The Shimotos Boarding School
Disclaimer: Who Know? I could always wake up once day and be Rumiko, but the chances are that's never gonna fucking happen. Damn.
Chapter Fifteen: Bittersweet Symphony
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Kagome bit her lip as the scenery passed by slowly.
She felt like it had been an eternity since she had left the boarding school when it was really only about an hour ago. Around her, not only Inuyasha, Miroku, Kikyo, and Sango sat silently, but Sesshoumaru and Rin too. Rin, whose friend who had lent them the car was also staring out the window with a blank expression.
Sighing, she leaned back into the seat and felt the warm fleece of Inuyasha's sweatshirt rub against her cold flesh. In their hurry to run away from the boarding school, Kagome had forgotten to grab a sweatshirt even though it was absolutely freezing out.
It didn't matter to her though.
Around her everything was just so, unreal. All that mattered was saving Nami. It was funny, she barely even knew this girl. She couldn't even picture a clear image of her in her head.
To her left, Rin and Kikyo started playing a silent game of cards. They were traveling a long way after all. From Kyoto to Tokyo, the ride was about 3 ½ hours long. Looking to her right, Inuyasha was looking out the window as well. Sesshoumaru seemed to be fiddling with a map and Miroku was in the back area, snoozing she guessed.
Looking down at her heads, she closed her eyes as well. 'It's best not to think of those memories that will cause you pain' she told herself, 'if you don't think about them, then they never really happened.'
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When Kagome opened her eyes she saw outside the car window. They were already in Tokyo, but in the deep end of it near the district of Ginza. If Nami was where Kagome thought she would be, they would have to swing around Marunouchi and head north-west to Bentencho.
Kagome closed her eyes as thought of her old home, but opened them a second later realizing the thoughts were never pleasant.
Sighing, she knew they had at least an hour if they could avoid traffic in Yaraicho and Fujimi.
Kagome looked over at her companions and saw that Inuyasha was looking at her now. "What?" She asked quietly, not wanting to wake Rin, Miroku, Kikyo, and Sango. (Sesshoumaru had taken over driving)
"Who was this Nami?" He asked her, a little quieter that she had.
Kagome looked at her hands.
"I didn't really know her well."
"Than why is it such a big deal to save her?"
Kagome understood what he meant. She had been raving like a mad woman as if Nami had been a lover or something. "I can't let Akira hurt anyone else. I just can't." She finally answered.
"Sesshoumaru." Kagome whispered then, leaning forward.
He looked back at her a nodded for a moment, showing her that he was indeed listening. "Thank you…"
He looked back at her again. Kagome looked really tired with huge bags under her eyes. Her eyes also made her look tired, worn. They were afraid of something, and Sesshoumaru couldn't even begin to fathom what it was. He couldn't deny that she wasn't beautiful… not quite the same as Rin, different.
He knew that Kagome was often clumsy, loud, and obnoxious but at that moment she looked delicate, almost like glass. Frail and sickly.
He gave her a small smile, "It's what Rin wants." He told her. She smiled and looked at Rin, then leaned back. Kagome pulled her head to her side but grabbed Inuyasha's arm. Leaning down, she held his arm and let her head rest on his shoulder.
His golden orbs widened a bit but he gently held her as well, leaning his cheek on the top of her head and taking one of her hands in his. Her hands were as cold as ice.
"You're freezing." He stated, pulling his arms around her even more and wrapping her upper torso in the warmth of his sweatshirt. Kagome leaned back and inhaled deeply, loving Inuyasha's musky but distinct scent.
Sango seemed to have woke up because she was holding her head in her hands. "I need some pot…" She whimpered, making Kagome smile. She knew who her friends were and at times it made her almost forget. They each had flaws. For some reason, Kagome had spent so much time thinking about herself, she had forgotten that they were people. She knew what they were like though;
Sango; though sweet to the one's she loved, was a stoner. She was a total bitch to people she hated. Sango had an awesome sense of fashion, but she often was too talkative and gave away secrets. Sango would also abandon people as soon as a guy came in the picture and she would come crawling back when they broke up.
Miroku was a great friend. He was such a good person to talk to, but his perverted ways often drove people away. No one understood much about him because his past was such a secret. He also lied a lot to get him out of situation. To his enemies and friends.
