A/N: This is a Valentine's Day special and to make up for not updating Immaculate Disposition. I'm working on it, I swear!
This story is dedicated to Julie (a wonderful manga artist) and Mo (my partner).
I overdid a few the personalities of a few characters, especially Kikyo, but it's only for the purpose of this story. Hope you enjoy it!
VALENTINE MATCHMAKER
Kagome peeked over at Sango's sheet once more.
Matchmaker Questionnaire
Instructions:
1. Use a pencil to fill in your Name, Birth Date, and Grade, on your answer form.
2. For each question fill in the circle on your answer form which corresponds to your best answer.
3. Make sure to fill in only one answer per question
1. What is your sex?
a) male
b) female
2. What age do you prefer?
a) doesn't matter
b) younger
c) older
d) same age only
e) same age and younger
f) same age and older
3. What best describes your hair colo…..
………………………………………………………………………………………………
"God Sango, why are you doing this quiz again this year? It's so stupid!" And it's not like these things work anyway. I always end up with Hojo. He's nice and everything except I think my cat Buyo is getting sick from the herbal tea." Kagome crossed her arms and slouched beside Sango's table. "I'm not going to pay 5 bucks to get asked out by him again."
"Who else are you going to get by answering history as your favourite subject and 'caring' as the attribute you look for most in a guy." Sango said lightly as she shaded in another bubble. "And poor Buyo, you should stop feeding him the stuff Hojo gives you."
"Mother wants me to 'respect his honorable preference for the welfare of this family' and since that herbal stuff tastes like poison, I can only give it to Buyo. She'll kill me if I try to throw it away." Kagome glared at some of the other students filling out the questionnaire beside Sango.
"Since you're not doing anything except distracting me to no ends, why don't you go bother Miroku? He seems to have nothing to do."
Kagome glanced over towards Miroku, he was crowded by fifty students since he was the one selling the quizzes.
"Fine, be that way, get rid of your best friend. I'm sure Miroku would better appreciate my welcoming presence." Kagome stalked away stormily.
Sango turned back to her sheet to be greeted with the last question.
32. How much do you like pulling pranks on your friends?
a) Very
b) A bit
c) Not really
……………………………………………………………………………………………...
Sango coloured in a) before a brilliant idea formed in her head. She thought about it for a while before changing some of her answers and erasing her name. She quickly wrote down Kagome Higurashi on the line before hurrying up to the desk where Kagome was slapping Miroku and depositing the questionnaire inside the box.
Without any further ado, she turned to her friends.
"Kagome, let's go. I'm done."
Miroku quickly turned to Sango's voice and said "Oh Sango, my love, I'm sure we'll get each other again for Valentine's Day."
"Ewww! I just know you've rigged the matchmaking thing! Don't look at me with your innocent puppy face!"
"My dear Sango, how can you think so low of me? I may be the one who came up with this fun activity, but I do not select the couples. That job belongs to the computer." With that said, Miroku turned to Kagome "Are you sure you don't want to participate in this year's Valentine matchmaking? Hojo will sure be lonely without you."
Kagome turned red in the face as she cracked her knuckles and eyed Miroku dangerously.
Everything went to a complete stop when the cafeteria doors swung open and a group of giggling girls walked in. A couple of guys followed behind them with one very significant person wearing red in the middle. Beside the boy stood the school's most popular girl, Kikyo. Her arm was entwined with his and she seemed to be busy flirting with him. Everybody had their eyes at them, they were too noticeable. The couple had a magnetic pull to them and they looked perfect together, except the fact the boy had a scowl on his face.
"Oh look! The matchmaking questionnaire is out again! Inuyasha, let's go do the quiz!" Kikyo said happily to the boy beside her, batting her eyelashes at him a couple of times. She seemed to decide for the whole group and so they slowly moved over to Miroku's table. Kagome wanted to get out of there; she didn't want to be scrutinized by the popular people.
