Hello! So this is my first Inuyasha Fanfic! For those who are currently waiting for me to update Like A Rock, never fear! I am currently working on it, and I expect it to be up soon. I once again did a dumb and hurt myself, which explains my absense. No worries, I am doing just fine! Anyway, I hope you will give this a chance. I had recently been re-watching the anime, and this idea sort of grabbed me and wouldn't let go. So here we are! This is going to be short, only about 4-5 chapters at most, and its going to be mostly fluffy goodness! Fair warning, if any of you out there are Kikyou fans... might wanna stay away. As always, I own nothing, all rights belong to the lovely Rumiko Takahashi. Anyway, please rate and review, and I'll see you later!
Inuyasha slumped in his chair, his head coming to rest in his arms, laying on the table in the kitchen. He was alone in the house, his stupid brother away on business for most of the last month. For that he was glad. He really didn't need Sesshomaru getting on his case about this.
Really, this was just ridiculous. There was no reason why this should be so damn difficult. He just needed to ask one simple, small question. The problem was that this simple question could very well lead to another problem entirely. It could lead to something that Inuyasha hadn't much experience with. Namely, his own feelings. And how to express them.
It wasn't so much that he didn't know what he was feeling, it was more that he couldn't articulate it without his intent going in a completely different direction. Another problem was the feelings themselves. They weren't exactly foreign to him... he had felt something close to this once before, but this...this was a whole new depth. Which honestly, scared the living shit out of him, (not that he would ever admit that.) If he was honest with himself, really, truly honest, these feelings had always been there in some shape or form, always in the back of his mind. They surfaced occasionally, but he had always managed to push them down, lock them away in the corners of his heart, always telling himself to not get too excited over it. He didn't deserve the kind of happiness these feelings brought him. It wasn't worth risking what he had. But now... they had come up again, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get them to go away.
"Damn human emotions." He growled to himself. Being a half-demon, he always had a bit more of a connection to his human side, not that it had seemed to matter. Although demons and half-demons were common knowledge and had been for centuries, he always had to keep his distance. With the exception of a few humans, most people ignored him, or even had the nerve to insult him, ostracize him simply for existing. It didn't bother him so much anymore. He knew he had a place in the world. He knew he had friends that cared for him. But it was still sometimes a hard pill to swallow, knowing that there were people out there hated him for being born into this world.
It didn't matter though. He had accepted himself for who he was. Mostly. It was right now though, that he was cursing the human blood that flowed through him. For it was these human emotions that were guiding him into very unfamiliar territory. Again, this should be easy! But, it was the uncertainty, the fear of being rejected...again...that prevented him from moving forward. He wasn't sure that his heart, or his ego for that matter, would survive such a blow. Despondently, he groaned to himself and let his mind wander to what had set his heart and mind into turmoil almost a month prior...
The small group sat at their usual table in the school courtyard, waiting for their fourth friend to join them for lunch. It was a sunny day in mid-March, a soft breeze lifting through the grass surrounding them. The four had been friends since elementary school, and with as differing personalities as they could get. As of now, Kagome and Inuyasha were teasing their friend Miroku about his flirting and lecherous ways. Inuyasha had just said that he wondered when Sango, (the one who had yet to join them,) would finally come forward and make an honest man out of him. Miroku had the good grace to look offended, and something about his expression had caused Kagome to lapse into yet another fit of giggles, for about the fourth time since sitting down.
Her laughter rang in Inuyasha's ears, and his spine tingled pleasantly. Inwardly, he squirmed. It was hard sometimes to control himself around her. He followed her around almost like a second shadow. He sat next to her in class (they had Math and History together.) He always sat with her at lunch, always paid for her food, despite her constant protests. He often found himself staring at her, at her soft skin, her abyss of dark hair...her smile...drinking in her presence like a man dying of thirst. Then he would mentally slap himself, call himself a dumbass, then go and do it all over again. Wash, rinse, repeat. It was getting tiring, and he was especially getting tired of himself being so spineless. He was just losing himself in another one of these trances when Sango finally came over. She dropped rather ungracefully into a seat beside Miroku, looking tired but rather pleased with herself.
