"Her Favorite Present", a post-canon oneshot
'Hey Kagome! Happy Sixteenth, girl! We know you didn't want to make a big fuss of it, but we couldn't let your special day pass by without giving you a present. Even though things are kind of hard right now, we hope this gift can give you a smile. It's not much, but just think of it as a stand-in until you can get the real thing – we're all hoping that day will come soon for you. We love you Kagome! You're the coolest girl we know and we're proud to call you our friend. Enjoy the gift, and have a great birthday!
Love Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi'
Kagome's thumb stroked the soft pink paper as a small smile settled on her lips. She'd told her friends not to have a party, told them she really just wanted to have a quiet day and forget it was her birthday at all, and they'd almost agreed. But the morning of her birthday, her mother slipped her the small box across the breakfast table and told her the three girls had stopped by at the crack of dawn to deliver it, not wanting to wake up their friend before heading off to school. Although she was no longer 'sick', Kagome had opted to skip school that day anyways, on account of the celebrating which she wouldn't actually be doing. Her mother gave her a hug and a kiss and whispered happy birthday to her as she came down the stairs, Souta handed her a homemade note promising to share the TV and not bother her studies for at least a week, and Grandpa didn't offer a single ancient something or other to her as a gift for the whole day. He'd tried to at least three times but always stopped himself before he could even pull the present from his robe. Buyo had lazed about the house from dusk to dawn, always giving her bored looks as she passed by as if to say 'don't count on me to lead you to the well this year'.
A few times during the quiet, lonely day, Kagome wished she'd been braver. She wished she could have the willpower to put her sadness and her fears behind her and let everyone celebrate her day as they clearly wanted to. The problem was though… it wasn't just 'her day' anymore. Ever since last year, her fifteenth birthday, when a monster had pulled her down an old well and through time itself, it hadn't been her day. Ever since she'd come across a dog-eared boy asleep against the Sacred Tree, vines molded around him protectively, sunlight streaming onto his red robes and lighting his silver hair like some kind of holy relic… ever since then, it had been 'their day'. The day she met a boy who changed her life.
And for over a month now, she'd been separated from him. He hadn't come to see her, and the well wouldn't let her through to him. As the days led up to her birthday, a cruel hope had begun to spark in her mind. Maybe history would repeat itself: maybe, on the day of her birthday, exactly one year since the well first opened, it would open again. When morning dawned on 'their day', she had half expected to see Inuyasha standing at her window, or perhaps sleeping beside her bed with Tetsusaiga clutched against his chest. No such vision greeted her though, and as the day progressed, her burgeoning hope sank deeper and grew darker until it more closely resembled bitterness. After breakfast she'd slipped away to the well house and waited, but nothing happened. At noon she'd visited again, even daring to climb down the ladder a bit and risk a short jump, but all she met at the bottom was packed dirt. In the evening she'd jumped again, this time hurting her ankle slightly as she tried a full leap. Her mother wordlessly got her an ice pack when she returned with a slight limp, and her only response was a whispered thanks before she retreated back to her room.
With all of the inner turmoil her birthday had caused, she'd almost forgotten the gift from her friends. The short note had been tucked under a yellow ribbon, the white paper shining with faint silver swirls over the thin, square package. Setting the note aside, she carefully pulled the taped edges apart to find a plastic cd case. The only label was a hand written insert with a cheery 'Happy Birthday' on it, and the cd inside was blank except for a scrawl of black ink which read 'birthday wishes'. Kagome smiled and shook her head – her friends had probably left her some silly recording, or maybe made her a playlist of songs she liked. As nice as the thought was, she wasn't really in the mood for cheery antics; not when she was feeling so decidedly down.
Setting the cd case on her desk, she padded to her bed and fell on it with a huff, wishing she felt more tired so she could finally be done with the day. With her head full of 'what ifs' and hopeless wishes however, sleep seemed unlikely. Cracking open an eye, Kagome glanced back at the thin profile of the cd, the white and yellow of the discarded paper haloing the present. She felt her curiosity growing as she stared at it, finally pushing her to slip from her bed and take the case in hand again as she left her room to wander back down the stairs.
