A/N: Hi again! Yet another YYH/Inu one-shot! Oh goody goody gumdrops! I know,I know I should be working on the next chapter of 'Holding My Own'. Well I was trying to think of what to write (really I was!) and all of a sudden POP! Up came the idea for this little one-shot. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. 'Till next time!
Summary: Kagome's going through her attic when she stumbles upon a small box. Awww! That's so sweet!……Err….then again……
A small sneeze disturbed the almost eerie silence of the attic.
"How long has it been since someone's actually cleaned up here?"
Kagome muttered darkly as she lowered her hand. Her eyes drifted around the room which,despite having a small window and the sun shining brilliantly outside,was unnervingly dark...and quiet...'Calm down girl! You've faced demons the size of this house! One little attic is no big deal!'
A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. Her mental pep talk had calmed her down considerably. The young miko rolled her eyes at her own foolishness and tucked a stray strand of onyx hair behind her ear. Boxes that looked like they'd been there for years,and probably had,stood stacked randomly around the room. Cobwebs decorated the ceiling and some of the darker corners.
A small wooden rocking horse that Kagome recognized as her favorite childhood toy sat completely covered in dust underneath the window. The many 'ancient artifacts' that gramps had gathered over the years took up a lot of the space.
"What the..."
A small box caught her eye. Carefully making her way over to it she smoothed out her skirt as she knelt down. Her fingers slid across the lid leaving small trails in the dust. The box itself was a dark brown with an intricate design of swirls and flowers along the rim of the lid. Curiosity getting the best of her,Kagome gently lifted the lid. A bright smile lit her face as she saw what the box contained.
Pictures!
She gently picked up a picture from the top of the stack. Its edges were wrinkled and torn and the entire photo had that yellow-tint that comes with age. A younger version of her mother and father smiled up at her. A 3-year-old Kagome had her hand clasped in her 4-year-old brothers.
With a fond smile she carefully laid it back down and pulled out another picture at random. Ah yes,her ninth birthday party. How could she forget such an...eventful night?
-7 years earlier-
"Kagome!" Three small girls collided with another in the hallway of her shrine. "Eri,Yuka,Ayumi! Let's go to my room!" Yuka's parents smiled at the sight as they turned to Mrs. Higurashi. "Well be by to pick the girls up at 9:00." Meanwhile the 'bestest slumber party birthday party ever',as Kagome had taken to calling it,was well underway.
"You like Hojo!" Yuka,Ayumi and Kagome looked completely scandalized. Eri looked down at her sleeping bag. Ayumi patted her friends hand consolingly. "It's ok,we won't tell anybody. Will we girls?" The other two agreed immediantly.
Apparently Eri didn't like being the center of attention and turned the tables with a would-be innocent gaze at the birthday girl. "So Kagome,who do you like?" The blue eyed girl blinked as if not sure she'd heard right. "Me?" Her friends all nodded excitedly. "Well..." A muffled giggle from behind the door had all four girls attention. Kagome's glare was positively evil.
Motioning for her friends to be quiet she snatched up a pillow and crept to the door. With the pillow still clasped firmly in one hand the other yanked the door open and the other girls watched wide-eyed as two boys toppled in. "Souta! Yusuke!" said boys stared up at her in absolute innocence.
"Eheh,hey 'Gome." The boys began to slowly creep backwards. Kagome growled under her breath and began to beat the boys mercilessly with her weapon of choice...a pillow. "ACK! RUN SOUTA RUN!" The only ten year old to ever wear hair gel shoved his friend out the door and away from his sister's wrath. All the way to Souta's room she beat them with the pillow and once they were safetly behind a closed door yelled once more for good measure. "AND STAY OUT!"
Stomping back to her friends and slamming the door Kagome sank down beside them. "Sorry about that but mama said since I had company Yusuke could spend the night with Souta. Their both a pain in the neck!" Yuka grinned wickedly and inched forward. "You like him,don't you?" Kagome was mortified. Her like Yusuke
"No way!" To accentuate her point she stuck her tongue out and screwed up her face. While the other two looked convinced Yuka still didn't seem satisfied but decided not to press it...at the moment. Instead she took up a nearby pillow and stood up,her voice thick with a horrible accent. "Now in true slumber party tradition I hereby bring this pillow fight to order."
Of course she was quickly buried under pillows and mayhem broke loose. Morning found Kagome half off half on the bed,Yuka and Eri spread out on the floor and Aymui buried under a mountain of pillows beside Kagome's feet.
