Just to tell you now...if you've read this story before you may notice that some things have changed...The format on some chapters is much better...and the chapters actually have names...don't worry the story hasn't changed at all, it's just been revised!
Chapter Six:
Inuyasha decided walked home. 'I guess right about now I'm just a little curious as to what those two get out of walking all the way home. Who was it that those two left with? No one I know. You know...if I turn into a hanyou I could easily catch up with them and see what they are doing...no. I will not spy on my 'friends'. I'm not the kind of person that would betray friends...unlike them.' So he walked home alone. He was going to turn on his street when...
They were in Sango' s PT Cruiser on the way to the mall.
"So Sango which mall are we going to?" Asked Kagome.
"Well I thought we'd go to the state mall. I know it's farther away then the Dayship Mall, but it has better selection and is a lot more fun to go to." Sango smiled.
Miroku couldn't help but stare at Sango' s face in the rear view mirror. 'She's...she's so beautiful. There is just something I can't name about her. Is it...sadness? Why would she be sad? Why do I like that about her? I admit I am a pervert, but am I so sick that I find sadness attractive?' He frowned at himself.
"Miroku, something wrong? You've been making a bunch of weird faces?" Asked a worried Sango.
"Oh nothing! Just thinking." He put on a perverted smile and Kagome put a hand to her forehead and sighed.
"Miroku...you'll never change." He sighed in relief.
They had finally reached the mall. Sango parked close to JC Penny's "They have nice dresses here that don't cost too much." She explained.
Kagome nodded and smiled.
Miroku blinked. The only reason he was coming was in order to spend more time with the lovely Sango.
They walked towards the door. "I'm so excited." Explained Kagome. "I always imagined I'd have a boyfriend to go to the Ball with, but hey, I guess going with a great friend isn't all that bad!"(Ur...let's say the ball is kind of like your senior prom...something you always look forward too as a kid.) She clasped her hands together as she walked beside Sango. The older woman smiled at the cheery girl.
Miroku, who was walking behind the two women, sighed. 'You have every right to one. If Inuyasha didn't scare most guys away from you behind your back you probably would have one. I wonder how you never managed to find that out...but still...I guess it's good that that mutt is jealous. But even with that, I am so sorry for you Kagome.'
They entered the store. "Well...bye Miroku!" Kagome waved at the boy.
"What? Where are you going? I thought you were looking for a dress!"
"I am, but you can't be here." She smiled sweetly at him.
"Not following you Kagome." He replied.
"Well, even though we aren't going on a real date I still want my dress to be a surprise for you."
"Huh...u...oh...OH! Now I see... Well then...I'm off to the music store." He waved a limp hand and attempted to get out of the maze-like store.
Kagome and Sango then split up and began looking for dresses in Kagome's size. Kagome already knew what she wanted and had told Sango secretly in the morning even though Miroku had been with them the whole time.
It had been about thirty minutes and the two met up by the fitting rooms. "Um...Sango I didn't find anything how about you?"
"You have to be kidding me! I found about ten different dresses like you said you wanted." She showed the girl the several dresses she had found.
"Sango...these are so CUTE!" She squealed.
Miroku was at Gamestop. The music store had been packed and he didn't think it was worth getting crammed in there if he might not buy anything. He walked to the rack of Play Station games and scanned through them. Nothing new...He was about to walk out when he saw his friend looking at magazines.
"Hey what up?" He asked as he walked toward him.
"Hmm? Oh Miroku, nothing much, just looking around." He smiled and looked at Miroku. "What about you?"
Miroku looked around for an excuse. 'Should I tell him?' "Umm...just waiting on someone." His friend nodded and turned his attention to the magazine in his hands.
"So Miroku...who you going to the ball with?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively.
" A friend."
"Well that doesn't tell me much. With that information you may as well be going with Inuyasha...So is it Koharu?" He leaned in, closer to Miroku.
"NO, not exactly."
"Miroku? What's happened to you? You haven't been hanging around with the gang lately and now you're passing up the chance of...um...a night of 'excitement' with a girl that has the total hots for you...Are you sick?" He sent Miroku a confused look.
"Well...you see...my friend doesn't have a date and...and I got my eyes on someone that doesn't go to school with us anyways, so technically, she can't go. A-And besides...this way I can dance with a bunch of different girls and not be stuck with just one." He showed his famous perverted smile.
His friend nodded and mirrored his smile. "Oh...so...is she hot?"
"Um...which one?"
"Your friend dufous!!"
"Well of course."
"Well since she goes to school with us...who is she?" Miroku gulped. 'If I tell him then Kagome will get a bunch of attention that she probably doesn't want...but if I don't...then all my friends will wait especially for me to arrive and they'll all hound her...which one? Which one?' Then he saw Sango standing by the doorway of the store.
He thought quickly. "Um...look...my other friend is waiting on me right now. I'll tell you later." 'Now how do I avoid that guy until the dance...' He waved and walked to the woman. "Hey Sango, where's Kagome?"
