Broken Fences
Summary: My place of peace and quiet was near the broken fence. The broken fence led me to him...AU Rated T
Inspiration: My own broken fence, though it doesn't lead to a cute guy, it does lead to a beautiful garden. (Only difference is that my neighbor's side has chain-links for his fence)
A/N: Everybody is human in this one-shot.
Enjoy.
Our neighbors have moved away some time ago. They were grumpy old people who took very good care of their lawn. Yes, they were the old couple that shouted "Get off my lawn!" but it was understandable.
The front lawn had deep green, grass outlined with pink and white flowers in a pool of lavender, a tall, thin magnolia tree that bloomed white blossoms every spring, a huge dark rock in the center that pointed towards the sky and seemed to signify importance with the color all around it.
Souta and I had some great memories when he would kick the soccer ball through the plants and onto their grass. Now the plants have withered, the grass, tall and yellow, the tree, bare and old. But the black rock stood proud in the center of all that. My cat, Buyo's, favorite sun-bathing spot was on top of that rock.
The back yard was even more beautiful, even though I only caught peeks of it when the ball would go over the fence and I would have to risk their pugs slobbery bites to get it back. Two magnolia trees stood in the far corners with wider branches and pink blossoms that hovered over a small koi pond with one lonely koi fish that I tended to 'til this day. It's partner had died long ago while they were still living here. Broken, flat, concrete stones led around the pond and towards the shady porch that once had been surrounded by more flowers.
It was a month since the wizened couple left and most plants were now dead, some struggling to survive with nothing but rain water and sun. The bushes on their side of the fence had grew out, actually forcing our weak wooden fence to break out where it was weakest in the far corner of our yard, the secret path hidden by our garage and the junk that couldn't fit in it. It was easy enough for me, a flexible girl wanting adventure, to find.
The small square between the garage and the peeling fence and the brick walls of the neighbors behind us had quickly became my secret hideaway. I would sneak outside and past the wooden fence and shrubs to just see my new, forgotten koi and sit with him for most of the day until my family would call me back inside. They didn't know about the door that the shrubs had opened. If they did, they would repair it and I wouldn't be able to see my koi without being called a trespasser. The koi had become my friend when most girls my age would find friends at school. I dubbed him Romeo, who had lost his Juliet to my cat many years ago. For that, I sent Buyo evil glares every time I thought about it.
Being home-schooled, I didn't meet that many people my age who would like to get to know me. Until the moving truck pulled in the abandoned driveway.
They came during my morning sessions with my mother. I didn't actually see them until my little break between sessions. I sat outside in front of my house, petting Buyo in the grass as I warily glanced between the workers that were moving back and forth from the house and to my secret entrance. What would they do if they found my koi? I was half-tempted to go run and steal Romeo away from the pond. But fish needed water and that particular fish wanted algae to feed on. Besides, he was giant and most likely heavy anyways. I couldn't do anything but pray as I watched the movers carry furniture that looked way expensive from the truck to the house for a few hours.
Buyo yawned and rolled onto his side as my hand continued scratching out of anxiety. It wasn't until a young boy stepped under one of the porch's arches and fell straight into the withered garden that I stood.
He was grumbling and cursing as he pulled himself from the thorny branches that were left of the garden when I stopped at the edge of the yellow grass.
"You can't step off the porch there," I decided to point out the obvious when he rolled off his stomach to sit on his butt to glare at the step that wasn't there. He looked at me and I saw the first pair of startling gray orbs I've ever seen. "Um, you have to go around," I weakly pointed to the ramp the old man had used for his wheelchair that marked the start of the driveway. The movers used the ramp now to roll up the heavy stuff.
"Gee, thanks for the heads up," he huffed as he stood up, brushing dead grass off his dark clothes.
His attire caught my attention next. I was wearing a green tank-top and plaid short-shorts with sandals since it was the middle of summer and so, so hot. His dark red shirt and dark jeans threatened to make me sweat.