Kagome laughed out loud and picked up another picture at random. Her smile grew to a grin. Eri stood latched onto Hojo's arm with Yuka and Ayumi absolutely melting at the cuteness in the background. Souta had his face in his hands while Yusuke sported a large bump and Kagome glared at him.
-2 years earlier-
Eri's three friends watched like hawks as she talked to Hojo. A second later she looked positively elated and Yuka held out an open palm. With a sigh both Ayumi and Kagome dropped money into her hand and she quickly stuffed it into her pocket.
"I told you guys that she'd win. I'm a relationship genius." She looked over at Kagome pointedly "Speaking of relationships..." "Hey." "AHH!" the blue eyed teenager jumped off the picnic table bench and spun around. "Yusuke you jerk! Don't do that!" He looked up blankly at the fuming girl. "Geez you're paranoid." Her brow ticked dangerously and she sat back down in a huff.
The brand new Rei Tentai rolled his eyes and settled down on the table. "So what bet did you two just loose?" Ayumi sighed and looked back at the new couple. "Yuka bet that Eri would have a boyfriend first." Kagome looked on sullenly. "I had my money on Yuka." Ayumi looked thoughtful. "I thought Kagome would be first."
Yusuke's jaw dropped. "You expected that to have a boyfriend?" Kagome stood up and he could plainly see her teeth grinding. He looked to Souta for help but he just rolled his eyes and looked away. "Care to repeat that Yusuke?" He didn't have time to do more then stare stupidly before Kagome smacked him over the head.
"He deserved it. Like I couldn't get a boyfriend. I can't believe I was actually sad when he died." Mentally pushing that memory away she picked through the pictures until she found one that she really liked. As she picked up a picture that had been near the bottom Kagome's heart jumped into her throat. "How...?"
-the previous year-
"How do I look?" Kagome did a spin in the middle of the living room. She barely ever had time to sit back and relax since she'd been pulled down the well and she was determined to enjoy it. "Beautiful" She turned to the doorway to see her brother leaning against the doorframe. With a bright smile she threw her arms around his neck. "Thanks Souta."
Her ice blue floor length dress reflected the light. The top was a halter top and the back had strings zig zagging their way to her waist. "'Gome if this guy makes one wrong move..." "You're only one year older then me.Besides with all the demons we have to fight I think I can handle myself." He shook his head firmly,black bangs falling into his eyes. "I don't care. I'm still you're big brother and it's my job to take care of scum like him."
Kagome's eyes lit up affectionately even as she rolled them. A knock at the door interrupted whatever she was about to say. "Bye Souta!" Rushing to meet her date Kagome flung the door open. "Hi Haku." The boy waiting for her wore a traditional black tux. His dark brown bangs fell over his face,covering his left eye. When Kagome stepped outside and they linked arms he grinned.
HIs eyes,a dark green, lit up. "Kagome...you look gorgeous." She felt the blush rush to her cheeks and was suddenly thankful it was dark out. "Thank you. You know,out of the jeans and t-shirt you don't look too bad yourself." She giggled softly as he threw his hand over his heart. "Such a compliment! I'm flattered that you took the time to notice." He pulled the door open so she could slide into his car.
The blue eyed miko couldn't help but feel a resemblance between Haku and Miroku. But seeing as how he hadn't tried to grope her,Haku definitely won out as far as she was concerned. After a quiet drive he stopped on the side of a sidewalk. Kagome looked on in confusion. "Are we already there?" Haku laughed and shook his head. "Nah. I've just gotta make a stop first. I'll be right back." Kagome raised her hand as he walked off and was about to say something when she realized he was out of hearing range.
With a dejected sigh her hand dropped back into her lap and the waiting game began. After 30 minutes had gone by and Kagome was bored out of her mind curiousity got the better of her. "Where is he?" Climbing out into the cold night the confused teen began to walk in the same direction she'd watched her date leave. After walking about a block,she was about to go back and just wait in the car when a very familiar voice floated from a shady looking bar.
Unable to keep her curiousity at bay as to why she'd been abandoned Kagome crept around the side of the small,run-down building and peeked through a window. There,at a table with 5 other guys,sat Haku with a proud grin. "I'm telling ya guys,she's definitely worth it. So,any bets?" One particularly large man slapped a wad of money down on the table. "I'm bettin' that it'll take ya two hours." Kagome blinked and strained to hear better. Two hours for what? The man sitting next to Haku,who Kagome thought looked like a weasel,slammed down at least twice as much as the other man. "3!"
