Summary: It's hard to imagine things ever coming up when you're down, and vice verse. That's what Kagome Higurashi told herself years ago. Now she's stuck on the bottom, once again. Even though she has to tell herself that things will get better, she highly doubts that they can. The best things to her have been jerked away, once again, and dangled above her head to taunt her.
Rated M for death, depressing material, and foul language...
"Talking"
Flashbacks
Song Lyrics (centered)
I'm taking the last of my finals today. It's right before school, as I type this...
Best of Us
Chapter 2: More Catching Up
All in all, I guess life is going pretty good. I get nervous about Naraku on some days, but not too often anymore. I guess that my fear is just a fabrication of my mind. I mean, he did do some horrible things to me, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to recover entirely... So, things in life are perfect for the time being!
I still can't help but feel like they won't be this way for long...
- - -
Crap. I have to go grocery shopping. I guess that means that I can't go to the club today. Maybe I can invite Sango to come with me. She probably won't mind walking around with me. I'm not waddling quite yet...
I pick up the phone and dial Sango's number. It's been a week since I brought her the fudge cake, and she's probably bored once again. Despite the fact that Hari, their youngest, is still around the house, she'll get bored. He's hardly even two. She dreads the day that both he and Hiro, their oldest, will both be in school. I don't blame her, since it does get lonely around the house while everyone is gone.
"Hello?" Sango asks. I can tell, just off of her voice, that she's juggling the phone and Hari.
"Hi, Sango. It's Kagome." I greet her. I can tell that she's happy to hear from me. It's something that can keep her busy that's above ten, I guess.
"Hi, Kagome! I'm so glad you called!" She says. I smile then sit down on the couch, contemplating how to ask her this.
"I have to go grocery shopping. Since I haven't seen you in around a week, I thought you'd like to join me. Hari can come too." I tell her. She gets quiet, and I can tell she must be contemplating the idea.
"Alright. I'll drive over there in a moment. Afterwards, can I hang out with you? I'm so bored here." She says. I smile, then I realize that she can't see it from where she is.
"Sure. I don't mind at all. At least it's company." I say. Sango hangs up the phone, before either of us can say goodbye. Gee, I feel really loved right now.
I sit down on the couch, contemplating my grocery list. Wait a minute. Rather than thinking about it, I should write it down. That will help much more, since my memory isn't too good recently.
"Shopping List: 1-2 Dozen Eggs, Milk, Cheese, Bread (White and Rye), Miricle Whip," I grimace as I put the last one on there. I can't stand that stuff. But, Inuyasha has suddenly grown really concerned about my health. I don't want to get him mad by buying the "fattening stuff."
"Pickles, Cherries, Vanilla Ice Cream, Fudge..." If you think I'm in a sweet-tooth mood, then you're making a huge understatement. Since Inuyasha is always at work, I don't have anyone to treat me romantically. Sometimes my emotions get strong enough to make me cry over it. Most of the time, I just eat a gallon of ice cream and call it good.
The doorbell rings, and I jump up. My head crashes into the above cabinet and I hold it in pain. It's been six years and I still do this all the time. I must be an idiot of some kind.
"Come in!" I call. I don't think I'll be strait enough to walk to the door, let alone open it and walk back.
"Are you okay?" Sango asks me. I look to my side to see her, and Hari at her side. I sigh then shake my head with a pathetic smile.
"Yah... I just..." I slowly stop my sentence, trying to figure out what I was even going to say.
"Let me guess. The doorbell scared you, you jumped up. And, just becuase you've got bad luck with things, you bumped into the cabinet." She says. I nod my head stupidly as she shakes her head.
"I've got to hand it to you. If I were in your position, then I would have taken down anything taller than me. Everyone knows that when you're startled, you jump and bump into things." She says. I smile. THat has happened so many times with Inuyash'as chin.
"Yah, I know what you mean. Almost broke Inuyasha's chin once." I tell her. She giggles then fluffs Hari's hair.
"Well, ready to go?" She asks me.
"Yeah. I don't think I remember enough to add to my shopping list." I tell her. She giggles again then we get in my car. Nothing against Sango, but I'm terrified of her driving. You'd think that, having two children, she'd have started to slow down. No, she drives at seventy miles an hour in school zones. Since we have to take the freeway, I don't think that I want to risk it. I value life... Well, I value it on most days, at least.
