"Hi, nice to meet you," Kagome greeted, smiling and shaking someone's hand.
Yet another person came up to her and she greeted them as well, inwardly sighing about this mundane act. She looked around for anyone she knew, and saw no one. She turned back to the entrance of the party and went back to greeting the guests.
At the age of seventeen, Kagome Higurashi was a force. Her name alone caused fear, awe, and admiration within everyone.
Kagome was an international singing, acting, directing, and even modeling sensation and the heiress to Higurashi Enterprises. And as not to seem like another ditsy billionaire heiress, she also started her own record company, which was number-one in Japan, and was doing very well in foreign countries.
"Hi, how are you?" she asked politely.
"I'm good thank you. It's a pleasure to meet you," her friend Sango said, teasing her.
Sango modeled with her when she was fifteen. It had been her first time modeling, and she was petrified to see everyone a good few inches taller than her, her being only five-six, the second shortest model in the world.
Sango had immediately warmed up to the mini-model as Sango called her, and quickly helped Kagome with the ropes. Not that she needed much help¾the girl had been amazing for a beginner.
"I heard you're getting married," Kagome said, still pretending to be polite. She looked behind Sango and saw there were only seven or ten more people. "Your career will suffer with that little baby. Congratulations."
"Thank you. I'll talk to you later," Sango said before slapping her head lightly and turned to the man behind her in line. "Kagome, this is Miroku Hibari, my fiancé."
"Hi, it's nice to meet you," Kagome said, smiling happily and shaking his hand. He was cute. And meeting him made the line shorter. "I'm Kagome Higurashi."
"Ah yes," Miroku said, smiling. "Sango told me about you. And the media, but I try not to follow that. If I did, you'd be a lot different than the media says."
"Huh," Kagome said, for lack of a better word to say. She didn't know if she should be offended or complimented.
Soon after the two left, and Kagome finally got to the last six, a group of people who came together. Kagome shook each hand in turn and smiled. "Hi, welcome. It's nice to meet you all."
The party consisted of three women, one with red hair, one with brunette hair, and one that looked oddly like her with black hair. There three men, two with silver hair and one with black hair.
She gasped as she recognized one of the men with silver hair.
InuYasha Takahashi was her best friend growing up. Their fathers had been partners, and their mothers friends since high school. They had been fairly close and InuYasha had been through it all with her. They found out about his half-brother Sesshomaru--who Kagome believed was the other silver-haired man--and InuYasha helped her cope with her parents divorce while she was blowing up into a superstar.
It was no surprise that they became attracted to each other. But InuYasha had feelings for his ex-girlfriend Kikyo, and Kagome had a boyfriend. It ended with the two going their separate ways after prom, and Kagome moving away to live with her father.
That was almost six months ago.
"Hi," InuYasha greeted, giving her a curt nod and wrapping his arm around the black haired girl.
Kagome suddenly recognized her as Kikyo, and hid the pain she felt at seeing them together. Even now he's hung up on her. I guess the rumors were true, she thought, smiling as brightly as she could. They're getting married and taking over the Takahashi Corporation.
It wasn't much of a shock to Kagome that all she got was a "hi" from InuYasha, but it still hurt. She turned to the others and smiled. "You must be Sesshomaru Takahashi. I'm Kagome Higurashi."
The man with black hair froze and pointed at her, amazed. She merely smiled like it was common and shrugged. He coughed and came back to life. "You're the Kagome Higurashi?"
"I didn't know I had a the in front of my name," Kagome said, putting out her hand. "Yes, I am. This is my father's charity event."
"Hi, I'm Kouga. Kouga Sasagawa," he greeted, shaking her hand. "We've talked over the phone?"
Suddenly Kagome remembered and laughed, nodding. "We started talking about a present for your girlfriend, and ended up talking about pickled yams. I remember you. It was the most interesting conversation I've had in a while."
The red-haired girl huffed, and Kagome easily identified her as Kouga's girlfriend. She was pretty, and had the most stunning green eyes. "You must be Ayame. He had amazing things to say about you," Kagome said, telling the truth. "Beautiful, charming and bright. You fit the bill perfectly."
