~A Picture is Worth

A

Thousand Words~

Summary: Kagome had looked everywhere for that one place, a peaceful spot...somewhere that she'd be able to just let go of everything she was forced to be. Free to be herself, and not the person everyone wanted her to be. This beautiful, flawless girl...this was the picture Fuji, Shuusuke, had accidentally taken. The girl in which he'd accidentally fallen in love with... now, if only he could find her again.

Anime/Manga: InuYasha/Prince of Tennis

Pairing: Kagome/Shuusuke

Genre: Romance/Humor

Rated: M for Mature Content

-x-x-x-

'Crap,' Kagome ducked behind the hall wall.

"Keigo, dear?"

It was like her mother had a radar for her. Looking down at her shorts and the tank top she wore, around her waist, she had her Seigaku jacket tied by the sleeves. Closing her eyes, she listened as her mom asked her older brother if she'd seen her. Naturally, he hadn't, but now he'd be keeping his eyes peeled for her. '...I could go out the back.'

"If you see her, please tell her I'm looking for her."

"Hai,"

The sound of her mom's footsteps growing distant had her peering around the corner. This had her tumbling back in shock as she came nose to chest with Keigo, who stared down at her. "What are you doing just standing there?!"

"I was waiting for my precious sister to come out of hiding. What is it with you leaving for a day at a time, and then coming back the next afternoon?"

Shrugging, Kagome fixed her bag on her shoulders. "I just... don't...like it at home."

Now that hurt. Keigo stepped back, and the look in his eyes gave way to that sudden hit.

"It's not you, or tou-san, it's not kaa-san either. I just, I don't like being reminded of Souta all the time. He's not here, and he doesn't want to wake up. I hate that. So, it's easier to sleep outside, where his memory does not constantly surround me. Maybe when he wakes up, I will be able to stay home. For now," she stepped past him, "I'll see you later."

'It's been a week since Keigo Nii-San competed in the Tokyo Prefectural Tournament. They'll be moving on to the Kanto Tournament. Not only them but Seigaku too.' Stopping at the limo, Kagome considered telling the driver to take her to the train station but changed her mind. "Could you take me―"

It wasn't like she couldn't go later, she would. Just, right now, she wanted to see her brother. Climbing into the limo, she listened to the door shut and sighed.

-x-x-x-

"Excuse me," Keigo watched from a distance as Kagome bowed politely to the nurse, stepping out of her way before entering a room. He'd gone a few times with his stepmother and father, meeting this boy who was supposed to be his baby brother. It hurt to see how Kagome broke down every time she looked at him.

"Ah, Atobe-San, did you come to see your brother again today?"

Turning, he gave a charming smile, "no, I came to make sure my sister was okay. Please keep this to yourself, though."

"Hai!"

He wasted no time, placing himself in a place where he could hear Kagome, but wouldn't be seen by her. Initially, he'd followed her to see where it was that she was always running off to. He'd called the driver and gotten the location before taking his father's personal chauffeur. They'd arrived only a few minutes after the limo had, giving him enough space to follow her unseen.

"Souta, the school that you'll be going to, it has an excellent Soccer Team. I think you'd like it. The new place that we live, it also has a soccer field. Though there's no one to play with, I guess Keigo-Nii might play, and maybe his friends. If you ask, I'm sure that he'd play with you too. I know you'd like him. He's protective of his siblings. Unlike me, I'm sure he would notice something was wrong with you and me. I'm not observant like he is...I'm not a particularly good older sister...am I?"

Keigo heard the intake of breath, how she choked back a sob, how she tried desperately to stifle the obvious pain in her voice.

"Souta... you silly boy, why are you still sleeping? The doctor said you could wake up, so..." The scratch of the chair's leg against the ground sounded and echoed a bit. "I wasn't there, I wasn't able to stop them from hurting you, and I'm so sorry about that. Please, wake up, Souta. Wake up, and I promise I'll never let you get hurt again. Please..."

'Strong promise, Kagome. You can't keep him from getting hurt.'

"...I only came to check up on you, Souta. I guess I'll come again soon, so do your best to wake up. I'm waiting..."

