Chapter Ten:
He finished paying the last bill and placed the envelopes inside the mailbox. It was warm for a winter night. He was surprised to hear that the forecast called for snow in a few hours. He shrugged his shoulders and walked towards the front door. That's when he smelled something…
She pulled out a long leather jacket form her closet. "Here Kagome, you should wear this. They predict some cold weather soon, I don't want you to freeze before you get home tonight." Kagome graciously accepted the coat and slipped her arms through the sleeves.
"Sango, this is a really comfortable jacket, where'd you get it from?" She asked.
Sango froze. 'I forgot, I can't believe it.' "It was- it was my mother's…before she died."
She swallowed the oncoming tears. Kagome stiffened in the coat. She saw the emotions pile across her friend's face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"No, it's okay. I've gotten over it." Kagome nodded.
"Okay ladies, we ready to get a move on?" Said a perky Miroku as he burst out of the bathroom.
"Yes." They responded simultaneously. She walked through the doorway. 'Mom, I miss you so much…' Sango thought to herself as she locked the door.
He was playing with the green peas on his plate. His girlfriend was talking vivaciously with her friends that were sitting across the table. He was bored.
"Inuyasha! After you pick me up late, and not to mention that you smell kind of funny, you could at least be social at dinner." Kikyo said as she pinched his cheek. She shot him a warm smile, but he knew she didn't mean it. He knew he'd be chewed out later tonight.
He smiled back to her in response and nodded his head. He sat up straight and stared at his date. She was wearing a red dress with a low back. Red was his favorite color. It was strapless, and he couldn't quite figure what was holding it up. Couldn't see it now, but the bottom of the dress reached the ground. He thought she looked exceptionally beautiful tonight. Her hair was placed in ringlets on the top of her head. Every time she laughed they would bounce.
'Wouldn't most guys be thrilled to have a girl like Kikyo? Why does this feel so weird? What if it was Ka- No! I will not think of her! Kikyo is my girlfriend and it would only hurt her if she knew I was thinking about Kagome. I mean, she always gets upset when I mention Kagome, if she knew what I was almost thinking…well…I wouldn't want to be there when she goes off.' He shook his head to free his mind from those thoughts. 'Inuyasha, just be happy with what you've got.'
'Is that wolf I smell? It can't be! The only ones in this area, I killed!' Sesshoumaru stepped back from his door and looked around his house. No one was outside, no unusual noises, so where was that smell coming from?
He took a few steps off of his porch. It wasn't a wolf he smelled, but rather something that had been touched by a wolf. He looked down the street again. 'No.' He turned the other way. "No- what is that?' He saw a dark figure slowly approaching. He squinted his eyes. "That can't be!" But it was, it was the girl he had saved the night before. He walked up to her.
"Hey!" She squeaked as she crammed herself against him. He could feel warmth generating off her body.
"Little girl, what are you doing here? This is no place for a child, especially at this time of night."
She looked up at him. Her eyes were big and brown. "I came to see you!"
"Wha-" He was confused. 'What could she possibly want from me? She came all this way by herself, but why?'
She snuggled into his chest. It felt very awkward to him. He slowly patted her back with his hands. He was not used to close contact, or at least not when there wasn't any punching involved.
"You're just like Daddy!" She held him tighter. "You save me from bullies- but then you leave!" He could smell salt. 'Tears? Is she crying?' (Stupid Sesshy could be a little more sensitive!!!) "Please don't leave me!" She looked up at his face, this time those large brown eyes were filled with tears.
Now he understood. She wasn't an orphan. But even someone like him, someone who hated humans, could not understand how anyone could abandon a precious child like her. He had always assumed that humans were the loving breed, not demons, but after seeing Kagome grow up, and after seeing this small child beside him like this, he just wasn't sure about that anymore. 'I- I have to do something, I can't just leave her!' His eyes widened at that thought. 'Am I getting weak?' He shook his head. 'Maybe, but I can't send her back to the orphanage, not after this. Those eyes- I just, I just don't think this is right. I despise myself for helping humans but one so innocent should not have to suffer like this, human or not.' He picked her up and cradled her into his arms. She was still crying. "I will not leave you, I promise."
Inuyasha pushed his seat back. "Well, I think it's time to go." He patted his stomach and smiled.
"Oh, alright Inuyasha." Said Kikyo as she stood up and said goodbye to all her friends. "The limo is waiting for us outside, come on!"
She walked quickly threw the doors. "Kikyo? Why are you walking so fast?" He asked innocently as he matched her quick pace.
She turned around quickly and sent him an angry stare. "Why! What do you think? Inuyasha! You're my boyfriend and you didn't even come to my house first! Where were you? You know, you are really starting to piss me off. You've been preoccupied for a while now, and you won't tell me why! So tell me now, this is your last chance!" 'He'll have to answer me now! He does whatever I tell him to do anyways!' She smiled in conceit.
