Say Goodnight
a/n: I do not own Inuyasha. Some of you seemed to think this was a one shot. Nope. This will be a long and involved story. Thanks to all who read it and reviewed.
Chapter Two: Kagome's 21st Birthday
It was three years later, on Kagome's twenty first birthday, that she began to lose hope. She had thought…no. No, not thought. Hope, wished, prayed, believed would all be better words better suited for this feeling. Every night Kagome had gone to bed with her window open, in case Inuyasha came to her in the night. Every night she prayed Kami would bring him back. She missed them all so much. She hoped she had not given it all up for nothing. She had finished school and decided not to go to university. She did not want anything to stand in her way when Inuyasha came back, if he came back.
Kagome worked part time in a coffee shop down the street from the shrine. She worked mornings. In the afternoon she helped her grandfather take care of the shrine. Gramps was finally getting on in years, and could not handle most of the chores involved in running the shrine. Sota swept the shrine steps every day, and Kagome did the rest when she was there. She had a lot to learn, but she was making some headway.
Whenever Kagome had free time, she wrote in her journal. She had built a makeshift ladder so that she could sit on the giant and benevolent branches of Goshinboku. She also had taken some Judo, to learn how to defend herself. That she really enjoyed. No one could say she was completely helpless anymore. Learning how to sword fight was also on her to-do list.
Kagome had made some changes in her life, but she did it all for him. He promised he would not forget her. He had only said goodnight, not goodbye. It was not forever, was it?
But after three years, Kagome began to lose hope that anyone had remembered her. She began to doubt them all. She knew it had not all been a dream, although sometimes it seemed that way. But, where were they? Maybe they didn't want to see her. Maybe they were dead! A lot can happen in five hundred years. People are born, they fall in love, marry, have kids, live life, and die, all in the space of one hundred human years. Who's to say Inuyasha had not done the same, maybe even five times over?
Kagome picked at her cake as she pondered these thoughts. It was chocolate, and her mom had baked it just for her. Later on her friend Mei would be taking her out. Mei was a co-worker, and the closest thing she had to a best friend since she came back from the feudal era. She insisted on taking Kagome out, and Kagome was pretty sure alcohol may be involved. A drink would certainly be good about now.
"Kagome? Honey, is there something wrong with your cake?" Keito Higurashi asked her daughter.
"No Mom, it's fine, really," Kagome smiled and started to eat more vigorously.
A mom knows when something is wrong with her daughter, and Keito was no different. She knew her daughter feared that the ones she had left behind had forgotten her. But Keito had not lost hope. Inuyasha was just not that cruel. He cared for her daughter, she could see that from the start.
"Mom, he said he wouldn't forget me! He promised!" Kagome had cried to her mother the day she came back. Keito studied her daughter's profile as the memory echoed in her head. Kagome had cried for days when she came back. She was constantly wondering if she had made the right decision. Keito had told her, time after time, that only time would tell if she had done the right thing.
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Kagome stared at her reflection in the mirror. She had changed a little from the girl she once was. Her body was more toned, and she had recently cut her hair so it brushed her shoulders like a jet black curtain.
Kagome had never really outgrown wearing short skirts. She had a lot of them in her closet, along with jeans. Tonight's outfit was no exception to the skirt wearing. She wore a short corduroy skirt in a shade of forest green. It had little pleats along the bottom. She wore tall, black suede boots that stopped just beneath her knees. They did not have a heel. Kagome tried not to wear heels unless she had to. They made it to hard to run. Her button up shirt had a mandarin collar, short sleeves and was a shade of cream. The jacket she wore was short, and made of black corduroy. A red rose was pinned to the lapel. She always wore something red. She could never let herself forget him.
Kagome walked down the street towards the nearest underground train station. She would be going to downtown Tokyo, to Mei's favorite karaoke bar. Kagome herself did not sing, but she did enjoy listening sometimes. Her purse contained some pepper spray, since she did not like to use force if she did not have to.
Kagome boarded the train and sat down on a cushioned bench. There were always a lot of people on this train, and tonight was no exception. A man who smelled like old gin was on her right, and a very pregnant American woman sat on her left. A crowd of gaggling teenage girls sat down a little ways from her. It seemed so long ago now that Kagome had been one of those girls. She dismissed that melancholy thought from her head and stared forward.
