The Diary
Takeshi
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor am I affiliated with the owners of, Inuyasha
"Kagome! Where are you going? Kagome, wait for me!"
Kagome ignored Sora, keeping her pace and stride the same. She had been in a strange mood ever since she'd come home, and everyone knew it. Some were just more persistent than others. Kagome let a small sigh escape her lips. Ever since she had come home... to her own era... never to see him again. Suddenly Kagome stopped, finding her nose to be mere inches from someone's chest. Blinking, Kagome looked up into Takeshi Unozomi's surprised face.
"Kagome!" Takeshi exclaimed, pleasantly. Kagome tried to clear her head enough to greet him.
"He- hello, Takeshi, how are you today?" Kagome was already trying to subtly sidestep him, to make for a quicker escape when the niceties were over.
"Oh, I'm wonderful, Kagome! I can't wait for tonight!"
"Tonight?" Kagome's brow furrowed in confusion. His tone had implied that she would be in on the pleasure.
"Yes," Takeshi replied, now frowning. "Our date, remember? Dinner?"
"Oh!" Kagome recalled making plans with him now. "Um... what time was that for, again?"
Takeshi's shoulders only dropped a fraction as he replied, "Six o'clock. We're going to Bukawa's Restaurant, remember? I've already gotten the reservations for six-thirty." Kagome nodded, a fake smile plastered to her face.
"Alright, then! I'll see you later, Takeshi, I've got to hurry to school... where are you going, by the way?"
"Um... Kagome, it's a holiday. There is no school today." Drat; she'd forgotten.
"Oh, yeah... Heh heh, I guess I'm a little airheaded today. Well, then, I'll just stop by the park to catch up on some homework, and I'll see you later. Bye!"
Kagome hurried toward her new destination, a pang of guilt resounding in her head. It may have been silly, but she still felt terrible when she looked at Takeshi. He was always so sweet to her, but she could never love him. Not like he wanted her to.
I'll probably never be able to love again, come to think of it, she thought idly to herself. Not since... him. Kagome's mind instinctively shied away from Inuyasha's name. She had subconsciously decided not to remind herself of him or time spent with him, but so far it wasn't working as well as she'd hoped. She did everything she could to avoid the well in her backyard, the bookstore he had worked at for such a short time, and any artifacts her grandfather had happened to come across. She was in a lot of trouble for neglecting the care of her grandpa's storage room, but it was too painful to spend hours at a time dusting the old swords and statues. It was too... hard.
As Kagome walked silently through the park, she found herself remembering her time spent in Inuyasha's era... not the people, really, but the scenery... The beautiful cherry blossom trees, huge oaks, strange flowers... Everything had been so magical. Here in the park she could still see a tiny smidgen of that magic, but it wasn't so powerful anymore. All the demons were gone, taking their power with them. The trees were much smaller now since they were never allowed to grow for long, and water and air pollution made them sickly.
Finding the largest tree in the whole park, Kagome climbed into its branches and sat as high up as she dared go. Looking out across the park, she found that she could see almost to the street. The small trees and bushes barely created an obstructed view, and for some reason this made her very sad. It felt nice to be back in nature, though, even if it wasn't the nature she loved. Kagome stretched out on a wide branch and leaned against the trunk, getting quite comfortable. As she laid there, she looked up at the cloudy sky and let her mind wander.
Here in the tree, beneath the blue sky of scattered clouds, it wasn't hard to believe that she was back in the feudal era. Imagining that she was waiting for Inuyasha to finish hunting and Miroku and Sango to finish looking for firewood. Shippo would be following Inuyasha around and getting on his nerves, not to mention losing his prey... It was just like it had used to be. As she daydreamed, Kagome lost track of the time. When she next checked the time, it was five fifty-two, and she rushed home.