He just stared at her. 'What am I supposed to tell her? That I saved a little girl after turning into a hanyou? I want to tell her that, but Sesshoumaru told me not to. Is his word stronger then hers? What should I do.' He stood there speechless.
'Shit! This isn't how it's supposed to go! He's supposed to say I'm sorry Kikyo baby. Like he always does, what's wrong with him? Is he cheating? Oh my God! He's cheating on me isn't he? Why? What did I do wrong? Well, I better say something before he tells me that we're breaking up, we can't break up!' "Look Inuyasha, whatever, I don't care right now, let's just go to the dance." She jerked the door open and slid across the seats so that he would have room to get in with her.
'Thank God I didn't have to tell her anything.' He thought to himself.
They were both pretty silent during the drive to the dance, Inuyasha was quite thankful.
"Inuyasha." Kikyo turned her head as she spoke to him.
"Yes?" He lifted his head and was now looking at her elegant face.
"What will we be doing after the Ball?" She moved closer to him.
He gave a puzzled look. 'Going home…what is she thinking about?'
"Well, Inuyasha couldn't we go to an after party or something? We've been dating for a while now, but we never go to parties together. Some people might not even know that we're dating."(Ha I bet some of you pervs thought she was getting at something else ; ))
"Why does it matter what other people know about us?" 'Kagome would never feel the need for people to know about us.' Inuyasha mentally slapped himself for thinking about Kagome again.
"Well Inuyasha, are you not happy to be dating me?" A frown formed on her face.
'O shit, I shouldn't have said that,' "Kikyo, I didn't mean it that way, it's just that I don't like people to know all my business. I love you." He kissed her nose. "And I don't want anyone trying to interfere with us." 'I'm doing enough interfering on my own!'
She nodded and sighed. "Alright Inuyasha, whatever you say."
'I have the feeling that I'm in trouble now…'
(And this is where the story gets like your normal high school fic…but I promise you, it gets good.)
They had been dancing for a while now. Inuyasha was bored. 'She just won't stop talking about us. I don't think that the whole world needs to know our business!'
He stared across the dance floor. There were dozens of people from his class that he had never met before. 'This class is so large…hasn't she ever thought about talking to new people?'
There bodies moved together, at the same pace as the music. "Inuyasha?"
"Hmm?" Inuyasha looked down at his girlfriend.
"I'm going to go freshen-up. Why don't you get us some punch or something while I'm away?" She smiled and walked off, into the herd of students. In a matter of seconds, she was out of his view.
'Well…I guess I'll go get the punch.' He began walking towards the snack table. He knew where it was because it was close to the entrance.
"Hey Inuyasha. What's up man?" Hachi came up to Inuyasha and patted his friend's back. "Kikyo's sure lookin' hot tonight!" He was beaming at Inuyasha.
"Hey Hachi. Nothing's been happening man." He poured a cup full of the red punch.
"Have you seen Miroku? I talked to him at the mall the other day, but I haven't seen much of him for the past week."
"Well, no one has, even me."
"Then where's he been? Aren't you and him tight?"
"Well, he's been…keeping to himself a lot lately. And hey, you guys are just as close, you've known him longer than I have." Inuyasha was getting mad with all this talk about his so-called friend. "Look man, I gotta go." Hachi nodded.
Inuyasha walked towards the entrance, he needed some air. But when he saw the next couple in the doorway, he froze.
"Dang man, who's that babe?" He heard Hachi say behind him.
She had been nervous, so very nervous. She had been in the shadows at school, but now she was beside Miroku, and he made himself well known.
"Hey guys!" he waved to his friends. She walked beside him, following him. What else could she do? Who else could she talk to? Inuyasha…but she had the feeling he was angry with her, and she was right.
'I can't believe it! They're here! They're the center of attention! How can they just prance around like that? How could Miroku put Kagome in the spotlight, she must feel uncomfortable!' No matter how angry he was, he still cared about her. He couldn't stop staring at the pair, especially at Kagome. Her black dress stopped shortly under her knee. An outline of an iris flower and stem was on the left side. The dress contrasted well with her pale skin. (A/N Just wanted to say…I didn't want this to be a cliché. She didn't get an extreme makeover; she just made an impression. Her classmates would have never expected her to go to a dance because she doesn't talk to anyone. That's what they're surprised about. And then…every one looks a lot different when they're dressed up)
'It's so simple…it's so Kagome.' And then he looked at her necklace, his pupils dilated. 'The Shikon? How could she? I gave that to her!' He grinded his teeth; his whole body was shaking with anger.
He felt a hand on his shoulder. "Hmm!" He jumped in surprise; Hachi was standing beside him.
"That's that Higurashi girl isn't it? She looks quite nice. Very subtle, but the necklace is quite bold. I'd always managed to think of her that way. I mean…she never talk to anyone, but she seemed to leave a lasting affect on all the people she's ever spoken to. However, I had never imagined a guy like Miroku would go for a chick like that. I guess 'Roku's turned a new leaf!" He patted Inuyasha's back and walked off to the couple.
