Girl talk

Kagome took Sango out to their favourite café the day after. She had considering holding this conversation by phone, but decided against it. She wanted, no needed, to see her friend's expressions. She didn't know how to start though. Thankfully, Sango started for her.

"You want to talk to me about Koga, right?"

Kagome decided to try the innocent act. Well, it always worked for her teachers.

"What? No, no, not at all! I just wanted to meet and talk about, you know, anything and not about Koga at all, I didn't have it my mind..." She hesitated. Sango was made of rather sterner stuff than the teachers. "Er... Actually... yes. I want to talk about Koga. Why are you both being idiots?"

"We are not being idiots. He is being an idiot." You could have cut diamonds with Sango's voice. Well alright, maybe not diamonds, but certainly most of the lesser gems.

"Would you like to elaborate that?" asked Kagome, flipping open her notebook and fishing a pen out of her bag.

"He gives me the cold shoulder for I don't know what. He's just made me realize how very, very much we don't have in common. He's such a sonofabitch. I can't believe I actually considered a relationship with him once. Don't know what I was thinking about, 'cos it would never work. (Not to mention what my father would have said, now that I think about it.)"

"I think it would though," said Kagome softly. "You like him, don't you? And I'm sure he likes you. That's enough, isn't it?"

"But we just fight all the time! It wouldn't hold a week. Can you really build something on such a lot of fights? Can you really make it work?"

"Of course. Inu-yasha and I did." Sango started when she realized what she had just heard and looked at her friend, who was gazing out of the window. She never talked about this!

"I guess I can tell you..." Kagome continued, in a faraway voice. "It's nothing special, really. I was working at this shop, owned by an old lady I know, Kaede's her name, during the summer holidays one year. It's in the bad end of town, and every afternoon I had to take the money we had made during the day to the bank. It wasn't fun, I tell you, everyone knew what I was doing and there were lots of people there who wanted to rob me... or do even worse things..." Kagome shivered involuntarily. "Anyway, Inu-yasha was one of these. I first met him when he dropped down on me from a roof and tried to take the money from me."

"What did you do?" asked Sango breathlessly. She made a mental note to beat the crap out of Inu-yasha one day, to make him atone for past sins – i.e. robbery attempts.

"Kicked him in the balls and ran," said Kagome. Sango scratched the mental note, feeling that the poor guy got his punishment and more besides. "Then the next afternoon when I came out from the shop he was there waiting for me. I was scared as hell but Kaede just said she had assigned him to be a kind of guard for me, against the thugs. I tried to tell her he was just as bad himself, but she just laughed. She seems to have this sort of weird power over him. He was good anyway, protecting me against all I could meet, but he didn't do it gladly. In the beginning he just hated me. We fought all the time. I look a lot like his ex, too, and that didn't exactly help matters. I, meanwhile, thought he was the most stupid guy I'd ever met. I'd never have imagined that I'd one day be together with him. Also, I was going out with Hojo at the time."

"Hojo?!"

"Yeah... that didn't last long, as you can imagine. And then something changed between me and Inu-yasha..." She trailed off.

"That isn't the entire story, is it?" asked Sango.

"It's all you need to know," smiled Kagome. "I know me and Inu-yasha might not be the best example, as we at the moment are not doing very well, you know... But we show that it's not impossible to build a relationship on fights, at least."

"Why are you fighting? Do you think it will be alright?" Sango wanted to do something to help her friend in return, but she didn't know what.

"It's between me and him," Kagome answered, then laughed when she saw Sango's exasperated look. "Sorry, I know it feels like me and Inu-yasha keep everything secret just to vex you, but it's just the way we both are. Our private life is, well, private. And I know you and Miroku spy on us anyway, so you already know more than you're supposed to. Anyway, I think you and Koga should talk it out with each other, because you are so cute together."

"I know you think that, you've told me numerous times." Sango sighed. "But I don't know... he can just be so thoughtless, and stupid, and stuck-up, and... I don't know if it's a good idea. The last two weeks he's behaved like a complete jerk, for example. And then he slept with Kagura! I mean, what was he thinking about?! She is such a whore! Sleeping around like some kind of I don't know what! I thought he – "

"I must say I don't appreciate that."

The silence that followed, when Sango turned around and saw Kagura standing behind her, was one of the longest in her life. She wanted to just wither and die. How could she have said something so mean? Kagura didn't look as if she even cared, wearing the same haughty face as always, but Sango was certain she was upset and angry inside. She sure would be if she'd heard someone say something like that about her.

"Er..." said Sango. "Er, sorry... god, I don't know how to..."

"Buy me an ice-cream and we'll be quits," said Kagura, dropping into the seat next to her. "I get it all the time, have to get used to it after a while. I'm living my life as I want it, but it tends to attract all this negative attention. I must get one thing straight though – I do not accept payment, so as for the "whore" insult, it's untrue."

Sango stared. Either this girl was a very good actress, or she was the most thick-skinned person she had ever met.

"A-are you sure you don't hate me for what I said?" she asked. "I'm really sorry, I let my temper run away with me. It's not you I'm angry at, actually, but this guy..."

