Alright! Back here again with another chapter! Yeah! I do not, nor will I probably ever, own Inu Yasha!
Review Responses:
Mistress Fluffy- Thanks for the review…all will be explained…eventually ^_^
Pruningshears- Indeed it is a necessary talent. Thanks for reviewing!
Fresca- I use to hate AU's too…but I read a few and realized that they aren't that bad…and now I'm writing one. How odd the world is.
Tina- Thanks for the review! I'm glad you like the story so far.
Pensquared- Yes, what would a story be without the inevitable "sit" command?
VioletRose4- Thanks for the review!
Starrynight323- Thanks for the review and the IY smiles…Your review is just as good as 100 ^_^
To Live Again
Chapter Five: Dinner for Four
"Mou…Sango-chan! I can't believe you talked me into coming with him!" Kagome complained in a whisper to her friend as they walked into the restaurant that doubled as a club.
"Really, Kagome-chan, you were coming with me anyways. Besides, this is sweet revenge for inviting that pervert!" Sango whispered back, glaring at her friend.
"Yeah, but at least he's not a jerk!"
"Oh yeah, instead he just feels every girl up! Fair is fair, Kagome-chan!"
"Ah, we're right here…" Miroku sweat-dropped and waved, drawing their attention to him.
"And we can hear you." Yasha grumbled, crossing his arms as he glared at them.
"Well, if you don't like it, you can just leave!" Kagome glared back, pointing at Yasha.
"Like hell, bitch! I got promised food, and I'm not going anywhere till I get it!"
"Oh, a table for four? Looks like a double date to me!" The hostess cheerfully smiled at them and began to lead the way to the table.
"Double date my ass…" Sango muttered before feeling a too-familiar hand rubbing against that certain part of her anatomy. "Pervert!" she yelled, knocking the hand, and man, down to the ground before storming away to follow the hostess.
*~*~*
"So, Yasha, do you go to college around here?" Kagome asked him nervously, trying to lighten the mood around the table. Yasha was glaring at the table while Sango glared at Miroku, who just smiled all around the table and chatted about pretty much nothing. It was quite nerve-wracking.
Yasha glanced at her, surprise in his eyes, which quickly glared again, "No."
'Ok…that went well…' Trying again, she struggled to remain cheerful, "Oh, so where do you go?"
Yasha almost growled his words at her, "Look wench, I don't go anywhere to college. I don't go."
"Oh" was all Kagome could reply before looking away again, embarrassed at her assumption. 'Great, now he'll probably really hate me! Probably thinks I'm just some stuck up snob or something.'
Before anyone could say anything more, the waiter came and took their orders. Once he had left, Kagome glanced around the table at her friends. Sango looked almost as nervous as she was, but Miroku was still smiling like a loon, still babbling away. 'What is his problem? Is he actually enjoying this?'
Casting a side glance at Yasha, she saw him glaring at the table again. 'Ok…this is really sucking. I know I'm not on a date or anything but still…it's so uncomfortable…'
Yasha was having some thing close to the same thoughts. 'This sucks. Why did I agree to this again? Oh yeah, free food. But…this is kind of uncomfortable. I wish she would say something…' Sneaking a peak at her out from under his bangs, he could see she also must have been thinking about something. 'Should I try to be nice?' he found himself wondering before a swift mental kick sent that one flying.
'Maybe he's just nervous?' Kagome looked at him out of the corner of her eyes. 'He doesn't really know us; maybe he just doesn't know how to act around us?'
Sango watched the side-glances both were shooting each other and sighed. Miroku was going on about something or other, but she wasn't paying attention to him. No, she was more focused instead on watching the body language displayed between the two in front of her. Kagome would glance at him, he would glare away. She'd look back at her plate; he'd glance at her from under his hair.
Sighing again, she wondered what she could do to make conversation arise between them. Maybe leaving them alone for awhile, but that would mean taking the "houshi-in-training" with her. As much as that thought made her cringe, she realized that it might be their only chance.
"Come on, Miroku-sama, let's go dance." She got up from her seat, eyes on anything but him.
Miroku's eyes practically bulged from his head. His beautiful, if not violent, Sango that he had adored for so long wanted to dance with him? Buddha was definitely smiling down on him. Before she could change her mind, he quickly nodded and stood as well.
Kagome and Yasha both quickly snapped their attention to the two standing members of their table.
"Where are you two going?" Kagome asked, a little fear creeping into her voice. 'Oh, don't say you're going leave me here with him!'
"We're going to dance!" Miroku announced happily while Sango rolled her eyes. When he moved to take her hand, she quickly moved it away.
"But no touching!" Sango glared at him as he nodded his agreement. The two made there way to the dance floor, leaving Kagome and Yasha alone at the table.
