Chapter Twenty: Kitchen Conversations
Posted: June 27, 2016
Author's Note: Oh my gosh, yes this is true: I HAVE FINALLY UPDATED! *grins to myself* It's been less than a year, but way too long. If you want anyone to thank then please send your best regards and wishes to Violet Shadow Kurayami. She is literally one of the best people I've met on this site! She's been helping me plan out the story for some time now, and has been helping me flesh out the chapter to ensure that it meets your standards. :) Thank you Violet Shadow Kurayami, for helping me! Words cannot express my joy in how much you've managed to help me. Anyhow, enjoy the chapter and please let me know your thoughts.
"…"
"…"
Neither one of them was sure of how to respond; they merely stared at each other in utter silence.
Kagome arched a brow, appearing to be contemplating her next move. Meanwhile, Hatsuharu only stared back at her with a bored expression. His obvious lack of interest and rather stoned façade was already beginning to aggravate the young time traveller. Her past thoughts of grocery shopping were long flown out the metaphorical window as the young Ox before her filled her thoughts—but not in a good way.
"Morning," she managed to utter while swallowing the urge to scream. Right now, Kagome wanted for nothing more than to turn in the opposite direction and stalk off, but she wasn't willing to let the man before her witness such a display. She knew it would please the boy too much—though he would never admit it—and she didn't want to provide him with such an opportunity for an easy laugh.
It took Haru a few seconds to respond as a yawn escaped his lips before his words could. "Morning," he shrugged back, his long white coat falling forward as he stretched his arms forward.
Kagome arched a brow. "What are you doing outside at this time of day?" It was relatively early on a Sunday morning, and the girl knew few people her age who would openly subject themselves to waking up before eight on a weekend.
Haru blinked thrice and glanced around the area. His lips were pursed together and he seemed to be contemplating on how to respond to Kagome's question.
"… I got lost," he muttered a few seconds later with a relatively low voice.
Kagome couldn't stop the dumbfounded look from crossing her face. "What?"
"You heard me," he shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. "I got lost when trying to make it to Shigure's house."
Her eyebrows shot up like a rocketing blasting off. "… You do realize that Shigure-san's house is on the other side of town, no?"
Haru paused for a moment and his eyes momentarily shifted away, "…I know."
Judging by his tone and lack of response, Kagome decided not to press the conversation any further. It seemed as though Hatsuharu was living up to his zodiac sign however; once again he had gotten lost.
Kagome licked her lips. It was a sunny Sunday morning, and she wanted to grocery shop in peace. She was in desperate need of fruits, rice and vegetables and it was the time of the month when the store was having its monthly sale. That meant that their prices would be slashed in half and she wanted to get there early in order to ensure her chances of having a good selection.
She exhaled a sigh and gazed beyond Hatsuharu towards the nearby store. It wasn't too far off, so she knew that if she left the boy now she would still be able to make it before the crowds arrived. The store had only opened a few minutes ago, which meant that she would have enough time if she left now.
Kagome adjusted the bag strapped to her side and offered the boy a nod. "It was nice… seeing you this morning, Haru-san. But I'm going to be moving along now."
Believing that their conversation was finished, Kagome took a few steps forward and was just about to pass him when he intercepted her by shoving his right arm forward, blocking her path.
Her right eyebrow started to twitch. Just what did he want now?
I was nice enough to say goodbye, and I didn't say anything rude to him, so why is he acting this way?
Kagome could feel her anger slowly beginning to rise. Since their first meeting, Haru had been testing her nerves to their breaking point. She had already yelled at him for more times than she could remember, and she was beyond positive that it would continue to ensure in the future to come. It seemed as though the duo was destined to argue themselves into a fit—or at least rile Kagome up to the point where she would explode, despite how exhausting it was becoming.