My mouth dried as I looked up his fine figure, noting the long, loose, raven hair that brushed against his white-studded belt. My worry for Romeo was momentarily forgotten as I took in his sharp features. Fire seemed to eternally flare in his eyes when he smirked and I turned away with a blush staining my cheeks.
I swallowed hard and turned towards Buyo, "Yeah, well now you know," I managed to mutter.
"See something you like, girl?" he teased.
I looked over my shoulder, trying to appear as disinterested as possible. "I have better things to look at than you." I walked back and sat in my regular spot. My cat mewled when I returned and rubbed against me. I craned my head to look around my house, through the fence that led to the backyard, through the little junk-alleyway beside the garage and sighed when I figured that my door to Romeo was undisturbed. It was hidden by shrubbery on their side, so it might take a while before they decide to straighten up.
"My name's Inuyasha."
I nearly shrieked and fell over when his voice was so close to me. My heart pounded when I found the guy sitting right next to me on the other side of Buyo like he was sitting there all along. "Don't you have any respect for people's property?" I yelled as I placed a hand over my heart to ensure that it wasn't about to jump out of my chest.
He continued like he hadn't heard me. "I'm your new neighbor."
"I kinda figured that," I said dryly as I pushed myself back upright. When he didn't speak, I rolled my eyes, "I'm Kagome."
"Kagome, huh?" His gaze went down to my chubby cat. "Cat person?"
I looked down at my cat. "No," Buyo's green eyes widened and he padded away. I wouldn't forget Juliet's death that easily, Cat.
Inuyasha's dark brows lifted in surprise as his eyes followed the fleeing feline. "He isn't going to eat my koi fish, is he?"
I started, "Koi?" Romeo's been found! The darkly-dressed boy was going to eat him!
He took my reaction a bit negatively. "The people who lived here left a fish in the backyard pond," he nodded to the house, "Parents said I could keep him." His eyes narrowed, "If I find your cat looking for fish food, he's getting kicked in the ass. Just a little heads up."
I shook my head and raised my hands in defense. "Oh, no. Buyo never leaves this property." Especially when he figured out why I was mad at him.
He brightened. "That's good. Uh... do you want to see him?" The pink in his cheeks could be the heat's fault but I had my doubts.
I nodded enthusiastically. This would be the first time I visited Romeo through the front gates.
Inuyasha grinned and jumped to his feet. When he stepped over the empty dirt that was once filled with Morning Glories, I went around. Old habits were hard to get rid of. Inuyasha gave me a strange look but led the way when I joined his side. The dirt immediately turned into overgrown shrubs, scratching my legs lightly as I stayed close to the side of the house to avoid drawing blood. He lifted the latch to the small fence that separated the front yard from the back yard and held it open for me. It swung closed as we walked on the broken stones that led to the pond.
I smiled when I caught a hint of orange and white through the crowding lilies.
Inuyasha glanced at me, "Have you been back here when the last owners were here?" he asked.
My smile faded. "Not exactly..."
He slid suspicious eyes at me when we knelt in front of the pond like we were going to give an offering. "I won't find my new room vandalized, will I?"
I glared at him. "No. I didn't break into that house. I can't even draw graffiti," I snapped before turning my gaze to Romeo, "I just..." I left it at that as I sat on the stones and looked down at the koi fish. Kissing two fingers, I dipped them into the greenish water and waited as Romeo swam to me and pecked my fingers. When I wiggled the fingers, he swam away knowing they weren't food. I wiped the wet digits on Inuyasha's shoulder, laughing when he jerked away and nearly landed in the pond.
Inuyasha landed on his butt, heaving a sigh of relief when he didn't fall into a pool of algae. A few chuckles escaped him as he pieced it together. "You hopped the fence for the fish?"
I flushed as I looked at him. When he puts it like that, I sound pathetic. But how could he understand that the fish was my only friend?
"Inuyasha!" A feminine voice called from within the house behind us.
He groaned, laughter gone as he stood. "I gotta go help them," he explained, "Um, you can wait for me if you want."
