Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fanfics.
Or would I?
Past and Present Intertwine
Chapter Three- Shirts and Hair
Inu-Yasha's eyebrow slanted in an irritated manner. 'Woah, stalker!' came to mind, and he wasn't sure whether to be nervous, angry, or shocked, so he settled for indifferent.
"Do I know you?" he asked, looking at her out of the corner of his eye.
"You really don't recognize me?" the dark-haired girl asked. She didn't look offended, but her eyebrows rose slightly in surprise.
"If I did, I wouldn't ask if I knew you," Inu-Yasha snapped, turning to her.
"Hey! I'm being nice here! You don't have to be rude!" she told him.
"I don't even know you!" Inu-Yasha shouted, wondering why he was getting so mad at someone he'd just met. Sort of.
After taking a quick moment to calm herself, the girl tilted her head and gave him a small smile. "You really don't remember me, Inash?"
Inu-Yasha's angry glare was swept away by a small gust of wind that rummaged through pieces of his still tousled hair and discarded them into his face, which now wore a surprised expression. Only one person had called him 'Inash,' but that was years ago. How many now? Three? Four? He didn't know. He probably didn't even care.
"Kagome?"
"Yeah."
~~~~~
Kagome: Two years old. Inu-Yasha: Three years old.
But who's counting?
Kagome and Inu-Yasha were playing leapfrog in Kagome's backyard. Without warning, she pushed her hands against the ground, thus moving her crouching body up, so she could get a better look at an overhead bird that had just caught her attention. Inu-Yasha's feet stuttered when confronted with this more difficult hurdle. He gracelessly jumped and even more gracelessly knocked them both to the ground. Unfazed, they righted themselves, and the innocent Kagome gave her playmate an apologizing smile.
"You have a stick in your hair, Inash," she informed him, reaching out to pluck the unwanted accessory from his ever-lengthening mane.
For an inexplicable reason that made perfect sense in the mind of Inu- Yasha, the stick in his hair infuriated him. "Stupid stick!" he shouted. "Stupid stick getting caught in my stupid hair! Stupid stick and stupid hair! Stupid! Stupid!" He grabbed the stick from the girl's hand and snapped it into two smaller sticks before throwing them off into the grass.
"Inash don't like hair?" Kagome asked curiously. Her friend's outburst didn't faze her. Perhaps she was becoming accustomed to his explosions since his emotions always traveled over minefield territory.
"No!" Inu-Yasha confirmed without really confirming anything. "And don't call me 'Inash' "
Ignoring his command, Kagome took his answer to mean he didn't like his hair, so she advised, "Cut it if you not like it, Inash."
"No!" Inu-Yasha yelled. "I'm not cutting my hair!"
"Why?"
"I just don't want to."
Kagome nodded as if she understood, but she was still confused. However, with a little patience, one's questions will always be answered in time. Sort of.
"Girls aren't the only ones who can grow their hair long," Inu-Yasha grumbled.
Kagome didn't completely understand at the time, but her mind grasped the idea of rebelling to the should's and should-not's of society. She went along with the notion.
"Okay!" she said with a grin.
Then she took off the only shirt she was wearing.
"What are you doing?!" Inu-Yasha shouted.
"It's hot, and Kaka no want to be hot, so Kaka take off froggy shirt," she explained, gesturing to her lime green shirt decorated with big- eyed frogs.
"Put it back on! You hafta wear your shirt!" Inu-Yasha demanded.
"Boys aren't only ones who don hafta wear shirts," the bare-chested Kagome said with a smile.
"Yes, they are!"
"Nuh-uh."
"Yuh-huh, Kagome! Shirts and hair have nothing the same in 'em!" he argued.
"It's fair, Inash! You grow your hair. Kaka no wear shirt. It's fair," she repeated.
