A/N: Hey, y'all. I know y'all roasting me rn for not updating this story, and I deserve it. I know this sounds so cliche, but i've been really busy. Just to update y'all a bit, I'm now a 20-year-old junior nursing student. I started this fanfiction while I was in high school, I believe. It's been a while; however, i'm getting back into writing again (for stress relief, mostly). Although I take up a very small space on this site/app, I'm grateful to everyone that stuck around. I'm sorry to anyone I've offended in the past. I was a naive, little twat that was really sensitive to criticism. I still am, but I'm working on it. :)

Chapter 5: Reality Therapy

Kagome's POV

I stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. Piercing sapphire eyes on a face blank of make up looked back at me. Rin always wore makeup to school. Her face was always carefully painted with soft eyeshadows and was never overly done.

Beautiful perfection. Rin is, not me.

I tried running my hands through my tangled waves to look more presentable, but the frizz persisted. Kagura still had my scrunchie, so a bun was out of the equation. Damn it.

I stared at my reflection once more.

I looked almost primal.

I tilted my head and edged closer to the mirror as a stray wave fell between my eyebrows. It was no where near the traditional beauty Rin possessed. I turned to examine my side profile and flipped my waves over my shoulder. My mom always loved my hair. Every time I considered straightening it, she'd preach to me how unique my hair texture was and how it accentuated my features, so I'd just leave the matter alone.

I stared at my shirt. A band tee for the first day? Really? The tee shirt hung spaciously around my B cup breasts. I started to tug at my hair as I felt the insecurity slowly began to swallow me, but I shook my head vehemently. To an onlooker, I probably looked like I belonged in an Asylum but anything to make the bad thoughts go away. I sighed and unlocked phone to prevent myself from sinking into the abyss. I kept tapping until I landed into my contact list. It wasn't long before I found Sesshomaru's number.

Should I?

Regret loomed into my face. I shouldn't have snapped at him like that. He's such a good friend. I let my feelings get in the way of that. I—

RIIIIING!

The bell immediately brought me out of my musings. So much for free period. I groaned remembering that I have Home Economics next. I needed one extra class to graduate. I registered for classes so late that Home Economics was the only thing left. It's probably for the best I take this class seeing that I'm only capable of burning pots. I sighed again for the second time today and braced myself to walk out of the bathroom. I put my phone in my pocket and walked back to my classroom to grab my yellow tote. As I walked pass a couple of exiting students with knowing glances, I ducked down in slight embarrassment. Although it's a known fact that girls don't just "use the bathroom" in the bathroom, I can only imagine the creative scenarios that are formulating in their heads to justify why I was missing for the whole period.

I grabbed my tote and did my death march to the Home Economics class. Upon making it to the class, I plopped myself in a random seat near the front of the classroom. My tote shortly followed as I mercilessly dropped it on the tile floor next to my chair. I examined the classroom. No Kagura or even Sango or Ayame. There were many familiar faces, but there wasn't anyone I hung out with consistently in the classroom. To my immediate left was a petite brunette with an uninterested expression as she strolled on her phone. Her and her family live down the street from me. Growing up, I'd always see her outside with her brothers. Our parents tried to encourage us to hang out more, but I related to Kagura more.

I continued to look around quickly putting names to faces except for one person. He stood out like a sore thumb. It wasn't the person to my immediate right, but the person on his right. His hair hung in black waves that was similar to mines but shorter and looser. His hair landed on his shoulders. He donned a red T-shirt and dark grey sweatpants. He was really pale in almost a sickly fashion. It was probably because of how much of a contrast his hair was to his skin. Looking closer into his face, I noticed his eyes. They were striking crimson orbs that were protected by the thick, thinly rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose. He twitched once and adjusted the glasses on his face. I blinked and looked away once I realized how hard I've been staring. I'm such an idiot. That was so embarrassing. What if someone saw how hard I was staring at him? I don't even know him. I looked back up to steal another glimpse at the mysterious young man and quickly turned away. He was blankly staring right at me with a flicker of curiosity in his ruby eyes. Immediately, I shifted my body so it was facing forward. That's enough trouble for today, Kagome.

RIIIIING!

The bell rung again indicating the beginning of class. A lively, old woman pranced into the room and stood in front of her desk at the head of the classroom. I listened attentively as she started talking.

"Ohayo! I am Mrs. Suzuki. Welcome to my Home Economics class! This is a class of seniors, so I expect everyone in here to carry their weight responsibly. Just because it's the first day don't expect leisure. As a matter of a fact, I was thinking of doing an ice-breaking project."

Groans echoed around me, and I really didn't blame them. A project? Already?

