Kagome waited in her room for Sesshoumaru. 'I really need to find a job as soon as possible. I'm running low on money and even though I know mom would give me some she needs it more than I do.' She was thinking so deeply she didn't here the knock at her door.
KNOCK KNOCKHe knocked on the door harder this time. 'Did she already leave?' She knew I was meeting her here.'
The door opened revealing Kagome.
"Come in." She invited him
When he entered the her room he took a seat on her bed.
"I'm just going to leave Sango a note, and then we will leave." She explained knowing he was wondering why he had come in.
So he just nodded and watched her closely observing her every move. 'She looks so beautiful.' He noted taking in her choice of attire. She wore a pale blue spaghetti strap dress that clung to her curves and flared out until it ended at her knees. She had on a white cardigan that stopped at her elbow. Her toe nails were painted a dark crimson and she had matching pale blue high heels that rested on her tiny feet. Her dress made her deep blue eyes stand out while her bangs and long wavy hair framed her face. She turned around and smiled at him informing him she was ready for departure.
As they were about to open the door, it was suddenly flung open.
In the door way frozen in their spots like ice sculptures stood Miroku and Sango.
"Hey guys!" she greeted
They looked from Kagome to Sesshoumaru a few times before responding. "H..hey!" they both stuttered and tried to regain their composure as quick as possible.
"We're going job hunting, so I'll be back later on." She said walking out the door with Sesshoumaru on her heels.
"Do you think we should follow and keep an eye out?" Miroku asked her
"No! I don't think she'll be fine. She wouldn't go if she feared for her safety." She paused, "Besides she has her phone on her and I will be here when she gets back."
He nodded as he had a thoughtful look on his face.
They were walking down the street as the sun was setting. They walked in silence during most of their excursion. They enjoyed each others company although they wouldn't say it. Kagome was to shy and Sesshoumaru was to proud to let his emotions be seen.
"Thank you for helping me look for a job." She smiled warmly at him.
He just nodded for her reply, "I have one stop to make while we're here."
"Okay!" she acknowledged him
They were walking down the street for a while it had already gotten dark. The streets were still filled with people and were lit by the lights that were spaced out as you walked down the sidewalk. He stopped in front of a building for a moment and opened the door and waited for her to enter. She wasn't really paying attention. She just followed him to his destination not wanting to walk alone. The streets were dangerous at night. More so then they were during the day. He walked up to the man at the podium and waited to be greeted.
"Hello, welcome to The Palace." The man said
"I have a reservation under Takashi." He told the man
The man looked at the piece of paper in front of him and grabbed to menus. "Right this way." He directed them.
They walked through some red velvet curtains into a bigger room as they followed the host.
Kagome looked around and gasped. It was a very classy place by the way it looked. At least to her it was. She had never been any place like this before. There were vaulted ceilings with chandeliers that were twice her size hanging from them. It had windows that seemed to touch the heavens and they were tinted for privacy during the day. The floor was covered in a deep red colored carpet. Red rapes hung from the ceiling giving each table complete privacy with a small lamp in the center of every table. It made the restruraunt kind of romantic. When they came to their designated table she saw a rounded with seats that towered over her head. They were padded with a light red colored fake leather and were quite comfortable. To finish it off there was a white cloth covering the table. All in all she found it extremely extravagant. She kind of felt nervous and out of place and did her best to cover it up.
"What are we doing her Sesshoumaru?" Kagome questioned curiously
"Eating." He stated simply, as a smile graced his god like features making them seem even more heavenly.
She blushed from embarrassment and picked up her menu to browse at the items.
He quickly caught her attention and stopped her, "It's customary for the man to order for his date." He pointed out
'Did he just say date? We are on a date? Oh my god I didn't know. I would have put on something nice.' She freaked out and started to blush deeper than she already had. "Okay." Was the only response she could find.
The waiter cam and left with their order. They talked quietly while waiting for their meal.