"So, how was the student council meeting Sango?" Miroku asked, wasting no time and slipping his arm over her shoulder. Sango looked to be leaning into his touch, but when his hand leaned into the "danger zone", a loud and solid-sounding SMACK rent the air. Inuyasha snapped from his daze, eyes settling on the other boy, who was holding his wounded cheek, which was red with a distinct hand shaped mark. Kagome only looked slightly exasperated, too used to the behavior to comment on it. Inuyasha however, couldn't help himself.
"Damn pervert. Just couldn't keep your hands to yourself, can you?" He leaned his face into his hand and took a bite of his cafeteria sandwich, eyeing Miroku with distaste. Honestly, sometimes it was hard to believe they were even friends. Miroku merely smiled, still rubbing his face.
"I was only showing my concern, I swear! Sango looked so tired, so I decided to rub her shoulders and-" "You were NOT rubbing my shoulders!" Sango bit back, a scowl on her face. She crossed her arms and glared at the boy beside her. Miroku opened his mouth to protest, but Kagome spoke up first, hoping to avoid further violence.
"Anyway Sango, how was the student council meeting?" Sango had been part of the student council since freshman year. Now, she was the Vice President. She had a lot of responsibility, but the drawback was not being able to spend more time with her friends. At the question, Sango's expression brightened considerably.
"Oh, it went really well! The biggest news is that the council has decided that were not going to put on a cultural festival this year!" Kagome's face fell. "Seriously? We're not going to have one?" Sango shook her head, looking saddened by the news, but the effect was ruined by the grin on her face. Inuyasha glanced at Kagome, who looked like she was ready to cry.
"But...how can they not have a festival? Its always so much fun!" She said sadly. Inuyasha snorted. "Fun? Last year you got yourself roped into performing the lead in a play, singing a solo in the school choir, and basically running the cooking club. You were complaining about the workload for weeks!" He ticked each activity off with his fingers, smirking at his best friend. It was only a second later that Inuyasha heard the harsh tone in his voice, and mentally kicked himself. 'good job idiot... way to make her feel worse!' He thought. Kagome sent him a hard glare.
"So? It was a lot of work, but it was fun seeing everything all set up!" She said defensively. Inuyasha shrugged, not apologizing but mentally kicking himself again. Wanting to deescalate the situation, Miroku spoke up.
"Sango, correct me if I'm wrong, but you seem...happy, that the festival is no longer happening. Why all the enthusiasm?" Inuyasha looked up to see that Sango was practically foaming at the mouth for someone to ask her that.
"Well, we aren't doing the festival...because we decided on something else." Inuyasha, Kagome, and Miroku all looked at her with perplexed expressions. Sango grinned wider.
"What is it?" Kagome asked, leaning toward her best friend from across the table. "We're going to do something that's common for high schoolers over in the States." Sango said, her eyes glinting happily. She was starting to bounce a little in her seat with all her enthusiasm. Inuyasha could smell, almost taste the anticipation she was giving off.
"What is it already? Just spit it out!" He said roughly. Sango ignored his attitude and exclaimed, "We're going to be having a Prom! An actual Prom!" She clapped her hands together frantically, seemingly unable to contain herself. It took all of a millisecond for Kagome to squeal loudly, making Inuyasha's ears flatten against his head at the noise.
"You mean a dance?! A real dance?! That's amazing!" Kagome said, clasping Sango's hands in her own and joining her in bouncing excitedly. Inuyasha turned an annoyed look at Miroku, who was torn between amusement and bewilderment, looking at their two friends bouncing in their seats...or rather at what was bouncing...
Inuyasha growled at his best friend, and Miroku's head snapped away, for once managing to look sheepish. Once the girls had calmed down somewhat, Sango spoke again.
"Yeah, in the States its kind of a big deal. Its usually reserved for upperclassman. The school rents out a nice hotel, they play music, have food, and you get to wear fancy clothes and take pictures and dance! Its going to be great!" Inuyasha was frankly surprised at her attitude. Sango was usually a bit more serious, and besides her weird fascination with pink, she was much more of a tomboy. 'Women. I'll never understand them.' He thought.
Miroku leaned forward, a seemingly innocent smile on his face. "So, is this prom going to be just for us seniors, or the entire school?" "Entire school." Sango replied, eyeing him suspiciously. "We voted on a theme today, and tickets will start selling tomorrow. But the best part," She added, a mischievous glint in her eyes, "Is that the school itself will have little involvement. Its going to be run by the student council!" All three teenagers raised their eyebrows, eyes wide. Little to no adult supervision? Interesting...