"I already took the liberty of choosing pairs during my free period to eliminate confusion and chaos." A smile stretched over her wrinkled face while students started to stare pointedly at her. "Also, I just was so thrilled about this project. I was more than a bit eager! The project is to create a dish that reminds you of home and be ready to present it two weeks from now. Please see me after class to find out who you're partnered with. Take this class period to ponder on ideas for the project. That's all. I'll leave you to your devices today, but come to class tomorrow prepared to work with your partner." On that note, she sat at her desk and started typing away on her PC. I took that time to pull my phone out and text Kagura.

I'm thinking about talking to Sesshomaru about what happened.

I stared at my phone for a solid 30 seconds waiting for her to text back. Soon, one minute passed by, and still no text back. It was unlike her because she usually texts back immediately. I assumed she was busy and went to put my phone away but hesitated remembering that I was supposed to be talking it out with my best friend. I went to my contacts yet again and started composing a message. I started with a long, drone out paragraph but decided midway that it was too much. I kept it simple, and the message sent with a light swoosh.

Can you please meet me at my house after school?

The three dots appeared instantly as if he was waiting on my text.

Of course, he replied.

As I hearted the message, little sparks of hope formed in my chest, and I put my phone up to brainstorm for the project. Eventually, the bell rang, and a tide of students began to head to Mrs. Suzuki's desk. Noticing how long the line started to get, I grabbed my bag and got in line. I began absently stroll on my phone. I wasn't looking at anything in particular, but large crowds tend to make me nervous sometimes. I like to use my phone as a crutch to avoid awkward interactions.

"...is Kagome Higurashi."

My head popped up immediately upon hearing my name. I recognized Mrs. Suzuki's distinct voice and quickly scanned the crowd looking for he and whoever she was speaking with. Once I found them, my eyes widened a fraction. It was the mysterious man from earlier!

"Thank you." he said and walking away confidently. His hair swayed behind him.

Is he my partner? After he caught me leering at him like a lunatic? I really hope he doesn't think I'm some kind of stalker. I was so deep in my musings that I didn't even notice that I was next in line.

"Ahem."

My head snapped up to look at Mrs. Suzuki's expectant face.

"I'm so sorry! What were you saying?"

"What is your name?"

"I'm Kagome Higurashi."

She squinted at her document, and her face lit up. "Ah! Ms. Higurashi! Your name is right here. Your partner is Naraku Tsokumo."

So, that's his name! With a determined expression, I thanked her, adjusted my bag on my shoulder and slandered out of the room ready to take on the rest of the day.

The rest of the day was a blurry compilation of going over syllabuses, handbooks and accepting assignments from overachieving teachers. I was so tired that Kagura's awaiting Mustang looked like mirage in a heated desert. I peaked through window and noticed she wasn't inside yet. I walked around to the back of the car and put my backpack on the trunk. My shoulder started to ache in relief from the pressure of my heavy bag. I checked the time on my phone. It's almost 3:00 PM. She should be out soon, hopefully.

As if she somehow heard my thoughts, she bounced happily out of the schoolhouse doors with Ayame and Sango. Her loud voice carried all the way to the car although we weren't parked far from the entrance.

"Alright, I'll talk to you guys later! Text me!" She smiled brightly at them while waving before she approached and pulled me into an embrace. "Hey, girl! I saw your text, but I was so busy. My professors were really piling it on today." Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she rolled her eyes.

I hugged her back excited to see my best friend after taking multiple classes filled with acquaintances and strangers. "It's okay. I understand." She walked to the driver's side while I grabbed my bag off of her trunk and went to the passenger's side. She threw her bag to the back, and I did the same laughing at her antics. She cranked the car up and drove to take me home. The air in the car shifted, and I was just about to ask her if she was okay until she started talking.

"So...how did it go with Sesshomaru?" She looked at me apprehensively like a porcelain doll that was about to break into a million pieces. In her defense, last time she saw me today I was brawling my eyes out. "Don't give me that look, Kagura. I'm fine now. I'm not going to breakdown again. Also, nothing happened yet. He is supposed to swing by my house later, and we're going to talk about it."

"Are you sure you're ready to talk to him this soon? Was I too harsh earlier? I didn't say that stuff earlier to guilt trip you into talking to him. If it came off that way, I am so sorry, Ka—" She rambled desperately, but I began to cut her off once I noticed her spreading herself thin.

I reassured her. "Kagura, sweetie, no. It's okay. Really. Calm down. I didn't think that at all. I just figured the mature thing to do would be to talk about it. That's all." She glanced at me before focusing back on the road as she pulled onto my street. "Are you sure?" I smiled. "Of course." She grinned cheerfully at me happy to know that there wasn't any problems between us. She stopped in front of my house. "Alright. Here's your stop, girlie. Bye." I exited the vehicle, thanked her and said my goodbyes. "I'll text you!"