"This has to be very expensive. It's so beautiful and very classy as well. But why would you choose this place." She asked
"Think of it as us celebrating for you being victorious in finding a job so quickly." He reassured her
After the waiter brought their food the night went on uneventfully.
As they were walking back to campus Kagome decided to see if she could get Sesshoumaru talk more. She thought he didn't talk nearly enough.
"Thank you for tonight Sesshoumaru." Kagome interrupted the silence
He looked at her and her radiant smile, "Your welcome."
"So why don't you have any friends? Are we friends?" she prodded
"Friends are pointless. They stab you in the back and cause other problems." He told her angrily
"You don't believe that do you? I wouldn't do something like that and neither would Miroku or Sango." She said disappointed
He didn't say anything to her so she decided to change the subject. 'Somebody hurt him and it's obvious it was a friend.' She thought
"So why no girlfriend? I mean everyone gets lonely, don't you?" she questioned a little hesitantly.
He looked at her for a moment and saw that she blushed. He inwardly smiled at this, "Why is that what position in my life you'd like to fill?" He noticed she blushed even deeper at this. 'I wouldn't mind that at all.' He told him self
"I didn't say that. I uh well never mind." She said becoming shy
He found this fun so he decided to keep pushing the subject. He liked it when she blushed. He found her even more attractive.
"Are you saying you wouldn't? Am I not attractive enough?" he prodded making her keep the crimson blush.
"I didn't say that." She said "You are very attractive" she whispered hoping he didn't catch. "I just didn't think you thought of me that way. Besides those times in the classroom and by the Koi pond, well, I thought you were trying to make me like all the other girls." Kagome told him honestly
At this he stopped. He did like her that way and did here her say he was attractive but he never wanted to change her. That was what made him interested in the first place. "That was never my intention." He told her and grabbed her by her waist for a passionate kiss. When he let go and they separated he began to speak again, "We should keep walking. It's late and we must both be up early tomorrow." And he started to walk again.
"Where is she? It's 10:30. I thought she would be home by now. I hope she's okay." Sango having a conversation with her self while waiting for her friend to return was worrying.
The door opened and in came Kagome.
"Thanks again. I enjoyed it. See you tomorrow morning." She yelled to him as he was leaving.
She came in closed the door and plopped on her bed. She was so tired she went and brushed her teeth and didn't even change into her pajamas. When she got back, Sango had planted herself on her bed waiting for her return.
"I was so worried about you. Did he hurt you? Did he kiss you? Are you dating yet? What took you so long? Did you find a job? Does he like you? Do you like him? You guys make a cute couple." Kagome rolled her eyes waiting for her to stop and breath.
"Sango," her friend looked patiently for her to continue. "I did find a job at this little family owned restaurant. It's called 'The Shack' and I'll be working behind the counter and the manager said I'd be making tips each night. It's nice too. The managers name was..Naraku. Yeah that's it. He said I can start tomorrow night around 5 and I will be leaving around10:30pm. And no nothing happened between me and Sesshoumaru." She said hastily
"So you'll be getting off after dark? You'll need to have someone meet you or give you a ride back to campus. It's way to dangerous around there at night. Heck, it's dangerous during the day." She stated
'I didn't think about that. I can always try and find a ride and if I can't call Sango or Miroku or even Sesshoumaru.' She thought
"Well, I'm going to bed and so should you. I have a fieldtrip tomorrow morning." She told Sango
They both climbed into bed and shortly after fell into a peaceful sleep.
Dream
She ran through the forest as fast as she could. Looking behind her to find her attacker, but she didn't see anyone. She didn't know what she was running from but she could feel the fear consume her whole body. It didn't seem to slow her only make her go faster. She saw a flash of silver so she turned to the side and ran the opposite direction of where she thought it had gone.
"Kagome!" she heard a voice call as it echoed through the forest
"Kagome!" she heard it again
"Kagome!" and again. She didn't know who was calling her and part of her didn't want too.
Then everything dissipated as she came out of her dream.