The train stopped to board, and Kagome looked out the window. A flash of silvery white went by, but she blinked and it was gone.
Oh Kagome, you want it to happen so badly…
The next stop was hers, and she left the train quickly.
Her boots made no sound on the glistening pavement as she made her way to the bar. It had rained recently, and the streets shone like silver. You could see reflections in the puddles, and Kagome stood still and looked at all the one in her sight. She could see the full moon above her. The same moon had shined over her and Inuyasha. They had often taken the time to stare at it together.
"Oh, Inuyasha. Somewhere you may be looking at the same moon. Are you thinking of me? Do you ever think of me?" Kagome asked aloud. Kagome thought she saw a flash of red in one of the puddles, and it made her spin around in surprise and shock, "Inuyasha?"
She was met by only the sound of the streets around her.
"Just your mind playing tricks on you, Higurashi," she muttered.
Mei is the sort of girl no one easily forgets. Her hair was short, spiky, and often streaked with wild colors. Her eyes were blue instead of the usual brown. This reminded Kagome of Miroku. Mei had that same kind of lecherous mind, that same kind of wit. It was when she was with Mei that she thought about the fact that Sango and Miroku must have passed on, along with Kaede. They were humans, after all.
After Kagome checked her coat, she walked towards the bar and the already tipsy Mei. Tonight her hair was spiked with red. She wore a small gold hoop in one ear, and a diamond stud in the other. Her jeans were low slung and ripped. She had wrapped a wildly patterned paisley scarf around her waist, and she wore a vintage rock t-shirt. She wore black flip-flops and all of her toes were painted different colors. She always made Kagome smile.
"About time you showed!" Mei bounced up to her, beer in hand, "What were you doing? Daydreaming again?"
"I'm sorry," Kagome smiled at her friend as she took a seat on a red stool.
"It's okay. Let's get you a drink!" Mei insisted.
Three drinks later and Kagome was warm. Very warm. And fuzzy. Some fat American businessman was singing an Elvis Presley tune while his cohorts made fun of him. Mei had already sung twice. Mei spoke with her face pointed forward, looking at her reflection in the mirror above the bar, "Hey Kagome? You have been daydreaming since the day I met you. Don't you think it is time you tell me who he was?"
"Perceptive. You're smarter than anyone gives you credit for. Have you ever been in love, Mei?" Kagome asked her buddy.
"Every day," Mei sighed wistfully. Kagome arched an eyebrow but decided not to ask.
"I have only been in love once, Mei. For the past six years I have loved only one person. It feels like five hundred years, but I still love him," Kagome stated.
"Who is he?" Mei asked sympathetically.
"No one you'd know. I have not seen him in three years. It's a long story though. But if you see me daydreaming, chances are I am dreaming of him," Kagome smiled a rueful smile.
Mei signaled for the bartender, "Two red headed sluts!" she ordered. Kagome downed hers when it came, loving the candy like taste of the mixed shooter.
"He is so beautiful!" Kagome sighed, feeling a little drunk.
"Who is?" Mei asked.
"Inuyasha," Kagome whispered.
"What a peculiar name. Literally, it means dog demon. Is he the one you love?"
"Yes," Kagome answered, and then shook her head. She could not tell the story to this person. She would think she is crazy.
"For six years you have loved this guy, and never dated anyone else?" Mei asked, a little incredulous. Kagome was a beautiful girl after all.
"No. Oh no. I could never do that to him," Kagome smiled at the memories of Inuyasha beating up Koga, or even threatening Hojo.
"You want to go do something else?" Mei asked.
"No thanks. I am fine here. Why? Are you bored?" Kagome asked.
"No. You want another drink?"
"Maybe just one more," Kagome smiled, and drank the drink Mei offered her.
&&&
An hour later, Kagome finally felt sober enough to walk to the train station without being lost. She said goodbye to Mei and set off, feeling still warm, but walking straight. She sat on the train with her eyes closed, and just listened to the soft hum of the train. It was about one in the morning, and she definitely needed her bed.
&&&
"Is she okay?" the dark figure asked Mei.
