New Author's Notes: In honor of the one year anniversary of the 'Confessions Trilogy', I'm performing a massive editing session on all three stories. As you know by now, I've already finished editing the first, and am now posting this one, and will eventually be getting to the third as well, time permitting. I'm immensely proud of all three of these stories, and am contemplating turning this into a yearly tradition so that they can always be improving. The only thing that hasn't changed is the original author's notes, which I didn't have the heart to part with. I hope you enjoy!
Though not described in detail, this story does deal with rape, so be forewarned if that sort of topic bothers you.
Original Author's Notes: Thanks for the reviews, everyone! And Happy New Year! There's not much to say for this chapter, except that there will be plenty of fluff and other meaningless stuff. But the action (a.k.a. the trial and the wedding) is coming, so never fear. Look at this as the calm before the storm.
Other then that, I don't really have much to say, except this: if you're not reading my other story, 'Conflict and Everlasting Love', I'd like to ask, shamelessly, that you give it a try. And if you're already reading it, then I thank you. Enjoy chapter eight!
Title: The Realistic Happily Ever After
Author: dolphingirl0113
Chapter: Eight
Rating: PG-13 (rated for violence, language, and implied sexual situations)
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.
The five days she spent in the Feudal Era proved to be Kagome's saving grace in the otherwise never ending chaos that had become her life. It seemed like things were even worse for her now that Naraku was dead, but at least for five days she was able to escape the stress of the upcoming trial, planning for her wedding (which was becoming a larger event by the day), and the endless stress that was school and dealing with her curious but well meaning friends.
Her mother had been right to tell her to take a few days off, but unfortunately, what both women had forgotten about was the fact that eventually Kagome would have to return to the mayhem, and that when she did it would be ten times worse because she would be playing catch up.
Still, it couldn't be avoided, though that didn't prevent Kagome from feeling like a child trying to convince herself to go back to school after Christmas break…on a much larger scale.
Kouga had taken her advice and brought Ayame back with him to travel to the future, and now that the two girls were no longer rivals for Kouga's affection in the redhead's eyes, they hit it off really well. In fact, Ayame was almost more thrilled then Kouga to be going to the future for Kagome's wedding, and Kagome felt somewhat regretful that she couldn't put the woman in her wedding. But there was just no way…she already had four women in her party.
Unfortunately, to say Inuyasha was happy about the newest invitees to his wedding would be the biggest lie anyone ever told, which meant that everyone but him seemed happy at this point about the fact that he was getting married. In fact, he was so upset that Kagome had no only invited Kouga to the wedding, but then took the liberty of making him one of the groomsmen, that he was currently refusing to speak to his fiancée at all unless it was absolutely necessary.
This resolution of his tore at Kagome's heart, and the tension between the couple became so unbearable that by the time Kagome was ready to return home she decided she would go alone, choosing to leave without saying goodbye to anyone…especially the peeved hanyou…the morning she left.
"But child, are you sure about this?" Kaede was standing with Kagome and Shippou beside the well, the two being the only friends around to say goodbye.
Kagome stopped where she was, prepared to jump into the well with her yellow backpack slung over her shoulder, to see the old miko looking at her with a stern expression, her arms crossed, Shippou on her shoulder.
She sighed. "I think we need to spend some time apart, Lady Kaede, that's all. I mean, Inuyasha and I have practically been attached at the hip for several months, and while I love every minute of our time together, our personalities are such that I just think we need a break." She shook her head and looked down. "We've been fighting more and more lately, and this latest incident with Kouga has just, for whatever reason, pushed him over the edge."
Kaede nodded in understanding. "But do you perhaps think that means you should consider telling Kouga and Ayame not to come to your wedding after all?"
Kagome shook her head vehemently. "Absolutely not! I invited a good and loyal friend to be in my wedding, and I'm not going to tell Kouga he can't come now simply because I have a fiancé who can't control his jealousy." She rolled her eyes. "Or his demonic instincts."
Kaede and Shippou watched the girl before them with a mixture of frustration and exasperation, and as one they sighed. The older miko wished that, just once, Kagome and Inuyasha wouldn't be so ridiculously stubborn…
"If this is the path you are determined to take, child…"
"It is," Kagome insisted firmly, stepping up to the edge of the well. "Please, Kaede…I really think this is the way it has to be for a little while."
