Don't Trust First Appearances

Chapter Ten

Kagome swam to the surface. A large intake of air was necessary, but otherwise she fared well. Swimming was something she has been good at since before her travels to the past. The miko had no qualms about helping Haruhi. Though, she continued to hope for Haruhi's safety. She would never be able to forgive herself if the drunkards hurt the brunette because not only did she promise Sango, but she made a promise to herself as well. Kagome idly swam back to shore with these thoughts on her mind. When Kagome kicked, she finally felt the sandy bottom and decided to walk the remaining distance. Finally out of the water, Kagome noticed all the girls leaving; only the hosts, Shippo, and herself remained.

Kagome ran to approach the gathered group. She could clearly hear Tamaki's voice as he yelled, "You should be more careful. You're a girl. You're not a martial artist like Honey-senpai."

Kagome was startled when Haruhi replied, "There wasn't any time to think. I don't think I did anything wrong."

Tamaki opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by Kagome who had finally reached their gathering. Kagome ran straight to Haruhi, bringing her into a tight embrace which consequently dampened the younger girl's clothes. "Haruhi-chan, you're safe," Kagome said just above a whisper. Haruhi was surprised with the sudden hug. It wasn't like Tamaki's glomps nor was it a warm, comforting hug. Haruhi wasn't sure what to make of it. The hug was odd. "I was so worried." She was worried, thought Haruhi. Surely Kagome would have understood her predicament—she's a girl too after all. Yet Haruhi connected the facts and realised that the hug was awkward because it is one filled with worry and fear. Kagome's grip tightened and she couldn't stop the tears that escaped her eyes and splashed onto Haruhi's face.

Shippo walked around with a large towel and wrapped it around Kagome's shoulders. Kagome's knees weakened. Before she fell, Shippo caught Kagome and carried her. He stated, "We better get inside. It's getting late."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Shippo took Kagome to her room. She had been silent as she clutched his shirt. He was sadden with Kagome's state, but nothing he said seem to have an impact on her. "Will you be fine by yourself until dinner?" Everyone was having some alone time until dinner—minus Mitsukuni and Takeshi who were cooking together in the staff's absence, and the twins—to cool down their frustrations.

"Hai Shippo. I just need some time to clear my head." As Shippo placed Kagome back on her feet, Kagome raised her hand slightly to lean against the door frame. She was not in any way affected by the fall or having to swim. The cause of all her problems were from emotional distress.

Shippo glowered as he watched Kagome stumble her way to the bathroom door. She reminded him of a doll. He felt pathetic for not being able to do anything. Though, he knew she would get through whatever was happening to her. She was a strong girl. "Alright then. I'll see you at dinner." He closed the door and headed somewhere where he would be able to relax. He sighed. He thought, so much for this being a fun trip.

Kagome managed to make her way to the shower. She turned the nob and the hot water poured down upon her. It felt nice. Her muscles relaxed under the warm pressure. Her eye lids lazily lowered until finally closing concealing her blue eyes.

Kagome sighed to release some of her pent up stress. She didn't know what to think anymore. Everything was contradictory. Oh, how much she wanted to scorn Haruhi. She could have been hurt or worse. Haruhi was in the same predicament as the other girls yet she paid no heed. Though if Kagome criticised her, then she would be a hypocrite since she put herself in danger a lot when she had been on her adventures. Furthermore, because Kagome had put herself in danger as well, she understood Haruhi's point of view. She just didn't want it to be the truth.

Getting dressed in some dry clothes—she wasn't going to go down to dinner in pajamas—Kagome continued to be conflicted. She put on a pair of jeans, a white tank-top, and a large red sweater.

Passing a mirror, she stopped to stare at her reflection. Why was she even cross-dressing? Sometimes the answer escaped her. Yet when she really thought about it, the only real reason she had for cross-dressing was Sesshomaru's demands. He claimed that men were dominant. But she wondered, There are some business women. He knows I can handle it, so why go through all this trouble to say I'm a male. It would definitely cause problems in the future. Kagome had tried to approach the matter before. However, Sesshomaru was often busy—or so he claimed—and when she did receive the chance to talk to him, she would chicken out. Sesshomaru was intimidating and she was uncertain. I use to be so sure of myself, but nothing makes sense anymore.