"Oh she's buying her clothes."
"SO you left early for some alone time with me?" He added his infamous smile and Sango turned a light shade of pink.(Ooo...someone's feeling a little flustered! )
"No...no...I was told to find you and pick a table at the coffee place." Miroku was a little disappointed by that answer, he knew that he wanted some time for the two of them. He made sure to thank Kagome later...this was obviously a setup.
Kagome had just purchased the dress. She was walking to meet the others when someone stepped right in front of her. She was fumbling with her purse and didn't notice.
'Bump.'
"Excuse you!" 'Oh no.' thought Kagome, she recognized the voice.
"Sorry Kikyo, I didn't see you there." She looked up at a smirking Kikyo.
'I have a feeling she won't let this pass so easy.' thought Kagome.
"So Higurashi...I see you have a dress...to impress Inuyasha huh?"
"No...as a matter of fact I've got a date." She defended.
"Oh, you mean that Miroku guy? I know you two are going as friends. Look Higurashi, Inuyasha is mine so hands off! Stop trying to steal him from me! I'm going to make sure nothing goes wrong at the ball. We are getting really close right now and I will not allow you to ruin it for me-us!" She yelled. 'Great going Kikyo!' She mentally slapped herself for the screw up.
Then Kikyo pulled a pocketknife out of her purse and flipped up the blade. Kagome's eyes widened in shock.
'What does she think she's doing?' Kagome thought to herself. She looked around and no one seemed to notice they were even there. Not a single soul seemed bothered by the fact that Kikyo was holding a knife out. 'Is the world going insane?'
Kikyo walked up to her with knife in hand. She put the point of the blade to Kagome's neck. 'Why can't I move? I want to, but my body isn't listening to me!'
"Now give me the dress and I want hurt you!" demanded Kikyo, her voice dripped with venom.
Kagome was shaking. She couldn't understand what possibly drove Kikyo to become so mad. She lifted up the bag with a quivering hand. "He-here you g-g-go." She stuttered.
Kikyo snatched the bag with her free hand and removed the blade from Kagome's neck.. With cold angry eyes she took the knife and cut through both the shopping bag and the dress. She slashed and sliced the dress. She then let the bag drop. A serene look came upon her facial features. She smiled, folded the blade, and calmly walked away from Kagome.
Kagome stood there stunned for a moment. Her eyes hadn't left the bag since it was in Kikyo' s hands. She bent down and picked it up. The bag was a mess. Bits of the plastic floated down to the ground. She reached for the dress. As she pulled it out she noticed the long cuts and gashes that covered it.
A tear ran down her cheek. 'I can't possibly afford another one! I worked for almost half a year to get that!' She then began crying. She didn't know exactly what upset her so much. So she couldn't go without that dress, but it was just a dance, there'll be plenty others right? Right? And it wasn't like she was going with her boyfriend, just her boy-friend. Miroku could find another date and she didn't have to go, it's not like it would change her social status school-wise if she didn't go. It couldn't possibly get any lower as it was. Why did it bug her so much?
"So...I take it you like video games." Said Sango as they took their seats.
"Um...yea...a little." She looked at the dollop of whipped cream on her drink.
"My brother Kohaku used to love video games." A tear fell from her down cast eyes. "Before he died." She choked on her tears.
Something in Miroku' s eyes softened. 'I know your pain Sango.' He reached out a hand to place on her shoulder. "Come on now, I'm sure he wouldn't want you to cry over him." He tried to present a comforting smile.
"You're right I guess." She agreed. She looked up into his face and smiled. They sat in an awkward silence for a few moments. They didn't know what to talk about.
"Hasn't Kagome been gone for a while?" Miroku realized.
"Your right...maybe something happened to her!" Worry spread across Sango' s face.
"You don't have to worry, I'll go look for her." Miroku stated as he stood up. "It'll be okay Sango, I mean we're at a mall, nothing could happen with so many people around." He gave what he thought to be a comforting smile and walked away quickly.
Everything seemed normal, kids were playing, girls were shopping, seniors were sitting, but then he saw something unusual. There was a girl sitting on a bench besides a torn shopping bag and she was looking at the ground. She seemed very depressed. Miroku had been staring at the girl long enough to recognize her as Kagome. She was a good forty feet away but he was able to recognize her clothes.
He walked up to her and sat o the bench. She jumped up in surprise and saw him. He smiled weakly at her. "Miroku!" She whimpered lightly as she wrapped her arms tightly around him. He would have been tempted to...'touch' her had it not been for Inuyasha.
Miroku had been acting strange lately and he knew why. He also knew that Inuyasha would kill him if he did as much as look strangely at Kagome. He put his left hand on her shoulder and patted her lightly. "It's okay...just tell me what happened." He directed quite patronizingly.