Her confusion growing by the second,the young girl waited for an explanation. She didn't have to wait long. "So you think it'll take me 3 hours to get her into bed?" Anything else that was said was lost to Kagome. She stumbled back,trying to think above the sound of her heart pounding in her ears. "He...but..." One tear was all that fell before Kagome started to run. She didn't notice the winds whipping at her face or the cold anymore. 'He was using me!"
Feeling disgusted with both herself and that...thing that she'd been with she stumbled along aimlessly and found herself in the park. Slumping down on the grass beside a small pond she pulled her legs up to her chest and cried. Not the loud sobs of a child but the silent tears of someone who was forced to realize their own naivety in the worst way possible. So caught up in the night's events she didn't notice someone had joined her until a soft voice was right in front of her.
"Kagome?" She lifted her head weakly and Yusuke's breath caught in his throat. Her makeup was smeared and her hair was wild from the wind but over all...she looked heartbroken. 'Who the hell did this to her?' "What happened to you?" With those few words the dam broke again. Throwing her arms around his neck Kagome clung to the only thing she knew for a fact right then. Yusuke was there for her. Through the tears and his soaked shirt she relayed her night from hell to him.
As soon as she was done he pried her arms from around his neck. "Yusuke? What...where are you going?" Her voice was small and timid,nothing like her normal self. That alone made the tentai's blood boil. "To kick that guy's ass." And he would've gone through with it if not for the small hand that suddenly held his wrist. "Please...don't leave." He looked back at her with raised eyebrows. That Hamu or whatever the hell his name was had done this to her and she was gonna stop him from beating his ass?
"He's not worth it...just...don't leave me alone." Her face was towards the ground,afraind to see the rejection she knew was coming. When she found herself pulled against a very male chest and enclosed in strong arms to say she was shocked would've been a huge understatement. "Fine." Her heart did a little flip flop in her chest. Burying her face in his shirt she could safetly say she could've stayed that way forever. Moving one arm to the small of her back Yusuke used his other hand to tilt her face toward him.
Her heart slammed against her rib cage as she looked up at her savior. Without any further warning Kagome found herself in a lip lock with,of all people,Yusuke Urameshi. And she didn't mind at all. Her arms slipped around his neck to bring him closer and somewhere in the back of her mind she registered a flash but she had more important things to worry about.
"Who could've..." Yup that was definitely a picture of her first kiss. But who took it? So caught up in her internal ramblings Kagome didn't notice when the attice door closed. But she sure noticed when two hands covered her eyes. She nearly jumped out of her skin. A husky whisper next to her ear sent a shiver down her spine. "Guess who." Her lips stretched into a smile even as she feigned innocent confusion. "Ohh that's a hard one." She put her hands on the arms of her captor and nodded. "Now who do I know who wears a leather jacket because he thinks it makes him look cool...could it be,oh I don't know,Yusuke?"
When the obstruction to her vision was gone Kagome craned her neck backwards and sure enough there stood her boyfriend. He crossed his arms and pouted. "Cheater." The miko rolled her eyes and scrambled up to hug him. "It's not my fault you like the leather jacket." When the pout still didn't leave his lips Kagome planted a soft kiss on his cheek. "Happy now?" His responding grin could only be called feral. "Almost." He leaned in to kiss her and yet again she was completely breathless when he pulled back.
She twisted around in his arms to continue studying the picture. Yusuke rested his chin on her shoulder to get a better look. "What the hell?" Pulling the picture out of her grasp he tried to recall where he'd seen it before. "Hey isn't this.." "Yup. I just don't know who took it...Oh no." Yusuke looked down at her quizically. "Ayumi had a science project due the week after that and she told us she'd be out taking pictures of nature... " Yusuke was blank for a few more seconds before it hit him and he started to laugh.
Kagome stared at him like he'd lost his mind. It took a minute but she finally figured out just what was so funny. Every time after that when she'd seen them before they'd started going out officially she'd blush like crazy and look at something else. The sixteen year old miko began to laugh right along with him. When she finally managed to speak again she turned to him and spoke with mock sympathy.
"Poor Ayumi."
The End! Yet another one-shot wonder by yours truly! My longest entry yet! Whoot!