Day 35:
The gentle tinkling of the bells heralded her exit from the bookstore and Kagome clutched her treasures tighter to her chest in response. She had never been much of a book person, it was a miracle she had managed to graduate high school, but these books were just what she had been looking for.
"This can't be too different from demon anatomy after all, at least while he's not in doggy form." Her fingers reverently brushed the pages she was determined to study, learning the workings of the body would definitely help her healing. "It will make it a lot easier to visualize. Hopefully."
But if she couldn't heal someone with her miko skills there were always herbs. "Kaede is going to love this book!" Maybe she could even show the book of medicinal herbs to Kikyo. Surely the older priestess would appreciate it as well.
Her lighthearted musings were interrupted by familiar voices.
"Kagome?"
"Oh my gosh, it's you!"
"Kagome!"
"Eri! Yuka! Ayumi!" The lightness in her heart bubbled past her lips and she skipped to her friends' sides to greet them properly. "It's so good to see all of you!"
After giggling and catching each other up, Kagome doing some editing on her part, the girls launched into their favorite conversation, Kagome's love life.
"Don't tell me you're still dating that two-timing scoundrel?" Yuka demanded.
Kagome flapped her hand with a laugh. "No! I've already told you I'm not dating Inuyasha! I've moved on. Besides, his ex-girlfriend is around. I think they might hook up again." At least I hope they do, they deserve to be happy.
"Well good riddance, he wasn't a healthy match for you." Eri proclaimed with a hair-swishing nod to confirm the validity of her statement.
Ayumi looked at her old friend carefully. "But you are interested in someone."
At Kagome's answering blush three squeals of excitement pierced the air. Good thing there were no demons in the area, it hurt Kagome's ears and she didn't even have youkai hearing.
"Let's get a bite to eat!" Yuka commanded with flourish, linking her arm through Kagome's with an impish smile. "We definitely need to sit down and talk about this!"
With astounding speed for humans Kagome was propelled through the crowd of people, hearing her friends politely and not so politely excuse themselves as they bumped their way along to a cozy little restaurant.
An amused smile tickled Kagome's face as her old school friends domineered a table with the ruthless feminine efficiency of dimpled smiles and batted lashes. No one could nay-say such subtle manipulation.
Once the waitress has waddled off with their orders, their pretty smiling faces turned in Kagome's direction. No rookie on the battlefield, Kagome easily recognized the look in her friends' eyes. Well, if she had to confess to someone she at least knew these three couldn't blab.
She cleared her throat and sipped at her water, watching with a smirk hidden in her cup as her friends fidgeted with impatience. They were so easy to tease.
"Come on Kagome!" came Eri's moan.
Yuka nodded, prettily painted nails clicking against the table in her eagerness for gossip. "Spill already girl!"
Ayumi merely waited patiently and Kagome rewarded her behavior with a smile, letting her glass meet the table with a gentle clink. "Well, his name's Sesshoumaru." Their murmurs of appreciation spurred her on, and she described the glory of his physical attributes to her buddies, taking a pleased yet embarrassed type of pride in the way she made them swoon over the man of her affections.
Ayumi was always the most supportive of Kagome's love life, but also the most observant. "He sounds as though he looks a lot like Inuyasha."
Kagome's smile crumbled and her face fell into her hands. Her friends could barely her muffled reply. "I'm a horrible person."
"So you got a selective taste," Eri shrugged. "What's so bad about that?"
"Wait a second," Yuka murmured, "Ayumi, are you saying that -"
"Sesshoumaru is Inuyasha's brother." Kagome answered Yuka's unfinished question, soulful brown eyes peered up at her friends to gauge their response. Two dramatic gasps reminded her to add, "Half-brother. But oh my gosh! I'm a horrible person! I've always hated how Inuyasha couldn't pick between me and Kikyo just because we shared a – because we look alike but this is worse, isn't it? I go from one brother to the next!"
"But you moved on from Inuyasha didn't you?" Eri murmured, headed cocked to the side in thought. "So that's different."
"Is it?" Kagome drew pictures in the condensation clinging to her glass of water.
"You have moved on from your bad boy, haven't you?" Yuka demanded.
"He's not my bad boy," Kagome muttered with an eye roll, before replying, "Yeah, I've moved on. But I still feel horrible."
"Well, would you like this Mr. Tall and Handsome, even if you didn't know the scoundrel?" Yuka continued, making three pairs of eyes turn attentive as they waited for Kagome's answer.
"I want to say yes," Kagome cried, "But what if that's a lie? What if I only like Sesshoumaru because he's a better version of Inuyasha?"
"He certainly sounds like it – oof!"
Ayumi casually removed her elbow from Yuka's side and peered intently at Kagome. "Kagome, you could never do that. You heart is way too pure to be manipulative like that. You always care about a person for who they are as an individual."
"Yeah!" Eri chirped. "You really sound like you care about this guy. Not because he's like Inuyasha though. I think you should give it a shot."
"You think so?"
"Definitely." Eri gave a firm nod, liking how her voice was filled with authority. It sounded impressive and it seemed to perk Kagome up so she continued, "Even though no man is worthy of you, if you think he's all that than you should go for it. You never know what will happen if you don't try."
Well, he's not necessarily a man but her heart is in the right place. "Thanks you guys!" Kagome murmured, blinking hard to keep the tears at bay while she offered them a watery smile. "You're the best!"
It was a couple of hours later, sharing stories and laughter that Kagome meandered her way home, arms pleasantly heavy from her productive day of shopping even while her heart was light with purpose. As she fell into her bed a smile graced her features.
Her daiyoukai better watch out, because when she came back she was going to sweep him off his feet.