"The Meteor Garden Story"
An Inu Yasha A/U Fanfic by Nozomi
[A/N: As a writer, I have to admit to you people that it's annoying and frustrating to get reviews telling me that I copied from someone else, plagiarized, or stole my story plot from somewhere when I have repeatedly, for the last 5 chapters, mentioned that this story is based on something. The title was the biggest clue of all. And if some people out there can't get that through their heads, all I have to say is WHAT THE HECK ARE THE AUTHOR'S NOTES FOR IF YOU DON'T READ THEM?
I and some other authors (I found a lot of fics) based-- based, okay? Not copied-- our fics on "Meteor Garden" aka "Hana Yori Dango" aka "Boys Over Flowers" (I finally found the English name of the anime). If you don't believe us, go watch/read the original series. 'Nuff said.
So, starting today, 23 July 2003, I will be ignoring all rude reviews like the ones above, and if it's fairly obvious that these people didn't read my A/Ns, I will simply delete them. No sense wasting space and effort trying to get people to read properly. ^_^
Pinkjingling: I'm not sure. I hope to finish it in 30 chapters, because anything longer than that might be too long? I'm worried about the fic getting boring when it gets too long. What do you think? However, at the rate I'm going, this will last about 50 chaps or so.
RogueRebel: Yeah, that's one reason. And thank you, I do feel better. ^_^
Megami no Hikari: It's quite alright, at least you weren't one of the people who wrote rude reviews, and I'm quite happy. ^_^ It counts for a lot, and I appreciate your review very, very much!
Karen: Pregnant!? Aww come on, you think Sango would let Miroku get her that easily? *wink* Well, read to find out, hehe. By the way, I'm sorry they didn't get to meet in Chap 5 or 6. I'm still thinking about whether to have them meet during the cruise, or a little later on.
Jazzy: I have to thank you for an idea. I was originally planning to call him Hojo all the way throughout the story, but I think I'll keep letting Inu Yasha call him names. ^_^ It seems more fun that way! Wahaha, I'm so bad.
Steelblade: Yeah you did give me a review before, and don't worry, I didn't get offended or anything. ^_^ You were pretty fair in your evaluation of my story.
Thanks to everyone! Keep reviewing and I'll be happy to keep churning out chappies!!!]
Disclaimer: I do not own Inu Yasha and company, Meteor Garden, Hana Yori Dango, or any of the brands I mention here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 6: The Meaner They Are, the Harder They Fall
For each attempt of the student body to taunt and bully Hojo or Kagome, she had retaliated in kind-- against Inu Yasha. When Hojo arrived at school one morning, a group of guys had been waiting for him, and ambushed him with loaded water guns. That afternoon, Inu Yasha had dashed over to the parking lot, which was gathering a huge crowd, and found he now had a swimming pool inside his car. Another time, Kagome's classmates had started throwing notes at her during a test, which of course, led the teacher to believe she was cheating, and she was sent outside the classroom to contemplate about her zero grade and the consequences of her actions. She spent the time "contemplating" in front of Inu Yasha's locker, shredding his notebooks. When she found Hojo tied, gagged and hung upside down in a tree during recess, she had somehow managed to steal Inu Yasha's clothes while he had gym class, and they were found tied to the top of the flagpole, with skull-shaped holes cut into them. Inu Yasha tried many times to corner Kagome in school so he could "talk" to her, but she refused to speak with him by either throwing whatever she was drinking in his face and walking away quickly, or simply throwing a punch at him to shut him up.
Miroku, Kouga and Sesshomaru wisely chose to keep their opinions to themselves.
Word spread like wildfire about what Kagome was doing to the leader of D4. Each time the story was retold, the facts changed. There were different versions going around that got odder and odder as more people heard it. Some heard that Kagome had put a stink bomb in Inu Yasha's locker. Others heard that she had let out the air in his car's tires. A couple of people firmly believed that she had beaten him to a bloody pulp. Rumors were flying that she had kissed Hojo in front of Inu Yasha. Of course, as the tales got more far off from the truth, many students didn't know what to believe anymore.
They were, however, united in a single thought: Since Kagome had done the unthinkable, in other words, stood up to D4 and done it twice, the D4 would undoubtedly double their efforts to get rid of her. Nobody crossed D4 and got away with it.
Ergo, it was the duty of the entire student body to also try harder to get rid of her, and the new guy in school.