Having spent so much time in the feudal era, Kagome had never bothered with getting a computer for herself, and although her mother had said a computer would come in handy with her schoolwork, she was satisfied at the moment to share one with the family. She could hear her mother still cleaning up in the kitchen though her brother and grandfather had since retired to bed, allowing her free use of the machine. As the computer started up, she looked again at the cd with what was almost apprehension, thinking back on their note. They had called it a 'stand-in', something to make her smile; a stand-in for what though? She would see her friends tomorrow at school – surely she didn't need a stand-in for them. For a moment her fear rose to think perhaps it was pertaining to Hojo, but her friends hadn't bothered her about him in a long time. Not since they'd met her 'violent, two-timing boyfriend'. Especially not since she'd told them the truth about him.
They really were true friends, to have stuck around after learning all that.
With nervous shaking she popped in the cd, her chest tightening anxiously when she saw that it was a video, labeled just as vaguely as the cd had been. Making sure the volume was low enough so as not to disturb her family, she paused a moment to rally her courage, and then double-clicked. The window popped up and a small black screen changed abruptly to Yuka's grinning face, close to the camera as the person behind said camera checked to see if it was on. "Is it working Eri?" Eri's conspiratorial "Yup!" was accompanied by a giggle from an off-screen Ayumi, who added a 'Happy Birthday Kagome!" which was then echoed by the two other friends. Kagome smiled at their happy voices, noticing the time stamp in the bottom corner was from several months ago. She was touched that they'd planned a gift so far in advance.
"What the hell? Kagome ain't even here."
There was a strange disconnect the moment Kagome heard a fourth voice speak off-screen. She almost couldn't place who it belonged to, because the sheer impossibility of hearing that voice on a video recording was so – but then the camera turned and there he was, a bandana over his fuzzy ears, his sleeves tied back as though he'd just come from helping her grandpa move boxes, silhouetted against the gray wall of her school. His dark brows were drawn as he looked in confusion at one of her friends on the other side of the camera, saying tersely "She's up in that building, ain't she? Taking one of those 'test' things again?"
Kagome almost paused the video, wanting to drink in the image of her half-demon without the wobbly camera movement, but the sight of a living, breathing, angry Inuyasha was just too wonderful to bring to an end.
"Well duh," she heard Eri say from behind the camera, "That's why we're out here, so she doesn't find out!"
She could have cried over the way Inuyasha tensed into a protective mode at those words; even when she wasn't around, he was still looking out for her. "Why don't you want her to find out what you're doin'?"
Yuka's exasperated response of "Because it's a surprise!" did little to mollify him though. He huffed and complained a bit more, but Kagome's only thought was how impressed she was over his patience. A year ago he wouldn't have dreamed of being so compliant.
"Look, this is for Kagome, okay? Just tell her happy birthday!"
The look of confusion on his features as he asked "What's 'happy birthday' mean?" had Kagome clutching her arms around herself. He hadn't looked that young and innocent in a while before that last battle, and she'd forgotten how happy that particular expression could make her feel.
Behind the camera, Yuka's whispered "Is this guy for real?" was partially cut off by Ayumi happily and patiently explaining "You know, it's what you say to celebrate the day someone was born!"
At the new information, Inuyasha folded his arms, glancing away in thought, and she heard Eri whispering to Yuka, her voice loud in the microphone "I think he's from a rural town or something". He looked at the camera, or rather the girl behind the camera, and said thoughtfully "So Kagome was born in the winter?"
"No, we're just filming this now so we have time to get it ready for her actual birthday. Kagome was born in Spring."
She could see the wheels turning behind his golden eyes at the knowledge, and with profound realization he blurted out "We met in Spring!"