As could only be expected, she got home late. Waving hurriedly to her mother and Takeshi, who were sitting in the living room talking while they waited on Kagome, she went upstairs to change. Deciding that, even though she didn't want to go and that she'd rather be home, she should dress nicely for the occasion, since they were going to Bukawa's Restaurant. Kagome sighed, striding over to her closet. Opening it resignedly, she looked around at all her clothes and realized that she had only one appropriate kimono. That beautiful kimono... Kagome's heart wrenched with pain as she looked at it. She clearly remembered the kimono that she had gotten... in the feudal era. Kaede had asked a seamstress to make it especially for Kagome from the softest fur of their cattle demons, the night of Naraku's death. 'Well, you can't go to the feast in your school uniform,' the old woman had told her, winking in a grandmotherly fashion.
Kagome also remembered the way that he had looked at her. The surprise, then the way he smiled... as if her beauty had nothing to do with the kimono.
Kagome shook her head to clear it of the painful memories. Determinedly, she took the long, elegantly stitched kimono from its hanger and closed her door.
Takeshi was waiting somewhat impatiently for Kagome when he heard her door open again. She had spent a long time up there, and he turned to see if she was sick. Surprise, then adoration mingled with appreciation crossed his face as his date stepped into the living room. Kagome had piled her hair up on top of her head, with a few locks hanging down around her face, curling gently. The kimono she wore was pure white, made of a fabric he didn't recognize, loosened and tightened in just the right places. The sleeves were long and billowed at the ends, like the ancient cultural fashions of feudal Japan, with soft pink hems. The sash was also a light pink, with yellow and green designs of strange, exotic birds and flowers.
Kagome watched Takeshi as he looked her over. The irritability that bubbled inside of her at his roving eyes was only a small fraction of the rage that would have usually been her response to such an action. The mental and emotional pain of being back in the kimono on a date with someone else was keeping her preoccupied at the time, and she had lost all ability to care. Indifferently, Kagome made it through the small talk and pictures that her mother insisted upon, all the while ignoring hints that they'd like to know where she got the kimono. She didn't want to remind her mother of what had happened; ever since everything had happened, she'd been behaving oddly whenever the feudal era was mentioned. Besides, Takeshi wouldn't have believed that was where she'd gotten it.
By the time the couple was in the car, Kagome had said barely six words. She didn't want to go on this date, but to cancel now would be rude and dishonoring; she'd had plenty of time before, now she had only to get through it and refuse all second dates.
As they pulled up to the restaurant, Kagome was glad that she had worn her best kimono; in a sense, anyway. All the other ladies were wearing-expensive looking kimonos and gowns, and some of them weren't much older than Kagome herself. As they went inside and were seated, Kagome found that many people were staring at her. Nervously, she turned to Takeshi.
"Takeshi," she asked quietly, in almost a whisper, "why are they all looking at me? Is there something on my kimono?" Takeshi gave Kagome a smile she'd never seen before, and Kagome could feel her stomach twist in a not-so-friendly way.
Gently fingering a lock of Kagome's soft black hair, he replied in a normal volume, "No, Kagome, they're staring because of what's inside the kimono. They're all jealous of your beauty." Kagome blushed a deep crimson as couples from nearby tables turned to look at the "raving beauty". Takeshi let her hair fall back around her face and sat back, smiling benignly at her. Once the other guests had all turned away, however, he reached across the table for Kagome's hand. Uncomfortably, Kagome pulled her hand back and placed it under the table on her lap.
Takeshi frowned, but the expression was fleeting, so Kagome thought nothing more of it. As the night progressed and they ordered, then ate, their food, Kagome soon discovered that there was a side to Takeshi that she had never known before. Sora had always told her about how handsome the class president was, but Kagome had known that all along. He was handsome; he had soft, dark brown hair that fell somewhat gracefully across his eyes, which were a deep brown. His smile was warm and cautious, and his hands were smooth and soft. But he used his hair as an excuse to gracefully brush his hair out of his face, for a dramatically beautiful effect, and his eyes, as beautiful as they were, were oddly cold. His smile lost its warmth when there were no adults around to impress, and Kagome noticed that he used more hand lotion in fifteen minutes than she did in a day. It was slightly disturbing.
When they were finished eating, Takeshi stood and attempted to help Kagome up in a gentlemanly fashion.
"Would you like to go for a walk?" Takeshi asked, leading the girl outside. "It's a beautiful night, I'm sure the park would be simply sensational."