Kagome walked down several halls and got lost. It was a large unknown building, and she hadn't the slightest idea what the layout was like. "Why did this have to happen now?"

It took her half-an-hour before she finally wandered into the kitchen.

"There you are Kagome-senpai. You're late," stated Kyoya bluntly who was already situated at the large dining table with everyone else. The statement made Kagome's mood gloomier.

Kagome was about to retort but decided against it. There was already enough drama going around without increasing it.

Kagome pulled out a chair from between Shippo and Hikaru and sat down. "Sumimasen, "she chose to reply instead.

The air was filled with tension as everyone began to eat. Haruhi was highly infuriated, and Tamaki was frustrated and irritated. Shippo gazed at Haruhi as she violently snapped another crab leg. Kaoru and Hikaru gazed at Tamaki who looked like he wanted t give in, but his resolve was too strong. Kagome refused to look at anyone. If someone said between Haruhi and Tamaki that one is right and the other is wrong, then she could not take either side. Mori and Honey stared at Kagome who kept her eyes on her plate and has yet to look up. Kyoya overviewed everyone at the table.

It didn't take much longer before Haruhi and Tamaki broke into another yelling match. Kagome's shoulders trembled. Shippo saw Kagome's reaction and moved farther away from her in his seat unnoticeably. Kagome finally looked up at the two, slamming her hands roughly onto the table, standing in a way that demanded attention. Kagome's eyes gleamed with unshed tears and defiance. "Will you two stop it already! This is ridiculous."

"It's not ridiculous," shouted the Host King and the natural. The two glared at each other.

"Fine. Then leave the rest of us out of it. I can't watch this anymore. You two are not only oblivious to everyone around you, but of yourselves as well." Kagome removed her hands from the table to clench them into tight fists at her sides. "Thanks for the food, Takashi, Mitsukuni. Shippo, don't you dare follow me." She stormed out of the room.

All was quiet. For a brief moment that is. Soon after Kagome's departure, Tamaki made a comment that it was indeed Haruhi's fault and that she was ignorant getting a rise from Haruhi.

"I'm not ignorant, you idiot. It's you who doesn't understand," said Haruhi exiting the dining room. Tamaki decided to leave at the same moment but went storming in the opposite direction.

Much of the tension left the dining room, but now no one knew what to do.

Haruhi exited the bathroom. Maybe she shouldn't have eaten the crab at the pace she had eaten them. It had only upset her stomach. She didn't even know who's room she was in, or if it was merely one of the spare rooms. However, her reaction to the food was the least of her concerns at the moment. Why was everyone so mad? Kagome and the baka-king had appeared angrier than before. Couldn't they understand? It was the right thing to do. Heck, even Kagome had saved her making her in the same situation. She was a girl too even if the others were unaware.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the twisting door knob followed by the opening door. "Huh. Haruhi? Why are you here," said a soothing voice. It was an innocent question and no malice came from it. For once within the past several hours the tone was light.

"Shippo-san, is this your room? Gomen ne, I just—"

"There's nothing to worry about, Haruhi-chan. Oh, and you can drop the –san." The silence begun. Not liking the awkward silence, Shippo said, "Must be tough."

Haruhi blinked. "Excuse Me?"

"All the criticism. It must be tough—to deal with, that is." Shippo closed the door. He wanted to have a privet conversation with her. He then walked over to the bed to sit down. "You know, she isn't mad. At least I don't think so."

"Shippo-s—er—Shippo. If Kagome wants to talk to me, then she can do so herself."

Shippo frowned. He didn't want to come across as a mediator. He just wanted to have an honest chat. The fun had been ruined by the incident. Now he wanted things to go back to how they had been. "I'm not speaking on her behalf. The point I wanted to make was that we were all worried. The way you stood up to those men for pestering the girls may have been heroic, but you're also still a girl who frankly doesn't have very good athletic abilities."