'Darn! I didn't want everyone to crowd around like this! I hope Kagome is okay, she looks fine, at least every one's talking to me.' Miroku smiled at his friends. "Well, this is a dance isn't it? Will you excuse us while we…well, dance." He took Kagome's hand and pulled her on the dance floor.
She seemed a little surprised, but he had expected that. "I'm sorry, I know you must feel uncomfortable with all of them around you like that."
She looked up at him and smiled. "It wasn't so bad…I just have trouble talking to people that I've just met."
He nodded. "Tell me when you want to go home, don't stay here for my sake." She looked down at the floor and nodded.
Inuyasha was chewing his ice. He had finished his punch, and the crunching was helping him cool down. (Literally lol…get it, he's chewing ice! Which is cold! …Yea I know…not so funny…hides in a corner) 'Okay…calm down Inuyasha, You gave that to her as a friendship gift. We're still friends, best buds, she just has a boyfriend now, who also happens to be my best friend…and they went behind my back, not even taking the time to tell me about it, but we're still friends!' He slammed his cup on the table.
"Excuse me." He looked up: there was Kagome.
"Kagome?" 'She's so close to me, I should ask her…'
"Hey Inuyasha, I didn't know if you wanted me to talk to you in front of all these people." She smiled at him. "But I've been wanting to talk to you for a long time now. It seems that I haven't seen too much of you lately." She poured the liquid into her cup. "This Ball is pretty nice isn't it? I'm actually having some fun. And everyone looks so nice." She clapped her hands together and looked at the dance floor.
'She's right, everyone does look nice.'
"And so do you, Inuyasha. Where is Kikyo?"
"Hmm?" Then he understood her. "Oh, thanks, you look beautiful tonight yourself, Miroku should be proud to have a date like you." She blushed at the compliment. He felt his face warm up as well. "Kikyo's in the restroom, which of course means I'm alone for at least ten minutes." He refilled his cup. "Would you like to dance?"
She looked surprised by the question, however so did Inuyasha. 'Did I really just ask her to dance?'
She smiled and nodded. He offered her a hand, and they walked onto the dance floor together.
He placed hands on her waist, she wrapped her arms around his neck. She leaned her head on his chest. 'I wonder what everyone is going to say…God I hope Kikyo doesn't some out!' He felt himself tilt his head as they moved with the slow music.
"Inuyasha? Can you promise me something?"
"Hmm?"
"Can we always be like this."
He looked down at her as she looked up. "What do you mean? Dancing?"
"No dufous." She laughed. "I mean, close. All these years you've been there for me, and I've tried so hard to be there for you. Can you promise that you'll always be by my side and I on yours, even when we move away from each other, and when we have families of our own."
He stopped. She looked worried. He smiled and answered. "Of course, I wasn't planning not to." She smiled and rested on him again.
"Thank you Inuyasha." She mumbled against his chest. 'How is it that I can be so mad at her, but whenever she speaks to me I soften up?' HE shook his head from the thoughts and continued to dance.
'Look at those two, they're perfect for each other.' Miroku thought to himself as he watched his friends dance. 'I wish they could stay that way, but I know Kikyo will be coming soon. He walked towards a group of girls. (Just like Miroku eh?)
"OH. MY. GOD! My boyfriend is NOT dancing with another girl! He is NOT!" Kikyo fumed…her friends keeping their distance from her. "I am SO gonna kick some ASS! And it's got HIGURASHI written all over it!"
Kagome looked up at Inuyasha, he looked down at her. "Inuyasha…"
Their heads moved closer and closer together. 'Is this happening? It can't be!" They both thought simultaneously.
And then, Inuyasha felt Kagome's body stiffen. 'Wha?' She pushed herself away from him, and ran behind him. "Kagome! What's wrong?" He turned around. She slapped Miroku on the chest.
They boy stiffened and brought his hand to the area where he was hit.
Inuyasha saw his assaulted friend. 'That bastard! He's flirting with a bunch of girls! Kagome left because she was mad at him didn't she!'
Miroku followed Kagome's tracks. 'Oh no Miroku, you don't apologize to Kagome until you have a talk with me!' He followed his two friends towards the back entrance.
'What? I can't catch up with them at this rate!' Kikyo stopped, fuming in the middle of the dance floor, by now several students were confused at the happenings.
Sorry you guys had to wait so long for this chapter, fortunately this one is pretty long!
So…why do you think Kagome ran out? Bet you won't guess right…
If you review...I'll give you a cookie! Wait, no, I'm lying, I can't afford one...sorry, but plz review anyways! This is the first story I've ever gotten to a tenth chapter, it means a lot to me if you say that you like it!
Plz review...give me the good, the bad, and the ugly!