He didn't wait for a response from me as he ran inside the house. I was about to wait for him, but the low mumble of voices inside the once empty home made me feel strange. "See you later, Romeo," I whispered to the koi fish and left. Part of me wondered if Inuyasha became my new friend or if he was just being polite to his new neighbor. Late that day, I asked Romeo from behind the brush. I didn't want to be caught talking to fish by the new neighbors and I didn't want my secret being discovered.
Naturally, the fish didn't respond, but asking made me more comfortable about the situation.
The next few days, after my studying, I hid away in my little square.
The space between the garage and the brick wall was blocked with another wooden fence. I tried to imagine that it was built to help me gain my hidden spot. But the highest possibility was to thwart robbers from coming into our backyard. The brick wall was nine feet tall and impossible to climb without help. But bushes wouldn't stop them from jumping the four foot, weak, wooden fence. The junk wasn't easy to crawl and walk over without making noise- something of which I perfected.
So now it's my own little corner. I yawned as I watched birds fly by. The sun was setting and I haven't seen a hair of Inuyasha but I could hear his voice. Sometimes, his voice would drift to me through an open window some where in his home along with the clatter like dishes being knocked together lightly. I tried to picture Inuyasha washing dishes but I could only picture him in the dark clothes I saw him in, so I pictured him wearing a bright apron and laughed at his disgruntled face.
"Kagome?"
I stopped and froze when I heard leaves crunching under feet, coming my way over the hedge.
"Is that you?" he whispered, the footsteps stopping.
I bit my lip, "Yes..." Just as long as he didn't part the bushes, my secret entrance would be okay.
The leaves parted and I stared at him while he looked at me disconcertingly. "What're you laughing at?" he asked as he looked around the empty square.
Not knowing what to do, I slapped his hands off the bushes and tugged the branches together. "Don't do that!" I yelped.
He easily pulled them apart again, so roughly I thought the branches covering my door would rip off. "Do what?"
My hands remained where I held it closed as I figured out what to do now. He found me, quite literally.
"Inuyasha?"
He lunged in and landed on top of me so quickly I had to take a minute to figure out I pulled him in by myself.
"W-What the hell, Kago-"
"Shh!" I hissed and waited until it was naturally quiet again. Then reflexes kicked in and I pushed him off me, "You're heavy."
"Keh," Inuyasha turned his head and took in the fence that looked peeled back. "Did you do that?"
"No..." I whispered, avoiding eye contact. Would I lose my secret place now? He crawled over to my little make-shift rabbit hole and peeked between twigs. His gaze was calculating and analyzing and already making me feel like I had been spying on them all day. Even worse; I felt like a spy that got caught.
"So this is how you met the koi," he commented as he pulled back and sat against the fence that the grown bushes have pushed open. He smirked as he looked around. I was studying here earlier so my textbooks were open, papers spread out with small paperweights on them to keep them from flying with the wind. "Sneaky wench."
I looked at him, worrying my lip as he looked at me. His look transitioned from confident and happy to confused and concerned.
"What's wrong?"
"Are you going to tell?" I asked quietly as I leaned against the warm brick wall.
"Tell what to who?"
I rolled my eyes. "Tell your parents about this hole," I motioned to the exposed shrubs. I sighed and slouched, covering the sunlight from my eyes with one hand to look at him more clearly, "It's not like they won't notice it when they clean it up..."
"Why would I do that?" he sounded offended. "This is obviously a clubhouse," he looked around again, "Of sorts, and it looks like my fish is a part of it."
I couldn't stop the crazy laughter as I took in his serious face while he said it. He had me near tears as I curled up and snickered.
His brows drew together as he watched me. "Was I wrong?"
After a few more giggles, I replied, "No, no. It's just that I never thought of it that way before."
He smiled slightly. "Keh," Crossing his arms, he relaxed again, "So, who else is part of the club?"