Inuyasha was loyal, but over protective Kagome had come to learn. He would never leave someone behind but he would also but in a lot. He was competitive to almost a fault, and he didn't trust easily.
Rin was very innocent. She was loud and friendly but too trusting. She often got herself into trouble for being so open and others would have to rush to her aid. She was a goody-goody and though Kagome knew she couldn't help it, it got annoying.
Sesshoumaru was a quiet guy. Though his hatred for Inuyasha alone was known, he seemed to be very monotone about so many things. He never got excited, just mad. He was as loyal and protective as Inuyasha, but that most likely stemmed from the fact that they were brothers.
'I, on the other hand… I'm all those horrible qualities rolled into one.' Kagome thought, leaning back into Inuyasha's warmth. 'I'm an even worse stoner than Sango. I don't tell anyone about my past and I way too overprotective about people I care for. Especially when I learn that they actually care for me back.
'I'm also a goody-goody, deep inside. I want innocence.'
Kagome felt tears form in her eyes.
'I want the innocence back.'
Looking out the window, Kagome forced the tears in and saw that they had entered the Bentencho district. She saw street corners and shops that looked so familiar to her, some where she had bought weed from foreigners. She watched as she passed her old school, the one where Shippo and herself had been expelled, and she felt oddly withdrawn.
Here she was, back in her past.
Back when no one but herself had mattered. Now she was with these new people that she cared about, and it had all happened in a matter of months.
Watching out the window, she saw the houses of friends, and the park that she had vandalized with another friend of hers, Jinenji.
"Where to now, Kagome-san?" She heard Sesshoumaru ask her from the front seat.
"Turn right on this next corner and go down two blocks. Then take another right and a left."
He nodded and did as she directed. Soon they were on the street of her old house. Driving uphill, she directed them to stop in front of a run-down older house that looked like it had barley survived the Meiji era.
The others had finally woken up and Rin was groggily whispering, "Where are we?"
Kagome took a deep breath and released herself from Inuyasha's warm grasp. Even though her arms got Goosebumps as soon as she left his hold, he let her go.
"This is where I used to live."
Sango looked at her in surprise, then back at the house. It was beyond drabby. Sango knew how Kagome felt, staring back at that house. She would feel shame if they saw what a shit-whole she had lived in before Shimotos.
Even with Kohaku to tend to it, it wasn't much better than Kagome's house. They all stared at it for a moment before Kagome finally told them to get out of the car.
They opened the doors and Kikyo asked, "Will your family be home?"
Kagome nodded. "My mom should be. My little brother is probably at his friend's house smoking crack." Sango raised an eyebrow.
Kagome rolled her eyes and rubbed her hands up and down her arms. "Damn, Souta does more shit than me. Before I left he was getting into the Phenobarbital, Benzedrine, Secondal, Valium, PCP, not including the Morphine, Opium from China."
Miroku chuckled. "I think this little Souta has done more than Sango! That is an accomplishment."
Sango gave him a glare. "Hmph!" She cried, "As if I would ever do shit like Benzedrine! I was on Dexedrine!" Kagome smiled and Rin did too. Inuyasha looked confused, "Aren't those both Amphetamines?"
Sango nodded with her wise library of drugs, "Yeppers! They are uppers! Now if you wanna take valium or Librium, those are tranquilizers and major downers."
Kagome smiled. Her friends would never change and that gave her great comfort. As they walked up to the front door, Kagome wondered whether she should knock or walk right in.
It was her house, right?
"What time is it?" She asked, standing before her front door. Inuyasha pulled his hoodie up and glanced at his watch. "About 2:40AM."
Kagome nodded. "We'll get some food and probably a gun."
Rin looked worried. "A gun?" Kikyo asked, "Is that really needed?"
Kagome looked at her shoes. "It's probably not going to be enough." She told them before clicking down the handle and opening the door. The smell of Heroin and Crack filled her nose and Kagome winced at the putrid smell. She walked in and saw that the TV was on and there were a bunch of broken credit cards and tin-foil bowls on her table.
There was a thick cloud of smoke in the air, both cigarette and drugs. She stepped in and took her shoes off, walking over to her living room. Only Inuyasha and Sango decided to follow her, Miroku, Sesshoumaru, Rin, and Kikyo not able to take the smell.