The old woman softened her eyes as much as she could, deciding the path of least resistance was the best option at that point. "Very well Kagome, I'll make sure Inuyasha doesn't know where you've gone until tonight."
At that Kagome's sour look turned instantly into a beaming smile, and she readied to jump. "Thank you, Lady Kaede!" And with that, she was engulfed by a pink halo, disappearing five hundred years into the future.
The older miko sighed once more and turned back towards her village with Shippou at her side, unable to keep from wondering exactly what the repercussions would be when Inuyasha, the hanyou with the biggest temper in the country, found out that his mate had run off without him.
"Come on Shippou," she commented to the kitsune, taking a deep breath and setting her shoulders as though preparing for battle, "Lets go prepare for the worst temper tantrum in history."
The kitsune rolled his eyes. "Oh goody…"
"Mama, I'm home!" Kagome walked through the front door of her house and took a deep breath of modern day Tokyo, feeling the usual sense of warmth and comfort upon returning home once more. It was true that the Feudal Era had become something of a second home, and she loved it as such, but there would always be something special about the place (and time) of her birth. There was a sense of warmth there, knowing that her mother was waiting for her with open arms, that her grandfather was going about his usual business tending to the shrine, and that her brother, despite the fact that he could be annoying, would always advocate for her better then anyone else…except, perhaps, for Inuyasha when he was in a good mood.
Mrs. Higurashi appeared instantly in the kitchen doorway, wearing her usual apron around her waist, baking supplies covering her hands, a smile on her face. "Are you feeling better, sweetheart? Did the time off help?"
Kagome nodded. "Much better, mama…thank you for insisting I go back." The two Higurashi women embraced warmly before Mrs. Higurahsi pulled back and seemed to look for someone, shaking her head when she didn't seem to find whoever it was.
"Where's Inuyasha?"
Kagome frowned momentarily, which didn't go unnoticed by her mother. "He's not with me right now, but he'll be coming later. After all, is it so unusual for a couple to spend some time apart?"
"Of course not…" Mrs. Higurashi gave her daughter an appraising stare, one of those looks that made a daughter feel like she was completely transparent. "Is everything alright?"
Kagome squirmed uncomfortably, and looked at everything but her mother. "Yes, mama, everything's just fine. Inuyasha and I are just having an argument like any other couple…" She blushed and rubbed the back of her neck. "The only difference of course being the fact that I can travel into the future when I'm angry with him."
At that her mother just laughed and nodded, waving her hands in the air with a comment about silly young people hopelessly in love as she walked back into the kitchen. Kagome rolled her eyes fondly and walked up to her room, collapsing on her soft bed with a delighted sigh.
"Mmm…" She buried her face in her pillow and closed her eyes. "Thank god it's Saturday." Her voice echoed in the silence of the room, and she rolled over to stare at the ceiling, realizing that, for the first time in a long time, she had nothing to do…and Inuyasha wasn't there to hassle her either.
Sitting up after a few minutes, Kagome reached over to pick up the receiver of her phone, taking the white card beside it as well. Dialing the number she had written down, she waited, listening to the tones signaling that the phone was ringing on the other end of the call, and smiled when a familiar voice answered.
"This is Nancy White, how may I help you?"
Kagome bit her lip, hoping she wouldn't seem like a bother. "Ms. White? Hi, this is Kagome…"
"Kagome!" She needn't have feared seeming like a bother, because the older woman's voice perked up instantly, losing some of its professionalism along the way. "What can I do for you? Is everything okay?"
"Oh yes, everything's fine, don't worry," Kagome hastened to assure her. "I was just, um…well, I was just wondering if I could take you up on that offer to do lunch?"
"Oh! Of course! I'd love to, Kagome." There was that tone again, the one that Kagome recognized as disbelief, making it painfully obvious that the notoriously tough Nancy White, Attorney at Law, still didn't et out with friends much…let alone receive many invitations. No doubt she was a woman buried in her work.
"Great!" Kagome couldn't keep the enthusiasm out of her voice, grateful for something to pass the time.
"So, when exactly did you have in mind?"
"Well, if it's not too short of notice, I was thinking maybe we could meet up tomorrow?"
"Sure…where would you want to go, and what time?"
At that Kagome blushed, not exactly an expert on the local restaurants in Tokyo either. She spent so much time in the Feudal Era, and had for well over three years, that she'd sort of lost touch with her once extremely busy social life. "Um…I was kind of hoping you might have some ideas."