I shrugged. "Just me and Romeo," at his confused expression, I explained everything. I wanted a place with peace and quiet to run to and relax. After discovering that there was empty space in the back, I claimed the quiet space. It was a bonus that the shrubs overgrew to push on the fence and open up a way to Romeo the koi fish.
His brow twitched, "You named him 'Romeo'...?"
I blushed, "Cause Juliet was eaten by Buyo and I guessed that Romeo was a 'he' because the other fish was more pretty." Juliet was pure white, black spots were on her head and tail but other than that, she was just white, and much smaller than Romeo, which made easy pickings for Buyo.
He snorted. "Bet you don't have any friends," when I didn't reply, he looked stricken, "You... don't?"
I focused my gaze on the ground. "I'm home-schooled so I don't run into many people my age..." I glanced up at him and frowned, "You don't have to be so surprised!" Not having friends was a sore subject to tread upon. It's not as if I don't see people my age, it's just that I don't know how to approach them. So it's more my fault that I'm distant.
"No! It's just that..." he shook off the surprised look, "I didn't know you were home-schooled. You look like the kind of person that would have many friends..."
"You go to school," I noticed, "What's it like?"
His expression turned dull, "It's like going to jail for several hours of torture."
I smiled wistfully, "I always wanted to go."
"Did you not hear me? I was serious."
We talked for the last few hours of the day about how going to school was better than being taught at home and vice-versa. I learned that Inuyasha wanted the solitude I had, the loneliness it brought.
"The kids at my school," Inuyasha said as if it didn't affect him in any way, " They ignore me and treat me like shit on a sneaker. It's better to feel alone and actually be alone instead of being in a crowded room, right?"
I couldn't answer that. I didn't have an answer to give him that could help him.
He smiled wryly, "What's worse is that when my mother said that we were moving, I thought I'd be changing schools too. Guess not..."
The sun started to set and Inuyasha needed to go back inside before his parents got suspicious.
"You'll be here tomorrow, won't you?" he asked before he crawled through the bushes, "After school? At three?"
"I know when school ends, Inuyasha," I looked heavenward. He was ridiculous, "I'm not trapped in a box. Of course I'll be here." When he crawled towards his own yard, I caught his shoe, "Are we friends?" I asked hesitantly.
I couldn't see his face through the leaves but I could tell he was smirking. "What else would we be?"
The elation I felt was dizzying. His foot slipped out of my hand and he was gone.
The next few days, we would hang out in my secret spot talking for hours. Or we would sit by Romeo's pond and just watched the last withered leaves fall from the tree and into the water. Of course, Inuyasha and I would avoid using the secret entrance if we could. I tried teaching Inuyasha how to get over the heaps of sharp metal and broken wood that littered the way to my lovely patch of peace when my mother would be grocery shopping.
"Damn!" Inuyasha paused as rubbed his arm where a nail attached to a board grazed him. "You could damage something important through here," he commented as he tried to follow my lead. But, being as I was lighter and more flexible than him, he was crashing and breaking more stuff than he was ducking and stepping over. "I should forbid you from this."
I looked at him as I sidestepped between the garage's corner and the broken fence. "It's not my fault you have the grace of a bull in a china shop," I smiled.
One day, he actually brought me to a cafe that he told me was favored to many high school students. There, he bought himself and I a sundae. The weather's gotten so hot that he changed his choice of clothes. Today, he wore a black wife-beater and basketball shorts, showing off well-defined muscle. He wasn't exactly what I pictured a 'loner' would look like.
I licked chocolate off my plastic spoon as he complained about school work. "It looks like I'm a chapter ahead," I replied, "Though the teachers probably teach more thoroughly."
"I don't see how knowing about Shakespeare and molecules and math theorems is going to help me in the future," he leaned back in the booth, his ice cream already devoured. " What if I want to become a male prostitute?"
I would have choked and died if he hadn't grinned and laughed at the face I made. "Do you know what you want to be?" I asked when I finally decided I wasn't about to choke on the next bite I took of my sundae.
"No..." he sighed, "What about you?"
"I was thinking about becoming a scientist or historian of some sort," I answered truthfully.
