Author's note: It's finally spring break and so I had the time to update. Then again, when I get back to school it's finals week. Booo! But thanks a lot for your patience and I hope you enjoy this chapter. If you have any comments, feel free to leave a review or message me. I'll talk to you guys soon!
Title: On the Other Side
Chapter: First Date
Kagome
"I'm not getting any younger" I heard his voice from the door way. Quickly jabbing my arm into the sleeves of my hoody, I flipped open my suitcase. My favorite pair of black shorts just had to be on the bottom, stuck between two pairs of shoes. Taking out my shorts, my back involuntarily slouched. The shorts had dust prints on it from my shoes. Looking myself in the mirror, I only had a hoody on with a pair of cow-print undergarments. Taking a quick peek at the silver bag tucked beneath my shoes, I sighed. I knew I had to wear the clothes that Sango snuck into my bag. My plan of not wearing it and returning it to the store was clearly not going to work this time. Taking a pair of scissors from my desk, I cut the piece of plastic that connected the summery pink dress to the 200 dollar price tag. I must admit, it is a beautiful summer dress, the pastel white floral designs added a touch of femininity and the length was just right, 5 inches above my knees. Now, the problem is I'm 200 dollars more in debt to Sango.
"I'm coming, geez!" I shouted back at him, quickly slipping on a pair of white flats with a small light pink bow attached to the front. I sweatdropped at the thought that Sango had this whole outfit planned for me without me knowing. Staggering to get down the stairs with my arms around my legs, I realized the 'flowyness' of the dress would be a big problem with the weather outside. From what I remember, the weatherman said it would be a tad windy. Hopefully I won't pull a Marilyn Monroe moment, and with my luck I probably will; except I'll look like a hippo in a tutu compared to her. As I reached the doorway, I looked at Sesshoumaru's face as he arched an eyebrow.
"You are as graceful as a cow in stilettos" He stated, then whispered into my ear. "Your child animal print underwear fetish is safe with me."
I could feel my face turn tomato red as Sesshoumaru started to walk out the door. I gritted my teeth as my grip began to tighten. Not saying another word to him, I held my anger in as I followed him onto the pavement. Walking towards the busy streets of Osaka, I continued to follow his footsteps, not knowing where we were going. The beeping of automobiles and the chitchat of people walking on the same street as us reminded me of the city. Concentrating on how I'll be able to explain the baby that is yet to be born to everyone, my head started to hurt.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Sesshoumaru
"What would you like to eat?" I stopped midway in the busy sidewalk and looked up at the small café. Seconds later, I felt someone bump into me from the back. Turning around, there was Kagome stepping back with her palm on her forehead. The wench must have not been paying attention to her surroundings. Feeling remorse about the Angelique incident, I called Miroku last night asking what I should do in order to make her feel as if nothing happened. Since when the wench is shocked, she ponders on the situation and doesn't eat at all. I could feel my shoulders tense up as a consequence for staying up late on the computer yesterday and having to keep the phone in between my ear and shoulders. After about 15 Google searches on how to plan the perfect apology date, I mapped out a complete diagram, minus the intimate moments.
"Look, they have Tiramisu!" Kagome's palms instantly stuck to the glass as she gazed at the small pastry. Figures her mentality of a child would also come along with a sweet tooth. "Wait.." She instantly stepped back and glared at me. "Who's paying?"
"We each pay for our own portion." I smiled then turning to the woman behind the counter. "One Tiramisu, a slice of chocolate mousse cake, and the picnic set for two please."
"Wait, I never said I wanted any picnic set" Kagome violently jabbed her elbow into my side. After multiple times of her jabbing her steel like elbow into my sides, my hand automatically caught her arm. "Where are we going?" She crossed her arms and turned around, taking a quick peek at the numbers that rang up in the cash register. "SEVEN THOUSAND YEN?"
"This place is known for its picnic sets. As expected you as a commoner would not know of it." I solemnly spoke, picking up the brown paper bag and continued to walk out the café. "Seventy dollars is nothing really. Your salmon dish was fourty." Her expression of despair amused me as I turned around and continued to walk ahead of her. After twenty minutes of her mumbling incantations behind my back, I turned around only to find her glaring at me.
"I'm not paying half." She turned her head, looking to the side.
"Let's make a deal" I grinned, following the narrow path leading to a small stall in the middle of the park. Green grass greeted us as we continued to walk towards the path. The conversation amongst birds grew louder as the sun casted its rays across the park. A big marble fountain spouted water out as it stood next to the lake. Taking a deep breath to absorb the crisp air, I opened my eyes only to see Kagome with a skeptical look on her face. "If you manage not to tip us over, I won't make you pay."
"Tip us over..?" She placed her index finger on her chin, pondering on my last sentence. Walking closer to the shack, I smiled at the old man inside.