"Come on Sango, let's go over to my locker." Kagome said as she tugged her friend away.
As they left the café, Sango asked "Why? Is it because of Kikyo? I know that you hate her and she hates you but that doesn't mean you should avoid her."
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Anyway, did you know that Inuyasha has never got a girl in the matchmaking questionnaire before? I mean everybody who does the quiz gets a match except him." Sango said thoughtfully.
"I bet he always puts dead people as the type of girl he's attracted to (A/N: no pun intended) on the sheet. Whatever, I don't care. I don't know why everybody's so interested in him. Is it just because he's hot, rich and looks cool?"
"Of course, what other reason do you need?" Sango asked.
"Consider caring."Kagome decided to change the topic "So, what did your class do in math?"
"God, Kagome. Can't you lay it off for one second? No wonder all the teachers like you. You're like honey to bees. Scratch that. You're like herbs to Hojo."
"Happy Valentines' Day!" Sango said to Kagome cheerfully as they walked together to school.
"Yeah, Happy Valentine's Day. Oh yeah, good luck with getting Miroku as your match again." Kagome teased.
"I'm not getting him."
"Why do you sound so sure? You've gotten him for the past three years."
"I'm not getting him because I didn't do the quiz." Sango giggled at Kagome's confused expression. "Oh look! I'm late! I've gotta go or else I might miss my music practice! See ya Kagome!"
"Wait! What do you mean you didn't do the quiz? I saw you put it in the box the other day!"
Kagome could only wonder what Sango meant as she watched her best friend run out of sight.
"Okay class, settle down. I have the results to the matchmaking questionnaire ready to hand out. I think everybody participated in this school quiz," the teacher said from the front of the classroom.
Everybody except me. Hahaha, I wonder who Hojo's going to get this time.Kagome grinned as she thought to herself.
As the teacher started handing out the original questionnaire with a white sheet attached to it, Kagome could hear gasps of surprise amongst the non-stop chatter. As the volume of the classroom increased and Kagome began to slip into day dream mode, the teacher appeared before her.
"Here you are, Kagome."
Kagome's jaw dropped. Before her was her "original questionnaire" along with the name, phone number and address of her match in the back. I didn't do a quiz! What is this?
She quickly flipped the sheet to find out who she was paired with.
Inuyasha Tsusaku
(203)- 665-9736 (cell)
1312 Whitewood Dr.
Tokyo
No, I didn't just see Inuyasha's name on here. Kagome thought to herself. She closed her eyes, pinched herself and looked again. The name didn't change, neither did the phone number or address. Oh my God! Who did this? I'm sure this belongs to someone else! She checked the name. It was hers. Then, a thought occurred to her. Sango.
They were sitting at a lunch table off to the side of the cafeteria as Kagome slanted her eyes at Sango again and again.
"Kagome, if you don't stop doing that, I'm afraid your eyes are going to stay permanently slanted." Miroku cautioned.
"Shut up Miroku! Do you know what Sango did? She-"
"I helped you to get your hands on the hottest, richest and cutest guy around. You should be thanking me Kagome."
"Are you mental? He's a jerk! And now I know why no body ever gets him as his match. I can't believe you did this to me Sango!"
"What, what did she do to you?" Miroku asked, looking extremely interested.
"Not what you're thinking, pervert. She filled in the worst choices for each question. In the questionnaire she filled out for me, she said I always cheat on my exams, I approve of drinking alcohol, I keep my eyes 'on my wallet' when I kiss someone and a first date should end in a punch. Apparently Inuyasha and I have a lot in common. God, I can't imagine how much of a jerk he must be to actually answer these questions like this." Kagome shook her head and sipped on her strawberry milkshake.
"So, Kagome, are you going to call him?" Sango asked. "If it was any other girl, they'd probably be selling his phone number for thirty bucks by now."
"If she did, Kikyo will mostly likely rip her throat out. You know how much she's obsessed with him," Miroku said.