"Kagome! Wake up!" Sango hovered above her while shaking her.
"Your alarm went of fifteen minutes but you didn't even move. I think you might be late and miss your trip." She chided her
'That was really weird. It all seemed really. Like it's happened to me before. But there aren't any forest around my house at all' She thought to her self. "Oh no. I can't miss it I already told mom I was coming." She said rubbing her eyes and get up lazily.
"What does your mom have to do with your trip?" she asked confused
"We are going to visit the Sunset Shrine for Ancient Japanese History class. One of the legends we read about has to do with the shrine. And it just so happens that's my families shrine. " she pointed out and went to the bathroom to get ready.
She had finished getting dressed and putting her shoes on. She was wearing a pair of her shorts. They weren't short and they weren't long. They showed off her legs quite nicely. She wore a pink and black shirt her mom got her went she went to America. It said 'I know you want me' on the front and 'but green is all I need' on the back. She had her hair in a high ponytail and had a mini backpack on with some snacks in it. She knew her mom would be making food for everyone but she wanted something for the ride there.
She raced towards the cafeteria seeing that it was 8:35. 'I hope I don't miss them.' She screamed. When she got there, there were only 5 students there. Including Sesshoumaru and the other kid he mentioned was coming along. She saw LuLu sitting at a table and decided to go talk to her.
"Hey, what's up?" LuLu said
"Ugh, I'm so tired. I would have missed it if it weren't for my roommate waking me up." She replied
"Yeah? That wouldn't be good. What would your parents say to you know showing up." She stated
"They'd probably scream for joy." She said and they both started to giggle.
They were sitting there talking and giggling for a while. Not about anything important though, just basic girly stuff. They found out they had the same favorite show, both loved archery and had many other common interest.
"Okay everyone." Sesshoumaru began to talk. "We will be taking a bus so we don't have to take are cars. This will ensure nobody gets lost. It will be an hour long ride there and back. So we should get there about 10:00 to 10:30 at the latest. We are going to take a tour provided by the shrine priest and then be given a chance to explore and ask any questions you might have. Under no circumstances will anybody be leaving the shrine grounds unless boarding the bus. Shippou here," he said, as a young man with orange hair, green eyes stood up. He was wearing blue jean shorts and a green shirt. "will be helping me keep an eye out. Any questions? Good. Let's board the bus then." He said turning and leading everyone to the bus. They had to use two buses because everyone could fit on one. So Shippou rode on one and Sesshoumaru on the other. Shippou was on her and LuLu's bus. Her and LuLu just talked the whole way there. Besides, there was nothing else to do.
"Okay everyone pay attention!" Shippou said to get everyone's attention. "We will be unloading first. Let's go." He said exiting the vehicle.
"Kagome!" she heard her name called and looked up to find Souta with a sweat drop and Kouga running to her. By the time he had gotten to her everyone was off the buses watching the scene that unfolded before them.
"Kagome. I'm so glad you have decided to come back. You are my woman you don't have to go to college or work. I'll take care of you." He said holding her hand tightly.
You could see the vain popping out of her forehead.
She grabbed her hand taking it away from him saying, "Kouga, how many times do I have to tell you. I am not your woman." She said angrily
"You will be someday." He retorted and received a growl. He sniffed the air around him. 'There is a faint scent..'he deciphered through all the scent 'Sesshoumaru and Shippou!'
She just sighed and walked up the long stairs to the shrine. Everyone followed her and began the trek up as well.
He chased after Kagome protectively to make sure he didn't hurt her. He would always protect her.
Kagome immediately went inside leaving the rest behind, but was shortly after followed by Shippou and Sesshoumaru.
"Hi mom!"