"Can't say it suits you," he looked me up and down, "Though, your outfit is throwing me off a bit."
I looked down at myself. A black tank top with an unbuttoned white blouse and a neon red skirt with white flip-flops. "People are looking for smarts, not looks. Though it depends if you want to be a scientist or a supermodel."
"You could be both."
My eyes snapped to his face and he blushed and looked at his empty cardboard bowl. I smiled at his bashfulness. "That's got to be the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."
Inuyasha blushed harder and looked up. I saw struggle in his eyes as his lips trembled and for whatever reason, my pulse fluttered.
"Hey, dog-shit!"
He scowled, any trace of previous emotion gone from his face, replaced with annoyance and irritation. I looked over at Kouga Okami. From Inuyasha's mouth, Kouga was one of the major people that kick him when he's down. I disliked him immediately. Sure, he had a nice body, bronzed skin, sharp blue eyes but the cocky, hateful smile on his face ruined his charming image. It was like he had the word 'Asshole' over his head in blinking neon lights.
His gaze went to me and saw awe in his eyes. Unwanted heat ran to my face as he came closer. He looked at me like I was someone to be worshiped and, I had to say, nobody ever looked at me that way.
"I don't think I've seen you around before," Kouga smiled, leaning against our table, "Did it hurt when you fell from heaven, sweet angel?"
The feelings he invoked were ruined by his mouth- again. "Not too original, are you?"
"You're poisoning her with your dog breath, ass-wipe," Inuyasha growled. If our booth was shaped like half-a-circle, I would have scooted near him for protection. He looked like he was going to rip his arm off.
Kouga bared his teeth like a canine. "What's this I hear about you wanting to become a prostitute, huh?"
Inuyasha's glare intensified. "Fuck you!"
Well, they were both skilled with insults, I'd give them that much.
Kouga suddenly took hold of my arm and roughly pulled me closer to him. I gasped as pain shot through my arm with the odd angle. "I'd much rather fuck your girlfriend," he smirked.
It was like a match was finally struck near spilled gasoline. That was what the Inuyasha's look reminded me of. He jumped up and socked him right in the jaw. The crack I heard made me freeze as I slowly took my arm back. "Stay the fuck away from her!" he snarled.
Thankfully, Kouga moved, but the blood spilling out of his mouth made my stomach churn. He spat out a tooth and wiped the pouring blood from his chin. "Bastard!" Kouga lunged at Inuyasha and they rolled across the floor, startling the other people. I watched, horrified, as Kouga landed punch after powerful punch to Inuyasha's face before he managed to roll on top of him.
"Stop," the demand was a whisper as blood started to paint the tiles. The people working at the cafe tried to break them up only to be tossed aside. "Stop." I was crying. Gods, I was crying.
Inuyasha finally managed to get back to his feet and placed a solid kick to the boy's gut. Someone shouted that they were calling the police. Kouga pulled on his ankle and made him fall while he got up and stomped on Inuyasha's ribs. They both were running on pure adrenaline and rage. They couldn't feel a thing until this was over.
"Stop!" I shrieked when Inuyasha's head snapped to the side with another kick. He slowly got up while Kouga tried to catch his breath after the stomach hit. It was then that Inuyasha looked at me. Tears were running down my face in rivulets, trying to wear a path down my cheeks. My heart ached and I couldn't get enough air into my lungs. His eyes narrowed and he raised a fist to Kouga again.
Something snapped, I ran to him, "Stop!" I screamed as I wrapped my arms around his back, only to succeed in getting elbowed hard in the face. Hard enough to send me backpedaling until my butt parked on the floor.
Inuyasha stopped and whirled around to face me. The fires of rage were doused and his eyes were full with disbelief and panic. "Kagome!"
I brought a hand up to my cheek, touching the sore flesh. The shock that went through me made my energy come back and I used it to run out of there.
