Hey guys! Wow, I am amazed at how many great reviews there have been for this story, it makes all this torture worth it.
As promised for my first reviewer EVER! This story will be dedicated to HunterRin72.
Previous Chapter
Kyo stood up and looked at Kagome furiously, "Well it's pathetic going around and breaking down all the time, you'd never win a fight acting like a wuss."
Kagome was struck with an image of Inuyasha saying that to her face before he had taken off to be with Kikyo before the battle with Naraku, it had been the last time she had ever had a conversation with him.
With tears streaming down her face again she looked up and slapped Kyo. Hard.
"I hate you." she whispered and stalked off.
Shocked silence was met after Kagome had left. Uotani started laughing and said to Kyo through her fits of mirth "Looks like you've got another enemy other than Yuki Kyo." Kyo glowered at her but looked bak at the direction that Kagome had taken off to. He could see her lithe outline against the woods and wondered ifs he had really meant what she had said after she had slapped him.
The awnser?
Ummm, yeah.
Kyo touched his gingerly and winced. It still hurt and thobbed it's thanks after his hand had touched it. He was shaken out of his thought when a certain german/japanese boy asked him in his usual annoyingly cheery voice which was now laced with concern,
Momiji saw the pretty black haired girl slap Kyo after he hurt her feelings, Kyo should apologize!"
"Shut up brat." growled Kyo back at him. He then noticed the others faces looking at him. Haru and Yuki looked outraged at him until Yuki stood up and said snapped, "I'm going to go and find Kagome, she's probably really upset." Kyo flinched at his tone and stared wide eyed after him, he had never shown so much anger and worry after one person so how was this girl any different? Kyo was about to start after him when Haru stood up and silently walked away from Kyo from the opposite way where Yuki went.
"Where the hell do you think you're going!" yelled Kyo at his retreating figure.
"Away from you." said Haru tonelessly and disappeared.
Kyo looked down at Uotani who was still laughing and Hanajima and Tohru who looked upset over what had just transpired.
"Oh my gosh, we should go after her!" gasped Tohru visibly shaken.
"No Tohru, this is a mess that Kyo has to clean up." said Hanajima glaring at Kyo.
In unison Hana-chan and Uo-chan stood up and grabbed Tohru. All three of them walked back to the school with Tohru glancing back at Kyo worriedly.
Kyo dropped back down onto the ground and stared after them and thought "What the hell just happened?"
Kagome sobbed brokenly and huddled against the huge sakura tree she had found in the forest. Beneath the pink and white blossoms the distraught girl looked absolutely stunning.
"I hate him." she whispered. She didn't want to admit it but Kyo had hit straight on one of her biggest insecurities. She didn't know how to defend herself against anyone and even her archery skills were pathetic. And because of this weakness she had always relied on her friends to help her out which resulted in Inuyasha turning to Kikyo who could actually defend herself.
"Hey." said Yuki quietly sitting beside Kagome. "How are you feeling?"
Kagome didn't awnser but continued crying silently.
"You know, when I first saw you I thought 'Wow, look at that girl calming down Haru like that, she's really amazing."
Kagome stopped crying and looked up to see Yuki staring intently at her. He brushed away some of her tears and said softly, "You know Kagome just because you don't possess any fighting skills yet doesn't mean that your pathetic," Kagome snorted at this but continued to look at Yuki with hope,"Me ad Haru could tell from the moment we met you that you were different." continued on Yuki smiling at Kagome, "Out of all the girls we've met including Tohru, you had this..strengthbout you, you know?"
"Strength?" said Kagome hollowly, "If I did have strength then nobody would have looked down on me and would have left me, then I wouldn't be crying right now like some idiot."
Yuki brushed away some tears that had escaped during this little outburst and said softly, "Those people are idiots Kagome to have looked down at you and even the strongest of people cry because we are humans, to be stronger we feel."
Kagome sniffed, nobody had ever been so kind to her, even Sango couldn't help her when she had been down in the dumps and without thinking she flung herself at Yuki who blinked shocked, and in a poof of violet he transformed
Kagome had never felt so at peace when she held on to Yuki but was surprised when he had disappeared in the cloud of violet smoke.
Never one to be afraid of the supernatural, because after all trying to be eaten alive and be attacked by hideous demons in the Feudal Era, not much could be worse than that so Kagome wasn't really scared of anything any more but she was shocked to feel him disappear under her arms when she hugged him.
"Yuki?" she called out in a trembling voice, "Where are you?"
"Here Kagome." squeaked a tiny voice that resembled Yuki clear bell like voice.
Kagome looked down and blinked. There in front of her was a mouse.
"There's something you need to know Kagome." sighed the rodent with bright violet eyes blinking resignedly up at the frightened raven haired girl.
