Important A/N (You get to hear me bitch):
Someone gave a review that threatened to take my name off his/her favorite list if I didn't update soon. It wasn't the first review of its kind. I started to crack up after reading it. But like seriously, should I even care? It's not like I'm getting paid for writing this fic. I write because I like writing, I write because I want to share my stories. But I also have school and a life. I'm in my toughest year in high school; homework, tests, and volunteer work alone are enough to suffocate me. And I also want to hang out with my friends. In case some of you forgot, my real name is not MizuCrystal, and surprise, I have a life outside of ff.net.
I'm not angry at the people who sent me such reviews. I really don't care if one or two readers don't happen to like my update pace very much. I'd certainly be very happy to let someone kidnap me and my laptop and make me write all day instead of going to school. But that is not gonna happen. I still want to go to a good college and have a life, so excuse me for not satisfying you first.
And for the rest, sorry for the long A/N. This chapter was a total of 11 pages, Comic Sans MS, size 10, and 4990 words. This chapter will answer most, if not all your questions. Happy reading!!!
^_~
Chapter 18: Pain is Inevitable, Suffering is Optional
"Hurry up, we haven't got all day, ya know!!"
Inuyasha growled at the command and reluctantly approached the boy in front of him. "Keh" was the only reply he gave to one Yamaguchi Kappei.
"You should be grateful, Inuyasha-kun, that I'm taking time out of my precious Sunday to teach you how to dribble." Yamaguchi stood at the genkan* of the Higurashi residence with a basketball in hand. He spun it on his index finger like a pro and grinned at Inuyasha smugly.
It was a warm Sunday morning. The play was scheduled to be a week away and their rehearsals were going rather successfully now that Mikagi Toji was missing from the picture. Chie sensei finally decided to give them a day off. Yamaguchi called Inuyasha the day before and asked him if he wanted to hang out over the weekend. Inuyasha replied hesitantly that he wanted Yamaguchi to teach him out to dribble correctly. The modern boy had almost fainted from laughter after hearing Inuyasha's plead. The hanyou still couldn't figure out what was so funny.
Miroku and Sango left earlier that morning to buy groceries for Kagome's mother. They were determined to do this by themselves to prove that they were able to survive in the modern era without help for once. Ai, on the other hand, happily gave them the direction to the supermarket. She then wasted no time to drag Shippo and Souta to the park for a relaxing day. Grandpa announced the night before that he had to attend a "secret shrine-master meeting". He was very glad that no one questioned him about this meeting, since it was supposed to be top secret. But the truth was that no one cared.
Inuyasha put on his sneakers slowly. He couldn't help but feel guilty about leaving Kagome at home with just the cat as company. When he promised to hang out with Yamaguchi, he didn't realize that he would be leaving Kagome alone. The girl was rather tired from the constant rehearsals and was still sleeping so he couldn't wake her up and take her with him. It was silly to feel anxious, it wasn't like they would be separated forever, but Inuyasha was still restless. He had left her a note, but felt it wouldn't suffice.
Yamaguchi snapped Inuyasha out of his trance with a well stated question: "Inuyasha-kun, we're going to play basketball, why are you still carrying your boken*? Give it a rest, we already know that you're a Kendo master."
Inuyasha growled at his new friend, but this was the playful growl that he always used on Shippo. "I don't feel comfortable without it. So shut up." It wasn't a complete lie either.
"What's wrong? You're even grumpier than usual this morning."
"Kagome... she's still sleeping, I don't feel right leaving her all by herself."
As soon as the words escaped his mouth, Inuyasha almost fainted. What in the world made him expose his feelings so casually to this stranger in front of him? He barely knew anything about the boy. Inuyasha berated himself silently, he was really getting soft.
Yamaguchi would've snickered if it weren't for the serious look on Inuyasha's face.
"She's a big girl. And I'm sure after the beating you gave him, Mikagi wouldn't be as stupid as coming to your own house looking for trouble."
"It's not my house."
Yamaguchi's face lit up. "Of course, that wasn't what I meant. But you have no idea how jealous some of the guys are at school after hearing that you're not only Higurashi-san's boyfriend, but you're also living with her. This third year in the 5th class almost cried after hearing the news." The boy chuckled. "It was funny as hell."
Inuyasha's head shot up like a sling. "WHAT?!"
