Chapter One

Mistakes

Just because you make mistakes doesn't mean you are one. – Author Unknown

"Ichigo?"

He turned to look at her, glancing up over the rim of his magazine and across the edge of the couch with a face that dripped with annoyance. They never did let him have any time to himself, people that was. "What is it Yuzu?" She fidgeted slightly, gripping the spoon in her tiny hands tightly until her knuckles whitened from the pressure. Obviously she was a little embarrassed to be asking this.

"I forgot to get the konnyaku for supper tonight." He watched her face contort into one of semi-confusion and partial concern. It wasn't usual for her to make such a forgetful error. Immediately he frowned, brow furrowing as he tossed the periodical to the side and leaned forward to place his hand against her forehead. Normal, no fever that was good; so she wasn't ill, then what…? It hit him suddenly and he sat back, looking around and noticing that only he and Yuzu were in the house. He reached up, scratching at his forehead as another thought came to him. A memory, something about Karin having a tournament of some kind, he couldn't quite remember the details now but he was sure that his father had said they wouldn't be home until late. Obviously Yuzu wanted to go somewhere. With a smile he stood and stretched lazily, arms reaching up above his head as his face turned away from her with a look of mock-anger.

"Yuzu, you should be more organized. Maybe you're getting silly in your old age?" The younger girl frowned at him and turned away to go towards the kitchen when he stopped her by speaking again. "Where do you want to go?" She turned and beamed at him, eyes twinkling with love for her older brother. "We can go anywhere you want as long as it's not too expensive, I don't have much I think." As an afterthought he reached into his rear pants pocket and pulled out his wallet, shifting through to assure he had any money at all. Giving a nod and placing it back in his pocket he looked up only to find Yuzu gone. His brow furrowed in confusion and he walked over to the kitchen doorway, looking in to see if she was in there.

"I'm ready!" Ichigo's eyes widened and he jumped before turning to look at the freshly changed little girl before him. She had run all the way to her room and back, quickly getting into something a little more suitable for an evening out while he had been spaced out on nothing in particular. Feeling a slight blush of embarrassment cross his face Ichigo decided not to mention it and gave a smile before walking to the entryway and slipping his shoes on. "Pizza, I want to go have pizza! My friends have been telling me about this new place that has a pizza parlor and an arcade together! They say it's really nice, can we go?" She pouted and her eyes got wide and glimmered with hope.

The boy gave a sigh and turned away from her, opening the door and walking out into the evening light. "If you don't hurry we won't make it in time for supper." Yuzu gave a small squeal of delight and quickly slipped her own shoes on before slamming the door closed behind her and running after Ichigo. "So what sort of pizza would you like?"

•••••••

"Come on, Kagome, we'll be late!" The short haired girl said as she waved to her friend and they joined up to walk down the street together.

"Late for what, do you think they'll run out of pizza? Are you sure that's all we're going for?" Kagome gave her friend a knowing look to which the girl had the audacity to turn away from with a smile and give a nod. "Oh come on Eri! You can't tell me that this isn't some lame excuse for a birthday party!" The raven haired girl said with a smile that widened at the surprised look on her friend's face. Eri quickly turned away from her, hair coming down to cover her face and jaw setting firmly in place. Kagome gave a sigh at her stubbornness and relaxed. "I guess this is why Ayumi didn't come to get me, huh?"

A few moments passed as the two girls walked along the sidewalk in silence before they both broke out into laughter. It was true; Ayumi would have spilled the beans long ago and given up the secret. Instead they had given the wavy haired girl the task of setting up the party preparations while Yuka worked on conning guests into arriving and Eri brought Kagome. They knew that she would suspect the celebration but that didn't mean they had to spoil the fun! When the laughter had died down they walked for a while, Kagome just enjoying the outdoors and Eri watching her with a small smile. Her friend truly was the most beautiful girl in the school, no matter how often she denied that, and it had been decided by her, Yuka and Ayumi that the prettiest should be paired with none other than Hojo. It was a perfect match! They were both kind, both good looking, both intelligent… it was a wonder they weren't already together! Of course, Ayumi had pointed out that perhaps Kagome didn't really want someone like that but Yuka had silenced that immediately with a scoff. "Kagome doesn't really know what she wants!" The girl had announced and all three had nodded in agreement to that. Now it was time to initiate their plans, Kagome would be 15 soon and it would be the perfect time to set the girl up with the best candidate for boyfriend.

During her musings they had come to arrive at the pizza parlor and Kagome stopped, looking over at Eri with a weird glance for her sudden silence. "This is the place, right?" Eri nodded and opened the door, ushering her friend through and then leading her between the crowds of people and arcade games. Kagome couldn't help but grumble a little at the pushiness of the event. The whole place was packed with people who were crammed together around the various games and tables that were littered about the building. It was loud and it was very bright here and she had to sigh as more than once Eri caused her to bump into somebody but dragged her away before she could apologize. Right as she thought this they climbed up some stairs and entered an area that was mostly tables for eating.