"Well, you know what that means..." Miroku said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. "That I'll be keeping a very, very close eye on you." Sango said in a low voice. She had that look on her face, a look Inuyasha had learned long ago that she meant business. Apparently, Miroku hadn't figured that out. His face actually lit up at her words.
"My dear Sango," He said, reaching out and clasping both of her hands in his own. "Does this mean that you are taking me to this Prom?" He was talking in what he thought was a low, seductive tone. Inuyasha just thought he sounded creepy. And apparently, so did Sango.
"What?! No!" She shrieked, tearing her hands out of his grasp and turning her back on him, her face a burning red. Inuyasha and Kagome laughed. "Turned down again, ya lecher! When will you learn?" Inuyasha barked. Sango still had her back turned, and she muttered in a low voice, thinking she couldn't be heard, "You didn't even ask me properly." But Inuyasha heard her. Apparently, so did Miroku. He reached out and turned her around, reclaiming her hands again, ignoring her protests.
"Sango, will you please do me the honor of accompanying me to the Prom?" He asked seriously. Inuyasha thought that it was a wonder you could still see her trademark eye shadow with how red she had gotten.
"I-I I'll...I'll... think about it." She stammered finally. Miroku looked satisfied for the moment and released her hands. Kagome and Inuyasha watched this exchange with surprised expressions, and while he thought she wasn't looking, Inuyasha stole glances at the girl beside him, letting his mind wander...
It was Kagome who spoke next, after a lengthy and somewhat uncomfortable silence. "Anyway, Sango, what is the theme going to be? You said it was already decided." Sango threw her a grateful glance. "Yeah, the theme is "Among The Twinkling Stars." Inuyasha wrinkled his nose in distaste. It sounded corny and lame to him.
"That was the best you could come up with?" He said scathingly. He felt Kagome glance at him with a somewhat wounded expression, and he felt his heart flutter. Dammit. Him and his stupid mouth...
"I think it sounds awfully romantic..." Kagome sighed, leaning her head in her hands, a faraway look in her eyes. "It also sounds like so much fun! When is it going to be Sango?"
"About a month from now, on April 25th." She replied. Inuyasha was once again staring openly at Kagome. She liked that sort of thing? Sappy, romantic, cheesy stuff like this? 'Well duh. She is a girl.' He had just figured she was, well...above all that frilly, girly stuff. At least she was like that around him. But now, knowing that she liked and went for all that sappy crap, he couldn't help but be sucked into a daydream of himself and Kagome, dressed to the nines, swirling on a gleaming dance floor... faces leaning into one another...
He was pulled out of his fantasy as someone roughly shook his shoulder. He jumped, blinking several times to Sango looking at him with mild annoyance.
"Yash, did you even hear me?" She huffed. He quickly glanced at Kagome, who was looking at him with a mix of confusion and concern. He huffed and went on the defensive, turning away from the group. It was what he did best after all.
"Keh. Can't a guy think to himself every now and again?" He asked quickly, trying to subdue the dusting of pink on his cheeks. Sango raised her eyebrows. "Normally I would say yes, but you aren't normal." He growled at her. Even though she was one of his best friends, she could be a real bitch sometimes.
"Anyway, I was asking if you were planning on going." Sango said, still eyeing the half-demon with undisguised irritation. "Are you, Inuyasha?" He shrugged, still annoyed and flustered from his earlier thoughts.
"Dunno. I might. Beats sitting at home on my ass anyway." Despite his gruff manor, he took at peak out of the corner of his eyes at Kagome. He couldnt see her expression clearly from the way he was sitting, but she looked...happy? Relieved?
Sango sighed and turned instead to Kagome. "What about you Kags? Your gonna go right?" Inuyasha tensed ever so slightly. Kagome let out a small giggle, but something sounded...off about it. It sounded... like she was sad.
"Yeah, I think I will. I'll probably end up as a wall flower though." She said, a slight wistful tone in her voice. Inuyasha turned to look at her in spite of himself. What had brought this on? Sango and Miroku were looking at her too.
"Kags, what are you talking about?"Sango asked. Kagome shrugged. "I just don't think I'll end up having a date is all. It would be nice if someone asked me but..." She trailed off, looking downcast. She looked down at her half-eaten lunch, not meeting anyone's eyes.