Only then did Yamaguchi realize that he went down the wrong road with this conversation. He scratched his head nervously. It was so much harder to talk when Inuyasha was glaring at you with full animosity in his golden orbs. Yamaguchi stopped spinning the ball and started passing it from one hand to the other purely out of nervousness.
"Hey, don't kill the messenger. I'm just stating the truth. Higurashi-san is a pretty good looking girl, and it's not like the entire male population of the school is blind. I'm not into younger girls myself, but I can tell you this, when Higurashi-san first arrived at the school, she was rated 9.8 out of 10, the highest score ever given out in the school's history."
"'Rated'? What do you mean?" Inuyasha hissed.
The boy gulped before replying. "It's a stupid tradition. Each year at the beginning of the term, a bunch of third year boys would get together and grade some of the best looking first year girls. And this year, Higurashi-san just so happened to break the record."
Inuyasha's glare didn't waver. "Were you a part of this?"
"No, of course not!" Yamaguchi waved his arms frantically. "It's degrading and stupid. Most of the guys were Toji's men, and they all gave Akiko high grades. But some of the other guys who participated didn't feel the same, so Akiko ended up 0.2 points lower than Higurashi-san. The whole school knows that Akiko has a thing against Higurashi-san, but only the ones that know about the grading understand why."
Inuyasha contemplated for a long time before he asked his next question. It didn't help Yamaguchi's nerves since each of his words sounded like a poisonous arrow. "And what grades did Mikagi Toji give?"
"The bastard gave him own sister a 10, of course. It was purely a biased judgment. And I think Higurashi-san wounded up with a 9.9 from him."
Inuyasha was quiet for a long time. Yamaguchi was afraid that he might have been thinking on a plan to murder Mikagi. Then, unexpectedly, Inuyasha dashed forward, snatched the ball from Yamaguchi's hands and went out the door.
"Oi, Inuyasha-kun, where are you going?"
"To play basketball!! What else?!!?" Inuyasha didn't even look back as he sped off.
"Hey, wait!!" Yamaguchi prayed to kami-sama that his buddies at the court were strong enough to deal with the enraged Inuyasha. It wasn't until he got to the bottom of the shrine steps did he notice that Inuyasha didn't really go anywhere.
The hanyou looked up with a faint tint on his cheeks. "Uh... I don't know where the court is."
The tension disappeared as if it was never there. Yamaguchi laughed heartily and slapped Inuyasha quite hard on the back. "It's this way, idiot!"
Inuyasha growled again at being insulted. But something in Yamaguchi's tone told him that the boy wasn't serious about him being an idiot. He relaxed and followed Yamaguchi toward the opposite direction of the school.
Seven days of relaxation left and counting...
^_~
Kagome rose around noon. The quietness around her was a bit alarming. She dressed and washed up before heading to the kitchen. Her stomach protested vigorously for a meal.
Kagome set to work and made herself a quick lunch: Instant Ramen. She shook her head sadly as the realization sank in: Inuyasha's habits were rubbing off on her.
While waiting for the hot water to boil, Kagome went to the living room. She knew for a fact that the boys stayed up late again the night before to watch Western movies and probably left the place a mess. The neat side of her was urging her to clean up the pig sty which used to be her living room.
So it was quite a shock for her to find that the place was absolutely spotless. She was just about to sit down and enjoy some time to herself when she noticed the note Inuyasha left on the table.
Kagome grinned as she laid her eyes on the neat handwriting. The graceful scripture of hiragana and the beauty of the kanji suited Inuyasha's looks more than his personality. In fact, Kagome had gasped the first time she saw Inuyasha write. His handwriting was definitely neater than hers. It was no doubt the result of Inuyasha's mother's patient instructions. It made Kagome wonder how differently Inuyasha would've turned out if his mother had lived.
Kagome,
I'm going to the basketball court with Yamaguchi. You looked fairly tired last night so I didn't want to wake you. I hope you won't be lonely when you finally get up. But I'm sure Miroku and Sango will be back soon. Last I saw, Bouyo was napping in the yard behind the temple. Maybe you can play with him until we come back.