"There they are!" Eri called, forgetting that this was supposed to be a secret. The girl reached out and grasped Kagome's hand, pulling her along and in the sudden momentum of the instance the young girl felt half her torso ram into someone's backside.

"Eri!" Kagome couldn't take any more and jerked her hand back to turn towards the person she had run into. It was a boy around their age although he was rather tall and had very distinctive orange colored hair but he wasn't looking at her so all she could see was his back, sitting in the chair. She frowned and fidgeted before bowing politely. "Um, please forgive me and my friend. She's a little excited. I'm sorry for bumping into you like that."

He turned towards her, face in a deep scowl and dripping with liquid. Kagome had to fight not to laugh at his appearance and instead reached into her jacket pocket, pulling out a small handkerchief and handing it to him with an apologetic look. Silently he reached out and snatched it from her, taking the crisp white cloth and patting it about his face to wipe up the spilled drink. When he was remotely cleaned he stood, tossing the handkerchief back to Kagome and then turning to go down the stairs without another glance to her. "Ichigo, you should at least take her apology." He stopped and Kagome turned to notice that he had been sitting across from a young girl who was giving the boy a motherly look of disapproval. Kagome's eyes traveled from the girl to the table where their food was, a medium pizza sitting to one side and a half eaten slice on a plate which was splattered with the dark liquid of his drink. It continued from there, dripping down the sides of the paper plate, down the red hue of the table and flowing down to puddle onto the floor and there her eyes stopped, feeling true regret for her actions. Whoever he was he had been out with this girl and she had ruined the evening with a moment of stupidity.

She felt a tug on her right elbow and turned slightly to look at Eri who was standing there with a confused look on her face. "Come on, Kagome, the others are waiting." At that instance was when she heard his voice for the first time.

"Yuzu, don't talk about things as if you understand them. She's obviously got places to go, let her." He turned to glance at Kagome over his shoulder and she felt her heart lurch at the strength in his eyes. Nodding she bowed her head once more before turning away and going with Eri towards the table of her friends waiting with a large cake that said Happy Birthday Kagome across it in green icing, surrounded by fake pink flowers. She smiled at them and the party commenced but she couldn't help glancing back over her shoulder every once in a while to the little girl sitting at the table waiting for the boy to return. His words had been rather clear, even if they weren't exact: Go away. I don't have time to take your apologies. It had hurt because she had really felt badly about the situation, especially after seeing the spilled drink all over him and the table. She smiled half-heartedly at her friends, laughing and nodding at their jokes and comments and opening each gift they gave her with careful consideration before it came time for the most dreaded occasion; the birthday song. She wasn't really sure why they insisted on doing this, it wasn't like they were kids anymore but in the end she had succumbed to their wishes and blown out the fifteen little candles.

Ayumi was the first to speak and Kagome looked up with a confused expression. "Kagome, aren't you going to cut the cake?" With a look of understanding the girl nodded and reached over to grasp the utensils, slicing through the cake swiftly and handing out the pieces to her friends. Then a thought hit her and she cut two more pieces, placing them on a plate and standing. "Where are you going, Kagome?" She smiled at her friend and just pointed towards the ladies room. After she had left Ayumi blinked and stared at the others. "Yes but, taking cake with you?" They all stopped in their eating and thought about it for a while before shrugging. Kagome had been acting a little odd lately, maybe she just wasn't well.

In truth, she wasn't well. She felt miserable for her actions earlier and had chosen to share some of her joy with those she had wronged. Walking up to the table she noticed that the little girl, Yuzu, was sitting alone and reading an article in a small home-maker magazine intently. Kagome looked around for a moment for the orange haired boy but was stopped when the girl spoke. "He's over there, playing that game he likes." The girl pointed towards the front right side of the building and sure enough there he was, pounding the buttons and leaning forward with a look of determination and joy on his face. Kagome's eyes darted away, turning back towards the girl and she smiled before placing the cake on the table before her.

"I wanted to apologize again for my mistake earlier. My friends threw me this little birthday party and so we've got far too much cake for us all to eat, would you and your…" She stopped, unsure what to say as she didn't know what relation the girl was to the boy. The young girl smiled at this and looked down at the cake with partial disapproval.

"Brother, Ichigo is my older brother." Yuzu said this without looking at Kagome, instead turning the paper plate around to get a better glance at the cake. She really didn't like the cake itself, it was rather plain and looked to be old but it was the thought that counted, right? "Thank you very much. I'm sure Ichigo will appreciate it." This was said with genuine sincerity as the young girl gave Kagome a smile. That smile lifted the pressure that had formed on Kagome's spirit and she returned it fully before giving a nod and walking away. It was nice to do things for people.

After returning to her friends and enjoying her own slice of cake they played some games, usually Kagome against Hojo as her girlfriends were insistent that they do everything together and time passed quickly. So quickly, in fact, that when it came time to go home and they passed the table where Ichigo and Yuzu had sat it was cleaned and empty, they had left earlier. Kagome shrugged it off with the consideration that they would probably never meet again.