Inu-Yasha yelled that it wasn't, and Kagome yelled that it was. Moments later, Mrs. Higurashi hesitantly entered the backyard to see what the two were yelling about now. She yelled when she saw Kagome without her shirt. She forced her yelling child to wear her shirt, and explained why it was important for her to do so. When Inu-Yasha's mother yelled for him to come home for dinner, Inu-Yasha said his good-byes to the frustrated Kagome. Much yelling occurred, and everyone's throat was a tad sore.
When Inu-Yasha went to Kagome's house to play the next day, she noticed a slight difference about his appearance.
"Inash no look same as yesterday," she said, staring inquisitively at him.
"I don't?" he said, instantly averting his eyes.
"Is. your hair shorter?" she asked with a look of surprise.
Inu-Yasha blushed and mumbled, "Just a little. I let my mamma trim it."
Kagome simply nodded and suggested they play hide-and-go-seek. She never realized he had allowed his mother to trim his hair only for the reason that she couldn't not wear a shirt, and that somehow, for an inexplicable reason that made perfect sense in the mind of Inu-Yasha, his small sacrifice made it fair.
~~~~~
Present day
Kagome and her family had moved back into the house they had lived in before they had moved. Few people had bought the house since it was difficult to take care of the shrine, and the latest owners quickly moved out when they heard that someone was hoping to buy the property, claiming they had seen ghosts when they were occupied with each other in sexual ways. No one wanted to be told that bit of unnecessary information, but it was told to him anyway. Kagome and Inu-Yasha were sitting on the steps leading to her front door. An awkward silence hung between them. Neither was certain of what to say to a friend one hadn't seen or talked to in years.
Inu-Yasha spoke first, his curiosity overpowering him. "Why do you think I'm such a rebel?"
Kagome sighed and, propping her elbows on her legs, she held her head in her small hands. A wistful look crossed her soft features, and she said, "You've always done what guys don't normally do. You were growing your hair out even when you were three."
"I don't remember," Inu-Yasha lied, leading his eyes away from her face and to the sky.
Kagome glanced at him and smiled. "I do. You wouldn't let your mother cut your hair for anything."
Inu-Yasha stiffened.
She noted this and veered away from that subject. "Anyway, I could never be as rebellious as you."
"Ha!" Inu-Yasha barked. "Who insisted that she didn't have to wear her shirt?"
"You do remember!" Kagome laughed.
Inu-Yasha smirked. "Yeah, well, it's hard to forget something that stupid."
"Why?"
" 'Cuz girls just hafta wear a shirt in public."
"Then I'll become a rebel like you. From now on, I refuse to wear a shirt," she declared.
Inu-Yasha stuttered something incomprehensible, and locked his eyes on the now oh-so-interesting walkway beneath his feet.
Kagome looked over at him and half-closed her eyes in slight disgust. "What? You think I actually wouldn't wear my shirt? Pervert."
Speechless, Inu-Yasha blushed and turned away from her unnerving glare. "Stupid girl," he pouted.
***** Still Present Day
Kagome woke early the next morning to prepare herself for her first day of school and was out of the house by 7:30 P.M., giving her about half an hour to walk to school. Tugging self-consciously at her skirt, she hopped down the front steps and saw someone leaving the house next door.
"Inu-Yasha!" she called.
He groggily turned in her general direction. "Mmgulgumpf," he mumbled. He stopped to wait for her out of the goodness of his heart. And because he was practically asleep on his feet and momentarily stupid. Momentarily.
Kagome caught up to him and thanked him for waiting. He hadn't even thought of saying 'you're welcome' when she began talking.