The Sasagawa owned the record-label she first signed to. She was grateful for them, and promised to do any favor they asked. Their son Kouga took her up on it and asked if she could help make his girlfriend a singer. He was so madly in love with her Kagome agreed. She'd be more than happy.
InuYasha watched as the three spoke and growled inaudibly. After six months to think it over, she was avoiding him. Damn it, what the hell?
Kagome smiled and turned to Sesshomaru. "I hope you enjoy the event."
Sesshomaru twitched his cheek, as if to smiled. His wife, however, smiled for him and smiled brightly at Kagome. "Hi, I'm Rin Takahashi. It's so nice to meet you. I've heard many good things from my father-in-law."
Kagome smiled. Suddenly the girl looked younger and Kagome squealed. "No way. Rin Kobayashi?" She nodded and Kagome's eyes lit up. "Oh my gosh! You're my role model. You're so talented."
Kagome gushed about Rin, and InuYasha glared at her before walking off with Kikyo.
Then he sighed. He supposed it wasn't really Kagome's fault they didn't end up together, but damn did she have to run away? He was a kid, he was confused.
He was still a kid, and damn it he didn't want to lose Kagome.
"InuYasha?" Kikyo asked.
"What is it, Kikyo?" he asked, looking at her.
They had been high school sweethearts, but she dumped him senior year for another guy. He never got over her, and seven months later when the man broke up with her right before prom she called him up as a date.
They were seeing each other again, just when InuYasha felt like it was a mistake. It would just figure. But now he didn't have anyone to talk to about it, because he would talk to Kagome, and she was avoiding him. Not to mention she was the reason he was confused.
"Why do you think Kagome was here? She hasn't showed up to something we've been to in a long time."
"It's her dad's charity thing. Of course she'd show up. She's singing for the party. A mini-concert to raise donations. She likes to do charity work," he said. Sometimes Kikyo could be a little more than ditsy.
"Yeah, but she hasn't been to a lot of events. Is her career tanking or something? I would never do a charity event for free if I were a celebrity. And she's supposed to be a huge celebrity across six continents. Shouldn't she be off touring?"
"Kikyo, I don't know. Okay, I don't know. Why don't you go and ask her, because I haven't talked to her since prom."
Kikyo rolled her eyes. "Jeez, touchy."
InuYasha sighed and went off to find his father, only to see Kagome again, walking around. She was just as pretty as she ever was, and InuYasha cursed himself for stopping to watch her.
She had a white and black striped midriff top, that tied like a halter and scrunched down to show a black tube top under it. There were maybe four inches of her skin before white short-shorts started low on her hips. She had sandals on with silk holding them together, all black.
Her accessories were simple. She had two chains on, and one he immediately recognized as the chain he gave her to remember him by. It was silver and had a heart with another heart inside it. It had been Valentine's Day, and they had talked about how Kagome was asked to be a friend with benefits.
"Yuki, it's good to see you came," he heard her say, hugging some older guy.
For some reason his blood boiled to see her hug him. Prom night had been amazing and confusing, and now it was hurting. Prom night had been the night they gave each other their virginity. And it had been the last time he had seen Kagome, as she had left before he woke the next day.
"Hey, how are you, Kags?" Yuki greeted, pecking her cheek.
"Good, thanks. So do you have any idea what we're supposed to be singing?" she asked, looking around. People were taking pictures here and there, and for some reason she felt like she and Yuki were being watched. "Where's Azami at?"
Yuki shrugged and sipped a glass of wine. "Probably screwing some random man in the bathroom," he said bitterly. "You were right all along. Azami was a slut, and I was an idiot."
Yuki Urashima was Kagome's older cousin, and holder of half her soul. The two had been close since her birth, and when doing a school project for Yuki found that their soul dated back to Feudal Japan when it was separated by two miko named Kagome and Kikyo.
Ironically, she and Kikyo were rivals now five hundred years in the future. Kagome even had the sneaking suspicion that Kikyo had the soul of a former miko. They seemed like picture-perfect copies of the two from the Feudal Era. She had seen the pictures and how uncannily they looked like the two mikos.
Ever since the two mikos were around, the soul stayed separated and most often didn't conflict with its other half at all. Only one other man had the soul, making Yuki the second male miko in history. No one knew this, and Yuki was thankful.
