Full of Grace
G A B S
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Summary: [AU] Kagome, a chubby teenager, is tormented by her merciless classmates for her weight. Senior year will be different though, and she's got one summer to transform. Kag/Many
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"When one wants to change, that is when one begins to change."
-Haruhi, Ouran High School Host Club
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Prologue
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Junior year was hell. That was the only way she could think to describe it. Of course, not much of her high school experience had been any different.
If she was honest with herself, Junior year was probably the most civil school year she'd had yet.
Annoying black bangs fell into her eyes, breaking the onyx-haired teenager out f her thoughts. Sighing, Kagome pushed them behind her ear with her left hand, her right moving to the bridge of her nose and pinching it tightly in an effort to banish the threatening throbbing in her temple.
"I hate my life."
Standing and brushing invisible dust from her green school uniform skirt, Kagome slung her faded jean messenger bag over her right shoulder and proceeded down the steps in front of the high school she had been sitting on. She fell into her thoughts again, as she lacked a cause for interruption. It was quiet, as school had ended hours ago and all of her classmates had eagerly charged the glass double doors that had been the only things standing between them and their summer vacation. Even her professors had cleared out well before she had, chattering about their lovely extended break from the hormonal beasts they tried-and often failed, to educate.
Not one, not even her adoring professors, had noticed her slumped on the side of the main outdoor staircase. Sure, her few meager, fair-weather friends had waved when she was clearing out her locker, but when they had walked past her gloomy form leaning against the concrete sides of the stairs, not one had acknowledged her presence. She somehow doubted they had all missed her sitting there.
Shuffling down the main road, University Drive, Kagome absentmindedly watched the leaves on the tress blow in the soft, warm wind. Her thoughts were elsewhere.
'Here comes another summer of sitting on the couch watching TV for hours and munching on chips that'll only serve to fatten me even more than I already am.'
The raven-head's face fell as she was again reminded of her… problem. Glancing down at her protruding belly, Kagome was hard-pressed not to break into tears.
Her whole life, she'd been a fat kid. Sure, when she little, people thought it cute for her to have chubby cheeks and pudgy hands, but now that she was seventeen, (and looking or a boy!) it wasn't so charming.
In fact, she was pretty sure most of the guys found it "repulsing." She knew because they'd all had the thoughtfulness to tell her to her face. She assumed they thought she had no idea, and had found it their responsibility to enlighten her.
Kagome sneered at the bench she had subconsciously walked toward. Blinking, she was snapped out of her reminiscing by the sight of the tattered old thing. When had she wandered into Tokyo Central Park?
Adjusting the jean strap on her shoulder, she shrugged and decided a slight detour from her house wasn't such a bad thing. It wasn't like her home life was any better than her school life.
Kagome flinched as she recalled her morning.
"Oh Kagome!" Her mother sighed, aggravated. "You're such a sweet girl, but you're so oblivious to reality! You're so heavy, darling; it CAN'T be good for someone as young as you to be so very overweight. Baby girl, PLEASE, can't you just try to lose some weight?"
The girl in question bit back tears and a strongly defensive retort, silently telling herself that her mother meant well. The older woman was simply looking out for her wellbeing that was all.
"Mama… It's… Well, I mean, it's not like I want to be fat! I want to do something about it, but I haven't any idea how. I mean, I've… It's just… It's always been this way…."
It was at that precise moment that her younger siblings Kikyo and Souta, along with Kikyo's friend Sango, who had spent the night, trudged into the kitchen where Kagome and her mother had been conversing.
Kikyo, younger than Kagome by mere minutes, as the two were twins, rolled her eyes, obviously having heard the previous conversation. "Oh come one Kagome, we all know that's not it. You just LIKE being gross, is all. Everyone knows you're a total swine."
Kun-Loon Higurashi spun at her other daughter, rage burning in her fierce hazel eyes. "Kikyo Higurashi! How dare you?!"