~*~*~*~
Kagome peeked warily over her shoulder as she made her way up to the roof. So far, nobody had discovered where she hid after classes, and she was extremely thankful that there was a place in school she could go to find some peace and quiet. She was too busy checking behind her to see the body standing in the doorway, waiting for her.
"Oof," she grunted. It felt solid enough to have been the wall, but walls didn't feel warm and cushiony and… She looked up to find a pair of blue eyes twinkling at her.
"I've been waiting for you to show up."
"Kouga!" she exclaimed in surprise, backing away quickly.
"Hold on, I'm not going to hurt you, I promise!" he held up both his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Honest, I wouldn't do anything to you."
She bit her lip and smiled at him. "Kouga, it's not your fault. I know the red card I got didn't come from you, and I know the one Hojo got isn't from you either. They're both from Inu Yasha. But wait, you're part of D4 too!"
He was tugging her reluctantly through the doorway onto the roof. "It wasn't our idea, you know. Miroku and I have been trying to get him to take back the red card for days, Sesshomaru has been telling him that he's being really stupid about the whole fiasco and Rin-- well, we haven't told her what's been going on, but I'm sure she wouldn't like what Yash has been doing either. But he's stubborn, you know. When we try to talk to him, he gets all angry, accusing us of taking sides and stuff like that. He's childish that way."
"Hmph, you're right about that!"
He scratched his head sheepishly. "Anyway, since he's being stupid, and we don't really want to fight with him, I thought I'd search you out and apologize that we couldn't do more for you, you know? Like take back the red card."
Kagome looked at him. "I wouldn't want you to take back the red card. Inu Yasha gave it to Hojo and me, and I want him to be the one to take it back."
"You're awfully brave to be doing this."
"Being brave has got nothing to do with it. I'm sick and tired of what's been happening and I'm trying to show those rich snobs that they can't bully people just because they feel like it."
He gave her a wide smile and turned her mind from the topic. They both became so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't notice the two people who were standing by the stairs, just beyond their view.
~*~*~*~
Kagome tried to be inconspicuous when she left school that day, but a couple of kids had spotted her leaving, and they had thrown their open water bottles at her, getting her drenched. To top it off, the weather decided to have a go at her too, and she got caught in a downpour on her way home. By evening, she was running a fever.
Inu Yasha had been waiting for her to arrive at school the next morning, intending to make her listen to him. But when she didn't arrive at the usual spot where she parked her bike, he stalked the hallways, trying to get a glimpse of her. It was after lunch before he decided to find that Hobo-guy to demand where Kagome was.
~*~*~*~
"Oh Kagome, dear, you really should take care of yourself," Mrs. Higurashi admonished her daughter as she check the thermometer reading.
Kagome sighed. "Mom, it's been a really long semester. Gimme a break, ok?"
Her grandfather walked into her room carrying a bowl. "Kagome! If you get sick, you won't look your best. If you don't look your best, you won't be able to catch a guy! If you can't catch a rich boyfriend, how will we ever get out of poverty?!"
"Grandfather, how can you think about that at a time like this?" she yelled, frustrated. She sunk herself deeper into the bed sheets.
Her grandfather bowed his head. "I'm sorry, dear. Anyway, just drink this soup so you'll get better quickly, alright?" He left the tray with her mother and went back out the door.
Mrs. Higurashi patted her daughter's hand. "Your grandfather's worried about you too, Kagome. But he also wants to see you well-off and married to a good man."
"Married to a rich man is more like it," she grumbled. "I mean, all he ever talks about is how I should work hard to snag a rich guy so that--"
A commotion outside her room made her trail off.
"AAAHHHHHHHH! WHO ARE YOU!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! I DEMAND YOU LEAVE HERE AT ONCE! THIEF!! FIEND!!!"
Kagome and her mother looked at each other at alarm. A crash could be heard and another man's muffled voice sounded from the behind the door. Kagome scrambled quickly out of bed and ran outside her room.
Her grandfather was holding a paper fan in his hands and was whacking it on the head of the silver-haired boy he was chasing around the living room. Waitaminute! Silver hair?
"Inu Yasha?"
Her surprised voice reached his sensitive ears, and he turned around to locate her. It was a mistake, because he ran into the coffee table, tripped, and fell face-first into the hard, flat surface. Kagome's grandfather tried to stop when he saw the silver-haired boy trip, but his momentum caused him to go off-balance, and he fell-- right on top of Inu Yasha.
"Ouch! Geroff me!"
"I've got you!"
They struggled for a bit, but as the man sitting on top of him seemed to be Kagome's relative, Inu Yasha decided to behave.
"Finally!"