As the silence came over them again, Kagome sighed. 'Some friends they are!'
Yasha shook his head, finally breaking the ice between them, "That guy…is a loser."
Kagome glared at him, "Hey, Miroku-sama's a nice guy. He just doesn't know how to show his affections…the right way."
Yasha looked at her doubtfully, "Right…that's why he just doesn't grab at Sango, but every other female," He snorted before continuing, "Even you."
"Excuse me? You are such a jerk! I should never have come here with you!" She yelled at him, giving him her patented 'death glare'.
Yasha crossed his arms and smirked at her, "Oh, come on Ms. High and Mighty, finish telling me about your lovely college."
Kagome's glare turned into a look of surprise, "What?"
Looking away, he huffed, "Please, don't act like you don't know. 'Oh, where do you go to college?'" He mimicked her voice.
"I was just trying to make conversation…" She trailed off quietly, feeling worse than before.
"Well, don't just go around 'assuming' things about people for conversation! Not everyone has had your privileged life!" He looked back at her, expecting her to be glaring and make some sort of rude comment, but found instead that she was trying to hold back tears. 'Wait…what the hell?'
"I'm sorry" She sniffled out, "You're right…I just assumed that you were in college because of your uncle. I shouldn't have," She sniffled again, and a tear managed to seep out one eye.
"W-wait! Don't cry! I'm sorry…I was just being a jerk!" He waved his hand frantically towards her, trying to get her to stop.
She wiped at her eyes desperately, upset at showing so much emotion. 'Why am I letting him effect me so much?' She looked at him sadly, "No, I'm sorry, really. I'm just a stuck-up cry baby."
For some reason, he couldn't stand hearing her put herself down, "No, just- stop crying and forget about it!" He stuck his hand out towards her, "Truce?"
She looked at his hand, then to him, then back to his hand in surprise before taking it, "Truce."
As the hand touched his, Yasha felt something like a jolt run through his body. 'What was that?' He asked himself, puzzling over it. It was a warm feeling, familiar in a way. Blushing slightly when he realized he was still holding her hand, he pulled it away, as if it had been scalded.
Kagome's heart jumped when her hand met his. It felt like…a bond of some sort, flowing through them. Bu how could that be? They had just met! When he pulled his hand away, she turned slightly, blushing, thinking about the feel of his hand. 'Why did it feel…almost familiar?'
A low cough broke they're daze, bringing both of their eyes up to meet the person before them.
*~*~*
"Mou! What is he doing here?!?" Sango almost yelled into Miroku's ear.
Instead of dancing like she had claimed they would, she had instead dragged him past the dance floor, to the other side, where they were now watching the two.
"Sango, aren't we supposed to be dancing?" Miroku stood next to her, fighting the urge to let his hands wander as he too watched the couple at the table.
"Oh, come on Miroku-sama, I know you love spying on people as much as me, so just watch!" She pointed at the couple and glared at him.
"Fine, but you still owe me a dance," Miroku moved closer to her to get a better view of the two.
"Why did he have to come along? They were finally talking and –Eep!" She cried and smacked the wandering hand's owner to the floor.
*~*~*
"Oh, Higurashi-san! How are you feeling?"
Kagome groaned inwardly, "Hello, Hojo-kun."
Yasha glared at him, 'This guy is really dense, isn't he?'
Hojo kept smiling down at the two, "I stopped by yesterday with some tea to help you feel better, but you had already left! I told Sango-san that I'd bring it today, but she said you didn't work. But then you weren't home either! Are you feeling alright?"
"I'm just fine, Hojo-kun!" She managed a smile, but inside was screaming, 'You baka! Don't you get a hint?'
'What is this guy, a stalker?' Yasha frowned at that thought, eyeing the guy before him. For some reason that he couldn't place, he really really didn't like this guy. 'He's a little scrawny thing but that doesn't mean he wouldn't do anything like that.'
"So, Higurashi, have you thought more of my question?"
Kagome managed to keep the smile pasted on her face while she tried to keep from falling out of her chair. 'Ok…I know he can be dense but he's not stupid, is he? He can't really be asking me that, can he? First I ran out screaming, then I hide from him, now he finds me at a dance club with another guy no less, and still he wants to know if I'll marry him?'
Even with 'Hell No!' resonating through her head, she kept the smile on her face, "You see Hojo-kun, about that. I'm not ready for something like that…"
Hojo frowned, "But Higurashi, you're already twenty. If you don't begin to settle down, soon you'll be an old spinster!"
'He did NOT just say that with a serious face, did he?' Kagome's mind screamed. 'Old spinster? At twenty?? Is this boy insane, or just some chauvinist…argh!' Even her brain right now couldn't make out adequate thoughts.
