Last time:
"I'm not." Kagome said, "I guess what we thought was meant to be wasn't. These things happen for a reason. Up until now, I've ignored them. But not this time. It's over. Done." Then she added solemnly, "I'll give your ring back tomorrow." Ranma almost laughed."Keep it," he said, "That way you'll have something to remember me by." With that, he hung up.
Now:
Kagome was almost asleep when she heard her phone ringing. She opened it without reading the caller ID. "Hello?" she said drowsily. "Hi Kagome." She yawned. "Who is this?"she asked with another yawn. "Inuyasha." Kagome said nothing. "I heard about you and Ranma." Silence. "Say, I was thinking, since neither of us really have dates, would you like to go to prom with me? I know it's short notice, but…" he trailed off. "I need some time." Kagome said. "Ok." Inuyasha agreed. "Bye." Kagome said and hung up.
The next day was Saturday. The day of the prom. Kagome wasn't exactly excited about having an almost date to the prom. She was still trying to get over the whole situation with Ranma. She wasn't exactly sure what had gone wrong, but she knew it was over and done with. That was that. Right then she decided she'd take up Inuyasha and Sango on their offers. The first call she made was to Sango to tell her she'd go shopping with her. The second was to Inuyasha to confirm their date.
Twenty minutes later, the girls were in their favorite store looking around. "Kagome-chan, what about this?" Sango asked, holding up a midnight blue dress. Kagome examined the dress. "Nah." She said and turned to keep looking. "What do you think of this one?" Kagome asked showing her friend an ice-blue strapless dress with blue sequins across the top bandof the dress. "Ooh, that's pretty." Sango said. "I'm gonna go try it on." Kagome said, and she did just that. She loved the way the dress fit. It clung to her body and Kagome had to admit it was about the closest thing to perfect that she'd find. She stepped out to show Sango. She smiled brightly. "Its perfect!" she exclaimed.
"You think so?" Kagome asked, and twirled, the soft silk-like material that came to her ankles spun as she did. "That is so the one!" Sango said. "Alright." Kagome said and went to change. "Now we have to get you the perfect necklace." Sango said and pulled her off to the jewelry section. "This is perfect!" Sango said as she held up a sapphire pendant shaped like a heart on a silver chain. No sooner did Sango drop the necklace in Kagome's hands than she scurried off to find something else. "Here," she said when she came back, "These will work." She showed Kagome a pair of teardrop hanging earrings that were the same crystal-blue as the dress. "And now we go pay for it. Or you do." Kagome laughed."Yeah." The total was more than Kagome wanted to spend. But it was prom. And you only go to prom once.
When Kagome got home, she eagerly showed off her newdress. "You like it?" Kagome asked and twirled. "It's pretty, sis." Souta said. Kagome beamed. "So who are you going with?" her mother asked bitterly. "Inuyasha." Kagome said. "What about Ranma, nee-chan?" Souta asked. Kagome looked away. "Nee-chan?"Kagome ruffled her brother's hair, gave him a half-smile and walked away.
Around 7, Inuyasha arrived, dressed in a tuxedo. Kagome had on her dress and jewelry as well as aqua eye shadow and matching glitter on her eyelids. "Hey," Inuyasha said, "You look beautiful." He kissed Kagome on the cheek. "Here," he said and held out a lily corsage. "I thought the white flowers would look pretty with your dress." The hanyou said, his cheeks lighting up some. "Thank you." Kagome said. "Shall we?" Inuyasha asked, offering Kagome his arm. She took his arm and they left.
For the most part the car ride was silent. Except for a few questions, there was no conversation. They arrived at the location where the prom was to take place. Some club Kagome had never heard of. Inuyasha parked, helped Kagome out and escorted her in. there was still almost no conversation between them. Kagome did a quick scan to see if she could find her friends. She quickly spotted Sango in a coral-colored dress holding onto Miroku's arm. Out of the corner ofher eye, Kagome saw Ukyo and…
She did a double take to make sure she was seeing right. And she was. Ignore it. She told herself. Disturbing as it was to her to see Ranma and Ukyo together, she knew she couldn't do anything about it. Ranma could do whatever he wanted. She didn't care. Did she? Kagome shook her head. "You okay?" Inuyasha asked.
"Yeah." Kagome said. the room filled quickly and music began to blast. The dance floor filled quickly and the night began. "Let's dance." Inuyasha said as Every Time We Touch began to play. Kagome nodded and they made their way onto the crowded dance floor. As they danced, Kagome constantly felt someone bumping into her from behind. She figured it was just and accident. But when it happened several more times, she started to get annoyed. She whipped around to yell at the person but froze as she found herself face to face with Ranma. After one glance, she turned away.
Her cheeks were lit up crimson. She'd almost forgotten how good he looked dressed up in a tux. It sort of surprised Kagome when Ranma seemed to take notice of her. She and Inuyasha continued to dance and out of the corner of her eye, Kagome saw Ukyo rubbing against Ranma like a kitten. It irritated her, but she knew there was nothing she could do. Ranma was her ex-fiancée that left her in no position to do anything about it.
