs and strong arms. Inuyasha almost felt undeserving of her friendship at times. She was always smiling and happy, while he was a cantankerous fool. Never can he remember having a bad day after seeing her smiling face. She was like a drug that he was completely addicted to.
His thoughts veered to a small, black box that was stuffed in the top drawer of his dresser. Before his mother passed, when he was a child, she gave him that box. Inside was a ring. A silver band embellished with a single, glistening diamond. Inuyasha planned to someday ask Kagome to marry him. He couldn't see a future for himself without her in it. If only he could get over the fear of asking her on a date.
Inuyasha slowed to a crawl. He snuck up behind Miroku and leaned in close to his ear before he hissed, "Stop staring at Sango!"
Miroku jumped back and turned on his friend. "Don't do that, man! You're going to give me a myocardial infarction."
"Is that your "Medical Term of the Day?" Inuyasha asked. Miroku was currently studying to be a pediatrician and had a day-to-day rip-off calendar of medical terms. Every single day Inuyasha had to hear a new word. It was a tad annoying.
"Yes, my friend, it is. Besides, who said I was looking at Miss Sango?" he said with a sheepish grin.
"You're stupid," Inuyasha said as he pulled Miroku by the sleeve and into the diner. When they were seated at their usual booth, he turned back to him. "When are you not staring at Sango?"
"Touché. I stare at Sango just as much as you stare at Kagome."
"Shut up!" Inuyasha hissed. "She could hear you."
"So what if she does? It's about time you make your feelings known," Miroku said, not even caring to lower his voice. He knew that Inuyasha was completely obsessed with Kagome and has been trying to get the half demon to say something to her. By the way she looks at him when he doesn't know; Miroku would guess that she feels the same. While Miroku was contemplating, he didn't notice Inuyasha lean forward on his elbows. He immediately knew what he was going to ask. It was the same question that he had asked since the second time they entered the diner.
"Is she here?" he whispered.
Rolling his eyes, but following through, Miroku glanced around the diner. Small as it was, she could've been in any number of places. Sure enough, over by the juke box, wearing her customary skirt and blouse with an apron over it, Kagome dancing to a soft beat with Sango.
"My friend, take a look for yourself," he said as he looked over to the girls again.
Inuyasha pretended he was scratching his chin on his shoulder and looked back in the direction that Miroku had looked. His breath caught in his throat. She was bobbing to the beat and laughing with Sango. He watched her hips sway in a most entrancing way.
Sango just happened to notice Inuyasha's obvious "chin scratch" and was motioning for Kagome to look over at him. When she did, Inuyasha whipped his head around so as not to be caught staring. He felt his cheeks flush. His ears perked when he heard footsteps coming in their direction. She was getting closer, he could tell. He had memorized everything about her, from the way her hair glistened in the dull light of the diner to the way her footsteps sounded. His heart sped up with each footstep. Then, he felt a hand on his shoulder. His senses were filled with her lavender scent and he squeezed his eyes shut, so that she could not see the way her touch caused them to roll back in his head.
"I'd ask if you guys wanted a menu, but you always order the same thing," she said as she let go of his shoulder and pulled a tablet from her apron, all while leaning a hip on the table. Inuyasha stared at it. He felt a kick under the table and blinked hard. She didn't wait for them to answer and instead turned around to the kitchen, resting her butt on the edge of the table. Inuyasha clenched his fist and took a long breath.
"Hey, Joe!" she shouted to the kitchen. "Inuyasha and Miroku are here." He nodded and went to work with their orders, obviously knowing what they wanted. She turned around again and poked Inuyasha in the shoulder. "Move in, will you?" He gulped. Could she hear his heart? Surely it was pounding loud enough.
"How's Sango?" Miroku asked. Noting the hanyou's flustered look.
"Why don't you ask me yourself?" Sango said as she walked by with a try full of food. She passed the table and Miroku leaned out to get a glimpse of her firm, and tightly worked ass.
"How were classes today," Kagome asked them both, but was looking at Inuyasha.
"Mine were fine. I can't believe I got all male professors this semester. How boring," Miroku said while looking at his fingernails. Kagome just shook her head and then returned her gaze to Inuyasha.
"Oh, uh, mine were okay. I had a meeting with one of my professors so that's why I was late," Inuyasha said. His heart was racing so fast that he could barely breathe. He looked down, their arms were touching. He felt his skin burning where it met hers.
The ding of the kitchen bell sounded and Kagome rushed up to get their orders. She returned with a tray of coffee and cheesecake, the same thing they had every single time they entered the diner. Immediately, he missed the warmth that her touch brought.
"Can I get you guys anything else?" she asked.
"I'm fine," Miroku said, "but I'm sure Inuyasha would like something more."
Inuyasha waited for Miroku to put a fork full of cheesecake up to his mouth before he kicked him under the table. The cheesecake fell from his fork and landed in the middle of his shirt.
"Damn it, Inuyasha," he growled.
Kagome giggled. "What more would you like?"
Miroku almost choked on his coffee. "Nothing that you can give him here," he managed to spit out. Inuyasha sent him a dangerous glance. As soon as they were out of sight of the diner, Miroku's life would be ending.
"I, uh," Inuyasha tried to think quickly. But as usual, his mind was a complete blank when he was around her. What the hell, he thought. "I was wondering if you'd go to dinner with me."
Miroku dropped his fork, Sango skidded to a stop beside the table, and Inuyasha's heart thumped wildly in his ears. Then, all attention turned to Kagome. Her smile widened and she tucked her hair behind her ear.
"I'd love to," she said before she walked away to seat some new customers.