"Kagome? Oh your hear. I'm so glad you took this class or I wouldn't be able to see you for a while. I need to speak with you about something." She said seeing the two men enter the room. "Who are these gentlemen dear?" she politely asked
Kagome turned around and pointed to Sesshoumaru, "That's Sesshoumaru and Shippou." She told her
"Nice to meat you boys. Please come have a seat in the kitchen. Would you like some coffee?" she asked
"I would if you please." Shippou answered "I will take it with me. I need to keep an eye on the students." He explained
She handed him a cup and smiled warmly. He took it and left to go watch the students.
"Well," her mom sighed, "Mr. Takashi I will be giving the tour. My father is unable to do it. But don't worry, I grew up here and I as well as Kagome am a priestess. I will need a few moments with my daughter before I begin though." She informed him.
He nodded to her and began to stand up, "My I borrow your rest room?" he asked
"Sure, go through the living room and down the hallway. Second door on your left." She replied
He got up and went in the specified direction. 'Something's up. Something doesn't seem right. Her mother seems so sad. But why and what happened to make her so upset? I need to know.' He used the bathroom and when he came out he over heard some of the conversation. Thanks to his excellent hearing.
"Kagome, grandpa has been sick. We didn't want to tell you because we knew you wouldn't go. He's in the hospital and the doctors think her only has a couple of weeks. Souta doesn't know yet. So don't say anything to him. Mrs. Detry is going to bring him home early so you'll be here when I tell him. There is also something else." She paused "Takashi Inc. is trying to by the shrine from us. They want to build some condo's here. Since grandpa isn't doing so well and I can only work one job we are probably going to sell the shrine. I know how much you love this place. I do to, but I can't afford to keep it. I'm sorry sweetie, I wish there were something I could do." She said to Kagome with her eyes downcast at the floor trying to hold her tears in.
"It' alright mom," she said with deep sadness in her voice, "I know how hard it is for you to have to make that decision. I'm sorry that you have to. And don't worry gramps will be fine. He always is." She reassured her mother with a sad smile on her face.
'Oh Kagome, it will be harder on you when your memory comes back. Not only because you grew up here but because of your journey's in the feudal era.' She thought sadly for her daughter. She knew she was trying to be strong for her. She was always like that. Like when her father died she was the one that told her everything would be fine. She was the strong one in the family, just like her father was. She smiled at this and looked at her daughter, "We should start that tour now so when Souta arrives we can tell him without interrupting.
Sesshoumaru heard everything. He felt bad for Kagome because she was not only losing her only home but her grandfather too. And from what he knows she has already lost her father. When he heard his father was planning on buying the property he decided he would call him upon return to the campus to dissuade him from doing it. Maybe he could make him insure that it always remains untouched. But he would deal with the later. He quietly walked out the front door to wait for them to come out.
Kagome and her mother both did the tour and told the story of The Shikon No Tama and let everyone look around for a while. Souta wasn't home yet so she just walked around. She went into the well house and sat for a while to think. She always went there to think. It was her place of freedom, her safe place. When she came out she decided to see where everyone was. She couldn't find Shippou or Sesshoumaru so she went to look for them. When she was about to go around the corner to the back of her house she heard someone say something.
"Kouga she doesn't remember us or anything that happened." The boy she knew as Shippou told him.
'I thought Kouga left?' she thought to her self.
"You can't tell her anything. She has to remember her self. She doesn't remember you, me or Shippou." Sesshoumaru said
"How can she not remember us. She knew us all for five years. Heck we were there to help defeat Naraku. Heck, I'm suprised we are still alive. But then again I think she only purified the evil demons. Wait a second. You are evil, why didn't you get purified." Kouga said.
"He was but thanks to Rin," Shippou's voice grew sad, "he changed."
"Will she remember us, ever?" Kouga asked
"I'm not sure. But I hope she does." Sesshoumaru replied
"I've missed her so much. She's the only mother I have. I can understand why she doesn't remember you guys, but she should remember me." He said sadly and hurt.