Of course – she'd never told him about that. She'd never told him that the day they met had been the day to celebrate her birth. She'd never told him that he was her favorite and most cherished birthday present. Kagome smiled as her friends all squealed appreciatively, saying things like 'how sweet' and 'it's their anniversary!' as Inuyasha reeled back from the noise they made.
"You have to say something to her!" Eri said in an egging tone, as Yuka joined in "Yeah, it's a super important time for you guys!" "Tell her you love her!" Was Ayumi's contribution, and Kagome felt her heart warm as a rosy blush lit up the half-demon's face.
"Wha-but she's not even here!" It seemed her friends had just accepted Inuyasha's unfamiliarity with technology at this point, as she didn't hear any frustration or condescension in their responses. "Just talk to the camera" the frame shifted to the side as Eri illustrated, "and Kagome will be able to watch a video of you later!"
Kagome could tell from Inuyasha's expression that he was still lost and trying to work out what the term 'video' meant, but nonetheless he swallowed and started in a halting and slightly embarrassed voice "Hey, uh… Kagome. You, uh… how are ya doin'?"
She almost laughed as her friends explained "No no, just tell her 'Happy birthday' and whatever else you want! It's not like she can respond to a video."
He was obviously getting agitated by the constant corrections, but he held his temper remarkably well and looked straight at the camera lens, staring at it as though he could turn it into Kagome through sheer will alone. When he spoke next, Kagome felt he really was talking to her, and she clung to every word. "Kagome? H-happy birthday… or whatever. I think it's pretty cool that there's a whole day celebratin' your birth. It's a pretty important thing, isn't it?" He glanced to the side, obviously aware of his audience, and Kagome noticed how careful he was of his word choice. "And I don't mean what you probably think I mean. You bein' born… it wasn't just because of some unfinished business." His eyes were intense and pierced right to her heart, and despite the screen Kagome almost felt she could reach out and touch him in that moment; what she wouldn't give to touch him again.
"You're you, and no one else, and, I'm… I'm really glad you were born. Even with all the bad stuff that's happened… I wouldn't change a thing, you know? Even though the past is… complicated… I'm okay with that. Because if it hadn't happened the way it happened, maybe we wouldn't have met. And I would never wish for that."
Kagome didn't notice that her friends had fallen silent; she didn't even notice when her mother entered the room and stood behind her chair with eyes fixed on the half-demon behind the computer screen as well. All she could see, all she was aware of, was the sincerity in his eyes and the truth behind his words, and when his lip quirked into a smirk she couldn't stop the tears; she missed him so badly.
"It's kinda funny, you being born the same season we meet; it's kinda like fate, ain't it? Like we were born to meet each other."
She wiped the tears from her cheeks and sniffled lightly as Inuyasha gazed at her through the camera; he always hated when she cried, and she didn't want to upset him after he said such wonderful things. It hurt that he didn't respond to the tears… that he couldn't respond.
After a moment the smirk and the intensity fell, and he looked away from her to glance warily at her friends whom she had forgotten about. A tell-tale sniffle and breathy sigh clued her in that her friends had enjoyed his little speech, and he seemed to be at a loss as to handling them. He looked ready to flee and said quickly "Can I go get Kagome now or what?" at which the camera dipped in a nod and he raced away without another word.
The camera turned then to reveal Eri's watery eyes as she said in a stuffy voice "Happy birthday Kagome! You're really lucky, you know that?"
"Hang onto him, girl!" Yuka said loudly, forcing her way into view beside her friend, "This one's a keeper!"
"I hope you enjoy your present, Kagome!" Ayumi said sweetly as she too pushed into frame on Eri's other side, her face beaming, "I couldn't dream of a better gift than him!" She winked cheekily, and the three friends burst into giggles, stopping the recording before they could further ruin the mood.
Kagome stared at the black screen for only a few seconds before her hand found the mouse, clicking the play button once more and waiting impatiently for the love of her life to come back on the screen and tell her they were meant to be.
*Author's Note:
That would be a pretty nice present, don't ya think? :3 I imagine she got the whole thing memorized pretty quickly, but still watched it all the time.