Kikyo seemed to realize at that moment, sleepiness supposedly having prevented such circumstances from being previously processed, that her mother was in the room. "Um… Oh. Hi mom."
Kun-Loon was shaking with fury. "I CANNOT believe you just said that! You are sooooo grounded, Kikyo Sarah Higurashi. You just wait until your father gets home! Ooh!"
Kikyo's mouth dropped open, her chocolate eyes filling with anger. "Well it's true! Kagome is such a pig! All she does is eat! So don't even think you can ground me! I have a date with Sesshomaru tonight, and I refuse to miss it just because SHE," Kikyo jabbed an angry finger toward her older sister, "is just so fat she doesn't even care!"
Kun-Loon turned to Sango and Souta, her eyes trained on her linoleum kitchen floor, and quietly asked them to leave, quickly muttering her apologies to Sango, who responded with a silent bow and a speedy exit to Kikyo's room to dress and leave for school, inwardly cringing at the punishment her best friend was in for. Souta, too young to really understand what was happening, merely shrugged and left to watch cartoons in the adjacent living room.
Kagome silently gathered her jean messenger bag and shuffled out the front door, hurrying to school, her mother's and sister's loud yells echoing behind her a she raced down the many Shrine steps.
Kagome sighed, dropping her bag next to her on the bench, her temple again beginning to throb. She just didn't need this crap anymore. It was bad enough her sister rubbed it in her face, but it seemed her weight was the ongoing topic of her peers.
Kikyo's boyfriend of three years, Sesshomaru Taisho, who was in her grade, had always made it a point to sneer at her and off-handedly make a joke to her about her extra fat. His younger brother, Kikyo's ex Inuyasha, had taken most of his cues from his older brother, albeit he harboring feelings for Kikyo still, and tormented Kagome by inventing creative nick names to dub her with.
Fag-ome, Huge-urashi, and Ka-go-exercise, were his usual poisons of choice, the younger male often flinging them at her to show off to his ex.
Kagome had never liked either of them. From the moment Kikyo had brought them both home, although at different times seeing as how the girl, though many other terrible things, had never been a cheater, the elder girl had despised their arrogant attitudes.
Along with the brother tag-team, was the nearly the rest of the school. The guys would make pig noises as she walked by, and the girls, although some did try to be nice to her face, were constantly making fun of her and cracking jokes behind her back.
It was all getting to be too much. And, after Kikyo's falling out with their mother that morning, Kagome had found, even in the measly seven hours she had been at school, such a thing had intensified matters to an outstanding degree.
Kikyo's longtime best friend, Sango Hiraikotsu, who had always gone out of her way to be kind to Kagome, had only waved to the latter when Kagome'd been cleaning out her locker. She, a total fair-weather friend, had been one of the ones who had ignored her not just when Kagome had been glumly sitting on the steps after school, but the entire day, except for that one moment at the lockers. It seemed she had at that point deemed it safe to acknowledge the girl. Then and only then, because Kagome's other torturers had stepped it up a notch.
Today she'd been tripped, had spaghetti thrown into her face, and had been pushed down the stairs leading from the upper level of the school to the first floor. The nurse, one Doctor Jinenji, had grown increasingly worried for the girl's wellbeing when she had appeared at his door for the third time in one day. Honestly, though she'd continually claimed it was nothing, Kagome couldn't blame him. While she'd always been subject to their teasing, they had never gotten physical with her.
Kikyo, it would seem, blamed her sister for whatever punishment her mother had dealt out, and the former had a way with convincing most everyone to do her bidding.
"Hey."
Kagome snapped out of her thoughts, her head shooting up to the voice. A young boy stood before her, his red hair sticking up from a ribbon-tied ponytail. His sparkling green eyes trained against her baby blues. She blinked, wondering how she had missed his approach.