Inuyasha
Kagome smiled and reread the message at least five times. The Inuyasha on paper was completely different from the Inuyasha in person. She was sure that she loved Inuyasha for who he was. But it didn't hurt for him to give a nice gesture once in a while. Kagome giggled like a silly school girl at the thought that Inuyasha was afraid that she would be lonely.
She folded the note neatly and placed it in the pocket of her jean skirt. She then took Inuyasha's advice and went out through the back door in search of the lazy cat.
"Bouyo, where are you?" Kagome treaded across the grass, the back garden was desperate to be mowed. Kagome pondered for a moment if Bouyo could possibly be sleeping on a tree before she saw his curled up body near the fence.
"Wake up, you lazy cat, it's time for lunch."
Kagome bent down and attempted to pick him up. But Bouyo had finally succeeded in outweighing Souta and she was forced to drop him in midair. The fat cat gave a frightened "meow" before his paws landed on the ground and scurried back into the house.
"Stupid, fat cat." Kagome muttered unhappily. She was about to go back in as well before she heard a knock.
Kagome turned her head slowly. There was a small wooden door so Grandpa could access to the woods behind the temple. The fence was the only thing that separated their temple and the trees. Normally no one used the door.
Imagine Kagome's shock as she saw Akiko's bruised face behind the fence.
^_^
Toji woke up with a loud groan. Their butler was just sending in his breakfast/lunch. The old servant made no comments on his injuries from a few days ago and placed the tray by Toji's bed.
"Where's the old man?" Toji asked without sitting up. His father got into another fit yesterday because several members of the school board disagreed with some of his plans for the future. Like usually, he took out his anger on Akiko. Toji was still quite immobile after the brawl with Inuyasha, and was forced to hear his sister's cries from inside his room. He mentally cursed the walls of his room for not being soundproof. Each scream cut into his heart and promised to shred it to pieces.
The butler answered monotonously: "The master is out."
Toji grunted. It was code for "He's out bribing as many board members as he can to get them to see his way."
"Where's my sister?"
Again the monotonous voice answered: "The young miss has been in her room since last night. She has not answered our wake up calls. Her door is locked from the inside."
This gave Toji a jolt. It was normal for their father to lock her in after a beating. But Akiko never held the grudge against herself. She told him once that she would never starve herself or commit suicide; she wouldn't give the old man the satisfaction. And being an early riser and a light sleeper, it was unusual for her to refuse a wake up call, especially if it meant breakfast.
So that could only mean one thing.
Toji mentally slapped himself. He pulled the cover over his head, closed his eyes and gulped. 'Be safe... please be safe...' He chanted those words in his head like a damn mantra.
^_~
Never in a million years did Kagome think such a scene would be possible.
She was in the kitchen, pouring hot water in two instant ramen bowls. Surely this wasn't unusual. She then placed the kettle back on the stove and went back to her seat. Yup, so far, so good. And then she looked up and her eyes met the green eyes of one Mikagi Akiko.
That had given her a headache.
Finding your worst enemy waiting for you outside your fence was one thing. Finding out that your worst enemy's bruised face outside your fence, pleading for your assistance was another subject all together. Kagome wasn't sure what would happen next. Was Naraku suddenly going to appear and offer Kagome all of the shards in his possession? Or was Kikyo going to announce that she just wants to be friends with Inuyasha and wishes him best of luck with Kagome?
Akiko stared at the ramen bowl in front of herself wearily. She noticed Kagome's fearful glance at her and sighed.
"Stop looking at me. Are you trying to imitate a goldfish? Close your mouth, Higurashi." Akiko's voice was as bitter as ever. Kagome's anger set aflame within seconds.
"You could be a little nicer, you know? After all, you're here to ask for my help."
Akiko flinched. "What makes you think I want your help?"
Kagome frowned at the girl before her. "So then you're not here asking for help. What's wrong with your face then? Is this another desperate attempt at some new fashion? I didn't know you were supposed to put purple eye shadow at the corner of your mouth."
Akiko glared at Kagome, but said nothing. A long moment of silence passed between the two.
Kagome finally sighed. "Since you're here, you might as well talk. We're alone. Just say whatever you came here to say, and then if you're still sure that you're not here asking for help, you can use my phone and hail a taxi home."
Akiko glanced down at her folded hands on her laps. She licked the bruise at the corner of her mouth and swallowed her pride.
