An InuYasha alternate fanwork by Wolfye Productions.
All InuYasha characters are © Rumiko Takahashi, Viz Communications, Inc., Shonen Sunday, Sunrise and Nihon TV. Characters are used without the express prior permission of the aforementioned. Story concept, other characters and original situations are © Wolfye Productions; this fanfic is written for entertainment purposes only.
Part 01: College Bound
"Goodbye sis!" Souta waved happily from the train platform.
Kagome turned around once she was inside the train's confines, smiling and waving to her beloved family one last time. She was going to miss them dearly, but she would always come back for the holidays.
Today she was on her way to Tokyo University. This was move-in week for the new freshmen, and classes started the following week.
"So Kagome, are you excited? I know I am."
Kagome turned to Hojo and smiled at him. He was accompanying her today, helping her move into her new dorm room. They had started dating about a year after InuYasha had pushed her one last time into the Bone eater's well, during their junior year in high school. But Kagome had felt that something was always missing in their relationship, and so she had broken it off with him.
Hojo had always been a true gentleman. He didn't cry or get angry with her when she confessed her doubts about their relationship, but she should have expected that from him. Instead, he had proposed to her that they remain best of friends, and she had happily accepted. They'd been inseparable buddies ever since. She sometimes wondered what would have happened to her if it hadn't been for Hojo's kindness and caring towards her after that fateful incident.
She shook her head of the dark thoughts. Today they were moving her into her new life in the big city, and she could hardly wait. Hojo had already moved into his new apartment the week before, and she had helped him with that adventure. She still couldn't believe how the two of them had managed to fit all of his lifetime of junk into that tiny apartment. It was amazing how they did it, but they did. The whole adventure took all of three days and nights to accomplish.
"I'm really excited," she said to Hojo, turning her face to the passing scenery outside the train. "I still can't believe that we're going to Tokyo University together!"
Hojo smiled softly to the back of her head. Together, that was something he had desperately wished for when they were still attending junior high. There was no other girl in his heart, then and now. But there was always a ghost in her smile whenever she talked to him, sadness in her voice, loneliness in her eyes. He had tried desperately to comfort her, to console her, to take away her fears and anxieties; to get her to open up to him. And he thought he had when she had finally accepted to be his girlfriend during high school. But no matter how hard he tried, she remained always the same. The same mysterious girl he had fallen in love with in junior high.
He had consented to let her go, but he couldn't stand the thought of not being near her, not when they had grown so close together in high school. So he did what he thought was best at the time - to remain friends. They already were; but the couple couldn't survive if she always held back her strange secrets from him, the ghosts that had haunted her since she had returned to school after a yearlong bout with illnesses unimaginable for such a young and vibrant girl.
Friends. As long as they were together, he would do anything for her, anything at all.
The loudspeaker suddenly blared that their station was coming up, breaking Hojo out of his nostalgia.
"Come on Kagome," he said, picking up the two heavy suitcases she was bringing with her. "Let's go see your new home!"
"Yes!" Kagome agreed, stepping off of the train onto the busy platform. Ever cheerful he was, she thought to herself. She sometimes wondered if her best friend carried any demons in his closet. She still had a plethora of them in hers.
Out of subway hell, the two made their way to the university campus, the route now well known to the two freshmen. The campus itself was very attractive. Sakura trees in full bloom welcomed the beginning of the new school year. Pink and white petals littered the walkways and lawns, creating a most breathtaking landscape.
After a maze of different pathways through the heart of the campus, they finally came to the dormitory side, where Kagome's own dorm lay waiting. It was a tall brick building, very rustic looking in appearance. Its worn walls spoke of a time long forgotten, while shaded windows whispered of mysterious happenings to come. Walking through the glass double doors found them greeted heartedly by the front desk attendant.
"Welcome to the West Dormitory, your home away from home!" the young man greeted, his smile disarming in every aspect. "May I have your name please?"
"Y- yes," Kagome stuttered, taken a bit off-guard by the handsome young man's smile. Did he just wink at her? She didn't notice the side-glance Hojo gave her in her hesitancy. "Kagome Higurashi."
The young man flipped quickly through a binder on the cluttered desk. Within seconds he found the necessary information and grabbed the welcome packet and keys from the cubbyhole against the wall. Stepping out from behind the counter, he beckoned Kagome and Hojo to follow him to the elevator.
