Kagome
Boring.
That was how his lips felt against mine. Entirely unfulfilling. Weren't kisses supposed to be sensuous and enjoyable? He wasn't a bad kisser. The whole reason I was kissing him was because he was considered the best kisser in school. In an effort to make me, the cynical Kagome Higurashi, believe in love, my best friends enlisted in his help.
But my heart didn't even skip a beat.
"Eh", I exclaimed when he finally pulled away from me. "I felt nothing."
His face looked nonchalant, but I could tell Hojo had never been told he didn't make a female melt.
"Really? I kissed you with all the passion I could…"
"Yeah. I could tell." I watched his face droop with disappointment. "Don't worry; I would have felt nothing no matter who was kissing me. Love doesn't exist, so naturally someone as focused as I am wouldn't feel anything. Besides, security is far more valuable than some chemical reaction inside the body that makes you want to swap spit with someone. I mean, it's not even logical. Think of all those germs festering and being shared." I shivered and rubbed my arms at the thought of what germs I may have just gotten from him.
"Wow. That was… harsh."
"No worries. You can believe in love if you want." I patted him on the shoulder in an attempt to make him feel better. He opened his mouth to respond but quickly closed it, either confused or fearing I would just brush off anything he had to say in defense. He nodded and mumbled 'goodbye', walking away like a defeated dog with his tail between his legs and his head down.
I sighed and started to turn away, acting as if I didn't notice my friends as they tried to silently sneak out of the bushes they were hiding in.
"Hey Kagome! Wait!"
I stopped and looked at them, smiling.
"Oh, hi you guys!"
"So uhm… how'd it go?"
"I think you know. You had front row seats to the show."
I watched as my three friends blushed.
"Kagome, you need to open up. Seriously, today was our last day of school. We are out on our own now and you have never dated anyone. Your first kiss was based on a theory that he could make you believe in love, and you felt nothing! A girls first kiss is a huge deal normally."
"I'm not normal", I responded in monotone. "My life does not focus on romance or kisses."
I watched my closest friend, Ayame, shift uncomfortably.
"It's a shame… Some day you're going to wish you had a man to love."
"Don't need one."
They all looked at each other and sighed, defeated.
"Well we have plans to go get some ice cream. Wanna come?"
"No thanks." I gave them a regretful smile so that my rejection wouldn't sound so cold. "I have family plans", I lied.
"Oh, alright." They looked somewhat relieved. "Well, take care! We'll see you later Kagome!"
"Bye!"
They left me alone. I knew they were frustrated with my inability to share their perspective, but I would be able to live a lonely life as long as I could have security. I had been preparing myself for that life for a long time and nothing they said could make me change my mind.
-XOXO-
"Isn't that a bit cruel?" I wiggled in my seat as I thought about what my brother was telling me.
"Yeah, maybe. At the college I attend, women are always watching us when we enter or leave the building. A lot of my peers seem to get easily intrigued. Of course, it would be nothing for you to get one of the guys. You've got a huge rack."
I slapped my brother Miroku, reminding him to bite his perverted tongue.
"Sorry", he said sheepishly. "Anyway, most of the rich guys at my school studying law and business have never been with a woman. They have family reputations to uphold. Of course, you would have to at least try to be charming. Seduce one and convince him to put a ring on your finger and you'll have money for the rest of your life."
Even though the idea seemed wrong to me, I couldn't help but consider it. I did have the goods to seduce the guys at that college. What I needed was the ability to charm one of them. My personality wasn't the most desirable. I was self centered, independent, incapable of swooning stupidly over men, and maybe a little bossy.
"I'll help you", he offered. "I can help you dress in a more attractive way and teach you some ways to be charming."
I looked up at my cousin and smiled.
"Aw, are you being nice or is there something in it for you?"
"Well, naturally you'll reward me with your husband's money once you're rich." He grinned like a Cheshire cat and held out his hand. "Deal?"
I hesitated, carefully considering my options.
"Deal", I decided. Even if I failed, it would be fun trying.
-XOXO-
Sesshoumaru
"I am sorry, father, but could you repeat what you just said? I fear I failed to retain the information because of how utterly ridiculous it was." I crossed my arms across my chest as my father sighed at my obstinate reply to his 'important information'.
"Sesshoumaru, please. My company is doing well, but it could do so much better if you would get married. You are the oldest son, and naturally the heir to my company. InuYasha is still in high school and has no maturity at this point. Please hear me out. I don't want to have to arrange a marriage, so please comply."