She received silence from the other end for several minutes, interrupted only by what sounded like a pen being tapped incessantly against the mahogany desk Kagome remembered from having been in Ms. White's office. "We could try Jamie's Café, which is just beside my office building," the blonde lawyer finally offered, her voice sounding more like a question then a statement.
For her part, Kagome had never heard of a Jamie's Café, but she was willing to try something new, and allowed a smile to break out across her face as she replied. "That sounds great! What time works the best for you?"
The woman on the other end chuckled, clearly catching onto Kagome's good mood. "I don't have to work tomorrow…imagine that…so how about 12:30?"
"Awesome! I'll be there!"
"Thanks Kagome. I'll see you then."
"Aright…bye." Ms. White hung up, no doubt to get back to a stack of paperwork, and Kagome fell back onto her bed once more with a heavy sigh, allowing her body to sink into the soft cushions of her mattress.
She spent the rest of her day in a lazy fog as she napped for a while, came downstairs to eat some lunch, and then fell asleep again on the couch while watching television, Mrs. Higurashi purposefully keeping the ringing phone away from her daughter so that she could rest. For once she wanted her daughter to just spend a normal, relaxing day at home and act her age.
Finally, after several hours wasted on sleep, Kagome woke up and decided to go to a spur of the moment movie with Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi, who had been complaining of late that they never spent time together any more, which was partially true, considering the fact that now they were in college their schedules didn't really match up. It was, in all honesty, a cheap romance flick based off a dime store romance novel, but all four girls ate it up as though it were worth ten academy awards.
Kagome couldn't have been happier as she sat in the theatre surrounded by her friends, the couple on the screen embracing and kissing as they all clapped, cried, and threw popcorn at any unfaithful man or stupid woman. Sighing, Kagome realized that she hadn't done something so pure, simple, and fun in a long time. Her life was usually so hectic, trying to balance two lives, along with college…and sometimes she wondered if maybe she had forgotten how to have fun after all.
That wasn't exactly an encouraging thought.
"So Kagome, when can we do this again?" Ayumi asked as the four girls exited the theatre, Eri still sipping on her unfinished soda and Yuka munching on some leftover popcorn.
"Um, I don't know…" She glanced over at her friends. "When would be best for you guys?"
Eri shrugged. "We're always free, you're the one who's got the crazy life with a wedding to plan, Kagome. Remember?"
She blushed. "Oh…right…"
As always, Ayumi jumped to the rescue of her poor friend, smiling and nodding in encouragement. "But we understand. How about the next time we want to go and do something, we'll just call, and if you can come, great…if not, we'll try again another day."
Kagome gave the girl a warm hug. "Thanks, Ayumi. I really did have fun tonight, and, honestly, I miss these nights out with my girls."
It was late when she finally got home, and Kagome was grateful, yet again, that it was a Saturday, which mercifully meant there was no school the following morning. She entered the front door and found her mother dutifully waiting up for her in the kitchen, baking cookies.
"Hi sweetheart!" Mrs. Higurashi called over her shoulder. "How was the movie?"
Kagome walked into the kitchen, a sleepy fog fast descending to rest on her shoulders, the fact that it was almost midnight sinking in at last. But she still didn't understand how she could be so tired…hadn't she slept over half the day away already? "It was sappy, predictable, and sickeningly sweet."
Her mother smiled knowingly and shut the oven door. "That good?"
Kagome grinned from ear to ear and sank into one of the chairs at the dining table. "Yeah…I haven't seen one of those old time romance movies in a while." She trailed off and found her gaze locked on the clock on the far wall, though she hardly noted anything but the way the pendulum swung back and forth…back and forth…
Mrs. Higurashi came over and sat down next to her daughter, putting a hand over her own. "A penny for your thoughts?"
That caused a genuine smile to form on Kagome's lips, and she recalled an instance when she'd tried to explain the unfamiliar phrase to Inuyasha. To be honest, he still didn't get it.
She felt her gut clench.
Inuyasha…
The idea of the man she loved, with his warm amber eyes and strong arms, combined with the recent memory of the romance movie, made Kagome go all warm inside, but also caused an extreme amount of guilt to form in a pool at the base of her stomach. Maybe she shouldn't have yelled at him and then left without saying goodbye after all…
"Mama…do you, um…do you think I'll be a good wife?"