"Koga? Good-looking chap with too much hair? I know why. But if you'd just hear the entire story... hang on, you are going to treat me to an ice-cream, right? It's the least I can expect as a sorry."

"Sure..." said Sango, feeling dazed. She could see by the look on Kagome's face that her friend was just as confused.

"OK, good," said Kagura, flashing her a smile. "Hey waitress! A chocolate sundae, thank you. On this girl here. What's your name by the way?"

The last was said to Sango, who introduced herself and Kagome hastily.

"Right, Sango, you like this guy, I take it?"

"It's not – " Sango began and was interrupted by Kagome.

"Yes. She does."

"Right. 'Cos it was like this – I'd heard a thing or two about him, and was getting interested to meet him in person. And then I heard he was at Jinenji's party. Jinenji, you know, the big guy who plays rugby, got the body of a bloody thug but the heart of an angel? His party, anyway, I was there and heard that Koga was there too, and that he was single. So I decided to take the chance when I had it. But the trouble was, the guy was stoned. Could hardly get a word out of him."

"Hey wait a minute!" Sango exclaimed, blushing slightly. "People all over the school are saying you slept with him!"

"Well, they would think that, wouldn't they?" Kagura raised her elegant eyebrows. "It's the natural assumption when it comes to me. Of course, it was also what I was hoping to get." (At this point Sango blushed furiously.) "But Koga wasn't very receptive. Actually, he fell asleep and the only thing I got was his shirt. Nice shirt, though."

"But why didn't you contradict all the rumours then?" asked Kagome.

"Why should I?" Kagura frowned as if the idea was completely strange to her.

"Why didn't Koga contradict the stories?"

"Probably because he couldn't remember a thing. When I say he was stoned, I'm not kidding. I haven't seen anyone so unbelievably drunk before. He said something about drowning his sorrows – that was about the last coherent sentence I could get out of him. Ooh, here's my sundae. Will you stay and keep me company while I eat it?"

"Yeah, of course," smiled Kagome. "Two more sundaes like that please! And I'm paying for these ones."

It was the Kagome spirit playing up again – caring for others and being able to take to a person immediately, despite what that person might seem like. She and Kagura where soon chatting on like old mates, talking about music, graduation and the proper length of skirts. Kagura seemed entirely at ease with the other girl. People usually did. And Sango found that once she was able to look past the fact that Kagura had almost seduced (ooh, dorky word) her Koga, she was a nice person.

"Her" Koga? She didn't just think that. It was probably Kagome, invading her brain and changing her thought patterns.

"Oops, I have to get going. Gotta meet Naraku. It's been nice chatting to you!" Kagura stood up and straightened out her skirt. Kagome suddenly looked worried.

"Naraku? Are you sure you're going to be alright?"

"Of course." Kagura grinned. "I know people think he's a dangerous lunatic and a gangster, and they're entirely right, too. But I kind of like him. We've got things in common. We laugh at the same jokes. We both care about the gang. And also... he's my brother." She winked cheekily, gave them a short wave and left, humming "Bad boys running wild". Kagome stared after her, looking shell-shocked.

"Kagome, who's Naraku?" asked Sango, feeling more new-in-town than she had for a long while.

"Just this town's most famous – or should I say infamous? – gangster," said Kagome slowly, disbelief etched in her every feature. Then she started laughing. "Oh, that I never saw it before! They really look a lot alike!"

"How come I never hear of these dangerous guys?" asked Sango sulkily, feeling left out.

"You live in the wrong area, darling."

"So do you."

"But I move in the bad areas. I hang out with Inu-yasha all the time... well, used to hang out..." Kagome stopped grinning and looked sad instead. Sango reached out and took her hand.

"And will do again, believe me. You two are made for each other. You just need a little time away from each other to realize that. You're just being bullheaded and you know it."

"Coming from you, I find that a bit rich." Kagome grinned again. Sango looked nonplussed.

"I don't get it. When have I been bullheaded?"

"...Never mind." Kagome smiled softly to herself as her friend started questioning her about when she had been bullheaded. She could be a bit dense at times, the dear Sango. Dense and bullheaded and short-tempered, but dear all the same. And perfect for Koga, of course.

What a great girl that Kagura was, when you got down to it! And now Kagome knew what had really happened at that wretched party, and this made it easier to know what to do. Her smile changed, becoming rather more devilish. She just needed to talk to Miroku now and then they'd have this thing in the bag. Ooh, this was really going to be fun.

                *************

Teyka dearie: If you didn't have the suspense, what good would this story be, really? Sheez, youths nowadays, you're so impatient. However, here's a few hints: 1) I'm a true romantic 2) I believe in happy endings (OK... so Unwanted Visitor is the exception that proves the rule) 3) If you reeeeeally can't stand it, whine to Yoko instead. She has slightly less endurance, and might crack and tell you everything if you threaten her with something like "I'll force-feed you Japanese jellyfish snacks if you don't tell me."

purplepeopleeater: You can spell, and you love Ginta! I like you! *hug!*

LiL:.CaT:.AnImE: Is that a compliment? Me being in a straight-jacket, I mean. :) (I take it as a compliment anyway. After all, Einstein was a loony, wasn't he?)

All reviewers: Simply thanks.