"All of our rooms are singles here," he explained while they waited for the elevator. "Your room is on the fourth floor, and I believe it's on the side with a view of the park across the street. It's very lovely in the afternoon. I live on the third floor on that side myself."
"Wow, sounds great!" Kagome chirped, over her initial anxieties about the young man, as the three got into the small elevator. He reminded her too much of Miroku the priest, with his smile and easy-going mannerisms. Idly, she wondered if his hand had ever been cured of the kazaana.
"Oh, by the way, my name's Miromaru," he said, bowing to the two. "I am but one of the many desk attendants here, and I'm a sophomore."
"Pleased to meet you," Kagome replied, also bowing.
"Pleased to meet you too," Hojo said, bowing with Kagome, although somewhat stiffly the other man noticed.
The elevator doors opened, relieving a bit of the tension building up in the cramped quarters. Both men welcomed the distraction gratefully. The odd three-some walked a little ways down the hall to a door located in one corner of the large building. After fumbling a bit with the keys, Miromaru finally opened the door and stepped to the side, allowing Kagome and Hojo to enter.
"Well now, let's see," he began, casually leaning against the doorframe. "This is your welcoming packet and your keys," he said, handing Hojo the keys and large package he had been carrying under his arm.
"Dormitory visiting hours are from 9am to 10pm. Quiet hours are obviously between those times. The outside doors lock at 10pm sharp every night, and the only way in or out of the building is with your outside key, which is the square-shaped one. It's also the key that accesses the stairwell and elevators. The circular key is the key to your room, and the small irregular key is your mailbox key, which you will find in the left hallway in the lobby when you first walk in through the main doors."
Kagome just nodded her head to everything he said as she walked around the tiny quarters, inspecting everything. The entire room was as large as her bedroom back home, and that was including the bathroom!
"There is a common lounge area right around the corner. There you will find a study area and a kitchenette, complete with an electric stove, microwave and sink. You are allowed to keep a small refrigerator in your room; you can find a rental form in your packet. The trash shoot is also down the hall.
"This floor is an all-female hall. This dorm has alternating sex floors, so the floors above and below are all-male floors. There is a coin-operated laundry room on the first floor past the rec room. Do you have any questions?"
Wow, he must have told this spiel a hundred times, Kagome thought. He sounds like a robot.
"Nope, I don't have any," she replied, her head stuck in the bathroom.
"Okie dokie!" he said cheerfully, smiling again. "If you have any questions, I'm in Room 303 downstairs, or just call the front desk!"
With that, he was gone. Hojo blew out the breath he had been holding the entire time Miromaru was talking. He didn't like that guy at all, visibly flirting with Kagome right in front him! Not like they were together anymore, but he still considered Kagome as his girlfriend.
"So, what do you think?" Hojo asked casually, shutting the door after the guy.
Kagome's voice drifted out from the bathroom, the sound of water running showing that she was testing the faucets.
"It's okay," she said, "It's really small though. My room's bigger than this!"
Hojo chuckled; he knew her room extremely well, "Well, this'll be your home for at least the year."
Kagome sighed, coming out of the bathroom. "Yeah," she said, flopping down on the makeshift futon, "I guess. Looks like I'm going to have to get a job and save up some money to get an apartment for next year."
"Well, you could always move in with me," Hojo casually remarked.
Kagome gave her ex a funny look. "Yeah right, Hojo. Where am I gonna fit? Under the bed?"
They both broke out in laughter, both knowing full well how cramped Hojo's quarters were. He sat down on the futon next to her, leaning back against the wall. Kagome leaned up against him, using his strong shoulder as a headrest. This was going to be a long year, she could feel it, but as long as she had Hojo by her side, she felt that she would be able to face it. Moving away from home and her beloved family was the hardest thing she had ever had to do, even more so than leaving Sengoku Jidai behind. But her mother and grandfather had insisted and demanded that she take the prestigious scholarship, and so she had, much against her personal wishes. When she found out Hojo had been accepted too, she had found the move to be much more bearable.
Yes, Hojo will be her guiding strength in this strange new city. He had a lot of relatives here in Tokyo, so there would be help if the two of them needed it.
It's finally time to grow up, Kagome, she told herself. It's finally time to forget about the past and make a new future for herself.
A/N:
I guess I don't have much to say at this point, except to ask, how was that for an opener?