I Believe in Yesterday

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Part 10

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"Hey Sango, what's up!" Rin had decided since there was trouble with her friends that she would have to visit the dorms more often, so two days after she had witnessed Kagura and Kikyo fighting, she returned with a renewed sense of strength, convinced she'd be able to solve the problems if she just tried hard enough. After all, she was so happy, she wanted everyone else to be happy, too.

"I don't know, it's just getting weirder and weirder around here." Sango told her as she locked her door, putting her keys in her pocket as she stood in the hallway with Rin. She looked at the other end of the hall where the main sources of conflict resided, and frowned slightly. "Yeah, probably just don't even go down there."

"I wanted to try and talk to Kagura and Kikyo again." Rin told her, frowning slightly

"No, well, I mean, Kagura's been out for a while, I think she's still in class or studying or something. They've been avoiding each other, you know." Sango explained, leading her friend to the elevators, which they boarded while Sango continued in a low tone. "But Kikyo left for work a while ago, so there's no one to talk to right now. But I think when Kikyo came out, the room change form…it wasn't on the door."

"Did they change their minds? Maybe they made up!" Rin was optimistic as always but followed Sango off the elevator.

"No, I don't think so. I think they turned it in." Sango told her. "I was going to Uncommon Grounds, though. Kikyo's working right now, and I think I can get some information. I'm sure she'll mention something to Miroku or Kagome, even if she doesn't say anything to us."

"Oh, that's a good idea! Maybe I can talk to Kikyo and she'll stop fighting with Kagura." Rin clasped her hands to her heart and Sango frowned slightly. "What about the boys, are they okay now? They seemed fine when I checked up on them the other day."

"Well, those two…it's never really serious, is it?" Sango shrugged. "Well, I mean, it might be. Inuyasha's seemed pretty pissed ever since he caught Kouga and Kagome kissing, and she swore it wasn't anything like what it seemed, and I guess I believe her, but…I don't know. Kagome's been weird lately, too."

"What do you mean?" Rin gasped. "You two aren't fighting now as well, are you? No! You two can't fight!"

"No, nothing like that." Sango assured her. "But the other day, we went to do some pictures, and she left way before me. She seemed really…like exhausted, or sick or something, and then I thought she had some weird bug, because when I got back she was all wrapped up in blankets and skipped all her classes the next day. But then today, she's fine, except she's really quiet, and she gets up and puts on like three sweaters, which seemed odd to me, but I don't know, maybe she's cold or something? And she went to class and then to work. But I don't know. I don't really think she's sick. I think something is wrong. Like someone said something to her, or something happened at home, and she just doesn't want to worry us, so she's keeping it all bottled up. You know how she is."

"That is odd." Rin frowned slightly.

"Oh yeah, and when she got changed today, she did it in the closet, which is like…fine, okay, but she never worried about changing in front of me before, and I don't know, it's like she's suddenly had a body snatcher come, and now it seems like Kagome, but it's not, you know what I mean?" Sango asked, tilting her head to one side.

"I guess so." Rin sighed, feeling sad that things were seemingly getting worse and worse with all of her friends. "Are there any other troubles? What about Shippo and Miroku?"

"Same old same old." Sango snorted. "Shippo's life is devoted to getting Kikyo's attention, and Miroku's trying to get with every other girl on campus."

"Sango, don't be mean to him, I know he talks like that, but I think he really likes you." Rin patted her back as they turned into the coffee shop. "You should give him a chance."

"Sorry, I don't want to be a notch on the bedpost." Sango rolled her eyes before grabbing Rin's arm, stopping her before they got close enough to the counter to be overheard, whispering urgently. "Look, I know you're worried, but don't repeat what I was telling you, especially the stuff about Kagome. And don't push Kikyo too hard." Rin nodded slightly and they approached the counter together. "Hey Kikyo, how are you?"

"Fabulous." The pale girl deadpanned, and behind her, Miroku waved at them both enthusiastically. Sango studiously ignored him, while Rin waved back. "What do you want?"

"Could I have a hazelnut mocha?" Sango asked, "Rin, I can get yours, too."

"Oh! Thanks. I'd like a raspberry mocha, please!" she smiled brightly, and Kikyo blinked at her.

"Why are you so chipper all the time?" she asked in vague irritation. "I mean, is he really that good in bed?"

"Kikyo!" Sango was surprised that the other girl would lash out at Rin, of all people. "Come on, she's just being nice."

"Whatever, I'm sick of people and their crap." She rang them up with much more slamming than was strictly necessary. "Which is why from now on, I'm living alone, and I have decided to have no friends at all."

"Not even Shippo?" Sango asked, not knowing what else to say. Rin looked completely heartbroken.

"Everyone just turns on you eventually." She explained with a shrug before wadding up their drink order, tossing it at Miroku's head and walking away. "Why waste time?"

"Ladies!" Miroku swept over to them, giving a slight bow. "I apologize for that, but one of our wonderful café's appealing features is the multitude of people and perspectives coming together, for the common cause of coffee." He made a big show of ushering them over to a small, unoccupied table, wiping it unnecessarily with a flourish of his towel and bowing again. "You'll find that even the most unlikely of souls can find a connection here." He lifted Sango's hands to his lips and she pulled it away in annoyance, causing him to retreat to the espresso machine. Sango nudged Rin and pointed over at Kagome, who looked half asleep and was wearing her apron over layered sweaters, sluggishly bussing tables.

"See what I mean?" Sango whispered. "What do you think? Do you think she's just sick, or is there something serious going on there?"