They walked back to the car probably to play cards.
Sango coughed. "This stench is strong, even for me."
Inuyasha had his nose covered with his arm, "You're telling me." He huffed.
Kagome nodded, walking into the kitchen. She froze when she saw the back of her mother, sitting over the sink, puking. It was a horrible dry heave sound.
"Mom." Kagome said, louder than usual but enough to get her attention. Inuyasha watched in shock as the woman, 'mom' spun around.
Sango couldn't even really tell it was her mom. The woman who spun around looked so different from Kagome. She looked… well, like a corpse. Her eyes were sagged in and her face was pail. Her body was unhealthy skinny and her clothes were drab and slutty.
Sango had to look away, "That's the last time I will ever do Heroin." She whispered to Inuyasha. He nodded, knowing Sango meant that she never wanted to look like the woman.
"Kagome?" The hoarse voice asked, and Kagome's mom stepped forward.
Kagome glared, "See you're still a crack whore."
Katana, (Kagome's Mother), gave a mean glare back, "Why aren't you back in that fucking boarding school you little fucking pedophile?"
Kagome gave a long, hard stare. The question was left out in the open for a couple of moments before she finally answered. "Akira's back mom."
Her mom looked vaguely surprised. "How?"
"He has a girl I sort knew, Nami. He plans to kill her."
"I take it you'll need the gun and some money?" Her mother asked, leaning against the counter.
Kagome nodded. "The gun is under my bed and there is ¥35000 on my dresser. Use that." Katana told her, turning around and sitting on a chair. "Bring the gun back when you're done."
Kagome nodded and motioned Sango and Inuyasha to follow her. They walked down a small hall and Kagome opened the door to a room that smelled of stale pot. On the dresser was the money her mother said was there, and Kagome bent over and pulled out a handgun from under the bed.
Sango was the first to speak, "I take it that you and your mother have an interesting relationship?"
Kagome nodded. Inuyasha grabbed the gun and put it in one of his pockets. "I think I'll hold on to this. Before we go and confront this Akira, we should wait for the girl to call again, don't you think?" He asked.
Kagome nodded. "We can go grab some food until then."
They walked out without another word. The air once they got out smelled very refreshing, even if it was the polluted air of Tokyo. "Wow, anything smells better than that house." Inuyasha commented as they walked back to the car.
Kagome grimaced. "I know, I had like 70 air fresheners that would break like once a week. I spent more money on fucking air fresheners than I did pot sometimes!"
Sango smiled, but understood that Kagome was only trying to lift the mood and get their thoughts away form that horrid house. Inuyasha thought about how it was worse than some of those foster shit-wholes he had to live in.
Sitting back in the car, the other's looked at them for answers. Inuyasha told them the plan and Sesshoumaru decided that McDonalds would be the best place to go for cheep food.
Rin smiled, and told them that she didn't want anything.
"Are you feeling alright?" Kagome asked, feeling sick to her stomach as well.
"No… It's just…"
"What?" Kikyo asked, prodding gently. Rin leaned back in her seat and looked out the window. "This is the craziest thing I have ever done… Running away, being with you guys like this… I'm just really afraid. From what it sounds like this Akira guy is no good news."
Kagome nodded, affirming that.
"Well, when I'm afraid I feel like I'm going to throw up." She told them, blushing with embarrassment. Sesshoumaru smiled and patted her head. Inuyasha also gave her a gentle look and told her that it was going to be ok.
Kikyo was silent though. She stared at Kagome for a couple minutes, and Kagome didn't notice. She was withdrawn.
'What could this girl have gone through?' Kikyo asked herself. Little did she know Inuyasha was asking himself the same question. He saw that Kagome was, for some reason, trying to hold tears back.
"Innocence…" He heard her whisper, burying her face in her arms. Inuyasha felt the gun on his thigh. Then he understood.
For Kagome, it was all about drugs and sex up until now. But he saw it; Kagome envied Rin. She envied everything about Rin. And no matter how hard-assed or tough Kagome would pretend to be, she didn't want any of that.
Kagome just wanted innocence.
But that was the one thing she could never have.
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Next Chapter: Her Forever