"What?" That was obviously not the question the older woman had been expecting, because her eyes opened wide in surprise and she cocked her head to the side comically for someone of her age.
Kagome repeated herself. "Do you think I'll be a good wife? I mean…so far all Inuyasha and I do is fight, and I left him this morning without saying goodbye." She sighed and put her head in her hands. "I don't know. I guess I just thought that once we were engaged and everything, it would all be different."
"You mean you thought all the fighting would stop and you and he would live happily ever after?"
Kagome blushed. "Yeah…kind of. Am I crazy for thinking that?"
Mrs. Higurahsi looked down at the table for a moment with a soft, reminiscent smile on her face, thinking back to a time when she had been young and wearing an engagement ring on her finger, desperately trying to plan the wedding of her dreams.
Taking her daughter's hand once more, she touched Kagome's cheek gently. "I used to wonder about whether or not I'd make a good wife too before I married your father."
"You did?"
"Yes; and I asked my mother the exact same questions you're asking me now." She sighed and looked deep into her daughter's eyes. "Kagome, you fell in love with Inuyasha despite all of his flaws, including the fact that you two fight all the time and get on each other's nerves." She winked. "One could almost say the boy keeps you on your toes…and if all that changed the minute you put his engagement ring on your finger, then you would no longer be marrying the man you love so much, would you?"
Kagome looked past her mother for a moment, pondering the answer, before smiling slightly. "I suppose that's true."
"And don't you ever think you'll be a bad wife, because that's not possible if you marry the right man. Inuyasha will love you no matter what. Always remember that."
Kagome smiled brightly at that despite feeling exhausted, and returned the squeeze to her mother's hand. "Thanks, mama." She rose from her chair and stretched her arms over her head dramatically. "I'm going to bed now. Good night."
"Good night, sweetheart."
Her mother's kind, protective smile followed Kagome all the way up to her bedroom, through the door, and as she pulled on her pink pajamas and crawled between the sheets of her bed.
It was the first time in over two months that she would be sleeping completely alone, without Inuyasha nearby, or just on the other side of the well if she needed him. They'd had a fight, so he wouldn't be coming any time soon…he was too stubborn, just like she was. It felt strange knowing that, and for the first time in a long time Kagome found herself reaching for the worn out, stuffed dog that Sango had teased so much that first day.
As always, its presence reminded her enough of Inuyasha that she was able to cuddle it against her cheek and finally fall asleep.
"Where the hell is she?"
Kaede sighed and calmly took another sip of her tea as she heard the roar of a familiar, enraged voice. "Inuyasha's back, I see," she stated calmly to Shippou, who nodded in reply as he tried to act as poised and grown up as the older miko, taking a dainty sip of tea from his own cup.
The hanyou had gone with Miroku and Sango to the demon exterminator's old village to pay respects to the dead, which was something Sango always wanted to do from time to time. But while Miroku had gone to obviously support his wife, Inuyasha had merely tagged along out of a sense of duty, and was returning in the same day he had left, whereas the married couple wouldn't be returning until the following morning with Kirara.
Kaede had known all along that the hanyou's sensitive nose would instantly notice the absence of Kagome's scent…he always could…which made it unnecessary to explain where the girl had gone as anyone could put two and two together to make four. After all, they'd been down this particular road more times then the older miko cared to count.
Somehow, she managed to stay calm even with the knowledge that Inuyasha was furious…she could even hear him stomping across the ground in the direction of her hut before he violently pushed the grass mat of her door aside, his face a look of deadly rage.
"Good evening Inuyasha. I trust you had a nice trip?" Kaede took a deep breath and tried to sound poised and in control, despite the fact that he now appeared like a rabid dog…no pun intended, of course.
"Where is she, old woman?" He reiterated without responding to her previous statement.
Kaede calmly sipped her tea once more. "Whoever are you talking about?"
"Don't act like a fool, you old hag! I know you know who I'm talking about!"
"Oh, do you possibly mean Kagome?" She smiled and nodded, taking another sip of her tea. "That's right…she went back to her time today." Kaede made it sound like she had only just remembered, when in truth she'd been dreading this confrontation all afternoon.
Inuyasha's ears drooped, and he stared at her as though confused. "She what?"