"So you're telling me that you're possesed by the spirit of the mouse from the Zodiac Animals, and so are Kyo and Haru." said Kagome with a surprising amount of calmness that had relieved Yuki.
"There are 12 of us," explained Yuki, "One for each Zodiac Animal, all of us are under the Sohma family name and the head of the family, Akito Sohma is the Jade Emperor, otherwise knows as God."
"Wait did you say Akito Sohma? Isn't that the guy you and Haru were talking about earlier and the same guy that came to my house?" asked Kagome wide-eyed.
Yuki sighed heavily, "None of us are sure yet why Akito came to your house and transfered you here, he doesn't have a job really other than to be the head of the family and he has never shown an interest to anybody who has not associated with the family."
"Well, I've met you, Haru and Kyo." pointed out Kagome.
"Yeah, but only after he transfered you here." said Yuki rolling his eyes.
"Oh, yeah." blushed Kagome.
Yuki laughed out loud, "It's ok Kagome, in his own time Akito will tell us why he had taken an interest to you but for today you'll come over to our house and meet Shigure, the dog."
Kagome nodded and stood up. "Hey Yuki," she asked tentatively fidgeting a little, "when are you going to transform?"
Yuki grinned and said mischeviously, "Right, about..."
"Now." And in a cloud of violet smoke there stood a very naked Yuki.
Kagome screeched and fell backwards and tried to turn around only to hit herself on a tree branch that knocked her out cold.
Yuki only chuckled and picked up Kagome bridal style and headed back to school.
"Hey Yuki." greeted Haru turning around, "What happened to her?"
"She knocked herself out trying to hide when I transformed." chuckled Yuki.
Haru regarded him suspiciously for a moment, "So she's not upset anymore?"
Yuki's face darkened in an instant, he laid down Kagome carefully onto the bench and scowled into the direction of Kyo who was standing beside Tohru a few feet away from them. "Yeah, you should have seen her Haru she was really upset."
"Well that's understandable." noted Haru, "That prick can be really insensitive sometimes."
"Yeah, but Kagome really did take offense to it." said Yuki narrowing his eyes a little bit. "There's something different about her Haru, she's nothing like I've ever felt before."
"You mean her presence?" questioned Haru. Seeing Yuki nod he continued, "When I was black the other day you saw how fast she calmed me, no normal girl could do that."
"She's special Haru." said Yuki quietly, "She might be the one that can break the curse, it's been nearly two years and Tohru still hasn't done a thing."
"We'll just have to wait." said Haru heavily."We'll just have to wait."
Kagome sighed and stretched while regarding her homework, she had come home a few minutes ago and was still replaying the conversation that she had with Yuki before they had parted ways after school.
Flashback
"Uh-oh look at the rain!" groaned Kagome, "I can't walk home like this I didn't bring an umbrella!"
Yuki, Tohru and Kyo were standing beside Kagome, they had their backpacks and umbrellas, ready to go outside and go home.
Kyo wordlessly held out his umbrelly to Kagome who blinked at him, surprised.
"Here, you can use this to walk home." said Kyo gruffly.
"Umm, well thank you." said Kagome uncertainly glancing at Yuki who nodded encouragingly at her.
"Wow Kagome, your so lucky, this is Kyo's way of apologising after what happened today at lunch." squealed Tohru happily.
Kagome smiled at Tohru kindly, the girl reminded her of a hyper kid, not too bright but very...naive and kind, just like Rin.
Kagome accepted the umbrella and just as she was about to leave Yuki asked her "Kagome do you think that you can come over tonight to eat dinner with us?"
Kagome glanced back at him smiling, "Of course Yuki, I'll be there at 6:30."
"Oh and Kagome?" said Yuki, "Meet us at the Wildflower Restaurant downtown and be sure to wear something formal."
Kagome gasped involunarily at this, Wildflower was the most formal and expensive resturant in all of Tokyo, and only the richest of the rich could afford it. Could there be more to Yuki than I thought? grinned Kagome.
She turned around to thank Yuki for inviting her but the trio had already disappeared.
End Flashback
Kagome was jolted out of her stupor when the door slammed downstairs.
"Kagome!" yelled her mother, "Come see what I got for you for your night out."
Kagome ran downstairs and stopped when she saw her mother holding up a beautiful gold kimono that was decorated with white cranes and clouds with vivid pheonixes. The kimono glimmered and sparkled before Kagome's astounded eyes.
"Mom, it's beautiful." breathed Kagome, she swept it from her mother and held it up in front of her and looked in the mirror, there was a slit on the side of the kimono that came up to her thaigh and instead of making her look trashy it complimented her long legs. The gold and white were an opposite of Kagome's indigo coloured eyes which made them stand out and give them a piercing look. The sleeves came up a bit farther than her elbow and when spread out came down to her waist. The finishing touch was the bright cherry red obi (a sash that ties the kimono) that was decorated with white, orange and red wildflowers that fit snugly around Kagome's entire waist which complimented her chest.The back of the obi was tied in an intricate and delicate butterfly knot which completed the look. In all Kagome was stunning.