"We're having a picnic at the lake, one canoe please." I smiled, "life jackets are not necessary for it will get in our way."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Kagome
My jaw dropped the second we walked past the sketchy old wooden stall. Not because of the sparkling lake stood before us and the beautiful trees on the opposite side. Nor the birds that happily chirped away.
But the jerk didn't want us to have life jackets.
I eyed Sesshoumaru once more as he smiled once again. I knew I should have never agreed to this date, I didn't even know why I was so excited about it in the first place. "Miss please get into the canoe. I assure you that it is safe." The man with a French beret and a pin stripped shirt gestured me onto the canoe. The front of it was already in the water where as the back end barely touched the sand on the shore. "I will push the canoe into the water after I affirm that you are safely in there."
"No. I am not going on that thing. For all I know, there might be holes and I'll drown." I shook my head, hoping he'll get the message that I can't swim. If I make it back alive, I'm pressing charges.
"You aren't going to drown" He sighed, getting out of the canoe. "Why must you be so stubborn" He shook his head, quickly picking me up.
"Let me go!" I screamed, I couldn't see the ground anymore. The jerk must have stepped into the canoe.
"Ja! Have fun and return safely!" The man happily waved at us as the canoe departed from the shore.
"If you keep kicking, I'll drop you into the water." His arms held me out to the water. I gasped as I looked down and quickly held onto his neck. Gently putting me down onto the seat of the wooden boat, he took out a medium sized box from the brown bag and set it on the small table between us. Once he finished setting the table, I looked around. We weren't the only ones out here on a date, other couples were having brunch as well. The table cloth and utensils must have been set already, for all of the canoes have the same settings. Looking back at our table, riceballs were neatly placed in a black bento box in front of me. To the left of the bento box were small sandwhiches; and to the right, chicken teriyaki. In front of Sesshoumaru were three rolls of distinct sushi pieces stacked next to eachother in individual boxes. My mouth started to water as the smell pervaded through the air. "You don't get sea—er lake sick right?" Sesshoumaru arched an eyebrow.
"No. But if I happen to do so, I'll be sure to vomit on you." I cracked a smile. "You know, don't want to ruin Mother Nature with my hydrochloric acid and stuff."
"I love how every smart remark you make fails the second you start opening your mouth again." He picked up his chopsticks and picked up some of the chicken.
"Like you're any better" I rolled my eyes, picking up an onigiri. For the next ten minutes we ate in silence as the couples that passed us eyed us. Not knowing what to say, we both continued to eat until there weren't any more food on the table. I knew that if I opened my mouth, an insult would come out involuntarily. It wasn't like I wanted to insult him. He did have his moments when he saved me from the doctor or when he made dinner for me. I looked at him as I continued to chew on my rice ball, the mid-afternoon sun shone on Sesshoumaru, making his golden eyes even more mesmerizing.
"I'm still the child's father you know" His voice was suddenly softer than before as he put all of the trash back into the brown paper bag.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Sesshoumaru
Kagome stared at me quietly when I spoke almost as if I startled her. "Nothing will change. I'm still the child's father no matter how you look at it. It was partially my fault that you're pregnant and so taking responsibility is natural." I tried to remember the rest of what I wrote on the post-it note I forgot on my desk. Stuttering on the last word, I decided to wing it. Hell, if Miroku can fake his way through after sleeping with multiple girls, I should be able to come up with some fluff to make her feel better.
"Partially your fault? It was ALL your fault" Kagome crossed her arms. Realizing that sweet talking her wasn't going to get me anywhere, my irritation with her started to rise. Why couldn't she be like any other girl and just accept the fact that I took her out here to apologize.
"The first word he should learn should be papa." I stated, trying to keep the situation calm. Kagome's expression started to soften as she eyed me once more and didn't give me a reply. Her brows were furrowed as she bit her lip. Shit. I should have never brought up the child, now her dysfunctional mind will come up with drastic situations concerning the child. Then again, after watching The Miracle of Life in Biology class back in high school did horrify me of how the child comes out of the mother.
"Mama" She whispered. "And how do you know it'll be a boy?" She pouted, putting one had on her stomach.
"We all know that if it turns out to be a girl, it'll take a turn for the worse and take after you" I jokingly mocked her. Grabbing ends of the paddles, I started to row the boat back towards to shore.
"What's so bad about taking after me? At least she won't be jerk like you" She continued to rub her stomach. "Right?" She whispered towards her belly.
"If the child does inherit my qualities, it'll be intelligent and handsome." I stopped rowing and allowed the current to take over.
"Handsome? Pfft. Please, I've been with men better looking than you." She retorted. "There's—" I chuckled before she can even start counting. The wench clearly couldn't count anyone out of the blue. "WELL, if they do take after me, they'll be kind and trustworthy."