"Higurashi, I know we never... got along, but I... I..." Kagome was sure that she heard Akiko utter "dammit, this is hard", "I... I really... need your help."
Kagome almost laughed at Akiko's predicament. But seeing the number of purple and black bruises on the girl's normally beautiful complexion, she couldn't help but feel bad for her.
"What kind of help?" Kagome said sincerely.
Akiko took in a deep breath and blurted out in a rush. "I need your help running away."
Kagome somehow wasn't surprised anymore. She had a feeling that Akiko was facing problems at home the moment she saw her outside the fence. Old injuries mixed with new ones were apparent on the girl's arms. Areas that were usually covered by the uniform were exposed. Kagome had a feeling that Akiko wore short sleeves today purposely to show her what she went through.
"Having troubles at home?" Kagome still wasn't able to hide the sarcasm in her tone. Just because she felt a little sorry for Akiko didn't mean that she forgave the girl.
Akiko cringed again. "Look, Higurashi, I know I was a bitch toward you, and I admit, it was pretty immature. But I'm here at your house, already on my knees, asking you for help, so you could at least cut the sarcasm 'till later."
Kagome looked away. She didn't need Akiko's lecture, she was already feeling guilty. "We're both on our knees, this is how Japanese people sit." It was a lame comeback, but it was the only ones she got at the moment.
Akiko looked at Kagome strangely, her green eyes flashed.
"Fine, whatever. Anyway, I need your help, you're the only hope we've got."
"Who's 'we'?"
Akiko rolled her eyes. "My brother and I, who else?!"
Kagome growled much like Inuyasha. "If you want my help, you could at least be a little nicer! And why exactly, should I help you after all that you've done to me?!"
"Because... because you're a good person."
This answer certainly wasn't what Kagome expected. It took a lot of will power for her to snap out of her astonishment to ask: "If you think that I'm a good person, why do you hate me so much then? Was it because of the rating at the beginning of the school year?"
Now it was Akiko's turn to be surprised. "You knew about the ratings? None of the girls were supposed to know. I only knew because of my brother."
Kagome grinned. "My best friends include Yuka and Emi, how do you expect any gossip to escape them? So that was it, huh? You had your brother threaten me to stay away from Hojo-kun not because you liked him, but because you hated the fact that some stupid boys thought I was better looking than you?" She rolled up her sleeve and shoved the fading marks in front of Akiko's face, the grin disappeared. "So all this was because of your jealousy? Was it worth it?"
Akiko flinched at the sight. Those were injuries that her brother inflicted upon Kagome less than a month ago. What was she supposed to say? How was she going to continue asking Kagome for help? Kagome was right; she was in no position to demand assistance. If anything, she should be begging for forgiveness first.
"No..." Akiko whispered, "No, that wasn't it. I didn't care that you outranked me. I never cared what other boys thought about me." Akiko's heart began to beat in her ribcage three times the normal speed. This was it; Kagome was going to be the only person outside of their family to know the truth. "I hated you... because Toji thought you..."
"Though me of what?"
"I hated you because Toji thought that you were beautiful."
Akiko's words came through so calmly, as if she's been reciting those words in her own head for longer than thought possible. Kagome's breath was caught in her throat. Her mouth opened slightly and then closed.
"Oh" was all she said.
"'Oh'?" Akiko raised a delicate eyebrow. She would've looked beautiful if it weren't for the ugly black eye. "Does that mean you understand?"
Kagome nodded slowly. "I guess. So you were afraid that I would take your brother away from you... I guess I would've felt somewhat threatened as well if Souta had a girlfriend. I guess all siblings have a sense of possessiveness toward..."
"No, that's not it!!!" Akiko almost jumped up. "Argh, never mind, I'll just tell you. Here..."
To Kagome's horror and confusion, Akiko squeezed out two green contact lenses from her eyes. She looked up again, and those eyes were clearly blue.
Kagome gasped. "But... but Japanese people can't have blue eyes!"
"That's why my father's European, I know that for a fact. And I also think my Japanese mother must have had some European blood in her because blue isn't the dominant gene for eye color."
"Then... you're..."
Akiko couldn't help but feel annoyed at Kagome's astounded reaction. She expected the girl to be somewhat shocked, but if Kagome was already having a panic attack, she will probably faint after the rest of her announcement.