•••••••

"Thank you for taking me out tonight, Ichigo!" Yuzu said with a smile before slipping her shoes off and running to her room. The boy just nodded and went to slipping his jacket off but stopped mid-motion to duck, leaning back too far and losing his balance as a leg flew above his head.

"Ichigo! Don't you know better than to leave without letting me know where you are going? You should have left a note!" His father cried out as he turned and threw himself down towards the boy, elbow out in a move to crush against the ribs. Ichigo frowned and rolled out of the way, jumping up and pointing a finger daringly against the man.

"What sort of talk is that? A healthy fifteen year old has to leave a note to tell you where he is going now?" He was interrupted from his speech by Karin coming up and looking down on the cake still within his other hand. She looked up at him questioningly but didn't say anything. Ichigo felt a small blush of embarrassment creep onto his face and he turned away with a grumble before fully removing his jacket and tossing it along with each shoe towards his father. "Some girl spilled my soda all over me and I guess she felt bad so she gave me some of this cake. I think it was her birthday or something."

At hearing this, his father rushed up, a sly grin on his face. "Ichigo met a girl!" The man turned towards a picture of his wife and let out a sigh. "Do you hear that, my love? Our son is turning into a man!" The orange haired youth frowned at this and punched his father in the shoulder. He ignored this and turned towards the boy once more. "What is her name, Ichigo?"

Ichigo's face crumpled into a frown and he stood there for a moment, eyes darting back and forth as he tried to remember everything that had happened that evening. He didn't know her name or he just couldn't remember it, he wasn't sure which, but in the end it wouldn't matter. By some stroke of luck he had glanced down towards the cake in his hands only to read the characters that were spread in the green icing across the two pieces which read Kagome. So that had been her name. "Kagome."

His father's eyes widened and he grew serious for a moment, looking down on the cake as well. "That is not really a good omen, Ichigo." The boy thought about it for a moment, trying to consider what his father was. It was probably true. The name Kagome derived from a children's game where one, if guessed correctly, would take the place of the demon who was guessing, probably not a very good image for a girl to represent. He shrugged and walked into the kitchen, setting the cake down onto the counter before going to his room. It didn't matter if she was unlucky or not, he wouldn't meet her again.

•••••••

Kagome reached up instinctively and ran her fingernails over her right ear, soothing the sudden itch that settled over it while she continued to read her history book. She ignored the sign of someone speaking of her in an un-favoring manner and focused on her homework before her mother's knock on the door interrupted her thoughts and she looked up with a smile. "Kagome, the bath is ready for you honey." Standing and giving a stretch the girl went about gathering her clothes for bed before walking through the hall to the bathroom and closing the door behind her. She stripped down and slid into the warm liquid, releasing a sigh of relief with a smile. It felt so good to relax! As she lay there her mind wandered to the day. Her girlfriends had irritated her to no end! To think that they kept insisting that she and Hojo would be the perfect couple! Were they insane? Sure, he was a nice enough guy, polite and reserved and considerate. Yes, he was even good looking but… was that all that there was to a boyfriend? Weren't men supposed to provide support and be strong for their women? She laughed a little and rubbed her face with her fingers, wondering at her own silliness. That was a rather outdated notion, maybe her friends were right? As she scrubbed her hair with shampoo her mind wandered to the other events of the day. It hadn't been a very good day for her. First of all the surprise party wasn't very surprising. Then she had to run into that boy, what was his name?

Water ran down her head as she poured a cup full over her hair, rinsing the shampoo out and she blinked before staring down at the water in thought. "Ichigo, she had said that his name was Ichigo. What an odd name for someone so rough!" She blushed and her hand came up to cover her mouth before she laughed at her own behavior. It didn't matter if she was saying rude things about him; it wasn't as if anyone was here to listen! Besides, they would probably never meet again.

•••••••

A gentle knock on the door brought his attention from the very same magazine he had been reading earlier. "Who is it?" He called, wondering just who was bothering him at this time of night. Glancing at the clock confirmed that it was already eight-thirty and both his sisters would be going to bed soon. Instead of a response the door opened and in stepped Yuzu, already dressed for bed and covered in a little cotton robe with her hair up in little pink rollers. She really did behave like a housewife, it was kind of amusing but he had to admit that whoever married her in the very distant future would be lucky to have her. She walked over to him and smiled before placing the paper plate with the slices of cake on them and a fork before him. He looked at them and then up at her but she was already leaving, closing the door behind her. With a sigh he lifted the fork and jabbed a bite off of the cake, shoving it into his mouth with a sour look on his face. It wasn't so much that he didn't like cake or even that he didn't appreciate the thought but it had been a simple accident. He couldn't understand why anybody would get so worked up about something so stupid. Dutifully he ate the cake until it was gone and then set the plate aside before lying back to continue reading. Maybe Yuzu wouldn't bug him anymore.