Honestly, this guy just pisses me off so much sometimes. How he could be so calm and collected one minute and utterly rude and antisocial to her the next annoyed her beyond despair. I know he doesn't like me, but that's no reason to treat me like this. If the guy hated her so much then he didn't have to talk to her. Sure, they attended the same school and had some classes together, but that didn't mean they had to engage in conversation. Kagome would've been fine with simply seeing him at school. After all, seeing him and looking the other way or just trying to ignore him would have been easy enough. She had dealt with harder issues during her travels through time, so something as minor as this would amount to nothing more than a mere walk in the park in her eyes. But when he had to go and commit actions like this—purposely sticking his hand out and blocking her path—or stating that she should avoid his family entirely pissed the hell out of her.
Who was he to tell her what she should and shouldn't do?
Kagome grit her teeth. "Haru-san, what are you doing?" She was trying to remain calm. She would not let her anger get the better of her. She would try to not let Haru's actions piss her off—well, at least anymore than they were right now.
Haru, with his arm still extended outwards, bluntly asked, "Where are you headed?"
Kagome huffed and pointed towards the nearby grocery store. "I'm going grocery shopping. I need food and they're having a sale this morning." And I want to get there before the crowds start to form, she added to herself.
"Hmm," he grunted and rubbed the back of his neck. "… Do you want any help?"
"Ehh?" the words escaped her lips before she could process his words. "Excuse me?"
Haru rolled his eyes. "Do you want help with grocery shopping?"
"Why are you offering to help me?" She narrowed her eyes, partially taken back by his words.
The boy only shrugged. "I've got nothing better to do."
The words floated straight overtop her head. "… You want to help me with grocery shopping?" The absurdity of the situation seemed comical at best. A part of Kagome wanted to turn around and start glancing around for either Ayame or Shigure to verify that neither goofball was behind this sudden stunt nor pressuring the boy into doing something he wouldn't want to otherwise.
"No one else is around," his sudden voice snapped her from her thoughts causing her to jump. Kagome turned her head back to face Haru. He was watching her with such intensity that she didn't even notice her purse strap slowly slip down her shoulder.
"I'm offering to help… It's not like I've got anything better to do anyways." The off handed remark irked her slightly, but she decided to ignore it. If Haru was willing to help her—and was actually being nice to her—then what kind of person would she be to object?
With slight hesitation, she hung her head low and grudgingly agreed. "Y-Yes Haru-san, if you want to come along… I guess that'd be fine."
"Mmm… Let's get going then." The boy crossed his arms behind the back of his head and set about walking forward with Kagome following not too far behind.
"So, what exactly are you looking for?" Hatsuharu inquired, eyeing their current surroundings with a brief turn of the head. Currently, there were few people inside the grocery store, and the Ox was happy to see that there were more males than females shopping. He didn't want to run the risk of bumping into one and transforming.
Kagome, who was in the midst of withdrawing her grocery list from her purse, unfolded it and read several parts aloud. "I need fish, meat, rice, several kinds of fruits and vegetables." She didn't bother to read the list in detail knowing that Hatsuharu wouldn't care either way.
Her classmate grunted, "Fair enough." It sounded like she needed a fair bit of food. Though, if Haru had to be honest, he was surprised to see that Kagome was doing the shopping herself. Wouldn't her mother or father be more inclined to do the household shopping than their teenage daughter?
"Let's start off with produce," she suggested, taking the lead as they turned right and headed for the fresh fruit. "Could you grab me six apples from over there." She pointed towards a large circular tube filled with fresh apples.
Haru blinked and followed her gaze, "Yeah." He emitted a yawn and wandered towards the stand.
Kagome watched him slowly remove a plastic bag from the adjacent roll, open it and begin to fill it up with apples. She could feel sweat forming behind the base of her neck. Haru was moving so slowly and looked so tired, it seemed as though he might fall over at any given point.
Not wanting to risk anything, she turned around and busied herself with grabbing a small bundle of bananas.