"Mom how much did you spend on this?" asked Kagome suspiciously.
Her mother laughed and shook her head, "Don't worry about it Kagome, think of it as a gift for your first day of school, now hurry and go take a bath, if you're going to Wildflower you'll need at least an hour of primping."
Kagome nodded happily and ran upstairs with her new kimono, anxious for the promise of the night out.
An hour later after a bath, blowdrying, makeup and styling her hair into a stylish bun Kagome was ready to go.
"Are you sure I look fine?" fussed Kagome looking at herself at all angles in the mirror at the front door.
"Relax Kagome, you look beautiful" soothed her mother before snapping a picture of her.
"Wow sis, you look totally different!" enthused Souta coming up behind their Mother.
"Where's Grandpa Mom?" asked Kagome ignoring Souta.
"Sleeping upstairs, he's had a tiring day at the Shrine." said Souta wide-eyed. "You should have seen him rail out that guy that came looking for yo-" before he could finish Kagome let out a shriek as she noticed the time on the clock on the wall in front of them. "Oh my goodness it's 6:20 Mom I'm going to be late!"
Right on cue a taxi honked it's horn at the main entrance. "Gotta go love you Mom, Souta!"
"Come home safe!" called out her mother smiling slightly. Turning around she ushered Souta inside the house after watching Kagome jump into the taxi and speed off into the night.
"Yuki where do you think Kagome is?" asked Momiji curiously.
Yuki who appeared to be in deep thought turned when he heard Momiji's voice and said confused, "I have no idea Momiji, she knew that the time was 6:30."
Momiji nodded solemnly, "Everybody else is inside in the private banquet hall, they're fine with Kagome being a little late but Akito-san said they will only wait for five more minutes before ordering."
Yuki nodded and watched Momiji go back inside.
All of a sudden a taxi came and drew up beside Yuki. The car door opened and a hassled looking Kagome stepped out.
"I'm so sorry I'm late Yuki! The taxi broke down and I had to get another one that took forever to come and-" she stopped abruptly and looked at Yuki who was wearing a tux with a shimmering blue bowtie. Yuki wearing the school uniform was hot but Yuki in a tux was come-to-mama. Kagome wondered if that form would be better looking if there was nothing covering it and her face flamed. Gawd, she was turning into a female Miroku!
Yuki himself was admiring Kagome's outfit, he was not normally one to admire the female body but Kagome looked like a bombshell in that kimono and that slit up the side was a nice touch.
"It's alright Kagome." he said smiling, "But we have to hurry up because the others will be ordering now any minute."
With that said the two handsome "couple" hurried inside.
"Wow." gasped Kagome as she surveyed the banquet hall. The room was Europeen styled and had a breathtaking painting on the ceiling, there were angels and clouds and a fierce looking naked man who had a cloud covering his lower region. The scenery looked as though taking place in the sky. On the walls were gold coloured and had white wallpaper with intricate floral patterns that added a unique coziness to the room. The chandelier in the middle of the room was the final touch however, it had countless numbers of shimmering crystals and added a regalness to the room that Kagome had never seen before.
Looking down from the chandelier she gasped, the table was huge and probably very heavy to hold, it was covered with a brilliant white tablecloth with a red material in the middle where the tall, elegant wine glasses were placed. However that was not what Kagome had gasped, she had in fact gasped at the gorgeous array of men and woman that sat at the table. They all looked like models thought Kagome nervously.At the head of the table, she noticed was the man that had come to her house, Akito Sohma. At the sides were twelve people, ten men including Akito and two girls. One for each Zodiac Animal Kagome guessed.
In the middle between a serious looking businessman were two seats, Yuki guided Kagome to sit beside the businessman and pulled out the chair for Kagome, who blushed. She daintily sat down with Yuki beside her. On the side of Yuki she saw was a very handsome man with black hair who looked to be in his late twenties, sitting across from them was a white haired man with astonishing gold eyes that reminded Kagome very strongly of Sesshomaru though his demeanor was not cold at all, more like the opposite. Beside the Sesshomaru look-alike was a little boy who looked about 12 years old with dirty blonde hair. The expression on his face reminded Kagome of a grumpy Inuyasha and she snickered slightly.
The boy glanced up and glared at Kagome rudely and Kagome stuck her tongue out at him in response, she did this to provoke him and giggled when he looked beyond furious, she could nearly see his teeth grinding. Yuki chuckled at this while the businessman rolled his eyes. The Sesshomaru look-a-like looked interestedly at Kagome and asked in a melodious voice, "So has my dear brother here treating you nicely Kagome?"