"I'm not a Mikagi. My father ran back to Europe after he got my mother pregnant. The only thing I have of his is an old picture. So I at least know what he looks like. My mother died giving birth to me, none of her relatives wanted me so I was sent to an orphanage. A few months later, I was adopted by Mikagi Chiako and her lover."
"Lover...?"
Akiko nodded. "Can I eat the ramen now? It's gonna get cold." She didn't wait for an answer since Kagome seemed unable to speak at the moment and treated herself to the steaming noodles. She then continued her story while chewing.
"Mikagi Chiako married Mikagi Jouji because of a pre-arranged marriage by their parents. She was a beautiful woman, and Jouji loved her. But she had someone else. She secretly adopted me two years after giving birth to Toji. And I actually lived with her lover for quite a while. But then Jouji found out.
"I was around four at the time. I still remember how he barged in one day with some of his friends from the police force and took me away. His reason was that since I was adopted under Chiako's name, he should've been the one keeping me. And in court, he accused Chiako's lover of being dangerous around a child. He framed him by planting false evidence around our house. The court pronounced the man a cocaine smuggler and sent him to twenty years in prison.
"Chiako never recovered from the shock. Jouji ignored her for the next few months and went about his work. By taking me in, he increased his popularity among parents and members of the school board. He was promoted to Chancellor the next year. Chiako, on the other hand, developed breast cancer and died that same year. Toji was seven, I was five."
Akiko finished her ramen in the next five minutes. Kagome couldn't stop staring at the girl. She had been calm when she told the story, almost as if she wasn't a part of a huge scandal. How did she deal with the pain?
"I always knew you and Toji both wore contacts, but I never thought..."
Akiko smiled at that. "Nii-chan wore green contacts as well because he wanted us to have the same eye color, so we could be like real siblings. He could've worn blue contacts but green is his favorite color. And to the people that knew I had blue eyes, like Marusato, he just told them that it was a birth defect.
"Anyhow, at first Jouji kept me to remind Chiako of her lost lover. But after she died, he kept me to remind the world that he was a philanthropist, a politician, an educator, and an even greater father. The truth was, he's been beating me for as long as I lived with him. His plan backfired though. After Chiako's death, I served to be a constant reminder of her, who never loved him. He hated Toji as well, because he protected me. To him, Toji wasn't worth being his son."
Akiko wasn't talking nonchalantly anymore. Her eyes were dull, her mind somewhere else. This was making Kagome even more uncomfortable.
"It must be nice... to have a brother to protect you, even if you aren't related."
Akiko suddenly looked up, straight into Kagome's eyes. Without warning, a smile spread over her face. Kagome had never seen Akiko smile like that. This wasn't a smirk, it was a genuine smile. It made Kagome wonder how anyone could look so beautiful with so many ugly bruises on her face.
"Nii-chan has been my everything." Akiko confessed; her voice was soft and blissful. "I remember the first time I was beaten, he cried for me. Ever since then, he never shed a tear. Our house was smaller back then, and our rooms were next to each other. Every time Jouji locked me in my room, nii-chan would sneak through the window to bring me candy. He would always hold me while I cried. And he told me, he told me over and over, that one day, he'll take me away.
"When we were still kids, he would hold me and tell me what our futures would be like. He said that he'll never marry because it was his job to watch over me. But if I got married, he would help me take care of my kids and buy candy for them. And he'll be rich, and he'll own a big house, and we'll all live together far, far away from his father.
"And then we grew up. And still he sneaked over and held me. He didn't bring over candy anymore. Instead, he brought over his kisses. And he told me stories while he kissed me. He told me that when we grow older, he'll get rich, and we'll live together in a nice house far, far away from his father. I asked him if he'll still take care of my kids. And he told me that of course he will, because they'll be his kids as well. And he told me, he told me over and over, that he loved me more than anything in the world, and one day, he'll take me away."
Kagome stared in shock as tears dripped down Akiko's cheek. Realization overwhelmed her mind. Between sobs, Akiko spoke in pieces. But she was determined to tell her story.
"Slowly Jouji began to beat him as well. I don't think he knows about Toji and me, but he hated his son for protecting me. In our new mansion, he put us on opposite ends of the hallway. Toji couldn't sneak over through the window and hold me anymore. But he would always stay outside the door and wait until I fall asleep. We meet during lunch behind the school building. There's a small space between the Great Hall and the main building that's covered with ivies and trees. That's where he'd hold me and kiss me and let me cry on his shoulders.