I still can't believe Haru-san offered to help, she thought to herself. It was startling at best the way he had offered to help her. Is the guy that desperate to not reach Shigure-san's? Or is there something else he hopes to accomplish by helping me? The sudden realization caused her to halt. She had just finished collecting the oranges she wanted and dropped them into her shopping basket.
Hatsuharu then returned with the apples bagged and in his hands to see Kagome standing forward, gazing off into the distance. The sight was something to behold and left the boy wondering what was going through her mind.
Is she okay? Haru knew the girl was akin to a fuse just waiting to be lit. If you uttered the wrong thing around her, she could explode—both physically and verbally—and lash out at you like there was no tomorrow. Without a doubt, Kagome could hold her own when it came to confrontations, and Haru had experienced that himself first hand; though, a few more times than he would like to admit to.
Without speaking, he dropped the apples into her basket. The noise snapped the girl from her daze causing her to glance towards the side to see Haru partially hunched over, reading off her grocery list.
"… It looks like you need some bread, eggs and rice," he murmured to himself. The girl could feel his breath against her neck. It sent shivers down her spine. Kagome wanted to push him way and yell at him for standing far too close, but she knew that Hatsuharu wasn't doing anything wrong. His stance wasn't inappropriate and he was still far enough away from her so that their bodies weren't touching. Yet, that didn't change the fact that Kagome thought he was too close to her for her preferences.
She bit her bottom lip. "H-Haru-san," she said quietly.
"Hmm?" the white haired teen arched a brow. "You say something, Kagome-san?"
About ready to let out a hefty retort, the girl merely shook her head. "Never mind… Let's just finish shopping and get out of here before the crowds arrive." The number of shoppers was slowly beginning to accumulate in the store. Just from the corner of her eye, Kagome could already see a larger handful of people then when they first entered the store.
"Sounds good to me," he shrugged.
Kagome blinked. "Um, Haru-san, could you get the bread and rice for me? While you're doing that I'll grab the meat I need."
Haru merely nodded and started to walk off. Kagome watched him wander towards the left and couldn't help but sigh. "Haru-san," she muttered, catching his attention, "The bread and rice are in the other direction."
She didn't catch the annoyed grunt the Ox made, but she did witness a partial look of annoyance cross his face. To this, she couldn't help but chuckle softly. It seemed as though some things wouldn't change.
"Thanks again for offering to help," Kagome smiled as she deposited her bags onto the kitchen counter. A mere hour had passed while they were shopping in the grocery store, and Kagome couldn't have been more thankful to leave. True to her earlier suspicions, the crowds had quickly begun to form during their shopping, and by the time they were in line, there was a large hoard of people rushing through the door with shopping carts and bags of their own. Most of the shoppers consisted of older women and men—mostly retirees—Kagome had surmised, but amongst the mist of older shoppers had been the occasional teenager or young adult. Most of those people, much to Haru's annoyance, had taken note of the Ox and were eying him a far bit.
The recollection caused Kagome to laugh. When they were wandering down the dairy aisle, she specifically remembered one girl—a middle school girl if she had to guess—who was watching Haru with a star-crossed look on her face. She appeared to be so taken by him that when he casually glanced in her direction, she turned bright red and nearly fainted on the spot.
Kagome's lips started to twitch. The antics hadn't stopped there. A fair bit of women had been vying for Haru's attention that morning. It seemed like his appearance combined with his cool façade was enough to attract almost the entire young population's attention that morning. Yet, it seemed like Haru didn't notice. He didn't seem to be aware of the way people were eyeing him or struggling to capture a glimpse of him. He was only interested in searching for what was on Kagome' list and helping her fill the grocery bags after the cashier had scanned them. The realization puzzled the girl. Surely, he had to be aware of the attention his appearance brought him; after all, he had his own fan club at school. Those girls were ruthless when it came to attracting Haru's attention, and fighting off girls who might be interested in him.
I'm aware of their antics all too well, she thought to herself with a grimace.