"She is fine. I finally got enough alcohol into her to get her to talk about you," Mei teased.
"What did she say?"
"Something about how she has only been in love once, and that she has been in love with this person for six years. She says she has not seen him in three though. Were you guys really that far off?" Mei asked.
"Hey, give me a break! I did not know what year it was exactly when she left us," the figure whined.
"She loves you. I think her whole life stopped when she left. You owe it to her to let her know," Mei said solemnly.
"Feh. Let's follow her home, make sure she gets there okay," a lock of silvery white hair escaped the shadows as it ran after Kagome.
&&&
When Kagome disembarked the train, she decided to walk through the well-lit park to her home. She set off, one hand in her purse for the pepper spray, and the other swaying at her side. She hummed a little tune she had heard at the karaoke bar, and walked with soft steps.
Kagome felt it before she heard it, a threatening presence. She did not change her stride, for that would only make whoever it was think she was scared. She held her head high and took the pepper spray in hand. She put her thumb on the trigger and walked purposefully.
Where is he? Why does he want to hurt me? Just remember what you have been taught. And remember to stay alive. If all else fails, just do what they say and stay alive, Kagome thought.
A rustle to her right told her where the predator was. Not even a second later he burst from the bush. He was covered from head to toe in black, and he held a club. Kagome dodged the first swing, and aimed her pepper spray. The spray was knocked from her wrist by the club, her reflexes being slow from the alcohol she had imbibed. She was only able to duck the next swing of the club before it came down on her head. Kagome only heard one noise before her vision went black:
"Kagome!"
Inuyasha? Inu…
&&&
"Kagome?" Mei's voice interrupted her sleep. When did Mei come over?
"Mei? Did you come over?" Kagome asked. Her head pounded fiercely.
"No. You are at my place. Well, our place anyways," Mei told Kagome as she handed her two pills. Kagome hoped they were headache pills.
"Why am I here? Did I get too drunk to go home?" Kagome asked softly.
"You were attacked. Luckily we were nearby," Mei told her.
"I didn't know you had a roommate," Kagome mumbled.
"There are a lot of things you do not know yet, Kagome," Mei said softly as Kagome fell back asleep.
&&&
Keito was wiping down the kitchen table when she sensed him. It was just a knowing. Without even looking at the kitchen door she called out to him, "Come in, Inuyasha"
"How did you know it was me?" he said as he stepped into the light. He had changed. His hair was still long, and still that lovely shade of silvery white, but the cute ears were gone. One human like ear held a small gold hoop. His claws were gone also. Instead of a red robe, he wore khakis and a green sweater. Instead of bare feet he wore black dress shoes. He did not look as if he were out of place. He looked used to it, in fact.
"Inuyasha, a mother just knows," Keito smiled.
"Kagome, it was her birthday yesterday, correct?" he asked her.
"Yes. She did not come home last night. She told me she was going out with a friend named Mei," Mrs. Higurashi explained.
"Mei is with me," Inuyasha told her mother.
"Is she a half demon also?" Keito asked.
"Yes. She is actually half fox demon. Kagome told you about Shippo, correct?" Keito nodded, "Well, Mei is Shippo's mate," Inuyasha explained.
"Let me be frank, Inuyasha. Why now? Kagome has been heartbroken for years. She cried for a long time. Sometimes she still does. She stopped everything, just for you. What took you so long?"
"I got the date wrong. Terrible excuse, I know, but that is what happened. I have actually been here a few months, but I wanted to make sure it was the right time. When Mei started working at the coffee shop, and met her, I knew it was time. But I didn't do it, because I could not think of what to say. But then, last night, Kagome was attacked while Mei and I were following her home. We got to her in plenty of time of course," Inuyasha noted Mrs. Higurashi's gasp, "But she was bumped on the head by the ass. She's at Mei and Shippo's, sleeping it off"
"Well, at least I know I can trust you, and Shippo. Please have her back by tonight, hmm?" Keito suggested.
"Of course, Mrs. Higurashi, whatever you say," Inuyasha bowed and made his way to the door.
"Keito, Inuyasha. My name is Keito," the mother said as he walked outside. She watched as he got into a two-seater classic car and drove off.