Yasha looked at the boy, 'He just said she was going to be an old spinster huh? What a baka. Yeah, that'll win her over for sure. What a moron.'
Regaining her mental composure, Kagome smiled at him again, "I know that I'm already twenty, but-"
"And there's nobody else who's interested, right?"
'Ouch. Now, that hurt.' Maybe it hurt even more just hearing it come out of the dense boy's mouth. Eyebrow twitching, she tried to hold back all the nasty things flowing through her mind, but for some reason couldn't. Opening her mouth, her eyes narrowed, "What, am I some-"
Before that thought could be finished, another voice spoke up. "Yes, there is."
Too shocked to finish her own thoughts, she stared wide-eyes at the white-haired boy, "…Yasha?"
His eyes were closed, and he was taping his fingers on his arm in an annoyed fashion. Finally opening his eyes, he looked directly at her, daring her to say it wasn't true so she could deal with Hojo on her own.
"But…Higurashi, I thought you were my girlfriend?"
'With ideas like that?!?' Her brain screamed, but once again before she could answer, Yasha did.
"Did you ever even ask, Hobo, or did you just assume in your little mind that she was?"
"It's Hojo." He corrected uncomfortably.
"Whatever. So, did you? Or did you just decide?" Yasha glared at him, completely ignoring the dumb-struck girl.
"Well…"
"That's what I thought. So why don't you just leave now before I have to really embarrass you?"
Hojo quickly nodded and, without even a glance at Kagome, turned and practically ran away.
"Well, I don't think he'll be bothering you again." Yasha turned away from her. 'Why did I DO that? Why do I care?'
"Thank you, Yasha…" Kagome quietly spoke, completely confused by his actions. 'Why…why would he do that for me?'
"Whatever." Yasha huffed and turned away.
A moment of silence lapsed between them, then Yasha spoke, "So, do you want a drink or something?"
'Why is he acting almost…nice?' "Sure," Kagome answered, still puzzled by his actions as she watched him go to the bar to order the drinks.
Pondering her thoughts a little more, she almost didn't notice the tingling feeling at the back of her mind. 'What is that? I've never felt anything like this before…it's like something's calling me?'
She looked around a little, almost standing from her seat. Seeing nothing, she sat with a sigh, 'Alright, now I'm imagining things…'
Again that pulling feeling cam and she felt compelled to follow it, almost without thought. She was soon out of her seat and to the dance floor, weaving in and out of dancing couples. 'Why can't I seem to control my body?' Her brain screamed as she took another step forward. The blinking lights around her seemed to blind her more, as she continued to step towards the middle of the floor. 'This feeling…something's wrong!'
Suddenly gaining control again, she whirled around as she heard a deafening noise, almost like an explosion to her left.
Yelling out in surprise along with most of the occupants of the dance floor, she started to move away from the noise when the smoke began to billow into the area. A heavy hand clamped down on her should and an arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her back towards the sound.
"Let me go! Who the hell are you?" She yelled, clawing at the arm around her waist.
"Don't worry, little miko, we have plans for you!" A voice hissed into her ear, making her feel frozen in the arms.
As she was pulled further back into the club, her eyes frantically searched for someone, anyone to help her. The smoke filtering around the dance floor covered mostly everything, allowing no one to really see their ways out. The panic that had ensued from the explosion had cause a mad rush towards the exits, a flood of people blocking everything from sight.
All Yasha could see were people streaming by him as he searched for his companions. Where had Kagome gone? He had left her at the table, but when he had turned with their drinks, she was gone. That was only a moment before the explosion.
Pushing his way through the hordes of people, he searched for Sango and Miroku; maybe she had gone with them? Part of his brain was telling him to just get out and not care, another, more dominant part of it was telling him that something was not right. He had a nagging feeling for some reason that there was something behind the explosion.
He finally managed to reach the middle of the dance floor when he noticed Sango and Miroku making their way to the back exit.
"Hey!" He called, running over to them, "Have you seen Kagome?"
"No," Sango replied while Miroku shook his head, "Wasn't she with you?"
"Yeah, but she disappeared when that explosion went off."
The smoke was finally beginning to clear, making it easier to see around the darkened hall.
"Maybe she's already outside?" Miroku suggested, half guessing. He knew, however, that Kagome would never have fled without making sure her friends were alright.
"She wouldn't just leave like that!" Sango said worriedly as another voice called to them.
"Sango-chan, Miroku-sama?" A young girl with shoulder length black hair called to them as she ran towards them.
"Rin-chan? What's wrong?" Sango recognized her as a one of her classmates.
"Sango-chan! Kagome's in trouble!"
Alright, that's it…for now ^_^
Please review!