Kagome marched over to her grandfather. "Grandfather, this is the boy who bullies me in school and caused me to get sick." She poked Inu Yasha. "Make him go away!"
"Oho! So you've been bullying my granddaughter, have you? What kind of man are you, picking on girls? Who is your father, boy? I'm going to go call him and tell him to beat some manners into you. Well? What's your father's name?!"
Inu Yasha was now drumming his fingers on the tabletop, bored. "My father is Inu Taisho."
"What? Speak up, boy, I can't hear you?"
"I said, my father's name is Inu Taisho."
"Inu Taisho? INU TAISHO!?" Grandfather suddenly jumped up off Inu Yasha. "Inu Taisho of the Inu Youkai family? The Inu Youkai family that owns 2 international oil companies, 5 international petroleum companies, 127 international hotels and an international supermarket chain with 354 branches across the world?!" He pulled Inu Yasha to his feet and began dusting him off.
Kagome could swear that Inu Yasha suddenly looked uncomfortable.
"And that means," her grandfather continued, not bothering to wait for his answer, "that you would be…" Kagome saw her grandfather's eyes rapidly scan Inu Yasha's features "the second son, Inu Yasha!"
Inu Yasha opened his mouth to speak, but soon found Kagome pressed against him. Her grandfather had pulled the two of them close together.
"Oh, Inu Yasha, it is a great honor to have you here! Welcome to our humble home! Here, please have a seat. This calls for some sort of entertainment. Why I…"
He barely heard the rest of what the old man said. He was too busy looking at Kagome. Kagome drowned out her grandfather's ongoing rambling as well. She looked up at Inu Yasha with narrowed eyes.
"What are you doing here?"
He shifted under her gaze. "I heard you were sick, so I decided to visit you."
"Hah! As if I wanted to see you!"
"Wench! You should appreciate that people come to visit you when you're sick!"
"For all I know, you could be here to make me feel worse! Ouch! Mom!"
Mrs. Higurashi had pinched her. "Kagome dear, where are your manners? Invite your guest to stay for dinner."
"He's not my guest, he's…"
Her voice trailed off as loud music started ringing in her ears.
"I hope this little piece of entertainment pleases you, Master Inu Yasha!" her grandfather called out excitedly from the other room. As the first few phrases of the song came out, her grandfather jumped into the center of the room with gusto.
WHO LET THE DOGS OUT!? WHO?! WHO?! WHO?! WHO?!
Kagome face faulted as she watched her grandfather gyrate his hips to the beat of the music wearing what looked like a shiny space suit and black sunglasses.
WHO LET THE DOGS OUT!? WHO?! WHO?! WHO?! WHO?!
Inu Yasha knew he had a huge sweatdrop on his forehead as he watched the old man break dance on the coffee table. He sneaked a peek over to see how Kagome was taking all this.
WHO LET THE DOGS OUT!? WHO?! WHO?! WHO?! WHO?!
Kagome's grandfather looked up just in time to see his granddaughter brandishing a kitchen knife, her eyes in drawn to slits. He gulped.
The music died abruptly.
Mrs. Higurashi invited Inu Yasha for dinner, which he graciously accepted. Kagome didn't speak a word to anyone during the meal, and while he carried on a conversation with Mrs. Higurashi, her grandfather's eyes kept darting back and forth between his granddaughter's stony face, and the knife that was now lying innocently on the kitchen sink.
~*~*~*~
"Thank you again, Mrs. Higurashi, for a wonderful meal," he said.
"You're very welcome, please do join us again sometime," she replied cheerfully, waving them off into the patio that led to the open shrine behind their house. "You two have a nice after-dinner talk, alright?"
As Kagome's mother went back inside the house, Inu Yasha took his seat on the cold, cement floor. He patted the space beside him. Kagome sat down, still quiet.
They sat together like that for a while in silence, Kagome with her head bowed down and Inu Yasha looking up at the stars in the midnight sky, wondering what to say to her. She spoke first.
"Thank you."
The words were said so softly, he wasn't sure he heard right. "Excuse me?"
"I said thank you."
"That's a big improvement over what you've said and done to me these past few days," he told her, his tone gentle. "What are you thanking me for?"
She finally looked up at him. "For visiting me today. For being tolerant of my family. For having excellent manners throughout dinner. I know that my house isn't much, and you're probably used to eating well-prepared food, and…"
"Kagome, your mom's cooking was excellent. Your house feels like a home, with people who care about each other. It was obvious that you are very close to each other. Honestly."