"Who cares about Kikyo? Everybody knows that Inuyasha doesn't really like Kikyo. He's only playing along with her since she's completely onto him," Sango explained.
"Guys! Shut up about her! I hate them both and I'm not going to do anything about this stupid matchmaking thing!" Kagome fumed.
"But you have to! It's even one of the laws of the matchmaking quiz! You have to go on at least one date with the person you're paired up with! Do you know how many successful couples this rule has made?" Miroku asked.
"Do you know how many packs of herbs I've received because of the stupid rule? And who says I have to follow it? Sango, you wanna take my spot? I don't want to get anywhere close to Kikyo or her 'honey bunny'. They think they're so much better just because they're popular." Kagome said heatedly.
"Kagome, is this about what happened four years ago?" Sango asked quietly. "If it is, you-"
RINNNGGGGG! RINNNGGGGG!
"Stupid phone!" Sango said before pulling out her pink bunny cell phone and pressing it against her ear."
"Hello?"
"What? No, this isn't Kakoma. No, not Kigomi. No! I'm not Kanome!" Sango shouted into the phone.
"Who the hell is this?" Sango hollered before her eyes suddenly widened and a small "oh" escaped her lips.
"It's for you Kagome."
"Wha-" Sango quickly passed the phone over to her.
"Hello?" Kagome asked timidly.
"Erh, hi. This is Inuyasha and it seems I got you for the matchmaking thing. Since it's a rule to go out at least once with the person you got, I had to call you to ask you about the date and time." The voice paused. "Who was the girl that was talking before? How come she had your phone? This is your number right? I'm not calling up the wrong person, right?"
"Uh, yeah, this is the right person. About the girl before, she's a friend who happened to answer my phone because she was near by," Kagome lied. She shot Sango a dirty look. Sango was busy explaining to Miroku that she forgot to change the phone number on the quiz to Kagome's home number. Kagome didn't have a cell phone.
"Ok … So where do you wanna go? I've got tickets to the Five Star Amusement Park for tomorrow. What do you say?"
"Sure, I guess," Kagome didn't know what else to say.
"I'll pick you up at your house at 10:00am, is that alright?"
"Yep, that's fine."
"Great, so I'll see you tomorrow. Later!"
"Bye."
Kagome shut the phone and looked at Sango. She was still a bit stunned. Even though Kagome didn't really like people like Inuyasha, she couldn't deny the fact that he sounded… nice. It was the last thing she expected him to be. For one thing, he hanged out with Kikyo.
"Oh my God, I hate you!" Sango exclaimed at last. "I shouldn't have erased my name and wrote yours. I was so stupid!"
"Ya, I know you are. Serves you right for pulling a prank on me that backfired! Anyway, I'm going on a date with Inuyasha. Ya, you heard right Miroku, Inuyasha. He's going to pick me up at my house tomorrow at 10:00 to go to Five Star." Kagome was getting excited now.
"Wait a minute! Just moments ago you were talking about how much you hated him and Kikyo. Why are you so happy now?" Miroku asked.
"Because he sounded like a really nice person! I doubt he's what we thought he was originally. You know, once you get to know a person, you often develop a bond with them that surpasses the first impression judgment." Kagome said before smiling widely. "I've got to period three now. See ya guys!"
"Did you know what she said about the impression thingy?" Miroku asked Sango.
"No idea."
Kagome took a look at her wardrobe again. It seemed as if everything was in the laundry and needed to be washed. She had no idea what to wear.Then, deciding that Inuyasha was worth it, she slipped on her prettiest dress that she was saving for a special occasion and went downstairs. I guess this is special. A whole day with Inuyasha at an amusement park. Some people would kill for this chance.
DING DONG!
"Dear! Your date is at the door!" Mrs. Higurashi yelled into the kitchen. Kagome wiped the last plate clean of water droplets and took off her apron. Her heart was pounding was excitement. Could it really be? Could it be possible that she would get to spend a whole day with such a cute boy? All thoughts of ever hating him had left her ever since the phone call.