"My dress...it was destroyed." She got out through sobs. "Miroku, I can't possibly afford a new dress! What am I going to do!"
"It'll be okay, everything will work out." He rubbed her back gently. She shook her head 'no' and buried her head in his chest. 'Why am I so upset? I just can't figure it out! Nothing special could possibly happen, so why do I fell like I'll miss something important?'
They sat there for about five minutes until Kagome finally calmed down. "You Okay?" He asked. She nodded her head. "Sango is probably worried about you and pissed at me, she trusted me to find you and come right back."
She rubbed her eyes and stood up. "I think some coffee might do me some good right now." She smiled weakly and began walking to the café where Sango was waiting. As she passed a garbage can she threw what was left of her dress in.
"Kagome! Where have you been? And Miroku! I thought you were going to come back quickly!" Exclaimed Sango while running to hug Kagome. "Thank goodness you are safe!" She pulled Kagome close to her while shooting Miroku a glare.
He put his hands up in defense. "Well, Miroku, our coffees are cold, I guess we just have to get new ones." She walked back to the table and sat down. Kagome and Miroku soon followed.
They all got Hazelnut flavored coffee and sat in a comfortable silence. "So Kagome, I noticed you didn't bring your bag...why is that?" Sango asked emotionlessly.
"Um...someone stole it out of my hands and ran off." She lied. Sango raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips.
"Well that sure stinks." She nodded her head. They drank their coffee in silence.
"You guys ready?" Sango asked as she pushed her chair back.
"Yep."
"Mhmm."
"Alrighty, let's a get going then!" She picked up her purse. They all walked to her car. "So Miroku, where do you live?"
"Hmm?" He asked not really paying attention. "Where do you live? You want to be dropped off right?"
"OH..." He gave her directions.
They pulled up to his house. "Well I had fun today, bye Miroku!" Sango waved from the driver's seat.
"Well Sango, I'm just going to walk from here, my house is only a little ways away."Said Kagome.
"But-"
"Don't worry Sango." She interrupted.
"Oh okay...I guess." Said a disappointed Sango. "Bye guys!" She waved and drove off.
Kagome began walking in the direction of her house. She heard footsteps behind her. She turned to see Miroku following her. "Did I forget something." He put his hand behind his head.
"Well actually I didn't want you to walk the streets alone."
"Why not?"
"Well for starters...I have to talk to you, and secondly if Inuyasha found that I let you walk these streets alone he'd have my neck, and last but not least, if you got hurt I could never forgive myself."
She smiled. "That's sweet Miroku, but why couldn't you forgive yourself?"
"Well Kagome, to be perfectly honest, you have to be the only girl I've ever had as an actual friend. I always flirt with other girls, but we never really get too close, but with you it's different. Thanks to Inuyasha, I mean if I tried to flirt with you, he'd have my neck!"
She raised an eyebrow. "And why would that be?"
'Shit, shouldn't have told her that! Must make up excuse!!!!!'(eheh...ever told yourself that? Like when you accidentally hint to your parents that you did something wrong?...lol) "Um...well he's just so damned protective around you I guess." He shrugged his shoulders. 'Phewf, she believed it!' He sighed In relief. "So...was it Kikyo that destroyed your dress?" He asked.
"I told you, someone stole it from my hands!"
"No, that's what you told Sango, you told me that someone destroyed it. Kikyo is the only person who would stoop so low as to destroy your dress."
"Well..."
"So I'm right? I thought so. Why didn't you tell Sango the truth? I thought she knew about Kikyo."
"Yea, but she just get's to mad when I tell her about stuff like that."
"Oh."
She looked up at him. "Well, since you know that I guess I don't have to hide it from you anymore now do I? I guess I can't go to the dance anymore huh? I hope you can find a better date." She waved and walked into her house, which they had quickly reached.
"Don't worry, we can always get you a new one." Answered Miroku, but then he realized that she had already closed the door and hadn't heard a word of what he said.
He then walked back towards his home. 'This whole Ball thing is making both Inuyasha and Kagome act really weird. I guess I could understand why Inuyasha is so upset, he tends to make a big deal out of everything, but Kagome...She seems to be rather collected. What's bothering her so much? I don't think she's too upset about not going with me, but...well...what other choice does she have? I doubt she ever had a boyfriend with Inuyasha around. Maybe she wanted Inuyasha' s attention. Yea, that's it! maybe she wanted to get Kikyo out of the picture, I mean maybe she really does want Inuyasha. If that's the case then I'll do anything to help her, I want to get rid of Kikyo too. Well, if I know anything, Kikyo is definitely up to something and if I don't stop her I may loose Inuyasha as a friend.' He thought for a moment.
"Hey that's it! I got it! I got the perfect idea!" He shouted. Then he turned to see all the people on the street looking at him as if he were mad. He put his hand to the back of his head and laughed nervously. 'I'm normal guys, I swear!' He thought to himself as he continued walking.