Kaede rolled her eyes…one of the more immature things she'd ever done. "You heard me, Inuyasha…Kagome went back to her time this morning."
This caused the hanyou to quite literally seem to deflate from the inside out, his posture going slack and his hands falling helplessly at his sides, no longer clenched into dangerously tight fists. This was not something Kaede had been expecting, and she frowned. A temper she had been prepared for, along with several long strands of insults. But she had not been expecting the current hangdog, desperate puppy look.
Since when had Inuyasha ever become so dependent on the presence of anyone? Had Kagome truly had this much of an effect on him?
"She's…gone?" His voice was desolate.
"Oh Inuyasha, she's only returned to her time to take care of some things. It's not like she's left you for good and you can't find her."
"But she left without me…without saying goodbye…"
Kaede had the sudden, desperate urge to cheer the young man up, and hastily began to fabricate stories, claiming something along the lines of how Kagome didn't want to hold him up by making him stay behind and return to her time. But she was a horrible liar, and the hanyou wasn't buying any of it.
"It's about that dumb fight over that stupid, wimpy wolf prince, isn't it?" He finally asked after a few moments of silence, and this time Kagome just couldn't bring herself to tell an outright lie. Instead, she merely nodded, and he looked away. "But why did she leave?"
"Inuyasha, I think that, if you really think about it, you'd realize you know the answer to that."
He sighed. "What the hell did I do this time?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"You know what I mean. Whenever Kagome runs off without telling me, it means I've done something to piss her off. So tell me what the hell it was this time."
Kaede couldn't resist grinning slightly, looking away as she spoke. "Let's see…you ignored her completely for the five days that you were here, and the few times you did speak to her you ended up treating her like dirt. In fact, the only thing you really didn't do was revert back to comparing Kagome to Kikyou again."
Inuyasha flinched as she finished, her words sinking in, and his shoulders slumped lower and lower, if that were even possible. He frowned, and felt like punching something.
Damn it all…he'd screwed up again, and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it either! "Um…is there anything I can do at this point?"
Kaede shrugged. "You could apologize."
"Keh!" He'd known that was what she would say, and his shoulders stiffened at the implication, although he knew, deep down, that the old woman was right. But he wasn't about to admit it aloud. He just have to sneak off in the morning…that way Kagome would have a little more time to cool off too. "Whatever, Kaede," he commented casually with a smirk, "I'll see you in the morning."
"Good night, Inuyasha," the older woman replied with a smug smile, feeling that the night had gone much better then she had expected. And she could read Inuyasha's plans like an open book on his face. That only caused her grin to widen.
Jamie's Café was set up in the American style, and was small but pleasant, situated on the corner of a busy street only a block away from Ms. White's office building. As it was a sunny day, Kagome had been seated outdoors near the sidewalk, a small white fence the only thing separating the café from the rest of the city, and she had a perfect view for watching people go about their daily lives.
The menu was also very American, consisting of light sandwiches, soups, salads, and hamburgers, which was a pleasant change from her normal routine, and overall, being out in the sun and the fresh air following her conversation with her mother the night before, Kagome was feeling very happy. The only bump in the road had been the fact that she'd tossed and turned for quite a while in her sleep before eventually having a dream about Inuyasha…but she supposed she could dream about worse things.
As she sat alone at her table for two, waiting for Nancy to arrive, Kagome became very aware of the fact that several men were sending her meaningful, flirtatious looks. But unlike before when she would have been thrilled while she was still single and oblivious to anything other then going to school and getting good grades, now whenever she caught someone looking at her Kagome simply raised her glass of water with her left hand, pointedly making sure the diamond on her ring finger caught the light of the sun.
"I shouldn't have worn the skirt," she murmured into her glass, her vapor causing steam to rise from the ice water. It wasn't anything too revealing or flirtatious, just a simple short khaki skirt topped with a sleeveless blue turtleneck sweater that hugged her slim waist and hips gently. Her hair was, for once, actually pulled away from her face in a low ponytail, and her casual look was completed by a pair of tan flip-flops.
A passing waiter smiled and winked at her flirtatiously as he balanced a tray in his hand, and Kagome sighed with a roll of her eyes, crossing her arms. Note to self, she thought, burn this outfit and always wear pants and sweatshirts in public when not with Inuyasha.
"Kagome?" Turning at the sound of the familiar voice, Kagome was nearly thrown for a loop when she saw the incredible change in Ms. White.