For the hundredth time that evening, Kagome wondered why she couldn't muster any anger at him all throughout dinner. His polite behavior had surprised her, and he had seem genuinely interested in what her mother was telling him. She was sure that he was used to eating a lot of delicious food during mealtimes, but he had eaten the simple meal of dried fish and steamed vegetables with them like he did it all the time. He had not lost his temper at all, not even when Kagome accidentally knocked over her glass, spilling water all over his lap. He had more facets than a diamond, and she was seeing more sides of him than she wanted to. She felt like an emotional yo-yo when he displayed behavior opposite of the uncouth youth she had branded him to be. He made her want to kill him one minute, then smile at him the next.
She now opted to give him a smile, which startled him, but he smiled back at her. Then they both looked up into the sky to watch the stars.
Kagome gasped. "Look! A meteor!"
He saw it too, but said "Isn't that a shooting star?"
"Silly, there's no such thing as a shooting star. Those are actually meteors streaking across the sky. Whoever heard of a star shooting?"
He grinned at her. "You're pretty smart."
She blushed. "The meteor was pretty to look at."
"Yeah, pretty to look at," he echoed, but he kept his gaze on her when he said it, obviously not talking about the meteor. She was beginning to feel hot under his gaze.
"Inu Yasha…" she started.
"Kagome! Telephone!"
Her mom's voice suddenly breaking the quiet atmosphere caused them both to jump. She excused herself. He watched her go back into the house, then looked back up into the sky as soon as she disappeared from his line of sight. He sighed.
What am I doing here?
You're here because you like her.
That's stupid, I don't like her!
Yes you do! If you didn't, then what are you doing here?
Because I like her.
See?
Keh! I'm not listening to you!
You're getting defensive again.
I'm not.
Are too.
Are not!
He mentally kicked himself. He was already losing the internal battle with his subconscious and he knew it. He did not want to get involved with any girl, especially not Kagome.
But you are. You like her.
I DO NOT!
Kagome walked back out onto the patio. "That was Hojo." Now why did I tell him that? She asked herself.
Inu Yasha felt a scowl coming on. "What did that Boho-guy want?"
"It's Hojo."
"Yeah, Cojo. Got it."
She could feel herself getting angry. "What the heck is wrong with you?"
"Nothin's wrong with me. Why did that Zoko guy call anyway?"
"For your information, he called to ask me about what I was going to do this long weekend. There are no classes this Monday and Tuesday, so we've got four days off school."
"I knew that! So what are you doing?" Inu Yasha's voice was starting to get edgy.
"Nothing! I don't have any money to go anywhere you know. I told him I was staying home."
He felt a wave of relief wash over him…
"So Hojo asked me to join him on a 3-day cruise on board the Midoriko, and I accepted."
…the feeling was quickly replaced by jealousy. "What?! You're going out with that Mojo guy?!"
"What!? What the heck is wrong with you? Why are you shouting at me? It's a great way to relax and I'll finally be able to go somewhere nice for a vacation!" she retorted.
"Nothing is wrong with me and I'm not shouting at you," he yelled at her, belatedly realizing that he just did. "Oh fine! Go on ahead and enjoy your 3-day cruise with him! You're both idiots!" he bit out.
"Oh, I certainly will enjoy my cruise. No thanks to you! I think it's time you went home!" She stood up, walked back into the house, and slammed the door behind her.
~*~*~*~
When Inu Yasha came home that night, he found his friends waiting for him.
"Yash man, where've you been?" Miroku greeted, a wineglass in his hand.
"Nowhere, what's up?" he shrugged out of his jacket and took a seat across the older boy. "Are we supposed to be meeting about something?"
"We're here to decide where to go this coming weekend," Sesshomaru said dryly. "I remember we thought about flying to Hawaii. Rin likes the beach there."
"Yeah, I can't wait to get on that beach with all those gorgeous, half-naked women," Miroku said dreamily.
Kouga snorted. "You're always thinking about women. Anyway Yash, are we all agreed on Hawaii?"
Inu Yasha was about to nod his head in agreement, then checked the motion. A light bulb lit up in his brain.
"Guys, I got a better idea on how to spend our weekend…"
[A/N: You may have noticed that I slightly changed my writing style with this chapter as compared to chaps 1-5. I would like to know if you found this chapter better-written, or if I should go with the same style I used in the previous chappies? To point out one difference, I think this was more of a story-telling mode than a dialogue-mode, which I was doing in the previous chaps. Please review or email me and tell me what you think! ^_^ ]