Kagome walked towards the door. Mrs. Higurashi was busy making polite conversation to Inuyasha about some trivial topic. Sucking in a breath of anticipation, she turned to stand directly into Inuyasha. All thoughts about keeping her cool left her mind.
Before her stood the most gorgeous guy she had ever met. Of course, she saw him everyday at school and is appreciative of his good looks, but now, close up, he looked like a whole different person. Inuyasha had long, white locks of hair that flowed smoothly down his shoulders. His eyes were golden brown, with a very alluring sense of mystery to them. On top of his head were two very cute ears that demons in her world tended to have. (A/N: It's a world where humans and demons live peacefully together.) They flicked about, distinguishing the sounds around him and where they were coming from.
Then, staring deep into her eyes, he spoke. "So, are you Kayomi?"
Kagome dead panned. A date for a whole day and he doesn't even get the name right? What kind of guy is he?
"It's Kagome and you must be Inuyasha," Kagome stated the obvious.
"Well, I leave you couple off by yourselves!" Mrs. Higurashi chirped before bustling away.
They both watched her walk away before Inuyasha spoke again. "You know, you look a lot like Kikyo. Do you know her? Are you guys relatives or something?"
Kagome straightened instantly. "Yes, I know her. In fact, a little too well for my liking. As for our relation, I am in no way related to that girl and never wish to be. Does that answer your question? If so, let's get going."
Inuyasha almost cringed from her voice. "Yah, ok, let's get going."
It wasn't long before they arrived at the Amusement Park. They walked around for a while before Inuyasha said aloofly "Here's 30 bucks. Go on some rides and I'll wait for you here." He pointed to a roller coaster off their right.
"Aren't you going on too?" Kagome asked.
"No point, I get dizzy."
"Ok…" What's the point of dragging me to an amusement park for a date if you're not going to go on anything? What an insensitive guy. O well, his loss. "Fine, I'll see you later then!" Kagome grabbed his 30 dollars and ran towards a ticket booth.
Inuyasha was surprised. He had expected her to yell at him for being such a bad date and why go to an amusement park when he gets dizzy. Instead, she took it as the best news in the world and raced off with his money. Sure, his family was rich, but it doesn't mean he gets more allowance than other people. Also, when he had mentioned the Kikyo, he saw her flinch. There must be some grudge between the two for that kind of reaction. What a weird girl. Inuyasha only took a moment to ponder over these things before he noticed a couple of his friends from school waving at him. Taking a look back at the roller coaster, he shrugged and ran over to join his friends.
Whoa, what an awesome ride! Kagome thought to herself as she stepped off the platform. She walked over to where she left Inuyasha and looked around. He was nowhere to be found. After looking for her date in several places, she started to get mad. That good for nothing guy! Drag me to this place and ditch me, will you? You are going to be so sorry once I get my hands on you. A picture of Kagome hugging Inuyasha formed in her mind. Uh! What am I thinking? She shook her head and continued to search. At last, she saw a group of boys standing near a corner. In the middle was Inuyasha, talking diligently to the respective listeners.
Kagome stormed near them and shouted "Inuyasha! Get your butt over here! Don't you know it's immoral to cheat on your girlfriend? Who is it that I see? Your new boyfriend?"
Kagome suddenly found ten pairs of eyes all trained on her. One pair looked the meanest. Those golden brown orbs looked as if they wanted to rip her apart into tiny pieces and feed her to sharks. Kagome started to think it was a bad idea.
"Alright, my dear! Let me just say goodbye to my friends and we can spend a whole together… and have fun," his voice sounded dangerous and fake. After a nod towards his pals, Inuyasha walked over to Kagome. Smirking at her, he said "So, Kigama, let's have fun, shall we?"