Kagome smiled at him and stuck her tongue out. "Maybe you should listen to your youngers, Yuki. I'm not just a pretty face, you know."
Yuki smiled and caught InuYasha watching them. The two looked each other in the eye, and something clicked in Yuki's soul that it was Kagome's true love. He always knew sharing emotion and knowledge with Kagome was a good thing.
"Dude, Azami could not have given that good of head that you wouldn't dump her," Kagome said, making Yuki choke on his wine and InuYasha walked over slowly to see if he was all right.
"Okay, sharing stuff with you is not a good thing," Yuki said, breathing right again.
Kagome shrugged. "Then stop thinking about it. Do you know how disturbing it is to always know when you're thinking with your anatomy? I still never know when you're at it because you're always thinking about sex¾how mortifying is it when I walk in on you?" she asked, not noticing InuYasha.
"Not as mortifying as it will be when I catch you having sex, Miss I Lost My Virginity Prom Night But I Haven't Had Sex Since. I remember when I lost mine I had it every week after."
"Dude, T-M-I. I'm your cousin, not your best friend," she said, making a cross with her fingers and pointing them at him. "Tell this stuff to Souta when he gets here. I don't want to hear it...I haven't seen Souta in half a year."
InuYasha laughed, and they turned around. Yuki smiled and stuck his hand out to him. "Hi, I'm Yuki Urashima. This is Kagome, though you know her already, I guess."
"I'm InuYasha Takahashi," he greeted, bowing a bit.
Cousin.
For a second InuYasha was afraid it was Kagome's boyfriend. Or her fiancé. The rumors had been raging about her lately about getting married. Just because they could find no other rumors, no doubt.
Kagome's eyes lit up, and she turned to Yuki. "Yuki, this was my childhood friend, I told you about. InuTaisho was my father's partner, his half-brother Sesshomaru married Rin Kobayashi."
Now even Yuki's eyes lit up. So this was the guy Kagome was in love with. Her best friend, the guy she had sex with. Then he frowned. He could tell she had been avoiding him, and he remembered how sad Kagome was when she heard he may be married.
"Wait, aren't you engaged to Kikyo Tanaka?" he asked.
InuYasha shook his head. "No. Kikyo's been telling people that, though. I'm not really sure why."
Yuki was about to say something, when a portly older man rushed to them, huffing as he grasped Kagome's arm.
"Jii-chan?" Kagome asked, kneeling down and helping him up. "Are you okay? Jii-chan?"
He wheezed and nodded, looking at the two. "Why are you two still standing here talking? Your father's been looking all over. Your concert is starting in a few minutes now...Kagome, what are you wearing?" he asked, critical.
"More than I usually do?" she replied sheepishly.
Her grandfather glared at her, then sighed and gave up. Kagome was right, she looked a lot more risqué when she was asked to pose for America's Sports Illustrated, and even more revealed when she was on Sabra mook.
Kagome turned to InuYasha and smiled before bowing. Yuki did the same, and the two walked off arm-in-arm. They seemed so happy, and InuYasha was a little more than jealous that they were so close now. He bowed to Kagome's grandfather and walked off, spotting his own father.
"Otousan," he greeted.
"Ah! InuYasha, I'd like you to meet Misaki Fujimoto," his father said, introducing him to a pretty young lady. "She's a family friend that just came back from college in Sweden. Isn't she amazing?"
Misaki was pale, and had bright green eyes. Her hair was platinum blonde, and she looked like a waif. He had to admit, she was pretty, but she wasn't the type of girl he enjoyed.
"It's nice to meet you Fukimoto-san," InuYasha said, shaking her hand. "Will you excuse my father and I for a moment?" he asked, pulling his father away.
"InuYasha, what's wrong?" InuTaisho asked his son as they walked towards the giant stage. "The Fujimoto have been close family friends since you were in diapers. That was very rude of you to Misaki. You've been acting funny since you turned eighteen and came of age for a mate."
That's right, InuYasha thought. My birthday was Prom Night. Maybe that's why...no. I couldn't have marked Kagome. You only mark the person that you fall in love with...nah.
"What was with Misaki's hair? It was blonde, like Americans¾or Swedish," InuYasha said, trying to change the topic.