"Why aren't you riding your motorcycle to school? Oh, I guess you're afraid someone might bother it. Is it rough like that at our high school? I'm really nervous since this is my first day of high school here and all. I'm worried that I won't make a good impression. Should I worry? I mean, I don't want to be all goody-goody, but I don't want to seem snobby, you know? Of course, if people see me with you, they'll probably assume that I'm a rebel like you. That, or they'll think I'm a snobby-do-gooder-trying- to-be-a-rebel. Not that I'm blaming you if they assume that. I'm really happy that we go to the same school. I don't know what I would do if I didn't know anyone. Yes, I know I've changed schools before, but it was easier then since I was only going into another sixth grade class. It's so much harder trying to fit in at high school! Even at a high school where you know a lot of people. I can't imagine what it's like at a school where you only know one person! I suppose I'll find out soon enough. Jeez! I really am talking your ear off aren't I? I'm sorry. I'm just so nervous, and when I get nervous, I can't stop talking. I have butterflies in my stomach, but it's not just them. There's a tornado in my stomach, too, and it's making the butterflies knock against the sides of my stomach, and if I don't watch it, they'll all burst threw my mouth and fly off and leave me to make it threw the day all by myself. Uncaring butterflies! How rude is tha-"
"Kagome," Inu-Yasha said, interrupting her as he squinted in the bright, early-morning sun.
"Yeah?"
"Shut up."
"Okay."
Author's Note: Yay! This was a fun chapter to write! I like this one so much because it really gives you all an idea of what I'm actually doing with this fanfic. Hopefully, it's gonna be good! I'm trying oh-so-hard. Have any of you noticed my love of personification? I have a nasty habit of it. ^.^'' Ima tell you all a stupid story! I was at soccer practice, and we had just run for twelve minutes straight, and I ran six laps, which is about a mile and a half. My calves (mooo!) were tingling and throbbing, and I turned to my friend Jessica and said, "My calves feel like they're about to pop out of my legs, flop around on the field, then shrivel up and die, and then someone will come across the field and say, 'Oh! These look like pigs' ears! I think I'll give them to my dog!' and then they'll take my big raisin-looking calves home to their dog, and I'll hafta hop over on my knees to their house and steal my mangled, slobbery calves back from the dog and then learn how to knit, so I can knit them back into it my legs." I am happy to report that they didn't pop out of my legs, but they are sore like a boar. Don't you all feel like eating some nice pork right about now? Ick.. ^.^''
Past and Present Intertwine
Chapter Three- Shirts and Hair
Inu-Yasha's eyebrow slanted in an irritated manner. 'Woah, stalker!' came to mind, and he wasn't sure whether to be nervous, angry, or shocked, so he settled for indifferent.
"Do I know you?" he asked, looking at her out of the corner of his eye.
"You really don't recognize me?" the dark-haired girl asked. She didn't look offended, but her eyebrows rose slightly in surprise.
"If I did, I wouldn't ask if I knew you," Inu-Yasha snapped, turning to her.
"Hey! I'm being nice here! You don't have to be rude!" she told him.
"I don't even know you!" Inu-Yasha shouted, wondering why he was getting so mad at someone he'd just met. Sort of.
After taking a quick moment to calm herself, the girl tilted her head and gave him a small smile. "You really don't remember me, Inash?"
Inu-Yasha's angry glare was swept away by a small gust of wind that rummaged through pieces of his still tousled hair and discarded them into his face, which now wore a surprised expression. Only one person had called him 'Inash,' but that was years ago. How many now? Three? Four? He didn't know. He probably didn't even care.
"Kagome?"
"Yeah."
~~~~~
Kagome: Two years old. Inu-Yasha: Three years old.
But who's counting?
Kagome and Inu-Yasha were playing leapfrog in Kagome's backyard. Without warning, she pushed her hands against the ground, thus moving her crouching body up, so she could get a better look at an overhead bird that had just caught her attention. Inu-Yasha's feet stuttered when confronted with this more difficult hurdle. He gracelessly jumped and even more gracelessly knocked them both to the ground. Unfazed, they righted themselves, and the innocent Kagome gave her playmate an apologizing smile.
"You have a stick in your hair, Inash," she informed him, reaching out to pluck the unwanted accessory from his ever-lengthening mane.