I walked into the house and threw my bag at the door. I headed directly to my room to change into something more comfortable. I looked into my closet and put on an oversized, purple hoodie that fell to the middle of my thighs, black short shorts and my favorite pink bunny slippers. I then walked over to my en suite bathroom to find what I longed for this whole day: a scunchie. A pink one laid on the counter. Just how many pink scrunchies do I own? Also, I still haven't asked Kagura to return my scrunchie. Oh well. It won't be the first or last thing she's taken. I shook my head at the thought and ran downstairs with my phone in tow to get a quick snack before Sesshomaru pulled up. I looked in the pantry for a bag of chips. Salt and vinegar, my favorite. On cue, my phone lit up and vibrated from its position on the counter in the kitchen, and Sesshomaru's name popped up.

Outside.

I stared at that text on my lock screen trying to gather some nerve. I exhaled deeply, tucked my chip bag into my arm and headed outside. My hands fondled with my hands nervously as I approached his Mazda Rx-7. While my mom and I live comfortably, Sesshomaru comes from a family of doctors. His dad Inutaisho is a well-respected family physician with his own practice while his step mother, Izayoi, works at a local hospital as an OB-GYN. His biological mother died in childbirth. Sesshomaru once vented to me about how he was even considering taking up medicine to help his father run his practice after high school.

I entered the car and sat rigidly in the passenger seat. From the small glance I stole from him, I noticed that he too was wearing a hoodie but with loose-fitting shorts. His hair was tied into a low pony and tucked into the hoodie. Sesshomaru didn't say anything as he pulled out of the driveway. I was confused, but I was silent. He continued driving until he pulled into the parking lot of a public park. He parked, pushed his sports bag to the middle of the back seat so he could lounge his seat back to get comfortable.

Silence.

This was torture. I put my chips on arm rest and turned in my seat.

"I'm sorry."

He looked at me.

"Sesshomaru, I'm so sorry. I hated how tense things were between us today. It shouldn't be like that. We're best friends, for fuck's sake. We should be able to talk things out, and I don't want our friendship to die out because of Rin, out of all people." His eyes narrowed at the mention of Rin and opened his mouth to defend her, but I started talking louder to cut him off. "Speaking of Rin, I have a question. Why her? You knew my relationship with her."

He looked blankly into the distance at a mother pushing her son.

"It want intentional. It started with me noticing her everywhere. I'd see her in the Cafe, at weight practice, in class— everywhere. It only made sense when she started appearing in my dreams." I made a disgusted face at the thought of my best friend having wet dreams about my sister. "And no. It wasn't like that. Believe it or not, I'd have dreams of her smiling at me and looking at my with such adoration in her eyes on the sidelines of my baseball games. It got to a point where I couldn't stay away."

I sat back to marinate on his answer. I had no idea he was feeling that way. Have I really been so lost in my own world and my idealization of him that I never considered his feelings?

I've been such a fool.

"I've been such a fool." I felt the tears building in my eyes.

"You reacted as you should. This one should be apologizing. I'm truly sorry, Kagome." He grabbed my hand, and my chest grew warm as I smiled.

I realized I was never in love with him, but boy, do I love him.

"Whatever, idiot." I said as I blinked away tears and grinned at him. We spent the rest of the evening catching up and snacking on my salt and vinegar chips. He even opened up to me more about his relationship with Rin. When the details became a bit too personal, I made faces and threw a chip at him. Pervert. He told me that they were going on a date soon, and being her sister I gave him advice on what she liked and didn't like. I didn't do it for Rin but because I wanted to see him happy, even if it wasn't with me.

Soon, The sun started setting, and the park's curfew was nearing. Sesshomaru decided to take me home, and he did just that. He flashed a smile in my direction before putting his emotionless facade back in place. I rolled my eyes at the sight. I wished him a goodbye and watched him drive off. Taking note of my mom's car in the driveway next to mines, I walked in the house to my mom setting the table for dinner. We chatted amicably for hours while eating our beef and vegetable stir fry before returning to our respective rooms.

When I walked into my room, I stripped to my underwear and slipped under my yellow comforter deciding to shower in the morning. I texted Kagura and updated her that everything was fine and that I'd talk to her in the morning. I stared at her contact photo. It was a photo of her making a ridiculous pose while sitting on my bathroom counter in a face mask and an oversized t-shirt. Probably mines. I giggled remembering that day. We stayed up all night that night doing stupid shit and consuming every carb we could get our hands on. Her red eyes glittered mischievously through her bangs as she looked confidently at the camera.

Red eyes...

That night I went to sleep and dreamed about mysterious red eyes.