"Soon Shippou, soon she will remember us and when she does things will change but she'll need some time to let it all sink in." He told them. 'I hope she does. But I'm still unsure why she would have no memory of it in the first place.' "We'll just have to wait for her to remember. We are powerless until then. Besides if we tell her now she'll go into shock." He explained
'Are they talking about me?' she asked her self. 'What will I remember? And are they talking about my new boss? I'm so confused.' She decided not to bother them and figure out what they meant. She walked back and went into her house to wait for Souta to get home.
'Kagome!' Sesshoumaru thought. He breathed in again to confirm his thoughts. "She heard us." He said angrily
"Who? Kagome?" both Shippou and Kouga asked
"What do you think will happen?" asked Shippou worriedly
"She may remember faster," Shippou's frown turned into a hug smile, "Or she may deny it and refuse to remember." And then he frowned again.
"Mom! I'm home!" yelled Souta as he ran into the house. He walked into the living room to find his mom and Kagome sitting on the couch. "Hey sis." He smiled and ran to give her a hug.
"I'm glad you can to visit. I missed you a lot. Even though it has only been a month." He chattered. "Who are all those people outside?" he asked them curiously.
"They are your sisters classmates. They are on a field trip to learn about the shrine and the legend of the Shikon No Tama." His mother explained to him
"Did you tell them Kagome about.." he asked but stopped when his mom shot him a 'be quiet' look.
Kagome saw the look and didn't know what was going on. "Tell them about what?" she asked
"The story. You know it as well as grandpa does. Hey, where is grandpa? How come he wasn't outside throwing talismans at everybody or telling one of his crazy stories?" he said confused
"Come sit down next to me Souta." Mrs. Higurashi said making room between her and Kagome so he could sit. Souta sat down and waited for them to talk.
"This is going to be very hard dear. I know you shouldn't have to hear this at your age, but I didn't want you to be kept in the dark and not know what was going on." She paused when she started to cry.
"Souta," he looked at Kagome "Grandpa is in the hospital and the doctors don't think he is going to make it." She told him sadly. She saw the blank expression that covered his face like a blanket. "And," she was suddenly cut off by her mom.
"We don't aren't going to have the money to stay hear much longer. If we sell our home we will have enough money to put you through school and for me to live for the rest of my life. I don't want to sell our home, but I have no choice. I can't work two jobs because I have you to take care. Kagome is in school and no longer lives here either. I have no way to pay for everything. So we're going to have to move. We'll stay in town though so you wont have to leave your friends. I'm so sorry sweetie. I really wish there was something I could do." She said and started to cry even harder.
When it all sank in Souta got up and ran out the door not saying a word. Kagome ran after him so she could talk to him. When she didn't see him she decided to ask someone. "Has anyone seen my little brother?" she yelled. Everyone pointed and said he ran down the shrine steps. Kagome ran as fast as she could to catch him. No matter how upset he was he never left the shrine grounds. 'Souta.' She thought. She was running for about ten minutes until she finally found him. He was sitting under a Sakura tree crying with his body was convulsing from the sobs. She walked over and sat down next to him and was quiet for a minute.
"I know it's hard Souta. When we lost daddy, you were only a baby. I knew what was going on and I watched as momma cried all the time. She was always tired and hardly ate because she was so depressed. And no that we're losing grandpa and the shrine she is going to go through that all over again. I know it's going to be hard but we need to stay strong if not for us then for her. She needs us as much as we need each other. We'll survive this I promise. But I need you to be strong for mom. I'm not going to be home everyday because of school. But I will do my hardest to come whenever I can. But since I'm not going to be here you have to be strong for her. After all you are the man of the house." She said still looking straight ahead.
Souta looked up at her with puffy red eyes and a tear covered face. He hugged her and cried a little bit more. When they were done they walked back to the shrine and into the house. He went to his mom and stood in front of her waiting to be noticed. "Mom?" he said and she looked up at him with a sad smile. "We're going to be fine." And he hugged her tightly. Kagome caught the small but happy smile her mom had on her face and she too smiled.
It was time to leave the shrine and everybody was on the bus except her, Sesshoumaru and Shippou.