"Toji turned eighteen two months ago. He has his own ID now. But we still have to wait until I'm of legal age in order to escape. We can't report Jouji either; he has too many friends in the police force."
"How... how am I supposed to help?"
Akiko smiled through her tears.
"Mukashi Shinichi."
A bell went off in Kagome's head. "How did you know about Se... I mean Mukashi-san."
"Sonoko has to be good for something. She's being spying for me when I'm absent from school because of my injuries. She called and told me how Mukashi Ryuu appeared in our school. And oh yea, she was spying on you guys outside the Great Hall after everyone else left. Apparently Mukashi Ryuu gave you something, so you must be close to him.
"And besides, the day that your boyfriend injured Toji, we went home and found out that Mukashi Shinichi stopped by earlier and requested to see us. I'm not an idiot; I can put two and two together."
'Sesshomaru went to the Mikagi's house... why didn't Ryuu tell us about it? What's he up to?' Kagome thought hard but couldn't come up with an answer.
"What then, am I supposed to do?"
Akiko's smile got even wider. She wiped away the tears on her face and flinched as her hands touched her bruises.
"I need some identification that says that I'm over eighteen. Both Toji and I must have IDs with different names. Toji has been saving up money, so we won't need any help in that department. We've been thinking of running to Okinawa after my graduation. But I can't stand two more years in that house, I'm afraid that I won't survive. I refuse to wait any longer. What's more, Jouji will certainly track us down. So we'll need Mukashi Shinichi's influence to remain hidden. If Jouji catches us after we escape, he'll make sure that I won't have legs to run anymore."
The grimness of the situation was slowly setting in. Kagome stared at the girl before her in respect. There she was, making plans for her own freedom. Sure, she needed help, but she was determining her own future. They were the same age, so how come Akiko could be so much stronger? She wasn't confused about her fate at all, she knew the dangers she was in and she knew that she had to fight.
Kagome had one final question for her.
"What makes you think that after what you did, or attempted to do to me, I wouldn't just laugh at you and refuse you?"
Akiko looked up at Kagome, her eyes unreadable.
"Because of what Hojo-kun once said to me."
"Hojo-kun..."
Akiko nodded.
"I was mad at Toji at one point, when he rated you a 9.9, just 0.1 points less than me. So I thought to ask Hojo-kun out to make him jealous. I really hated you after Hojo-kun refused me. That idiot was so hung up on you. But I would never forget the words he said to me. He told me that he likes you not only because of your looks, but because of your undying devotion to friends and strangers alike. Everyone's equal in your eyes. He told me that you are someone who's unable to hate. All in all, he blabbed a lot, and portrayed you like some kind of saint. So Higurashi Kagome, if you are who he said you are, you are probably already thinking of helping me out."
Kagome blushed furiously at the stream of compliments. If she weren't so devoted to Inuyasha, she would go out with Hojo again in a heart beat.
Finally, she sighed.
"I'll have to talk and convince Inuyasha. But he won't refuse you either. Se... Mukashi Shinichi is also easy to convince, so don't let that bother you. You should go back. I don't think your 'father' would appreciate finding you not in your room."
Akiko smiled and stood up gracefully. Kagome stood as well, ready to walk her out. The two treaded silently to the back fence. Akiko stopped suddenly.
"Thank you, Kagome." She turned immediately to give Kagome a brief hug. "I'll remember you forever."
Kagome smiled. "Tell me something, Akiko, how much do you love each other?"
Akiko grinned mysteriously.
"My eighteenth birthday will be our wedding anniversary."
"Then let me be the first to congratulate you. Best of luck, Akiko."
Akiko left with a wave.
*******
Nice reading? Still confused?
I don't know when the next chapter will be up. Here's my schedule:
May 11th: Chemistry AP.
June 5th: Writing SATII, Chemistry SATII.
End of June: finals, regents, oh the horror.
Oh, and not to mention all the little tests in between, and the projects, the term papers, the school newspaper, the required volunteer work, celebrating friend's birthdays...
MizuCrystal out. It's 11:16 p.m., and I have to finish my homework. Adios. (Okay, so I'm still a little pissed.)