"Come on Kags, somebody is bound to ask you!" Sango said, reaching out to grasp the girls hand. Kagome briefly glanced up, a small small danced across her face before disapearing. "Somebody would have to be crazy not to ask you." Sango glared pointedly at Inuyasha as she said that, but thankfully Kagome didn't notice. Inuyasha felt his face heat up and he glanced away. Frustrated that he didn't get the memo, Sango dug her elbow into Miroku's side, and glanced at her two other friends. Catching on, Miroku cleared his throat.
"Sango is right Kagome. You shouldn't sell yourself short. You are a kind, smart, and lovely young lady. Any man, and I do mean any man," He paused here, looking Inuyasha in the eyes before continuing, "Would be honored and completely in awe of his good fortune to take you to this dance. Provided he...Just. Ask." He punctuated the last two words forcefully, still glaring at Inuyasha. All of this was sadly missed by Kagome, as she was still moodily picking at her salad. Inuyasha glared at his best friend, his face no doubt burning by now.
Kagome sighed, but said nothing. Inuyasha was just about to open his mouth to speak but the bell signaling the end of lunch rang shrilly. Immediately, Kagome got up to throw away her mostly uneaten food. She waved halfheartedly at the boys as she walked away with Sango, the duo talking in low voices. Growling, Inuyasha threw away his own trash before setting off towards his English class. Miroku followed him, shaking his head as they walked.
"Inuyasha, I can't believe that your this dense. How could you not have said anything back there?" The half-demon growled, but it did not have the undesired effect. Miroku just eyed the boy before him, waiting for an answer.
"Keh. Don't know what your talking about." He said stubbornly, but he knew that Miroku could easily see through the lie.
"Oh, you know exactly what I'm talking about Yash."Miroku said sharply. "Poor Kagome is under the impression that no one will ask her to this dance. And we both know that isn't true." Inuyasha ignored him, having reached the classroom and ducked inside, hoping Miroku would drop it.
No such luck.
"Don't you see this as a perfect opportunity?" Miroku asked, his voice significantly lowered, but knew that the half-demon would catch every word.
"Opportunity for what?" Inuyasha growled out. He refused to meet Miroku's eyes as he took his usual seat in the back. He was feeling particularly hot around the collar, and he was sure Miroku could tell.
"Gods, you really are dense." Miroku said, rubbing his temples in frustration. He started talking again, using a slow, clear voice as though he was talking to a toddler. And in many ways, he was.
"This is a golden opportunity to tell Kagome how you feel. The setting is romantic, it offers the perfect atmosphere to tell her everything." Inuyasha sputtered for a moment, trying to form a coherent sentence. Finally, he ground out, "W-what makes you think I have feelings for K-Kagome?" At this Miroku laughed loudly, causing several heads to turn in their direction. The teacher hadn't walked in yet, so they still had some time. Inuyasha swung at Miroku's head, which he dodged adeptly, still chuckling to himself.
"Inuyasha, please. I've known you for years. Its so easy to see that you have strong, deep feelings for her. Sango sees it too. It seems that the only ones who don't see it are you, and Kagome." Inuyasha slumped in his seat, not denying (or confirming!) what Miroku was saying. Sensing an opening, Miroku continued:
"Yash, you never acted this way with anyone...not even Kikyou." Inuyasha flinched at the name, but said nothing. Miroku noticed, but went on, going for the kill:
"It's also obvious that Kagome has feelings for you too, but she is too shy and afraid to convey them." Miroku eyed the silver-haired boy beside him, gauging his reaction. Inuyasha, for his part, sat a little straighter. 'Kagome...Kagome has feelings for me? Me, a piece of crap half-demon?' He thought to himself. Finally noticing the gears turning, Miroku smiled before adding gently, "Since Kagome seems reluctant to say anything, it has to be you, Inuyasha. You have to make the first move. This dance..." And he looked at Inuyasha with all seriousness, "May be your only chance." Inuyasha's eyes widened, but before he could respond, their teacher walked into the room, calling them to order. Miroku didn't bring it up for the rest of the day, but his last words echoed themselves in Inuyahsa's head. He was right, the stupid lecher. It would have to be up to him.
Well, here it is! Hopefully this isn't too OOC, but oh well. I'll have chapter two up as soon as I can, as well as more of my other story, Like A Rock. Hope you enjoyed, and see you later! Much love!