Meanwhile, Ranma was starting to get nervous. "It's not working." He whispered in Ukyo's ear. "Keep trying," she whispered back, "try everything. Do everything Sango told you. Even if you have to go to last resort." Ranma nodded and they continued dancing. When Inuyasha and Kagome went to sit down, Ranma and Ukyo discreetly followed themand sat at the table behind them. After about 3 hours of chatting, laughing, and dancing the deejay stopped the music and the vice-principal of the school started to talk. "All right, is everyone having a good time?"
Everyone except two people cheered. "All right. It's almost time to-" she stopped as a girl in a coral colored dress whispered in her ear. She nodded to her. When the girl stepped away, Kagome recognized her as Sango. The woman cleared her throat. "As I was saying it's almost time to vote for your prom king and queen!" a loud cheer went up. She clicked the microphone off and said something to her sophomore assistants. They looked at her then one of them picked up the stack of ballots and slammed them down. Kagome couldn't tell what they were saying, but they looked angry. Kagome stood up and excused herself. Ukyo tapped Ranma's hand and he stood and followed Kagome.
Before Kagome was halfway through the hall, Ranma had caught up with her. He stepped in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Can we talk?" he asked. Kagome turned away. "There's nothing to talk about." She said. "Sure there is." Ranma said and lifted her chin. Gazing intently into Kagome's hazel eyes, he said, "Kagome I love you. I never wanted us to fall apart. I'd do anything to make it up."Kagome shook her head. "It doesn't work that way." She said. "I know you don't despise me." Ranma said. "I don't." Kagome said, "But you and I are over." Ranma tried to hold back the overpowering emotions gripping him. But he failed. "Kagome," he sobbed, "It's not supposed to be this way! You know that!" Kagome sighed and shook her head.
"Let me go." She said,"It's not worth it." She stepped back. "That's not true. You're all I live for, I can't live without you!" free falling tears splattered Ranma's face. "You'll get over it. I did." Kagome said, not completely truthfully. "What about everything we've been through?" Ranma asked, "Are you just gonna forget it ever happened?" his usual strong self was breaking down and being consumed by a weaker one.
"No, I won't forget," Kagome said, "but I thought, after what happened, when I told you I wasn't really pregnant, you wouldn't love me anymore. Or not as much." Her gaze shifted away. "That's what this is about?" Ranma asked and sighed, "Kags, I never stopped loving you or loved you any less than I do." Kagome lifted her head. "Why didn't you say anything before now?" she asked. "I wanted to. But I was afraid you'd turn me away." He sighed, "God, Kagome I can't tell you how many times I wanted so badly to call you and try to get us back together." Kagome rolled her eyes.
"Why didn't you?" she asked, her tone of voice betraying her sad expression. "I told you, I thought you'd turn me away." Kagome sighed. "It's too late now." She said. "Why? Why does it have to be?" Ranma's steel-blue eyes filled with tears. "I-I…" Kagome stuttered. She, too was starting to break down, despite her attempt to be strong. "Kagome, this was never supposed to happen. I never wanted this to happen. I love you. You know I do. And I know
you feel the same." Kagome looked away. "I do," she said, "sort of." She practically whispered the last two words. "What do mean sort of?" Ranma asked. "I mean I don't care about you like I did!" Kagome screamed, "Get over it!" with that, she spun on her heels and left Ranma, alone and heartbroken.
As Kagome came back to sit down, it looked as though the ballots were being passed out. She put her head down and sighed. "You okay?" Inuyasha asked. Kagome just groaned."Not having fun?" a small sophomore girl with ballots in her arms asked. Inuyasha gave her a look. She then placed two ballots on their table and scurried away. "I'm voting for us." Inuyasha announced and filled out the paper. Kagome picked Kouga and Ayame, since she didn't feel it was worth voting for herself.
A few minutes later another underclassmen came to pick up the ballots. The music resumed and everyone flocked back to the dance floor. After sitting in silence for a while, Inuyasha stood and extended a hand to Kagome. "Dance?" he asked. Kagome put her head down. Inuyasha sat down. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Kagome?" she could barely hear him. The voices in her head blocked out all other sound. Ranma's words echoed in her ears. It's not supposed to be this way…Be this way… Kagome couldn't handle it anymore, and she started crying. Slightly alarmed, Inuyasha put his arms around her. "What is it? Are you okay?" Kagome picked her head up.
"No." she said.
"Do you want to leave?" Kagome nodded and stood. Inuyasha put an arm around her shoulders. A woman tapped Inuyasha on the shoulder. "Come on." She said, it's almost time to announce the winners and all candidates must stay. Inuyasha gave her a look. "But, she…" he looked at Kagome. "All candidates for prom king and queen to the stage, please." A voice said. "Go on." Another girl encouraged. Kagome shrugged and she and Inuyasha turned and made their way to the stage. "Good luck!" the girl called.