I ran home, even though Inuyasha wasn't following me. I ran home and I locked myself in my room for days. I stayed inside the house for weeks. A dark bruise formed on my right cheek, daring me to forgive and forget. My mother kept asking frantic questions I wouldn't answer. She got the answers from Inuyasha's mother, who had calmly explained that Inuyasha and Kouga both were going to jail. They'd be released soon. I didn't know what I was terrified of most; that Inuyasha was in jail or he was getting out.
It was two weeks after that Inuyasha appeared on my doorstep. Of course, my mother answered it and explained that I said that I didn't want anything to do with him anymore. I expected rage. I expected sadness. But he just nodded in understanding and left. He didn't come back.
My bruise had faded away but I was still afraid to go outside. I was afraid to speak to him. Late at night, I sneaked outside to my secret place and just laid there, looking up at the stars. I had even chanced a meeting with Romeo, spilling my heart out to him as he swam and kissed my fingers. I had to tell him goodbye. The yard was looking cleaner and I supposed that they were starting to bring life back to the yellow grass. I laid in my peaceful spot and cried hard for hours before the sun was starting to rise and I went back to bed feeling numb.
When I was laying in my bed, a math section done and nothing more to do around the house. I heard metal being scraped on concrete, wood hitting wood, hammer hitting wood. I peeked from my window as my mother cleaned out the little alley of junk. Inuyasha was helping her move the more heavier and sharper pieces. Tears ran down my face with each bang of the hammer. Inuyasha told my mother about my secret place and now there was no peace to run to.
Later in the day, when the work was finished and Inuyasha had gone home, my mother showed me the cleaned out area. It was easily walkable now. The curving fence ahead was hammered back into it's original place. The hedges on the other side were trimmed to the exact height. The wooden security fence between the stone wall and garage had been placed down. There was no specialness about it anymore. It was just a clear, empty space. Just like my heart.
A month passed before their front yard was back to it's former beauty. I merely glanced at it, not wanting to get caught staring and possibly have Inuyasha notice. The back yard, I assumed, must have been green and freshly cut too.
I missed Romeo. Lonely Romeo that was swimming alone in a big pond. That sense of loneliness hit me now and I wondered if I'd ever see Romeo ever again. Fish don't live forever.
"Do you want to see him?"
I winced at the soft question and slowly looked up to Inuyasha's face. He had healed nicely but I couldn't forget the crimson blood or the rage that had contorted his face. His cloudy eyes were deep and dark. His lips were pursed in an indifferent line as his hand stayed suspended in the air for me.
I quietly took his hand and he led me around the replanted flowers to the little gate. The shrubs didn't scratch at my thighs anymore and the gate swung much more gently closed. I slowly went down on my knees in front of the pond and smiled at the orange, black, and white koi. Kissing two fingers, I placed them into the water and watch Romeo reluctantly peck at them. I laughed and two tears dripped into the clear pond. I quickly wiped them away, watching a black and white koi swim closer to me.
"Juliet the II," Inuyasha introduced.
I smiled as they swam together with lots of little baby koi. I got more comfortable and leaned against Inuyasha as I watched. It was amazing to see a flurry of orange, black, and white. Beautiful.
"Can I be forgiven?" he asked against my hair.
"Why did you tell?" I replied as I kept my eyes on Romeo.
He sighed and leaned back against me, "I didn't want you to hide," he admitted. Moving his arm so I fell against his chest, he turned and wrapped his arms around me. "I'm sorry, Kagome. For the fight, for the elbowing, and for telling your secret. I'm so sorry," he whispered.
I nodded against his chest. Pink petals softly rained around us, into the pond to be floated away. It wasn't like I could stay in my room forever just to avoid him. "Yes," I answered, "You are forgiven."
He rested his cheek on my head as I continued watching the koi fish. My peaceful place wasn't gone, it just moved. It was here.
A/N: Okay, I started this at about midnight and now it's five in the damn morning and I'm about to pass out on my keyboard. Sorry, no kisses this time.
Like with all of my one-shots, if you don't get any part of it, make of what you will.
Don't forget to review!