His eyes looked at me pleadingly. If it had been anyone else, I doubt I would have even considered it. I probably would have had them killed for the sheer stupidity of the idea. I am not the kind of guy to pay attention to women, let alone marry one.
"Any woman who marries me will be unhappy. I don't care about such frivolous things as romance."
My father's mouth set into one fine crease. "I know, son. But this is very important. I want to give you a chance to find someone, at least. Just try, please."
I looked at him for a long minute before nodding.
"I'm not promising anything, though."
My father smiled and grabbed my hands in his, hoping to get a hug out of me. I simply looked at him with a raised eyebrow, prompting him to release my hands.
"Right. Thank you, son. Just in case, I will try to find someone to arrange a marriage with. If you haven't picked anyone in a month, I will contact them."
I nodded and stared at the floor as my father left the room. I knew I wouldn't be able to make a girl fall in love with me. Nor would I be able to fall in love. But I would try my best for my father. For the money.
-XOXO-
Kagome
Miroku was a beast. He knew his fashion and cared so much about it that after I had angered him by picking two 'modest' dresses, he decided to pick out the clothes for me. I watched in horror as he piled micro-mini skirts and see-through tops onto his arm. I wasn't the dress-to-my-feet kind of girl, but I barely ever showed skin above my knees. It's like an invitation to be hit on by hopeless drunks on the subway.
"Here, Kagome." I put my hands out and took the clothes he dropped into my arms to a nearby dressing room. I pulled off my t-shirt and slipped on the first shirt in the pile. I looked in the mirror and posed. I was impressed with how well the shirt seemed to work on my body. It was low cut in a way that made my chest look big, but not undesirably so. It had long sleeves that hugged my slender arms tightly. The shirt itself was tied off by a ribbon right below my breasts. The part below the ribbon was billowy instead of form fitting and gave a cute look to a daring low cut top. I looked to the pile of bottoms and decided to pair it with short jean shorts instead of a skirt.
"Okay Miroku, I have the first outfit on." I opened the door and spun around for him. He looked at me with appreciation in his eyes.
"For the first time, I can tell we are related. You look almost as beautiful as I do."
"Not only is that creepily incestuous, that was also extremely narcissistic of you to say. Please don't say anything from now on. Just nod or shake your head no." I smiled at him when he rolled his eyes at me and walked back into the dressing room. I looked at the pile and realized it was going to take me ages to try on all of the clothes he had picked out.
Thirty minutes later…
For all the effort I put into trying on all fifty million (I'm exaggerating) clothes he picked out, we decided to only buy three outfits. The more I looked at myself in those revealing clothes, the more it seemed to become a part of me. I was psyched to seduce a rich man, and I finally believed I could actually succeed. All I had left to learn was how to be a bit more charming.
"So Kagome", Miroku started.
"Yeah?"
"What are you going to do when you get to the school tomorrow?"
"Walk up to the gate and check out the men."
"That will make you look unapproachable. Don't eye them. That will keep them from coming to you."
"Oh."
He looked at me and sighed. I could tell he didn't have the energy to train me on getting men.
"Why don't you practice while we wait for the tram to get here?" He looked around. "There are plenty of men here, granted not rich ones. But practice your invitation skills."
I looked around quickly. I felt uneasy trying to attract strangers to me. Students at Miroku's college were one thing, but people with entirely unknown backgrounds were dangerous.
"Well… okay." I looked to one man and stared as hard as I could. It took him thirty seconds to look my direction. I lifted the corners of my lips, but quickly dropped them to a frown when he furrowed his eyebrows and stood, walking away from my sight. "What was that? I smiled at him!"
"No, you were sneering. You obviously don't know how to smile."
I turned to Miroku. My face was heating up from irritation.
"I can too smile!"
He laughed at my statement and demonstrated what I guessed was supposed to be my face when I had smiled. His lips were pulled back awkwardly, revealing his canines. He stared at me. He reminded me of a dog, preparing to attack an innocent mail man.
"I did not look at him like that!"
His face quickly changed as he bent over, laughing at me. "Yes you did!"
I crossed my arms and turned away from him. I was thrilled to see the tram approaching. As soon as it stopped, I stepped on it, marching to an open seat and sitting down. I laughed when Miroku realized there were no more seats and that he would have to stand. He reluctantly grabbed one of the germ-ridden handles hanging from the roof of the tram.