When all the candidates were lined up, the girls in one line and the boys in another, the principal was handed two envelopes. "We have our results!" she announced. A loud cheer filled the room. "Our prom queen is…Kagome Higurashi!" Kagome gasped, amazed that she'd really won. She saw Inuyasha smile brightly at her. She stepped forward and she was handed a large bouquet of roses and a sparkling tiara was presented to her and she kneeled so it could be placed on top of her head. She rose again and waved out to the audience. "Yeah, Kagome!!" She heard Sango yell. A lot of whistles and cheers resonated from the crowd. Kagome couldn't help but smile, she had just won the title of prom queen.
When the noise died down, the principal cleared her throat. "And our prom king is…Ranma Saotome!" Kagome's smile dropped. She suddenly didn't want to be here anymore. Didn't want to have to face the inevitable. And out of the corner of her eye, Kagome could tell Ranma wasn't any more at ease than she was. Beside her, Ranma tensed. It felt all wrong. They'd won together like they'd wanted, but this didn't feel like winning. "Let's hear it for these two!" There was only mild applause. Everyone knew it must have been awkward for them. And it was. Kagome fidgeted and scanned the crowd to keep from looking at Ranma. But she did notice him looking at her. She turned to say something, and he turned away. "Now," the woman went on,
"As is tradition, the king and queen will have a dance." Kagome looked horrified. "No, I really can't-" she trailed off. "Come on, Kags, don't break tradition." Ranma teased. She glared at him. Reluctantly, Kagome followed Ranma onto the empty dance floor and Until the End of Time began to play. Kagome's eyes met Ranma's and she reluctantly stepped closer to him and they started to slow dance.
"I've missed being this close to you." Ranma whispered in Kagome's ear after a minute. "Don't get used to it." Kagome snapped. "No need to be so harsh." Ranma said, halfway teasing. "I will if I want." Kagome said a slight flirty edge to her voice. "I knew you still had it in you." Ranma said. "What?" Kagome asked. When Ranma didn't answer, she let it go. "I was right, you know." He said as the song was ending. "Huh?" Ranma smiled. "You are a beautiful prom queen." Before Kagome could respond, Ranma had turned and walked away.
Kagome sat back down with Inuyasha, a smile on her face. "Still wanna leave?" he asked. Kagome shook her head no. "Good," he said, "Cuz I don't wanna leave yet." He leaned across and kissed Kagome on the lips. When the kiss broke, Inuyasha smiled. Kagome smiled as well. She had a sudden feeling she was being watched and she saw Ranma passing by, which meant he'd seen she and Inuyasha kissing.
He passed by them and sat at his table across from Ukyo. "How'd it go?" she asked. "How do you think it went?" Ranma snapped. "I'm sorry." Ukyo said and put her hand in his. Ranma sighed. "I don't know why she won't listen." Ukyo gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm here for you." She said, rubbing his hand with her own. "Thank you, Ucc-chan, but I-" he was cut off as Ukyo kissed him softly. She pulled back and smiled.
He did not return it. "I'm sorry, Ukyo, but I can't move on just yet. I still love Kagome. I need time." Ukyo sighed. "Okay. But I want you to know, I'll be waiting." Ranma shook his head. "I'm really sorry, Ukyo." He said, then stood and left without a word to anyone. Kagome, meanwhile, was dancing with Inuyasha on the crowded dance floor, so she had no idea he'd left. With a final look back he was gone into the night.
Around midnight, the party started breaking up. Couples departed and stragglers took their time. Kagome and Inuyasha had left early. At her doorstep, Inuyasha kissed Kagome goodnight and he left her. "Hi, Kagome." Her mother said when she came in. "How was it?" Kagome sighed. "Complicated." She said. "Oh?" her mother said, "How so?" Where to begin? Kagome told her mother about the confrontation with Ranma and how they'd end up winning prom king and queen. She highlighted other important events such as her and Inuyasha getting together.
"Sounds like you had fun, dear." Her mother said. "I did." Kagome said with a smile. "Imma go to bed." Kagome said with a yawn. "Good night." Kagome trudged upstairs, cleaned her face, hung up her dress and gently placed the tiara on her dresser. What a night. She thought as she climbed in bed. It was a crazy night, but Kagome would relive it if she could. Putting all the drama of the night behind, she closed her eyes and went to sleep.
There ya go! That's the story! I hope you liked it! I know some of you were looking forward to a happy ending, but I had this whole ending planned out, and I wanted it the way it is. I'm sorry if you don't like the ending, but happy endings aren't exactly my thing. To everyone who's been helping me all the way through, thank you. I've been through some tough times lately and I really appreciate your support. I might write a follow-up, might not. idk yet. So, yeah, please review! :)
-Inu Hanyou Babe