"I don't know." Rin frowned, her brow furrowing as she considered the problem. "Uh oh…"

"What?" Sango looked over to the door and saw what Rin had just spotted. Kagura was entering the shop, and she looked like she meant business. "Crap…well, let's just…watch for now. I don't know if it'll help if we interfere."

"Miroku, are you serious?" they heard Kikyo's voice, and noticed that she was scolding her fellow barista, who looked very sheepish. "What the hell is this supposed to be? It's all over the counter."

"Sango's drink." He told her. "It has a secret message, you see, meant only for her."

"What is it supposed to be? I got syrup all over your cup and everywhere else? This is a mess." Kikyo scolded him. "This is why we never let you make drinks. It doesn't have to be elaborate, just follow the orders."

"But if you look, I have written I love you. You see, there is a heart around it, and certainly it is a bit hard to read, but I think it is a beautiful expression of my emotions." Miroku pleaded.

"Excuse me!" Kagura rapped the counter with her knuckles. "I'm waiting here."

"Great, wait a little longer." Kikyo turned to her with an acid glare. "You," she turned back to Miroku. "Throw that away, make it right, and clean your mess. Then trade with Kagome, I'm not leaving you in charge of drinks, and even if she's having an off day, she's a better worker than you."

"You wound me with your insensitivity." Miroku sighed sadly as he followed her orders. "If you were not so very beautiful I might find it unbearable." Kikyo ignored him and turned to Kagura, who was standing at the counter with a no-nonsense look on her face.

"And what do you want?" Kikyo asked her, eyes narrowed.

"I need to talk to you." Kagura told her in a businesslike tone. Kikyo looked at her suspiciously, taking in her impeccable makeup, her professional style of dress, and her hair pulled in a perfect French twist. Kagura usually dressed nicer the more nervous she was, so Kikyo felt like this might actually be worth listening to.

"You have five minutes." She turned away a moment and called out to her coworker. "Kagome! Get your angsty pout over here and watch the counter while I go out back. And don't let Miroku make any more drinks!" she beckoned the man in question, looked at his new hazelnut mocha, and waved him away as though to say he had passed muster this time. "Come on. They'll light it on fire if I'm gone too long."

"What's wrong with Kagome? Did Inuyasha start dating Kouga, drying up her whole boyfriend pool?" Kagura asked, laughing at her own joke. "Man, that would actually be really funny."

"I don't have time for idle chit-chat." Kikyo told her as she closed the door to the back room. "What's this about?"

"Well, I was just thinking." Kagura frowned, and pulled out a folded piece of yellow paper, Kikyo knew what it was right away. "About this whole thing."

"I thought you were turning it in today." Kikyo told her in an icy tone.

"I was going to." Kagura told her. "I even signed it, here." She unfolded it for Kikyo to see. "But I thought, you know, when we apply for this, we don't know where we'll end up, or who we'll be near. And I hate Kouga, but I like that building, since that's where all my friends are. And I know you say you don't care, but I'm sure you kind of get along with them too. And honestly, who can say we won't end up with someone even more irritating? Even if we didn't, let's face it, we're both utter bitches. We're going to make two perfectly innocent people miserable, and probably drive them crazy, which might be helpful for your future thesis, but in the mean time…I don't know, it seems like a waste of time. I think we're the only two people who can stand to live with each other."

"I think you might be right." Kikyo took the proffered form and looked at it in deep thought. "I do hate basically everyone. But I don't really…hate you as much."

"That's probably the nicest thing you've ever said." Kagura smiled, and Kikyo gave a small grin in return, still looking at the form. "So I'll let you decide. If you still can't stand me, it's okay, I mean, I'm sorry I hassled you about Shippo. He's a good guy, and I'm happy for you and everything, and I didn't really mean all that stuff I said. But you can turn that in if you really can't forgive me."

There was a long silence, and Kagura watched Kikyo holding the paper, studying, as though she didn't know what it said, and what it meant. She had hoped that maybe she could make things better. She never apologized, but she had known she would have to, and she came prepared to put her pride on the line. And as she watched, Kikyo looked up at her, brown eyes unreadable. Then she tore the form in half and then in quarters before handing the pieces to Kagura.

"Oops." She said in a dry tone. "You could tape it."

"No, might as well finish the job." Kagura laughed out loud in relief, tearing it into tiny bits and tossing them in the air. "Oh…shit, sorry, will you have to clean this up?"

"No, I'll make Miroku do it." Kikyo looked down for a moment and took a deep breath before speaking again. "I'm sorry, too. What I said…it wasn't fair. I knew those things were secret, and I shouldn't have told everyone. I hope you can trust me again."

"No big deal." Kagura shrugged. "I'm sure it all just gave me a really sweet legendary sex goddess reputation, anyway. That seems fine to me."

"Good." Kikyo nodded as they smiled at each other. "Seriously, no more teasing about Shippo."

"Wait, none at all?" Kagura pouted as Kikyo opened the door to let them back into the store. "I have to tease you a little, or it'll be weird."

"Fine." Kikyo nodded. "Every time you make a comment about Shippo and me, I will make a comment about Kouga and you."

"That's not fair, we're not even…that's gross!" Kagura scrunched up her face, and they both laughed, not noticing that all their friends were staring at them in surprise and relief. It seemed the cold war was over, and maybe now everything could go back to normal.

Rin smiled warmly at Sango, ready to say something encouraging, but noticed her friend was staring at Kagome in concern.

Now to figure out what's going on there. Sango thought, her eyes narrowed as she watched for hints. Then maybe everything really can be normal again.

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The End (Of Part 10, That is)