Innocent Kisses in the Rain
Kagome clipped the final rose and dashed inside.
She retrieved a chair from the table and dragged it to the counter, standing on it to take the small glass vase.
Filling it with cool water she grinned again and dropped the three roses inside it.
She set it on the table then dashed to wake up her mom.
"I want to ask Eri to bring her karaoke machine and go swimming for my party!" Kagome giggled.
"You want to go swimming first, right?" Kagome's mother smiled down at her.
"Yup! We can go to the gym that I take swimming lessons at and reserve the pool for an hour, then we can come home and sing and eat forever!" Kagome spun around.
"Forever? You'll miss all of your other birthdays!" Kagome's mother joked.
Kagome laughed and then bounced towards the phone.
"I'm to call and see if everyone can come next week, okay?" Kagome smiled and reached for the phone.
"Do you know who you want to invite?" Mrs. Higurashi asked, puzzled.
"Yup, I've been planning this for a while now!" Kagome grinned again and spent the next hour on the phone…
-
Kagome donned her blue one piece and a gigantic white cover up shirt that had a short blue line of waves across the center and above it, in bubble letters, "BLUE".
Kagome's mother smiled and they walked from the house toward the bus stop.
Grandpa and Souta followed close behind.
The water was room temperature against their skin as Kagome splashed into the pool with her friends.
Among them were Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru, though Sesshoumaru chose to read on a lawn chair instead of swimming.
Inuyasha wore bright red swimming trunks and his hair loose, as always. It splashed down his body and concealed his body, but he still crossed his arms over his chest and looked away blushing when all the girls giggled.
Sesshoumaru wore a black swimsuit, though his Japanese Lit. book was perched on his upraised knee.
His sunglasses sat high on his head and his honey colored eyes were completely engrossed in the book below him. He didn't notice when Kagome took a picture of him.
"Did your mom make a cake?" One of Kagome's friends asked excitedly, and Kagome nodded brightly. Then she turned to face her mother.
"Is Sesshoumaru coming?" She whispered.
"Yes, he's right over there - I thought he was going to drive to the shrine himself?" Kagome's mother looked down at Kagome.
Kagome grinned slyly and gestured for her mother to lean down…
-
"Sesshoumaru! Wait!" Mrs. Higurashi called out and Sesshoumaru paused.
"I'd like a picture of you and my daughter together, please." Mrs. Higurashi smiled innocently as she gestured toward the fountain that was in front of the gym.
He looked behind her at Kagome and finally nodded slowly. He walked forward and noticed Kagome's bright smile.
He had a feeling of dread as he stood before the marble fountain, clear water spewing behind him and creating an almost calm atmosphere.
Kagome stood beside him, but she stood on the ledge so she was his height.
He turned towards the camera and Kagome's mother took a picture…
Sesshoumaru was about to leave when…
"Wait! Sesshoumaru! I need a picture of you guys sitting down - don't be so impatient!" Kagome's mother teased, winking as she positioned the camera again.
Sesshoumaru smiled softly at her motherly tone - he figured she was just like all mothers, a fanatic for cameras.
She took another photo.
"One more!" She cried.
Sesshoumaru almost sighed.
She was just about to press the button when…
"My - that is a big bird!" Kagome's mother seemed genuinely distracted so he turned his head to look…
A press of lips on his cheeks, the click of the camera, the flash in the corner of his eye and the sound of hurrying feet - and he realized he had been fooled.
He grinned despite himself as his head snapped around and he saw Kagome sprinting for dear life towards the bus.
-
"By a soft breeze, my straw hat
Was blown away and disappeared.
I chased it down a lost road
And found you.
My cold blood
Was warmed up by
A friendly pool of sunlight.
The nostalgic scent of cotton…
In an awkward embrace, you looked into my eyes
"believe…" now entrust to me
Anything and everything
In time, for some reason, sadness
Slides into the cracks of the heart.
But because you are here,
I can see tomorrow. See…
You're standing on a hill
With your long hair swaying.
Carried far by a summer wind
To your hometown,
Your smiling face looks back.
I wish the light falling
Through the swaying tree branches
Would shine there forever.
The soap bubbles come and go one after another
As you softly play with them
And they soar into the sky
In time, for some reason, youth
Turns back the needle of time.
If you will someday disappear,
I will seal you away in that day.
Today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow…
For decades, even millennia,
I want to kiss your cheek goodnight.
In time, for some reason, pain
Is swept away like the wind.
But because you are here,
My tears will dry. See…"
Kagome bowed as her song finished and turned back to her audience.
"I love that song too, Kagome-chan!" Eri cried, standing up to take Kagome's place.
"It's such a pretty song." Kagome agreed as she exhaled and sat back on the couch.
She looked at Sesshoumaru and he smiled back.