The boy settled himself next to Kagome on the bench, still staring at her. Kagome felt slightly nervous, wondering what the heck he could possibly want. He couldn't have been- the onyx-haired girl traced his form quickly with her striking eyes- much older than eight.
The two stared at each other for a seemingly endless minute before he opened his mouth and spoke. "You're really pretty."
Kagome flushed immediately, her heart nearly stopping. 'W-what?'
No one. Not her mother, not her father, not a SINGLE solitary soul had ever said such a thing to her.
It left her… Well, she honestly hadn't a clue as to what to make of such a declaration.
The boy giggled into his hand at her gaping mouth, before he regained his composure.
He dug impatiently into the pocket of his faded jean overalls, and jovially pulled out a clean white business card and pressed it into her hand.
"You're beautiful, but you need a little help. If you want to change, visit this address." He hopped up from his seat on the bench, hands comfortably buried in his overall pockets.
He turned to the still stunned girl, smiling as she blinked at the card in her hand. "I hope you come."
He spun on his heel, and strode away, leaving Kagome even further confused. The boy was only TEN at the most, for God sakes! His mature and articulate exterior had stunned her the moment he had opened his mouth and complimented her, but she was further shocked when he had given her the card. Kagome stared in the direction the boy had gone, long after he had disappeared from view. When the first drop of rain washed out the last drop of sunshine, Kagome glanced back down at the little piece of cardstock sitting innocently in her palm.
Kaede Miko
Physical Fitness Extraordinaire
(512)-878-1999
127 Kuzi Lane
Flipping the card over, Kagome read the motto.
When one wants to change, that is when one begins to change.
Still slightly in shock, Kagome deposited the card within the protection of her pocket, and quickly began to gather her things and head out of the rain. By the looks of the missing sun, her mother would be beside herself with worry.
It was time to go home.
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Kun-Loon cried quietly as she sprayed down Souta's soccer uniform with stain remover before tossing it absentmindedly into the washing machine.
Her poor, sweet Kagome.
When the girl had trudged home around nine o'clock, soaked to the bone, Kun-Loon had been so relieved at her appearance she had forgone any chastisement for her daughter's tardiness in favor of squishing her little girl into her chest and whispering how sorry she was.
Kagome had rubbed her back and mumbled that she was tired and had slunk to bed after bidding her mother's request to remove her water-logged clothing and deposit them in their laundry room.
Kun-Loon had been so angry at Kikyo that morning. Sure, Kagome's weight had been getting out of hand, but that was none of her concern!
To say such things, to call Kagome a SWINE for goodness sake! Whimpering, Kun-Loon, gathered the aforementioned wet clothes into her hands and began her routine pocket check, making sure not to miss anything.
'A dollar, candy-wrapper, a-'
Kun-Loon froze, and slowly pulled out a small piece of cardstock from Kagome's skirt pocket. Quickly scanning the card, a small smile broke out on the older woman's face.
Though she was sure Kagome would kill her for it, Kun-Loon rushed for the phone on the kitchen, staring relentlessly at the number scorching her eyes with the deep black ink it had been printed in as if to ensure it would not disappear.
Punching the numbers harshly into her small handheld phone, Kun-Loon prayed it wasn't too late for someone to answer.
Her prayers were answered when a tired old voice mumbled a quiet "Moshi, Moshi" into her ear, and Kun-Loon wasted no time in hurriedly explaining her situation.
As the conversation began to develop, the exhaustion in the voice of the woman on the other end of the line began to dissipate, and Kun-Loon found herself excitedly thanking the woman three quick hours later.
"Oh Kaede-san! Thank you so much for this! Kagome will report to you by eight o'clock, I promise!"
A haggard voice replied that it was no problem, and that she looked forward to meeting such a kindred spirit. Kun-Loon giggled and quickly hung up.
Pocketing the business card, the mother of three returned to her laundry, a newfound excitement boosting her energy and lifting her spirits.
Finally, finally, her darling Kagome was going to get a fresh start. And it was happening tomorrow.