"Umm..." Kagome faltered. Takeshi was making her nervous, and she was beginning to wonder if this had all been a big mistake. "Actually, I think I want to go home, Takeshi... I'm a little tired." As Kagome looked at him, Takeshi's jaw tightened and he grasped her arm tighter.
"Join me," he insisted in a cold voice that left no room for arguments. Kagome, now fully alert despite the memories from her kimono, decided to do as he told her. Silently she followed him through the parking lot to the trail leading through the yard and into the park.
Once there, he lessened his grip on her arm and slid his hand down to firmly grasp hers. Gently, so that Takeshi wouldn't notice, Kagome tested his grip. It was tight and harsh, and she wished she had decided not to come after all. After walking for a while, Takeshi stopped at a bench and sat down, pulling his date with him.
"It's such a lovely night tonight," he said in a strangely gentle voice. Kagome glanced at him, saying nothing. "The stars are so beautiful... much like yourself, Kagome." Smiling malevolently at her, he leaned forward slowly and kissed her on her fear-stiffened lips. Kagome didn't try to move, but didn't allow him to think he was welcome, either.
After a brief moment, Takeshi sat up again, glaring at Kagome. His hold on her hand tightened painfully, and despite her resolve not to show weakness, she whimpered pitifully. Takeshi smirked and wrapped his other hand around her back, pulling her closer to him. When Kagome was so close that she could taste his breath, he spoke.
"Kagome, you know I've always had feelings for you," he said quietly. "And you also know that as your class president, I can be very... persuasive. I have most of the girls in our class simply fawning over me, and yet... you prevail over my charms. Why is that, Kagome? Am I not handsome enough? Ambitious? Popular? Please, just tell me... and I swear I'll fix it. I need you with me, Kagome."
Kagome grimaced, her anger fueling her courage. "You say you have feelings for me," she spat angrily, "but all you talk about is yourself! Maybe I rise over your arrogance because I know it's all fraud! Or maybe I'm stronger than you know. Whatever it is, I'm glad of it, and I won't take this lightly!" Kagome struggled against his hold, but she hadn't gotten any real exercise since she had come to her own time, and her arms had already been weak.
"Stop fighting me, you insolent wench!" Takeshi growled, gripping her all the more tightly, so that her arms were pinned between their bodies and she had to turn her face away to keep their noses from bumping into each other. From this point, Takeshi had the advantage, and he used it well. Kagome fought as hard as she could, but Takeshi was stronger, and he still had her pinned against him. First he kissed her mouth again after forcing her to face him. When he tried to force her mouth open, she bit him, so instead he allowed her to turn away again. Instead, he kissed her neck, her ear, anything he could reach, while he groped her leg with his free hand. After a while he came up to breathe and gloat.
"Oh, Kagome, you're simply wonderful! It's a good thing you're not very strong, too," he murmured, as tears ran freely down her cheeks. Kagome whispered something that he couldn't hear. "What was that, sweetness? You feel the same way? Well? Speak up, darling, I can't hear you."
Kagome glared at him through her tears and replied quite openly, "I said, 'I hate you'. You hurt me. And as much as you've hurt me, he's still hurt me more. And I hate you for showing me that." Takeshi glowered at her.
"Who is 'he'?" He asked threateningly.
"A wonderful man, more of one than you'll ever be!" Kagome spat back.
"Yes, yes, all very well, but who?" Kagome turned to tell him, but stopped, open-mouthed, staring behind him. "Kagome? Who are you talking about? Who hurt you so much?" Violently he shook her shoulders.
"She is talking," said a very irate voice behind him, as a strong, clawed hand gripped his shoulder tightly, "about me, you friggin' bastard!"
w00t, little bar thingy is working again!
Ahem. So, yes, I continue with the story... I've been really into this lately, even though I haven't watched the show in a while '. I'm already halfway through chapter 8! So, I would like to take this opportunity to say: THANK YOU!!! Thanks to all you people! Thank you to those who have been keeping up with the story, those who have just begun reading the story, and most of all to those who have critiqued the story, whether you're still reading or not (XP). Just thanks in general, I suppose. Please enjoy!
P.S. Chapter 8 will be up soon.