Nevertheless, it seemed as though Haru either didn't notice the girls' actions or simply didn't care. If Kagome had to guess, she would assume it would be the latter choice.
"Kagome-san, where do you want me to put these?" Haru inquired as he held up the bags in his hands.
Kagome then realized that the boy had yet to put them down.
"Oh, the counter's fine." She said.
Haru said nothing but placed them down. Kagome then turned around and started to remove the contents from her shopping bags.
"Haru-san, if you want, you can start to unpack the bags."
"Sure."
"Thanks."
"No problem."
Afterwards it was nothing but silence as the duo was too busy unpacking the contents of their bags to formulate a discussion. At times, Kagome would stop her unpacking to glance to the side and watch as the boy she knew so little about, but seemed to be spending so much time with was standing not too far off from her in small kitchen apartment, handling her newly purchased groceries.
As expected, Hatsuharu didn't notice her staring, or if he did, he merely wasn't commenting on it.
Kagome turned her head to the side a moment later, and exhaled a small sigh. The passing thought was overly accurate to her. Since enrolling in Kaibara High School, she was spending an awful lot of time with Tohru and the Sohmas; Hatsuharu especially. Why, just yesterday she was forced into spending her Saturday afternoon with him in Ayame's shop posing for pictures.
…
The shopping bag she held in her hands had fallen from her grasp and onto the ground.
…
The final picture…
…
The one in which they shared a kiss…
…
That image was captured on camera for the whole world to see…
…
"Kami," she could feel her face turning red, "That stupid snake."
"Hmm?"
Meanwhile, Haru turned around to see a red-faced Kagome mumbling to herself about something. Her voice was too low and incoherent for him to make out her words; though a part of him doubted he wanted to know what she was saying or thinking.
He arched a brow. "What's wrong now?" He might regret asking it, but with Kagome it's better to be blunt and ask then let the girl hold it in and make a fuss later-on.
"Ha… ha…" She laughed nervously while fiddling with her palms. "It's nothing, Haru-san. I'm just recalling something—yesterday, I guess I should say."
Haru titled his head to the side, confused by her wording before the realization struck him. She was referring to their afternoon together alongside Ayame and shop assistant, Mine-chan.
So that's what has her so nervous? He realized with a neutral expression. Talk about overreacting.
"Hmm," he turned around and continued to unpack the groceries, making no further comment.
Kagome watched his actions, feeling her jaw beginning to drop. Before she could refrain herself, she all but shouted, "What sort of a reaction is that?!"
This caused the boy to glance her way. "Excuse me?" He didn't look offended by her tone or words, if anything he looked confused.
Nevertheless, this only served to anger Kagome further. "Haru-san, what sort of a reaction is that?" She asked, feeling her face beginning to heat up. "Aren't you at all annoyed by what happened on Saturday?"
"Yeah," he exhaled, not realizing just how much the girl was holding onto his every word, "but it's Ayame. By now, you should realize that his actions don't hold much meaning."
Kagome's right eye started to twitch. She swore she saw red for a brief moment. "… But w-what about the… kiss?" she whispered and quickly turned away in an attempt to avoid his gaze.
Ah, damn it! Stupid Kagome-chan! She scolded herself, already feeling her face beginning to turn red. Why did I have to go and just yell that out?! Oh gosh, I did it again! She bit her tongue trying to suppress her screams.
Kami-san, I can feel his gaze on me. He's just staring at me.
Her ears started to run red too.
Gah! Why did I have to blurt that out?!
Knowing that she would have to deal with the onslaught of her actions, Kagome shut her eyes and started to busy her hands by toying with an empty grocery bag. "Haru-san… I know it was for the photo shoot Ayame-san wanted, but you can't... you can't just kiss a girl Haru; especially when you want nothing to do with her. It isn't fair to me... or even to yourself." She sighed lightly, and reached for the fresh berries. "I've had enough boys toying with me for one life time..." She mumbled to herself. She didn't know that the cursed male had caught the mumble and remained silent about the comment.