"Kind? I don't think the word kind exists when it comes to describing Kagome Higurashi"
Sticking her tongue out at me, she rolled her eyes. "Okay then, why don't you describe me then, Mister Know-it-All"
"I already did." I stated as I cleared the last plate on the table.
"Oh really?" Kagome laid her elbows on the table, with her chin resting on her palms. "When?"
"Can't tell you" I inched closer to her giving her a quick smirk. The wind blew her silky raven hair gently as she tucked pieces of it behind her ear. Her caramel eyes stared at me once again with the same look on her face of when I first saw her through my apartment window. She was in deep thought. Unaware of how close we were to each other, the thought of kissing her entered my mind.
"Angelique!" She suddenly shoved me away from her, snapping me back to reality.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Kagome
His golden eyes inched closer to me as I stayed still. Still pondering on the papa comment he made earlier. Part of me was happy that the child can still call him papa, and the other part of my was still upset. Not realizing that he was an inch away from me, I involuntarily closed my eyes waiting for him to get closer.
"Darling!" I heard a faint voice coming from the front of us. Opening my eyes, I could see a tall, thin blond haired model waving at us. Quickly pushing Sesshoumaru away, the boat started to sway. I got up and started to panic. Gripping onto the sides of the boat, I realized that the wind started to pick up, adding to the momentum of the rocking boat.
"Kagome, stay still. Stop moving." I could hear Sesshoumaru's voice trying to calm me down. I bit my lip as I took a deep breath. Looking over into the water, I could see the shore.
"Don't get up yet, you'll tip the—" I heard the guy with the pin stripped shirt shout towards me. Before I knew it, I was under the boat with water going up my nose. My arms started to panic as I tried to make my way to the side of the boat. My fail attempt to swim to the side caused me to black out. Minutes later, I could hear someone calling out to me.
"Kagome!" I opened my eyes to find Sesshoumaru, his hair wet with a worried look on his face. I bit my lip as I realized he was the one who saved me once again. Next to him was Angelique, standing there, pretending to panic.
"Oh darling, you saved her again!" She hugged Sesshoumaru from the back.
I looked down at my legs. The dress that Sango bought me was ruined. Not only it was soaking wet, but sand got on it as well. "T-thanks" I nodded, as I continued to sit there, trying to muster the strength to get up.
"Are you alright?" Sesshoumaru asked, who was now standing alongside with Angelique. Her hands were now clutched onto his arm.
"Yeah of course" I mustered a smile. "No big deal, this must happen all the time around here" I joked around with the pin striped shirt man as he laughed along with me. The words Sesshoumaru stated early started to seem fake the longer Angelique stayed by his side. Trying not to cry, I thanked him for the blanket as Angelique pulled his arm towards the exit. The second his back was turned towards me, my arm involuntarily reached for his hand.
Sesshoumaru
"Come on darling, I happened to take a stroll along the park and I saw you here. She must have took you out here to say thank you for earlier." She smiled, rubbing her cheek against my wet shoulder as we started to make our way to the exit sign. Suddenly, I felt a light tug on my hand. Turning around, there was Kagome's hand gripping onto my index and middle finger. After realizing what she had done, Kagome snapped her hand back. "Honey, come on or else we'll be late for our date!" She eyed Kagome. As we entered a clothing store, my mind drifted off to Kagome.
"Angelique, go ahead. I'll call you and meet up with you later." I quickly grabbed the fleece jacket and headed towards the cashier.
"What's wrong? Is it that girl again? I'm sure she'll be able to get back home on her own." She pouted, still holding on to my hand. "You saved her twice and she still didn't even thank you properly."
"I'll be back tonight, don't worry." I smiled, grabbing the bag and headed out the door. Quickly running back to the lake, I looked around for Kagome. Not knowing what to do, I stopped by the fountain to clear my mind.
"Hello? Sango? I just wanted to call to tell you that I'm fine." I could hear a familiar voice choking back tears. "Yup, bye" She quickly closed the phone and gave it back to a woman in her thirties. "Thanks for letting me borrow your phone ma'm"
"Don't you watch the news? The weatherman said it would be windy today" I grabbed the jacket from the bag and wrapped it around her. "Geez wench, you never listen."
Looking up at me, Kagome started to cry. Eyes started to dart towards us as her sobs got louder. Grabbing her arm, and making our way towards the trees, I knew I had to hide before someone recognizes me. "I—ew ouldn ve ot oo" The words that came out of her mouth made no sense as she started to hiccup as she spoke.
"You what?" I sat down on the grass besides her.
"I knew I should have never got up" She hiccupped once more. "I saw Angelique and I didn't want her to think anything so I panic" She clutched the collar of the jacket.
"Well she thought that you wanted to repay me and so you took me out, it's no problem really" I tried to calm her down with my hand on top of her head. Sitting there in silence with her, I suddenly felt a light tap on my shoulder. Looking to the side, there she was, silently sleeping next to me with her head on my shoulder.