No longer in a professional business suit, she wore instead a pair of loose hip hugger jeans, black boots, and a loose fitting long sleeved salmon pink sweater that fell halfway down her thighs and hung off her shoulders in such a way to show off her collarbone. Her blonde hair was free for once to fall down her back in beautiful, natural waves, and her blue eyes sparkled openly without the restriction of her glasses, which were currently pushed up on top of her head.
"Ms. White…" Kagome breathed, still trying to recover. She was like a changed person. "Have a seat." Ms. White blushed slightly, obviously no longer the tiger she was in her lawyer suit. "So…how are you?"
The blonde took a sip from her water glass and smiled. "I'm fine."
"That's good."
The conversation couldn't have been any more scripted if a screenwriter had planned it and handed them scripts to read, and Kagome felt like she could have cut the tension between them with a knife. She didn't understand…they had talked so easily before. So what had changed? What was different now?
"Look Kagome," Ms. White finally seemed to grow tired of the silence, "I'm not very good at this whole socializing thing. So I apologize in advance if the conversation isn't the best in the world."
"You're talking now, aren't you?" Kagome smiled as she fiddled with her fork to accent her point, and the encouraging gesture seemed to work because the woman across from her finally seemed to relax…a little. Taking at as a good sign, she decided to continue following the line of conversation that had been started. "So…I take it you don't get out very often?"
Ms. White blushed and sipped from her water. "No, I don't get out at all, actually." She shrugged as though it were no surprise. "I'm just one of those people who is absolutely devoted to my work."
"Well you are good at what you do."
"Thanks…I try…"
"But do you have a boyfriend or someone else like that?"
Ms. White blushed again. "No. In fact…I, well…" Her cheeks flamed. "I haven't really had a boyfriend, you know, officially," she made quotation marks with her hands, "Since high school."
"High school?" Kagome tried not to sound too rude. "Really?" She just couldn't understand how that was possible. Ms. White, sitting there with her sparkling, intelligent blue eyes and highlighted golden hair, was absolutely stunning.
Ms. White raised an eyebrow at Kagome's silence. "Is that so hard to believe?"
"I…uh…I meant no offense."
The blonde laughed. "I know, and there's none taken. I suppose with you getting married so young it seems odd that someone like me doesn't even date."
"No, that's not it at all."
"Then what is it?"
"Well, it's just that, um," Kagome made a wide, sweeping gesture with her arms, "I can't understand why any guy wouldn't be interested in you. To be frank, Ms. White…you're a knockout!"
That made Ms. White blush self-consciously, but she grinned anyway, her blue eyes flashing with a glimmer of that confidence Kagome had already witnessed in the courtroom. "Honestly, I think men are just turned off by a woman so dedicated to her career, or, at the very least, all the men I've ever known are. They all seem far more interested in a woman who will depend on them, hanging on their every word, desperate for love and support…and that's just not me."
Kagome nodded at that and put her elbows on the table, resting her hands under her chin. "I guess that makes sense. But, well, have you even tried dating anyone lately? Not all men are like that, after all."
Ms. White laughed. "I'm sure that's true, since your guy seems wonderful, and like I said before, I know it must seem strange to a girl who's already getting married that I am so far behind in the love scene and not even trying to catch up."
It was Kagome's turn to blush at that. "No, I'm not meaning to imply that at all. In fact, I'm surprised you haven't offered your own criticism yet about me getting married so young."
"Why should I?"
"Be-because everyone seems to think it's a bad idea."
The blonde lawyer shrugged and leaned back in her chair. "I have nothing against marrying young…so long as you go on to accomplish the goals you've set for yourself. Marriage isn't a bad thing, in fact it's something I do, believe it or not, hope to have some day myself, but I do think that sometimes it can hold people back from their dreams in life."
"Inuyasha would never hold me back."
Ms. White winked playfully. "You may be right…but judging by that growl in the courtroom the other day, I'd say you need to pick an all women's college after you graduate from high school."
Remembering the growl, and just thinking about Inuyasha in general, dressed in his red outfit with that old hat on his head and his arms crossed, caused Kagome to throw her head back and laugh outright, drawing several curious stares in their direction. But she didn't care…it felt good to laugh like that again. She didn't do it often enough any more.