Kagome was going to point out that her name was Kagome and not Kigama but was silenced by the look on his face. He suddenly grabbed her shoulders and turned her towards him. Embarrassed, Kagome looked flatly into his chest. "Let go of me!" she protested when his grasp on her arms began to hurt.
"Look at me" the voice was almost a snarl. Beginning to get scared, Kagome looked into his eyes. Instead of the anger she saw before, it was completely blank and devoid of all emotions. She wondered if he really did get rid of his anger or if he just hid it behind a wall. Suddenly, his face leaned down towards her. Time seemed to pass grain by grain. Kagome saw him get closer and closer. Even though all conscious thoughts in her head told her to push him away or turn her head away, she was completely mesmerized him. She couldn't move even if the world depended on it.
It was a kiss, she knew it was. They were so close that she could feel his breath on her cheeks. Kagome instinctively shut her eyes and pursed her lips a tiny bit. It never came. Inuyasha edged over at the very last moment, avoiding her preparation for the kiss. Still holding her, he whispered into her ear "No body makes fun of me in front of my friends and gets away with it." Kagome's eyes fluttered open and she could feel her cheeks burning up. Inuyasha let her go and turned away, folding his arms and leaning against a tree.
Kagome had never been more embarrassed. She could hear a couple of snickers from Inuyasha's friends that had been watching the whole thing. Kagome wanted to go and punch him hard in the face. Deciding which punishment would suit him best while wanting to be swallowed up by the ground, Kagome heard Inuyasha speak.
"Who said you were my girlfriend? And what do you care about who I cheat on?"
"That was a joke and I never said I was your girlfriend. I was referring to Kikyo. You shouldn't treat her like this you know," Kagome sighed silently and turned to walk away. She was tired of him even though they've only been together for less than three hours.
"Hey wait! What do you mean by that?" Inuyasha was suddenly curious. Again, he had expected her to lash out against him in some way.
Kagome didn't answer; she just continued to walk away.
"Yo wench! I asked you a question! Answer me!" Inuyasha went after her. Just as he reached out his arm to stop her, she turned around in a huff.
"I MEAN SINCE YOU'RE KIKYO'S BOYFRIEND, YOU SHOULD TREAT HER WITH RESPECT!" she slapped his hand away and tried to walk away again. However, Inuyasha grabbed her wrist quite roughly and spoke in a chilling tone "She's not my girlfriend and I can treat anybody anyway I want. Don't tell me what I should or shouldn't do!"
Kagome's face remained passively blank. Quite calmly, she said "Please let go of my hand before I scream bloody murder." Inuyasha was stunned. One minute she acts as if hates Kikyo and the next minute she's telling me to respect her. What's with this girl?
"Alright" he released her gently. "How bout if we go get a hot dog?" This time, it was Kagome's turned to be stunned.
"What?"
"Get a hot dog. You know, the sausages you heat up on a barbeque and you can put ket-"
"I know what a hot dog is!"
"I was under the impression you didn't"
Kagome glared at him. "One minute you're close to kissing me and the next minute you're shouting at me. Now you want to get a hot dog? Is there something wrong with your brain?"
Wow, what a straightforward girl. "Ya, that's pretty much it," Inuyasha grinned at her.
"Uh, I g-guess so." She stuttered out before walking towards the hotdog stand, leaving him to follow.
In truth, what he wanted to do was figure her out. He'd never gotten a match for the matchmaking questionnaire because he put down the answers no girl would choose. He never wanted a match that would walk around thinking she owned him just because of some stupid matching answers Then, suddenly, a name came up on his sheet that was usually filled with a sentence that said 'sorry, but no match has been found for you'. He had been surprised and called her when Kikyo wasn't around. Now, after their rather intriguing argument, he wanted to figure her out even more.
Unlike all the other girls he's met, she was never flustered in front him. Well, except after they almost kissed. And that about that kiss, she really did think he was going to kiss her. She even closed her eyes and pursed her lips. Inuyasha smiled to himself. It's going to be really fun figuring out what makes her tick and act the way she is.