"… Kagome-san," he began slowly, though he opted not to face her, "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself."
"Hmm?" her head snapped upwards but her gaze remained locked on the cream kitchen wall.
He continued. "You've been around this family enough… enough to know of their craziness and stupidity—"
"Ayame-san and Shigure-san especially," she interrupted him.
He nodded softly, "Exactly. Don't let Ayame's stupid actions bother you. He is, after all, an idiot."
"… But that doesn't excuse your actions," she rebutted and turned to face him.
Hatsuharu scratched the back of his neck and sighed. "I know, Kagome-san. I know. My actions that day were uncalled for. I was out of line and should have opposed the kiss the minute Ayame suggested it."
But you didn't, she thought to herself but couldn't bring herself to utter it.
"I'm sorry for my actions that day. My behaviour was unacceptable, and the fact that I went along with his idiocy for the sake of getting out of that shop sooner is unforgiveable." Haru then looked forward and met her gaze. Kagome held in her breath as he took two steps closer towards her. Due to the kitchen's small size, that meant that they were less than a foot apart.
Kagome gulped, "Haru-san…" Just what did he intend to do?
"Kagome-san, I apologize." He leaned forward and offered her a bow.
The girl merely stared, "Hatsuharu…" Completely forgetting the suffix, she was too stunned by the boy's behaviour. Here was Hatsuharu—Hatsuharu apologizing to her. Not once since she had known the boy had she expected that he would ever apologize to her for anything. And she did mean anything.
I'm not used to people—guys especially—apologizing to me, she realized with a frown. Of course, there were the few odd times back in the Feudal Era when Koga would apologize to Kagome for something that occurred, or InuYasha would manage to make out something that sounded like apology—but contained too many cuss words for it to actually sound like an apology to her—but besides that, never had a boy apologized to Kagome as Hatsuharu was right now.
She opened her mouth partially. "… Thank you, Haru-san." And she truly meant those words.
Haru merely nodded and stood up properly. The duo had yet to lock eyes and it seemed as though that wouldn't be happening anytime soon.
"Kagome-san, there's something I've been meaning to ask," Hatsuharu spoke with his usual calm demeanour.
"Um, yes?" the girl had set about stocking the fridge with her newly acquired purchases.
"Do you live on your own?" The question took her by surprise.
Haru had yet to notice her frozen position because the fridge door was blocking his sightline of her. "When we came into the apartment, I noticed that there weren't any other shoes by the front door or coats in the closet except for ours." He added on.
The boy was perceptive. Kagome hadn't anticipated such a question from Hatsuharu. It was by no means rude, and Kagome knew that it shouldn't be an issue to an answer a question like this. Hatsuharu was simply curious, and if the roles were reversed, Kagome knew she wouldn't hesitate to ask the same.
She shut the fridge door. "To answer your question, I do live alone. My family lives back in Tokyo, and I rent an apartment here in Kaibara."
"Why don't you live in Tokyo with your family then?" And the questions were continuing.
Kagome bit her bottom lip. This is where she didn't want to respond. After all, how was she supposed to explain to Hatsuharu that the primary reason she was living out here was because Kaibara High School was one of the few schools to accept her due to her less than stellar grades from middle school.
Ah, I can't exactly tell him about my past travels, she thought with a frown. The guy's family might be cursed, but I doubt he or any of them for that matter would believe in something as trivial as traveling through time.
"I moved out here because of my dance," she said rather hesitantly. When she turned around to grab the items Haru had unpacked, however, she quickly allowed a frown to mare her face. Her words, albeit the validity behind them, weren't entirely truthful. Yes, part of the reason she had chosen to move to Kaibara as opposed to the few other areas that had accepted her was because of Sakura Blossom Academy for the Arts, but Kagome didn't want to reveal all of that to Hatsuharu. She didn't want the boy to know about her horrible grades and the fact that she missed so many school days; it's still a shock to her that the school let her graduate with her peers of that year.