The rest of their luncheon was wonderful, the two women finding no more trouble with topics of conversation, and after two club sandwiches, several rounds of lemonade, and a paid bill, Kagome found herself asking Ms. White if they could do something similar again sometime. The blonde nodded enthusiastically with a smile. "Yeah, I'd like that Kagome."
"Really?" Kagome blinked and shook her head as they rose to their feet. "I mean, you wouldn't mind? I am after all still pretty young, and your client, and…well…I just don't want you to feel obligated or anything…"
"Kagome," Ms. White chuckled and put her hand on the younger girl's shoulder, "I'd love to have lunch or something again with you. You're one of the few intelligent people I've known in quite a while, so don't worry about it. But for now I do have to get to the office and do some paperwork."
"On a Sunday?"
"Yeah, like I said…workaholic."
"Oh, right," both women giggled, and Kagome turned to head for the gated exit. "I'll see you later then."
"Yeah, don't forget that I'll be calling you next week about the start of the trial."
Kagome's hand froze on the latch of the gate and her face fell slightly, though she managed to cover it up with a smile, not wanting to get into that can of worms at the moment. "Alright, I'll talk to you then."
The two women waved and went their separate ways on the street.
Kagome found herself in a very good mood all the way home, and was even able to tolerate some of the flirtatious men on the bus. She was still young after all, she decided, and had always flirted with guys before she met Inuyasha. Why should that have to completely change now?
One of the men from the bus had offered to walk her home, and for some reason Kagome accepted the offer, perhaps not in the mood to see anyone depressed by a rejection. But as they got closer to her home and their paths were about to split, he offered her his phone number, and that was where she drew the line. "Oh…no thanks…"
Her voice was polite but firm, but unfortunately he didn't seem to take the hint. "It's no trouble," he pushed. "I mean, I'm not saying anything would come of it, but it couldn't hurt, right?"
Kagome opened her mouth to tell the man there would certainly be nothing that would come of it, and that she was engaged to another man, but before she could actually say anything a low growl emitted from a patch of nearby bushes. "Stay away from my mate, baka."
The young man, who really seemed no older then Kagome, turned and opened his eyes wide with surprise as he watched a very peeved Inuyasha suddenly step out from where he was sitting on the steps of the Higurashi Shrine, walking over and putting a possessive arm around Kagome's waist. Taking the hint, the man said nothing more, but instead turned around and walked away quickly in the opposite direction, stuffing the piece of paper with his number in the back pocket of his jeans.
Kagome looked up at Inuyasha and allowed her jaw to fall open slightly. He was dressed in his red jacket and pants, wearing a blue baseball cap over his ears. "Inuyasha, what are…?"
But again he didn't allow her to finish as he pulled her into his strong embrace, crushing her to his chest in a giant bear hug. "I'm so sorry," he whispered into her hair, breathing in her scent and relaxing instantly now that he was once again in her presence. It had been so hard to sleep without her nearby…god, it was hard to sleep without her at all, and she was gone so often lately because of school. The last thing he needed to do was drive her away any more then she already was.
Kagome sank into his arms and sighed. "Inuyasha, it's okay." She was still somewhat surprised, and definitely taken aback by his unexpected, and unusual, apology. "And I'm sorry for being angry too. I shouldn't have left without telling you first."
"No, you shouldn't have," he agreed firmly, squeezing her tighter, but then his eyes softened again and, without further warning, kissed her fully on the lips.
Her heart fluttered excitedly, and Kagome felt that familiar warm pool in the pit of her stomach as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Inuyasha lifted her into his arms with ease, and she ran her hands through his hair, pulling him closer in a silent command to deepen the kiss. He obeyed, causing her to shiver with excitement, and somehow managed to make it up the long staircase at the same time to be in the semi-privacy of Kagome's front yard.
Finally, pulling away, Kagome leaned her head into the crook of his neck. "I guess we've made up," she commented softly, and he smiled in reply, touching her cheek with his hand and gently cradling her to his chest like a precious treasure.
"Yeah…I guess we have." He sat down with her still in his arms, leaning against the ancient Goshinboku tree, and Kagome smiled, snuggling into his warmth as they cuddled.
"You know," she turned and tracked patterns in the bark of the giant tree trunk, "We should fight more often." Inuyasha looked at her sideways, and she laughed at his expression before pulling him down for another kiss, whispering against his lips. "Because making up like this is so nice."