So, we drive to the store. I don't know the name of the place. The letters on the outside wall have fallen down. Sango things that it's cheap. I just think that they don't have money to replace it since they keep their prices so low.
I sound like an advertisement. I guess that's another side effect of my hormonal stage. They don't tell you this when they warn you about pregnancy and emotions. They don't tell you that you get overly talkative and, most of the time, make no sense at all. I don't know how anyone could stand to be around me while I'm this confusing.
I walk around the inside of the store, searching for just the right aisles to where the items on my grocery list are. Sango is picking up a few things, and grabbed a small snack for Hari. I'm going to pay for it, but she doesn't know that yet.
"Hey, Kagome. I'm going to look for some cereal. We're out, and Hari changes his mind every week." Sango tells me. I nod my head the continue in search of just the right fudge topping for my sugar fest. Of course, the worst part is that I have to wait until I'm home just to have the sugar fest.
Inuyasha would get so mad at me if he knew that I was doing this. All the same, if I tell him about it, he'll take the day off of work to be with me. I want that to happen so bad, but I've been in his patients' shoes before. I know that some of them may be depending on him for life, or the ablility to talk. Even though his patients don't know it yet, they'll end up telling him what is causing them so much pain. Then things will be easier.
Thinking about it, I kind of wonder why you never realize this before. Why does it seem that there's no way to make the pain easier? Sure, we all know that it won't ever be gone, but we seem to think in black and white. It'll be there, or it won't. It won't just dull down in our eyes.
There goes my ranting again. I'd apologize, if I was telling anyone this information out loud. Since it's my own damn mind that I'm driving crazy, I guess it doesn't do any good. I know that I'll get over it when I get my mind to shut up. If my mind will ever shut up, that is.
"Hello, Kagome." A sickening voice greets me. My mind stops completely, and my stomach begins to tighten. I'm sure the baby, even though it's still devolping, is gagging or something. My hate for this person must pass down through genetics...
"What do you want?" I ask him bitterly. I want to get away, but showing my eagerness to leave will only make him... Well, I don't know if it'll make him happier or angrier. After all, I am his property. Leaving will piss him off. But, if he sees the fight in me, he'll get happy once again. He'll probably get happy in ways I don't even want to think of.
Damn. I started thinking of it again. And thinking of it is making me want to vomit. Good thing I had an easy breakfast, because if it was something else, I'm sure that I would be tasting it for a second time.
"I wanted to see you. I've missed you so much..." He pauses, and his face begins to twist in disgust. "What is that smell?" He finally asks me. He's a demon, so he must be able to smell my baby. Even though I'm hardly even three months along, it's smell-able. I guess that would also help to explain why Inuyasha's been getting concerned over my health again.
"Who's child?" He asks. His voice is sounding harsh, and I know that I'm in trouble if Sango doesn't return from the cereal aisle soon. The store is pretty empty when you're shopping mid-day, and on a work day. Stay-at-home moms are getting more and more rare. Those who are here seem to be business men of some sorts.
Doesn't help explain why Naraku is here.
"My husband's." I tell him. It's wiser not to give him a name to go off of.
"So, you're no longer Kagome Higurashi?" He questions sourly. I shake my head. I'm so tempted to tell him that he's right, and that it means I don't share a last name with him anymore. But, I know his temper very well. I don't want to ignite it. Especially after he's had six years of frustration with my absense.
"Your second. I can already tell, by your posture, that you've had one before. Probably a girl, since you'd stand different if it was a boy." He says. I swear, he could be a detective if he weren't such a bastard. I don't even notice that I stand differently, while he can take the difference that I'm oblivious to and get information off of me. Not just simple information. He already knows that I have another little girl.
"I can tell by the size of your breasts that she's probably six or seven." He adds. I don't know if I should be surprised or disgusted. I don't like him looking at any part of my body now, especially after what he's done to me. Nevertheless, I'm shocked that he can tell her age from that. I really need to get around more. Perhaps this is just a natural thing that demons know... Or I'm just that obvious. Am I?
"Yes, she's six." I tell him coldly.
"What's your last name now? I had to run after you off of your first name and therapy records." He tells me.
"Why are you here?" I ask finally. I don't want him being a bastard to me. I doubt he's here to shop, either. He's in the house-cleaning aisle. There's no way that he's going to clean his own house. Not in this lifetime, or the next. Woah. Too much thinking. Headache... Where's the asprin in this place?