For an inexplicable reason that made perfect sense in the mind of Inu- Yasha, the stick in his hair infuriated him. "Stupid stick!" he shouted. "Stupid stick getting caught in my stupid hair! Stupid stick and stupid hair! Stupid! Stupid!" He grabbed the stick from the girl's hand and snapped it into two smaller sticks before throwing them off into the grass.
"Inash don't like hair?" Kagome asked curiously. Her friend's outburst didn't faze her. Perhaps she was becoming accustomed to his explosions since his emotions always traveled over minefield territory.
"No!" Inu-Yasha confirmed without really confirming anything. "And don't call me 'Inash' "
Ignoring his command, Kagome took his answer to mean he didn't like his hair, so she advised, "Cut it if you not like it, Inash."
"No!" Inu-Yasha yelled. "I'm not cutting my hair!"
"Why?"
"I just don't want to."
Kagome nodded as if she understood, but she was still confused. However, with a little patience, one's questions will always be answered in time. Sort of.
"Girls aren't the only ones who can grow their hair long," Inu-Yasha grumbled.
Kagome didn't completely understand at the time, but her mind grasped the idea of rebelling to the should's and should-not's of society. She went along with the notion.
"Okay!" she said with a grin.
Then she took off the only shirt she was wearing.
"What are you doing?!" Inu-Yasha shouted.
"It's hot, and Kaka no want to be hot, so Kaka take off froggy shirt," she explained, gesturing to her lime green shirt decorated with big- eyed frogs.
"Put it back on! You hafta wear your shirt!" Inu-Yasha demanded.
"Boys aren't only ones who don hafta wear shirts," the bare-chested Kagome said with a smile.
"Yes, they are!"
"Nuh-uh."
"Yuh-huh, Kagome! Shirts and hair have nothing the same in 'em!" he argued.
"It's fair, Inash! You grow your hair. Kaka no wear shirt. It's fair," she repeated.
Inu-Yasha yelled that it wasn't, and Kagome yelled that it was. Moments later, Mrs. Higurashi hesitantly entered the backyard to see what the two were yelling about now. She yelled when she saw Kagome without her shirt. She forced her yelling child to wear her shirt, and explained why it was important for her to do so. When Inu-Yasha's mother yelled for him to come home for dinner, Inu-Yasha said his good-byes to the frustrated Kagome. Much yelling occurred, and everyone's throat was a tad sore.
When Inu-Yasha went to Kagome's house to play the next day, she noticed a slight difference about his appearance.
"Inash no look same as yesterday," she said, staring inquisitively at him.
"I don't?" he said, instantly averting his eyes.
"Is. your hair shorter?" she asked with a look of surprise.
Inu-Yasha blushed and mumbled, "Just a little. I let my mamma trim it."
Kagome simply nodded and suggested they play hide-and-go-seek. She never realized he had allowed his mother to trim his hair only for the reason that she couldn't not wear a shirt, and that somehow, for an inexplicable reason that made perfect sense in the mind of Inu-Yasha, his small sacrifice made it fair.
~~~~~
Present day
Kagome and her family had moved back into the house they had lived in before they had moved. Few people had bought the house since it was difficult to take care of the shrine, and the latest owners quickly moved out when they heard that someone was hoping to buy the property, claiming they had seen ghosts when they were occupied with each other in sexual ways. No one wanted to be told that bit of unnecessary information, but it was told to him anyway. Kagome and Inu-Yasha were sitting on the steps leading to her front door. An awkward silence hung between them. Neither was certain of what to say to a friend one hadn't seen or talked to in years.
Inu-Yasha spoke first, his curiosity overpowering him. "Why do you think I'm such a rebel?"
Kagome sighed and, propping her elbows on her legs, she held her head in her small hands. A wistful look crossed her soft features, and she said, "You've always done what guys don't normally do. You were growing your hair out even when you were three."
"I don't remember," Inu-Yasha lied, leading his eyes away from her face and to the sky.
Kagome glanced at him and smiled. "I do. You wouldn't let your mother cut your hair for anything."