Haruhi did not like to be reminded about her athletic abilities. In middle school, physical education had always lowered her grade point average. "Gee thanks."

"I don't mean it in a bad way. Anyway, Tamaki is the club's president, isn't he? As the president and as his friend, shouldn't he be worried about you. Shouldn't all your friends. And I know Kagome's mood might make her frightening, but she means well. She was really worried about you. She cares a lot you know. But I think her gender is stopping her from saying anything drastic. Kagome understands your reasoning. She's put herself in danger before too. But I think it's because of her experiences that she recognises the dangers that come with trying to play hero. She's confused," said the fox demon.

Haruhi looked down processing everything she was being told. "Then what about you?"

Shippo smirked. "What about me?"

Haruhi raised her head to stare into his green eyes. Only now did she seem to notice how old his eyes really looked. She disregarded the thought to continue with her previous question. "It makes sense for the Hosts Club members to be concerned to such a degree, but what about you? I barely know you." Her words seemed to ail Shippo, yet Haruhi could not comprehend the reason.

Shippo offered a small smile. "You're Kagome's friend, so that may be a factor; however, there is much more to you than that. You're an intelligent, down-to-earth, independent, straightforward, responsible, beautiful girl. It's quite easy to care for you." Haruhi's cheeks redden at the beautiful statement. It was odd because of the cross-dressing, but he knew her gender so it made it odder.

"But I'm dressed like a dude most of the time."

Shippo's smile widened. "You're you."

Kagome walked outside for some fresh air. She could really use some to clear her mind. She couldn't handle the argument anymore. Everyone was safe, so why couldn't everyone just understand each other. She stared up at the sky. It was dark and no stars could be seen; if there had been any, then they were hidden by the dark grey clouds. She stared. And stared. And—splat. A splash of water landed on her face. "What the…" Kagome wiped the water off before another drop hit her then another. Within seconds it was pouring rain down on her. Her eyes widened before she began to laugh. Laughter felt nice. She began twirling. She would need another shower as to not catch a cold, but something about the rain was comforting. As if it could wash all her sorrow and confusions away.

"Kagome. Kagome, what are you doing?" Kagome turned around to see Mitsukuni. He went to look for her after allowing her to have a cool down period. Yet he was very surprised when he saw her large, content smile.

Kagome walked over to the porch where Mitsukuni stood. She grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the cold, wet sand. He immediate got wet from the pelting rain. "Enjoying the rain." Kagome sat on the sand.

"I'm all wet," he complained.

Kagome stuck out her tongue. "What? Is the almighty Mitsukuni scared of a little water."

Honey was surprised. This was the most opened Kagome had ever been with him. She was even being playful. "This isn't a little. And I'm not scared of anything… except the dark and a bunch of other scary things." Kagome smiled. "So why the sudden change of attitude? You seemed pretty mad at dinner."

Kagome's smile was replaced with a frown. She brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "I was just worried."

Mitsukuni glanced down. "We were all scared for Haru-chan, you know. We're all friends. But I was scared for you too." Kagome's eyes drastically widened. "That was a really big cliff, and you were alone while trying to protect someone. That isn't very good odds."

Kagome never thought that she had worried someone. Everything about the incident was about Haruhi, or so their argument went. Kagome looked at Mitsukuni who still refused to look at her. "Gomen nasai. I didn't mean to worry anyone. I'm such a hypocrite. I feel so stupid."

"You're not stupid."

"Sometimes I wonder. What other reason could have gotten me into this mess?"

"What mess?" Honey looked up curiously.

"Never mind. My mind was wandering."

The oldest host became more insistent. "If something is bothering you, you can tell me. Remember, you don't have to do everything alone."

"Arigato Mitsukuni, but I'm more confused than anything. I just need to sort things out." It was true. She needed to sort out her thoughts. They were all over the place and tearing her apart.

Thunder echoed and a bright light flashed across the sky.

Kagome flinched at the unexpected noise before calming herself once more. She leaned over and kissed Mitsukuni on the cheek for being sweet. Mitsukuni flushed brightly from the action. "We better get inside."