"And your parents let you move out here for that?" Haru's tone contained no traces of rudeness, simply curiosity.
Kagome licked her lips. "My mother and grandfather were fine with it. In fact, it was my mom who suggested I move out here because when it comes down to costs, it turns out that renting an apartment is almost the same cost as it would be to commute here on a daily basis. She also thought that a change of scenery might be nice too."
"Hmm?" Haru mused. "What do you mean by that."
Kagome licked her lips. "Kaibara is situated more into the countryside as opposed to Tokyo, which is located in the heart of Japan. I got sick fairly often during middle school... a lot of that had to do with Tokyo's air pollution." She forced a laugh. "My family doctor and Mama thought that me moving to Kaibara would also be beneficial in that sense; for my health, I mean." She laughed while rubbing the back of her neck. "The move has helped a lot though; I've never felt better."
Haru grunted; her explanation made sense. "And I guess it's a lot closer to the studio then too." He added on as an afterthought.
"Yeah," she agreed, wanting to move the conversation away from her "sick" times in middle school. "I don't even need to pay additional costs for a train fare to reach the studio. It's all within walking distance, which makes it ideal."
"… Isn't it hard though, to be away from your family for so long?"
When Kagome looked up, she locked eyes with Haru. He was leaning against the counter, watching her with a neutral expression. He looked so out of place in her small kitchen with his eccentric white and black clothing and jewellery galore. Yet, for reasons she couldn't admit, Kagome seemed to like the sight.
She could feel her heart beating a bit too quickly. Ever since coming to Kaibara, she hadn't had this sort of conversation with anyone except her landlord. No one at school had bothered to question Kagome on her living conditions; no one except Hatsuharu that is.
"I-It's a bit hard," she admitted, knowing that her ears were slowly beginning to change colours, "but I frequently keep in touch with my mother on the phone. We talk to each other once a week and I'll sometimes receive additional calls from my younger brother and grandfather." Now that she looked back on it though, it had been some time since she had properly called Souta and her grandfather.
Maybe I'll give them a call tonight, she decided. She had talked to her mother a few days ago, but it had been at least two good weeks since she heard Souta's voice or what was happening with her grandfather; well, aside from the small comments her mother made about them.
Haru narrowed his eyes. "What about your father?" She had mentioned everyone except her father, he mused to himself.
Kagome tried to hold back her tears. "H-Haru-san, my father passed away some time ago." Her voice started to lower. "He died in a car accident when I was six years old."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Haru said sadly. "It's always difficult to lose a loved one, regardless of the age."
Kagome pressed her back against the fridge. "It's been a long time since then. I don't have too many memories of my father, to be honest." She forced herself to laugh. "I've seen lots of pictures of him but I still find it difficult to remember him."
Haru offered a small smile. "Well, at least you have some memories of him."
She bit her bottom lip. "I-I guess."
Haru took a brief sweep of the kitchen. It seemed as though all of the groceries had been put away. "Well, it looks like you're all done putting away your food."
"Seriously?" the miko repeated, looking a bit too surprised. When she looked around the counters and table and saw that all the food that once littered the surfaces was properly put away, she blinked, stunned. "Wow. I didn't even notice." And how her words rang true… she had been too involved in her conversation with Haru to notice the dwindling pile of groceries was slowly dying down with each item she put away.
Haru stifled a laugh. The look that crossed her face was endearing. It reminded him of the expressions Kisa sometimes made when she was happy. "Listen, Kagome-san, might I use your phone? I want to call Shigure and let him know where I am."
"Sure. Go right ahead." She nodded. "The phone's in the living room by the sofa."
"Thanks," he grunted and slowly vacated the kitchen.
Kagome watched him retreat and turn down the corner. When his frame was gone from her line of sight, she could only sigh and tilt her head up, gazing up towards the ceiling.
A/N: If you caught any spelling and/or grammar mistakes, please let me know!