Chapter 4. Shard on the Shoulder
"Where is it? Damn it!"
Kagome ran into the room in hope to find out the reason of Inuyasha's screams of anger and frustration.
"Hey, stop throwing things around and tell me what you are looking for."
"My mp3 player," the boy answered but did not fulfill the request.
Kagome dashed into the corner of the room and a second later came out of there with the missing item. Inuyasha took it from her, without turning his gaze from her shoulder. It did not escape Kagome and she hurried out of the room, wondering why he was looking at her. Inuyasha followed her, and after a couple of seconds she lost it.
"Inuyasha, why are you following me?"
Inuyasha stiffened as he remembered something from distant past…
"Sango, are you sure that I must be in love with the one?"
"Well, that's what Kaede said," and, mimicking the old woman's voice, she said. "If you find one but he does not feel for her, move on."
"I'm not following you. Open your eyes; we are going the same way, you idiot. And I am simply going with you."
Kagome froze in the middle of the stairway and looked at him suspiciously. "What for? I am pretty capable of looking after myself, thank you."
"Well, and I am pretty good in the area of protection," came a soft reply, and Kagome felt Inuyasha's warm fingers on her hand. It felt good and weird at the same time. She wanted to pull her hand away but thought that it might hurt his feelings. So instead, she squeezed his hand and smiled. Ignoring Miroku and Sango, who were hovering in the kitchen, Kagome and Inuyasha walked out of the door, Kagome's hand in his.
Inuyasha was looking for a place to sit at lunch. The caf was full; teenagers were running in hallways so he walked outside into the sunshine.
His thoughts were scattered and his heart was beating too fast. The feeling was unfamiliar to him and he could not collect his thoughts. Deep inside his heart he knew what have caused the unfamiliar sensation but he did not want to admit it. His eyes scanned the playground outside the school, searching for the person right…
"Behind you," he heard Kagome and turned around with a smile. She crooked her eyebrow at him. "So, are you just going to stand there or you are actually going to sit down?"
"With you?" he replied.
"Sure, why not?"
"And why should I?"
Kagome smiled a little bit seductively. "You shouldn't," and without another word, she carried her tray with her under a nearby cherry tree. It was located right behind the playground sight and there was no one there at the moment. Without knowing what else he could possibly do, Inuyasha followed her and sat down beside her.
"Can I … ask you something?"
"Did not give me much choice, did you, sunshine?"
Laughing, Kagome looked away for a second. Inuyasha sighed.
"What is it?"
"That strange tattoo on your shoulder in a shape of a rhombus…what is it?"
Inuyasha looked at it,
his face ashen. She could not see it if she was not…
"Don't
you have one?"
Kagome shook her head. "Not on my shoulder. Mine is just above my belly button."
She pulled her shirt up just above her belly button. Inuyasha lowered his head to take a better look but did not see anything. He looked back up at Kagome/
"I do not see anything…is that a joke?"
He knew that it could not possibly be because she had seen his shard but… Someone might have told her it was there. He was not sure if he should believe her or not.
Kagome pulled her shirt down and let out a sobbing sigh. A single tear rolled down her face before she spoke.
"I see it…and no one else does. Every time I try to show it to someone, this happens. Even my mom could not see it…Maybe its because nobody understands me better than me. People think I am crazy, and I thought that because you had one, maybe you would see mine. I guess I was wrong."
Lifting up her tray, Kagome left the ground under the cherry tree. On her place lay a shining cherry blossom petal and as Inuyasha finally noticed, it disappeared right in front of him.