"Just... Just catching up with you Kagome. I haven't seen you in ages, and I missed you." He says. The tone of his voice sounds devoid of anything wrong. I look at him, and notice he's looking right past me. Sango must've returned from the cereal grave.
Note to self: never take children to the cereal aisle. They go crazy over all the sugary crap there is, then taste it. After they've had one bite, they ignore the cereal until someone throws it away. It's usually the parents.
"Bump into someone, Kagome?" Sango asks me. Okay, the detective skills that Naraku pulled on me aren't common. Sango is oblivious to the tension that is filling me and the fear that I have clearly painted on my face. She's clueless, or she's just trying to act normal. I can't tell which.
"Yes. I'm Naraku. You are... ?" He's sounding so polite and formal.
"I'm Sango! I don't believe I met you..." She says. Yes, she's just oblivious to this entire thing. She's smart most of the time, but times like this I have to wonder where her brain is. No offense. I love her, but I wish she'd get the picture that he and I are NOT buddies.
"I moved away a while ago. I tried to track down Kagome, but I couldn't find her. She got married, and her last name changed." He says.
"She married her therapist, Inuaysha Taisho." Sango says. Damn, she is beyond clueless! I feel so pissed, but she doesn't know any better. I refused to tell her any of my history. Only Inuyasha and Miroku knew. Sango joined Miroku and my friendship much too late for me to trust her into telling her. Inuyasha is my therapist and husband, so it's only natural that he knows.
"That's what she told me... So, how long have you known her?" Naraku asks. He seems polite, if you're Sango. She's oblivous, not only to my tension, but to Naraku's creepy stares and his questions. He's pumping information from her. Inuyasha is going to get mentioned in this sooner or later, and then Naraku will bring him into the hell I'm about to be given... again.
"I've known her since she was... Since she was around 17, I guess. I met her because my husband and her were friends. I guess that's around 16 years." Sango willingly blurts. She needs to fake a heart attack or something. I'm desperate to get out of here. She won't get my urgency to leave, and Naraku will use it against me in the future. I can imagine him saying that I was in such a hurry, so he had to hide something that he was going to do to me. Ugh. I don't know what sickens me more. His acting or my way of knowing what's going to happen.
"Wow. I've known her since she was 13. That's 20 years, right?" He asks.
"Wow, you two go way back!" She comments. "Should I leave so you could catch up?" I know what Naraku's way of catching up will be, and I want none of it.
"Sango, I have to get home. I left something to cook in the oven and it's about to burn. Bye, Naraku!" I call cheerfully. As much as I want to kick his weapon he used on me so many times, I know I can't to anything. Not with an oblivious and ignorant Sango with me.
"He seemed nice." She comments as we get in the car. I give her a side glare, but she doesn't catch it. I think I found something else that Naraku manages to annoy me with. He can be so nice when he needs to be. That makes people trust him. Now I know how he even got close to my mother and caused her downfall.
He's sharpened up on his skills. He was planning something during these six years, and I know it's going to come back and bite me in the ass...
Next time on Best of Us...
Kaylee has gone missing. Inuyasha has stopped working until she's found. He comes home every night, looking beaten up and worn out. I offer to help, but he won't hear to it. Who cares what he says, I'm going to find our daughter!
What did you think? I hope you all like this chapter. I was sick today, so I had a chance to type up the rest of it. It's funny that I'm even mentioning this. I'm not even done posting all of the Best of You chapters at the moment! Just shows you that the more you review, the faster you'll get things. Sorry if the chapters are short, though. I tried to stretch them out. I really did!
Kohara InuYashafan Takahashi- I'm glad that you like this so far! I don't know how it makes you feel better, but if it does at all then that's good!
mea14- You like my stories? That's good to know. Personally, I think most of them are rotten. There are only a few that I'm proud of, but the rest seem to annoy me... Hey, speaking of being annoyed with stories, I'm going to create a new one pretty soon... As for how soon, I don't know...
Sexy Kat- Kat Colorado is from a book I read. You spell your name the same as she spells her. Sorry. First thing that came to my head. Heart of Pain will be put up later. I'm still working on the plot to it and I'm not happy with where it's gone... So, just gimme a bit more time, and I'll have it up. I promise!
I think 20 reviews sounds reasonable for this... Don't you?
- Bipolar Tangerine