"Her mother is Swedish. She moved there for college to know her mother," his father told him. "Misaki left with black hair--you remember her. She spent three weeks with Kagome trying to get her to move in with her father."
InuYasha glared, and InuTaisho thought about his son. He must've taken a mate, and it had to be Kagome. He was acting possessive and irate. He reacted to her name the way any mate would when separated for a long period of time.
Someone walked onto the stage and everyone hooted and whistled. The two Takahashi turned and saw Zhang Ziyi walk onstage. She greeted the crowd and introduced the sensational voices of the Japanese and Chinese-American Yuki Urashima, and the amazing Japanese Kagome Higurashi.
InuTaisho looked at InuYasha and agreed his son had marked and mated Kagome when they went to or finished prom. Poor idiot probably didn't know. InuTaisho started to laugh, then shook his head at his son.
"Hey, everybody! Welcome to the Higurashi Enterprises seventh annual Charity Garden Event, hosted in memory of Phuong Nguyen," Yuki said, smiling and waving to the crowd.
InuYasha was shocked to hear so many squealing girls, then noticed all the tee-shirts and merchandise of his they had. He pointed it out to his dad and smirked at it. "I never heard of Yuki, and he's so popular here."
InuTaisho shrugged. "He's in America. Kagome is producing him in Asia, and their marketing some of his stuff at the party. Benefits go to charity, and he gets well-known for the efforts. You two would be friends--he and Kagome were, and they never saw each other."
"What do you mean?" he asked. Then something got to him. "Where did Kikyo go?"
"Your whore right?" Sesshomaru asked, coming from nowhere. "I saw her over by the bathroom having a threesome a few minutes ago."
InuYasha rolled his eyes. Why did he bother with her? Then he looked for Rin. She and Sesshomaru barely ever separated.
"Kagome talked her out of retirement for tonight only. She's back there right now getting ready."
They turned their attention back to the group as Kagome started to speak. "This event was started seven years ago when I came home upset about one of my friends jumping off the school and committing suicide."
InuYasha remembered that. Her father was halfway through divorcing her mother and was getting ready to fly away to Kyoto. He stopped everything just to comfort her. She was sent over his house, though, when she couldn't be helped.
"Phuong's story isn't as uncommon as people would wish to think. So, every year we hold this event to raise money for the unfortunate, and help raise awareness to tragedies. The more we see what's wrong, and work to make it right, the less tragedies like Phuong's will occur."
The crowd applauded, and Sesshomaru nudged InuYasha to show his wife walking on stage, eliciting even more applause cheers and whistles.
"Here to help us is Yuki Urashima, with his version of the song 'Don't Jump' by Tokio Hotel," Rin said, smiling as the crowd screamed. "This was written by the band to help raise awareness, and after negotiations between the Koulitzes and the Higurashis, Billy Koulitz agreed to let us use his band's song as the theme song for this event."
She stood to the side as Yuki took Kagome's hand and started to sing. He held her like he was holding a friend, talking to them about a serious topic. Kagome started to sway, and Yuki spun her slowly to make it look like she was dancing.
Kagome smiled as she let her feet dip into the lake and sighed, leaning back. Every year it was hard, to bring the incident back up. But she was glad she did it. Somehow it helped her.
"Kagome?" she heard someone ask.
Who could it be? Yuki had left after their concert to catch a flight to Germany to front Tokio Hotel, and everyone she knew had left...hadn't they?
"Not now," she said, tightening her eyelids shut and turning to the side. "I've had a long day, and I'm not in the mood to talk to anyone."
Seeing InuYasha frazzled her nerves. When she left him, she was sure it was the last time. She didn't want to see him again. She just found out she was in love with him, and that it would never work between them. He loved Kikyo, and that's all there was to it.
She had to leave, get away from Tokyo. She woke up first, and didn't wait or wake InuYasha. She couldn't bear to hear what he'd say about it, about them. So she ran, hoping to never have to face her love for him.
But then she was told by a friend she was mated. That InuYasha had sunk his teeth in her and marked her as the one he'd be with forever. The mark faded soon, but Kagome always had the feeling she was still tied to InuYasha.
"You know we have to talk," he said, glaring at her.
Kagome gasped and sprang up, looking at InuYasha in the eye. He looked pissed, and she couldn't blame him. "InuYasha," she breathed, biting her lip.