Inu-Yasha stiffened.
She noted this and veered away from that subject. "Anyway, I could never be as rebellious as you."
"Ha!" Inu-Yasha barked. "Who insisted that she didn't have to wear her shirt?"
"You do remember!" Kagome laughed.
Inu-Yasha smirked. "Yeah, well, it's hard to forget something that stupid."
"Why?"
" 'Cuz girls just hafta wear a shirt in public."
"Then I'll become a rebel like you. From now on, I refuse to wear a shirt," she declared.
Inu-Yasha stuttered something incomprehensible, and locked his eyes on the now oh-so-interesting walkway beneath his feet.
Kagome looked over at him and half-closed her eyes in slight disgust. "What? You think I actually wouldn't wear my shirt? Pervert."
Speechless, Inu-Yasha blushed and turned away from her unnerving glare. "Stupid girl," he pouted.
***** Still Present Day
Kagome woke early the next morning to prepare herself for her first day of school and was out of the house by 7:30 P.M., giving her about half an hour to walk to school. Tugging self-consciously at her skirt, she hopped down the front steps and saw someone leaving the house next door.
"Inu-Yasha!" she called.
He groggily turned in her general direction. "Mmgulgumpf," he mumbled. He stopped to wait for her out of the goodness of his heart. And because he was practically asleep on his feet and momentarily stupid. Momentarily.
Kagome caught up to him and thanked him for waiting. He hadn't even thought of saying 'you're welcome' when she began talking.
"Why aren't you riding your motorcycle to school? Oh, I guess you're afraid someone might bother it. Is it rough like that at our high school? I'm really nervous since this is my first day of high school here and all. I'm worried that I won't make a good impression. Should I worry? I mean, I don't want to be all goody-goody, but I don't want to seem snobby, you know? Of course, if people see me with you, they'll probably assume that I'm a rebel like you. That, or they'll think I'm a snobby-do-gooder-trying- to-be-a-rebel. Not that I'm blaming you if they assume that. I'm really happy that we go to the same school. I don't know what I would do if I didn't know anyone. Yes, I know I've changed schools before, but it was easier then since I was only going into another sixth grade class. It's so much harder trying to fit in at high school! Even at a high school where you know a lot of people. I can't imagine what it's like at a school where you only know one person! I suppose I'll find out soon enough. Jeez! I really am talking your ear off aren't I? I'm sorry. I'm just so nervous, and when I get nervous, I can't stop talking. I have butterflies in my stomach, but it's not just them. There's a tornado in my stomach, too, and it's making the butterflies knock against the sides of my stomach, and if I don't watch it, they'll all burst threw my mouth and fly off and leave me to make it threw the day all by myself. Uncaring butterflies! How rude is tha-"
"Kagome," Inu-Yasha said, interrupting her as he squinted in the bright, early-morning sun.
"Yeah?"
"Shut up."
"Okay."
Author's Note: Yay! This was a fun chapter to write! I like this one so much because it really gives you all an idea of what I'm actually doing with this fanfic. Hopefully, it's gonna be good! I'm trying oh-so-hard. Have any of you noticed my love of personification? I have a nasty habit of it. ^.^'' Ima tell you all a stupid story! I was at soccer practice, and we had just run for twelve minutes straight, and I ran six laps, which is about a mile and a half. My calves (mooo!) were tingling and throbbing, and I turned to my friend Jessica and said, "My calves feel like they're about to pop out of my legs, flop around on the field, then shrivel up and die, and then someone will come across the field and say, 'Oh! These look like pigs' ears! I think I'll give them to my dog!' and then they'll take my big raisin-looking calves home to their dog, and I'll hafta hop over on my knees to their house and steal my mangled, slobbery calves back from the dog and then learn how to knit, so I can knit them back into it my legs." I am happy to report that they didn't pop out of my legs, but they are sore like a boar. Don't you all feel like eating some nice pork right about now? Ick.. ^.^''