The ride would take a few minutes, so I decided to practice my smiling skills on men who couldn't run away. I glanced across from my seat and found a young man sitting there. I continued to look at him until he finally reciprocated my stare. He smiled at me. I breathed in deeply and tried to smile once again. His eyes suddenly grew wide and dull and his smile disappeared. He stood and ran towards the doors, hiding from me. I frowned and looked to Miroku, who was laughing at my distress. My smile couldn't possibly be that bad. I had never had problems before.
"Kagome, be more natural. You're thinking about it too much."
I sighed and decided to try again. I found another man, engrossed in his manga magazine. He eventually looked up and met my eyes. I smiled at the greasy man, knowing it would be mortifying if a man like him ran away from me. He pointed a finger at himself and mouthed 'me?' as if it was impossible. I nodded and bit my bottom lip like I had seen that one chick do in all of those ridiculous vampire romance movies those Americans were suckers for. It seemed to work. He blushed at my advances and stood. He walked over to me and asked the person next to me if they could switch seats. When the person next to me agreed, he sat beside me.
"Can I tell you something?" he asked me.
I looked at him and nodded, smiling again.
"You remind me of this character in this manga I'm reading."
"Oh really? Who?"
He grinned and held open his magazine for me. "Him! His name is Ryuk. He's a shinigami in this manga called Death Note. You smile just like him!"
I was horrified. I was being compared to a demon in some manga! Not one of those ridiculously hot chicks but a demon!
"Ah", I murmured. "Well uh, my stop is coming up. Nice meeting you."
"Wait! You're my girlfriend now, right?"
"No", I said, standing and heading to the doors, which slid open at my stop. Miroku was close behind me.
"On the plus side", he started, "you were able to seduce a man. Just not for the reasons you were hoping." He laughed as I stared at the ground, wishing I had a jacket to cover my head with at that moment.
-XOXO-
The night had gone by quickly and before I knew it, I was dressed in one of my new outfits and on my way towards the school. Miroku had made sure I knew the best time to show up so that I would catch the rich students. I walked quickly towards the campus, which was luckily near our home. I had practiced my smile all night, trying to get it to look good enough to attract some good men.
I reached the gates after a few minutes and watched men filing in and out of the school. I strutted into their view as attractively as possible and prepared myself. A group of well dressed men looked in my direction, nudging each other. I fluttered my eyes and gave my smile a try.
I watched sadly as all of the men turned away, disgusted and scared. They scattered like I had the plague, leaving only one man in the courtyard. This man had gorgeous, long hair. He was distracted by his high-tech phone and didn't seem to notice my smiling fiasco. He probably wouldn't care about my existence. I braced myself for rejection, deciding he was my last chance.
"Excuse me!" I was sure to use a more feminine voice than normal.
He continued staring at his phone.
"Hello?"
"What?" He didn't look up.
"What time is it? I seem to have forgotten my watch."
"One thirty."
His barrier was impenetrable.
"Oh. Uhm…" I was searching for something else to say. "Could you possibly help me get to the subway? I'm a bit lost and in a hurry." I tilted my head in a cute way and looked up at him.
He finally looked at me, putting his phone in his pocket.
"Ah. Go find it yourself. Independence is more attractive than clinginess."
I breathed in sharply. If he wasn't my last hope, I would have stomped on his toes and stormed off. But I really needed him to give me a chance.
"Please. I just think you're so attractive…"
"Ha!" he exclaimed. "You think my money is attractive."
I felt my eyes widen at his blunt statement. He gripped my wrist suddenly and pulled me behind a nearby wall. I groaned in pain as his rough hand scratched against my skin. My heart began to beat rapidly as he dragged me, pushing me against the wall and pinning me with his arms. I looked at both of his arms before finally steadying my eyes on his face. I could see for the first time that he had abnormal golden eyes that seemed void of life. His eyes were daring me to retaliate against his sudden roughness, and I couldn't find it in myself to take that particular dare. I was scared.
"What are you doing?" I finally managed to ask, breathing heavily.
"Marry me" he responded in a gruffer voice than before.
"What?"
"I said marry me."
A/N: I'm afraid if I continue, this chapter may become too boring. I hope it was enjoyable. I'm pretty sure I know where I'm going with this. I like the plot and hope it can make a good story! Please review! Give me ideas and let me know how you like it! Anything. =) Thank you for reading!