It was not until later that Kagome recognized her actions for what they were. She had kissed Mitsukuni on the cheek and he thought she was a he, and guys definitely didn't do those kind of things. At least normal ones didn't.

Haruhi and Shippo were laughing. They moved from their serious conversation to a light-hearted one where they two were learning more about the other. It was a nice night until the thunder and lightning began. Haruhi jumped and scurried to the wardrobe, the only real place to hide.

"Haruhi? Are you alright?"

"Um—ah—yeah," said Haruhi with her trembling voice.

"If you're scared you, just have to say so." Shippo walked over to where Haruhi weakly stood. He brought her into a hug and as another sound of thunder came, she was more than compliant to hug Shippo back as if he could make it go away. "Being independent is a great thing, but you can rely on others sometimes. Shippo reached into his pocket to grab his music player. He put the headphone over her ears and played some soothing music. He also adjusted the volume so that it was loud enough to extract the sounds of the storm, but not too loud as to make her lose her hearing.

Haruhi looked up in surprise. There was only one thing that she could say. "Arigato."

Kagome sneezed as she put on her pajamas. Maybe being in the rain wasn't the best of ideas. Now she might catch a cold. Going through her suitcase, she noticed a white envelope. "Oh yeah. I completely forgot about this. I might as well go give it to him now. It might help him calm down. Grabbing her envelop, she wandered the halls in search of his room.

Kagome wandered around the corner to his room. She knocked a few times before entering. As she walked in, she saw the sullen blond weeping on his bed. "Is this how you spend your time, weeping?"

Tamaki looked up. He hadn't heard the knocks or the door opening. "Kagome-senpai." He was confused as to why he was there.

Kagome sat on the bed next to Tamaki. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "You shouldn't think about Haruhi too hard. It starts to mess with your head." He remained silent. "She was only trying to do what was best. She wasn't going to watch others get hurt. Haruhi will eventually find faults in her actions, but she is following her morality. Give it some time to pass over and she'll figure it out herself."

He still remained quiet. She was beginning to think an alien replaced him or something. Then he finally spoke. "…Do you really think so?"

"Yes, I do. But to talk about Haruhi-chan wasn't the reason I came here." Kagome extended her arm to give the Host King the envelop. I got this for you. It may not be much, but it's a start."

Tamaki opened the envelop. His eyes widened. Inside were recent photos of his mother. "How?"

"I still have people searching for her whereabouts, so photos are all I can give you right now," said Kagome. Tamaki brought her into a hug. He was grateful. Extremely grateful. "I'm sorry that I looked into your past. I wanted to make it up to you some way. I hope you can accept my apology."

"This means a lot to me. Thank you Kagome-senpai."

"You can drop the senpai if you want."

"It's nice to know that she is doing well." Tamaki traced the face of his mother on a close-shot.

"My otou-san died when I was young." Kagome's sudden statement caught Tamaki's immediate attention. "So I know what it's like to be separated from a parent. Though it's different because your okaa-san is still alive. That's why if I can do anything to reunite you two, even if only temporarily I will do it." Kagome watched Tamaki's grateful expression. He may be an idiot, but he was an idiot with good intentions, even if the outcome didn't always appear that way. "I'll take my leave. Oyasumi Tamaki."

"Oyasumi."

DVP21: Yeah, I apologize for my absence. I finally moved over the summer so I'm content and adjusting. I'm in my final year of high school right now and have english this semester so I am pretty much reading novels for that class in most of my spare time (though I can't really call that spare time). I'm also righting the DALF C1 test next month so I'm preparing for that. Being in my final year also means that I'm applying to universities and blah blah blah. More things that are time consuming. Then to top ot all off the teachers in my current school district are crazy and protesting and a bunch of junk I don't agree with. Until now it was mainly in the public sectors with a mild affect in secondary schools, but now it is going to take a major role on secondary schools so when I go back to school monday I will probably be screws. Well I'll have to see. But no I am not abandoning my stories. It's just trying to find time to write them. I will attempt to post more often.