Kagome was shocked, him and Yuki were related!?! "I-I'm sorry." she stammered, "I had no idea you two were related." She heard Yuki mutter something incomprehensible but Kagome caught "Thank...he's...embarrassement" Kagome cast a confused glance at him but turned sideways when she heard the reply.
"Yes, well you could say that our looks aren't the only things that set us apart." said the handsome man said in a mock-grievous tone. Kagome giggled at this and was about to question him further about it until she saw Yuki fuming silently on his seat. 'I guess they don't really get along.' guessed Kagome sadly. They two handsome brothers were completely different but Kagome sensed that they would get along great if only they gave each other a chance.
Awkward silence fell over the table. Kagome was trembling slightly on her seat from nerves.
'Come on Kagome,' she scolded her silently, 'you never had any trouble speaking to Yuki at school!'.
"Soo, Yuki what do you do as a hobby?" asked Kagome with a forced smile on her face.
Yuki looked up from the fish that he was cutting and with an embarassed laugh said, "Uhh, well I don't really want to say, it's actually kind of embarassing."
This last remark made Kagome even more curious, "What? Come on Yuki it can't be that bad!"
Yuki scratched his head in a noncommitical way and said, "Well...alright...I like to garden."
Kagome wasn't really surprised, after all, with his quiet and gently demeanor he seemed like the type of guy that would do that. "Really? Huh." she said easily lifting her chopsticks to eat some sushi.
"Your not surprised?" asked Yuki, disbelief written all over his face.
Kagome nodded and swallowed the sushi and dabbed her mouth with a napkin avoiding the lipstick so she wouldn't smudge it, "Of course not you're just the type of guy to do that sort of thing."
Hiro laughed at this, both Yuki and Kagome glanced at him curiously. "My god." said Hiro scornfully. "Could've fooled me with the way him and Kyo are always fighting! Those two fight every day."
"Really Yuki?" asked Kagome curiously.
"Umm yeah." said Yuki embarassed while glaring at Hiro smirked back at him.
"So she's the one that knows about the family secret?" asked Shigure sipping his champagne, eyeing Akito.
Akito nodded, "She will be the one that I have chosen to break the curse."
"What! Akito, wasn't Tohru chosen to break it?" asked Shigure surprise written all over his handsome face.
"She was but she proved to not be...as you can say bright. Kagome, however is a different story, she posseses all the qualities that Tohru has and more, she also has quick wit and a temper which might actually be able to tame that insufferable cat and give Miss. Honda an actual backbone. So as you can see, this benefits your household greatly."
Shigure sighed placing his glass on the table, "Have you told her family about this arrangement?"
"I don't need to." said Akito his tone heavy. "Apparently her family will be gone by the end of this dinner."
"Akito, you didn't...?" Shigure trailed off with a troubled look on his normally cheerful face.
Akito shook his head, "No I have not decided to kill them, this is an accident they have brought upon themselves, an act of Fate you might call it, I simply know because of who I am in the Zodiac."
Shigure nodded.
"Wow, I'm stuffed!" exclaimed Kagome climbing into the taxi with Yuki. "That was the most fun I've had in a long time, Ayame had me laughing the entire time!"
"How can you stand him?" asked Yuki curiously sitting beside Kagome, "He drives me insane!"
"He's really funny." giggled Kagome, "Especially when he told me about the time you accidentally tripped and your face landed in the duck pond!"
"This is why I hate him." muttered Yuki darkly.
Kagome just laughed then sighed, settling back into the leather seat, "I can't wait to get home." she said sighing, "I really need a long relaxing bath and then I'll go to bed."
"Ma'am is this your house?" asked the taxi driver worriedly.
"Well it's the Shrine so yes. Why?" asked Kagome her eyes closed.
"Well...it's on fire miss."
"What!" said Yuki and Kagome bolting upright, the two peered out of the tinted windows and gasped, the once secluded and peaceful shrine was now towering with flames, police cars and firemen surrounded it dousing the flames.
"No." whispered Kagome before climbing out of the car and hurrying up the steps, tripping more than once.
Yuki hurriedly thrust the change into the cab's hands and followed after Kagome. When he finally reached the top he saw Kagome tears streaming down her face over three charred bodies.
"They're gone." she whispered before collapsing against Yuki's arms.
Yuki remained silent, how could he say comforting words when there was none? He closed his eyes and listened to Kagome's sobs, wishing for this night to end.
"Let's go home Kagome." he said quietly leading Kagome down the steps.
"Where is home Yuki?" said Kagome sadly.
Koga 6
Akito 8
Haru 27 (wow!)
Kyo 10
Yuki 10
I think I know how this is going to end ;)
thanks for the reviews!