-x-x-x-

After leaving the hospital, Kagome made her way to the train station, thanking the driver, she watched him go before walking inside the station. 'There is no way I can forgive myself for not catching it. I should have seen it. I should have helped him!'

"Hey, hey, that's a Seigaku Tennis jacket, you got a boyfriend on the team?"

A shadow bore down on her, and she looked up. "I'm sorry, I wasn't listening."

"We noticed your jacket."

Forgetting that she was even wearing a jacket, she glanced down and smiled, "what about it?"

There were three of them. Not that Kagome wasn't used to being surrounded by guys, she could handle herself. That much, she was confident about.

"You've got a guy in Seigaku, right? That's a Regulars jacket."

Each one was more different than the next. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed a familiar face and withheld a sigh, though she did give into a chuckle. 'Does he think he's hidden?' Taking in the three guys, she realized that she hadn't replied to them. "No, I don't have a guy in Seigaku's Tennis club."

"Eh?! But I'm sure that's a regular's jacket..."

The one speaking right now had bright red hair, he was chewing bubble gum, lively amethyst eyes stared down at her in confusion. Dressed in a pink shirt and a pair of blue jeans, he looked like he was out for a casual day with his friends.

"Well, you're not wrong. It does belong to a Seigaku Regular."

"A brother, perhaps?"

This one had wild silvery-white hair that was tied back, blue eyes, and wore a red and white shirt with the kanji for good fortune scrawled across it, black jeans and a gold chain belt were adorned. "No, I hold no relation to anyone in Seigaku. Though I do have an older brother, he's on the Hyotei Tennis team."

"...then...why are you wearing Seigaku colors."

"I like this jacket."

"Why not wear Rikkaidai's jacket then," The last and youngest of the three, with messy black hair and precious green eyes, had a plain white t-shirt on with a pair of torn blue jeans.

She could see her brother stiffen from the corner of her eyes, smiling, she thought about teasing him, but instead, she shook her head. "No, my brother might have a heart attack. He already has a problem with me wearing this jacket; if I brought back another, he'd kill over."

"I'm sure he would," the redhead glanced to his right and frowned before turning back to her. Meeting her eyes, she winked cutely at him, and he chuckled. "If it's that guy, it's best if we don't get involved."

'Keigo-nii... you need to learn how to hide better.'

"Ah, our stop, before that, what was your name?"

"Atobe, Kagome..." she took his offered hand and smiled when he pulled her up from her seat on the train. "bold of you to assume this is my stop."

"Maybe I'm just hoping for a number and possibly a date."

"You're..." she laughed, "you are something else. I couldn't dream of giving my number to someone who hasn't introduced themselves to me."

"Marui, Bunta, I'm a Regular of Rikkaidai."

"Oh? Second-year or third?"

"Third year,"

"Same as nii-san..." she smiled, "hm, how about that number?" The sound of cursing could be heard from a distance behind them, and she couldn't help but laugh, exchanging numbers with this confident redhead, playful as he was, she wasn't interested in dating him. Still, messing with her brother was amazing. He wasn't going to come out of hiding either.

"So, uh, Atobe-San,"

"Hai?" Kagome looked to the one with black hair, handing Marui his phone back.

"Where were you heading? We were going out for desserts if you want to join us."

"...really? Sure," she glanced at her phone and took in the time, "yeah, it should still be light enough." She pointed past them, and the group turned to follow her finger, "I was heading there. I have a hideaway, and I like to camp out there every so often."

"The mountains?"

"Yeah, but as I said, I have time. Oh, what were your names?"

"Third year Regular in Rikkaidai, Masaharu, Niou."

"Kirihara, Akaya, second year, Rikkaidai Regular."

Bowing politely to the three, she introduced herself properly, "Second Year at Hyotei, Atobe, Kagome...it's nice to meet the three of you. I'll be honest; I thought you guys were going to be trouble when you first started talking to me. I'm glad I was wrong."

"I mean, we still may end up causing you trouble, please bear with us." Marui grinned, draping an arm over her shoulder, he guided her off towards the cake shop.

While only two of them were aware of Keigo, the other two remained blissfully unaware of the daggers being glared at them from the crowd that followed behind. Honestly, being an older brother had never been so difficult!

-x-x-x-

Me: Here is chapter 5 of A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words. Review fam!