It was as if everyone in the diner had been holding their breath for her answer. Inuyasha definitely was. With a loud exhale, he relaxed and dug into his cheesecake. After he had finished the whole piece, he looked up to find Miroku staring at him.
"What?" he asked, waving his hand in Miroku's face. "You need to blink before your eyes dry up and fall out of your head."
"I can't believe you just did that," he said, still wide-eyed.
"Dude, I'm still numb from the fact that she said yes," Inuyasha said.
"She didn't just say yes, she said she'd love to," Miroku exclaimed. "She'd love to go on a date with you. That's awesome!"
"Shh, she'll hear you. I don't want her to think that I'm over hear giggling like a little girl," he nudged Miroku's elbow.
"You want to though, don't you? You want to jump up and down and squeal. Admit it," Miroku said, nudging him back.
"Shut up," Inuyasha said. He turned around to look for Kagome, to make sure that she hadn't heard anything Miroku was saying. She came around the corner with a tray of food and when she saw him looking, her face brightened with a large smile. He felt a kick under the table and he turned to Miroku. "What?"
"Look at her. She's so happy. And that's all because you grew some balls."
Kagome bustled by and went back into the kitchen. Sango was waiting on the other side of the door. When Kagome stepped through, she grabbed her arm and pulled her to the back room.
"What the hell?" she asked. "I thought you weren't going to go out with him?"
"I don't know, Sango. He just came out and asked me. You've seen those eyes. How could I say no?"
"Then what was all that about not wanting to get close to him?" Sango raised an eyebrow.
"I know, I know. I've got time. I just want one date before I-,"
"Don't say it," Sango shouted. She put her hands over her ears and shook her head.
Kagome grabbed her shaking friend. "Fine, fine, fine. I won't say it. But it's a reality we'll have to face soon enough. And we'll face it together. Besides, I want to enjoy what time I have left. That's why I decided to say yes to Inuyasha."
"I don't want to face this. This isn't fair. My best friend shouldn't be dying." Sango's eyes started to fill with tears and she swallowed hard, to keep them at bay.
Kagome smiled. "I thought we weren't going to say that word."
"How can you be so calm?"
"Why should I spend the time I have left miserable?" She pulled Sango into a hug. "I'm going to be with my best friend and I'm never going to be happier. Now, enough of this. We're not going to talk about this again. I'm going to go on a date with Inuyasha and then I'm going to come back and give you all the details." With that, she turned and walked out of the back room, leaving a dumbfounded Sango in her wake.
Sango put her head down in defeat. Ever since that day, she's been worried about Kagome's health. That one day changed both of their lives, and nothing was going to be the same.
It was their last week of high school and they were at a park celebrating graduation when Kagome blacked out. Sango thought she was joking around at first. Then she saw the blood, slowly seeping from her nose and the corner of her mouth. When they took her to the hospital, the doctors refused to tell Sango what was wrong. They claimed that it was a doctor/patient confidentiality agreement, regardless of the fact that Kagome was basically her only family and vice-versa.
A few days after Kagome was released from the hospital, Sango finally got her to talk. They were sitting and watching a movie when she couldn't take it anymore.
"Sango, I need to tell you something that's really serious," Kagome started. Everybody knows that a conversation that starts that way can't be good.
"I'm listening," she said as she shoved a handful of popcorn in her mouth.
"I don't know how to explain it and I don't want to drag it out. I'm dying." Kagome looked over at Sango, who had stopped mid-chew.
"What?" she said, even though she heard her.
"The doctor's say that it's something wrong with the way my brain is producing electrolytes. The signals are getting weaker and will eventually stop working all together."
"How long do you have?" Sango asked. This had to be some sick joke.
"A few years, tops. That's if I stay regular on the medications and live a stress-free life. I decided that I'm not going to college. I'm just going to stay here, in the city and keep my job at the diner. I don't want to be anywhere else when I die."
She said it all so calmly. A few years; why didn't that sound as long as Kagome thought it would?
Sango swallowed her mouthful and slowly let the tears burst onto her cheeks. Graduation was the only time they left their apartment. They spent 3 weeks just watching movies and thinking. Then, one day Kagome decided that she wanted to get out and Sango just agreed.
When they met Inuyasha and Miroku, Sango saw the look in her eyes. She was madly in love with this silver-haired, dog-eared boy and there was nothing that anyone could do about it. When Sango called her on it, Kagome said that she would never try and pursue a relationship with him because of the fact that she didn't have long to live. She claimed that she didn't want him to get too attached because of his past. Apparently, his past was scattered with the deaths of his loved ones. Kagome didn't feel it was fair to him to put so much on his shoulders; to get into a relationship that would end because her life would. It was a sad twist of fate.
Sango marched out of the back room with her head held high as she forced the tears back. There was no way that she'd let anyone see her cry. She looked at the clock and then ran to catch up with her best friend. When she was beside her, she lowered her voice so that only Kagome could hear.
"Did you take your pills?"
Kagome nodded. "How could I forget? My life depends on those little white tablets." She smiled, trying to lighten Sango's gloomy mood. "Don't worry about me, Sango. I've last four years. I'm pretty much invincible."
Sango smiled. Her friend was right. She overcame some tough obstacles.
Inuyasha looked over his shoulder at the two girls. His sensitive ears had picked up on the whole conversation. What's wrong with Kagome? His thoughts eluded him as Miroku smacked him in the face.
"We've got to go." He was tapping the face of his watch impatiently. They stood to leave.
He decided to keep what he had overheard to himself as he looked around for Kagome. When he spotted her, his pulse picked up and he walked over to her.
"So how about Friday at 7?" he asked, still ecstatic that she said yes.
"Sounds good. I'll meet you here and we can go from there," she smiled. His heart melted.
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