"Bye mom. Bye Souta." She said giving them all hugs. "I love you guys. Tell grandpa I said hi and tell him I'm coming to see him this weekend." She said
"I thank appreciate you letting us come here. It's was very nice meeting you Mrs. Higurashi and you too Souta." Sesshoumaru said with a rare smile.
"Yes thank you again." Said Shippou bowing
With that they walked off and boarded the buses and left for campus. When they got back Kagome went up stairs to change for work. Sango was gone and she couldn't get a hold of Miroku. She decided to go to the office to find Sesshoumaru's dorm so she could ask him to walk her. She needed to hurry. It was already a quarter after four. She didn't want to be late on her first day of work. That wouldn't look good. After she left the office she headed for his room. 'building five first floor room number 89.'
'77, 79, 83, 87, 88, 89, finally. I hope he's home.'
Knock KnockHe was coming back from the showers when he saw someone standing by his door. 'Kagome' he said to himself. He continued to walk to his room in nothing but a towel covering his lower half. He walked up right behind her, but she didn't know he was there.
"Can I help you?" she heard him say from behind. She jumped up and quickly turned around.
When she realized he was almost completely naked her whole face turned red and she quickly turned around. He smirked at this knowing she had probably never seen so much of a man. Plus he liked making her blush. He did everything he could to make her.
She wasn't going to deny she liked what she saw but she didn't want to stare. 'He has such a well-toned chest and his arms look built too. Stop thinking about him Kagome. Next you're going to picture him...NO. What did I come here for? Oh yeah.' She fought with herself. "Um, I was wondering if you would walk me to work. I know how unsafe it is. And because I didn't want to go alone." Explained Kagome. "I can't find Sango or Miroku and you are the only other person I know." She added
"Very well. I will walk with you to work. Let me put some clothes on. Unless you want me to go like this." He asked playfully and watched her face turn red again.
"Okay I'll wait here."
He went in and put some boxers and pants on and told her to come in while he finished getting ready.
"Where is your roommate?" she asked curiously
"I don't have one. I pay for all of this room. So I'm paying for two people in order to have it to myself." He replied
"It must be nice but I would get lonely being by myself." She told him
"What time do you have to be there by."
"Five."
"We'll take my car then. It'll be faster then walking." He stated
"Okay." Agreeing with him. 'Hopefully I wont be later then.' She thought
He pulled the car up to the curb in front of the eatery.
They got there fifteen minutes early because he luckily was able to get through all the traffic with ease.
"How are you getting home?" he asked
"I was going to ask my boss for a ride." She replied
"Well if you need a ride just call me. I'll be in my room. Do you have the number?" he asked
"No. Hold on." She said pulling out a pen and paper. "What is it?"
she asked. After she wrote down his number she got out and thanked him and went into work.
After he left he went back to his room and called his dad.
ring ring
"Hello?" Izayoi answered
"Is father mom?" he asked
"Hold on dear I'll go get him."
A few seconds later his father picked up the phone.
"This is Takashi?" He said
"Father. I have some rather important business I wish to discuss with you." He informed the man on the phone
"Okay. When would you like to discuss it?"
"Are you and mother going to be there around dinnertime tomorrow?" he questioned
"Yeah. So we want to discuss it over dinner?"
"Well after dinner. I will also be bringing someone with me."
"Is it a girl?" his father said in an excited voice. "Izayoi will be so pleased. I will tell her right away." He chattered
"Yes it is a woman. I will see you tomorrow father. I will arrive at 5pm. Good bye." And he hung up the phone
He was sitting in his room studying when the phone rang.
"This is Takashi?" he answered
"Try saying hi sometime. You don't sound like a college student. You sound like an old stiff." The voice on the phone chided
"Hello Kagome. Did you need a ride back?" he said
"Do you mind?" she asked hesitantly
"Are you ready now?"
"Yeah."
"I will be there in a moment." He said and hung up the phone.