He growled and plopped down on the pier next to her. "Why?" he asked.
"Why what?"
"Why did you use me, Kagome?" he asked, staring her in the eye. "Why did you sleep with me and then leave? I didn't even know what the hell happened. I almost thought it was a dream."
"You mean a nightmare," she said, frowning and looking deflated. "It's okay, you can say it."
"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked. "No, it was a dream. A nightmare is bad. That was damn good."
Kagome looked at him in awe and derision. "Really? As in, making fun of me? Look, I may not have stayed to have you push me away, but I don't need to hear it now. I gave you my virginity so I knew that it went to someone I loved. I'm sorry if that sucks for you."
InuYasha froze and glared at her. "Someone you love? You love me? You have a funny way of showing it. Most people say 'I love you,' not seduce them and then run away with their tail between their legs. What if I wanted to say I love you?" he yelled.
"You wouldn't have. I know you InuYasha. You would have said, 'Crap, what the hell did I do? This was such a huge mistake. Kagome, I'm so sorry. I'm still in love with Kikyo.' I'm not an idiot, Yash. I've been thinking of all the words you'd say to me, and don't think I didn't figure it all out."
"I'm telling you, you got it all wrong. I don't even know what I would have said, how could you know?" he yelled, grabbing her shoulders. "Don't you dare put words I never said in my mouth."
"Why not?" she yelled. "I know exactly what I would have said. I would have said I loved you, and you would have laughed and said you were in love with Kikyo. Why are you even mad at this? I saved myself from a broken heart, and you're marrying the girl of your dreams."
InuYasha froze and loosened his grip on Kagome. "What?" he asked, shocked. He looked in her eyes, and saw her emotions. "Kagome? You love me? Tell me the honest truth, do you love me¾what's this thing with Kikyo?"
Kagome shrugged, ready to cry and completely embarrassed. "Yes, I love you. I've always been attracted to you, but I didn't understand why until I woke up. I really couldn't deal with you rejecting me. I just couldn't. Not after my boyfriend did."
Now InuYasha was shocked. "What?"
The girl sighed in defeat. "Hojo. The gay-ass dumped me, a few days before the prom, maybe the same day Kikyo called you as a date. He said I sent too much time with you, and that I was in love with you, and he wouldn't be a substitute. I slept with you because I figured it was the only way to get you out of my head, but it--"
"Wait, who did you go to prom with, then?" he asked.
She shook her head. "No one. But that doesn't matter. I do love you InuYasha, and I know you don't love me, that it's too late to love me. And I'm happy for you, you're finally marrying Kikyo."
The girl was fully shocked to see InuYasha laughing. "I'm not marrying Kikyo. She's just my date to shit. I don't have anyone else to take, so I take her. You were right the whole time, she was a whore. I love you Kagome."
"And you never believed me when I told you she was. She was the...what did you just say?"
InuYasha's mouth came crashing down to Kagome's. Whatever cameras were left, were snapping away wildly at the two as they kissed. InuYasha picked Kagome up bridal style and twirled her in his arms.
A second later, he let her mouth go and looked her in the eye. "I love you, Kagome. I think I would have told you that when I woke up, but you weren't there."
Kagome started to tear up, and kissed him again. "Do you know we're mated?" Kagome asked. "My friend told me, and to tell you."
InuYasha smiled. "It means we're the only ones for each other," he said. He paused, then let out a whoop and kissed Kagome again. "We're in love, for now until the end of time, Kagome. A mate-mark is an instinctual bite a demon will give only one person to symbolize their love. I could never mark someone I didn't love with all my heart for the rest of my life."
"Really?" Kagome asked, shocked and ecstatic.
"Really. So, Kagome? What do you say? Are you ever going to leave me again?" he asked, letting her stand, but hugging her to him tightly by the waist. "Because I don't care where you go, I want to be there by your side my entire life."
"I always wanted you to be there next to me," Kagome said, then smiled. "I'm not going to run away anymore. I'm going to stay right there beside you."
InuYasha smiled and kissed Kagome again, making the two fathers smile and slap hands in the distance.
"I told you they'd get together someday," InuTaisho said, making Kagome's dad laugh.