Innocent Kisses in the Rain
Kagome, for the first time in a long time (it seemed) was finally walking home by herself.
It had only been a week ago that she had pulled her shameless stunt on Inuyasha's older brother. And she was beginning to feel the horribly guilty aftershock.
What if Inuyasha had seen? She hadn't even been acting like his friend of late, prancing around and flirting with Sesshoumaru.
'As wanna-be grown up as it may sound, I'm thirteen now and I've been Inuyasha's friend for longer… Besides, what does Sesshoumaru think? I better just lie low and build up the friendship with me and Inuyasha. I don't want Sesshoumaru to feel trapped…' She thought bitterly, twirling an ebony lock between her forefinger and thumb before thoughtlessly tossing it back over her shoulder.
"Thank the heavens that my friends didn't see me kiss Sesshoumaru. I'd never hear the end of it." Kagome spoke out loud, halfway between annoyance and a resigned sigh.
The sky darkened as she suddenly lost all her spunk and her spirit drooped like her damp hair.
She didn't react as she normally did, she only stared at the ground soullessly as the pasty white darkened to deep gray. Her unblinking chocolate colored eyes stared at the ground and after an eternity of sluggishly walking, she finally sneezed.
"Cold rain…" She spoke, raising eyes to the sky, her eyelashes beating tirelessly as the sharp drops of rain struck her sensitive eyes.
Realizing that she had stopped walking, her eyes flickered to her right.
As she had expected, she was staring at the misty, fogged up version of the park. Her house was still half a mile away.
A deep sigh illustrated her thoughts as she trudged over to the deserted swing set, collapsing on one of the soaking seats.
She pushed her feet into the muddy once-sand and released herself, swinging slowly forward into the thick sheet of rain.
"I can't believe it…" She again mused to herself, looking on the brink of tears as she continued to push herself faster, gaining momentum.
"Can't believe what?" Said a mocking voice from before her. Through the fog of rain, she automatically, unconsciously pulled up an image of the refined Sesshoumaru, but as his thick black hair became visible through the vapor, her stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch.
"Who are you?" Slipped between her lips before she could catch herself.
He stalked over to her and plopped down in the swing beside her, kicking off as well.
Any happiness she had achieved throughout the day was dashed as she almost saw, as though it was a tangible detail, the meanness in his spirit… Her grandfather said that if she was truly a Shinto priestess, she would be able to see or feel other people's auras. Kagome hardly believed such nonsense, but felt a strange defying spike in her own aura - mind, Kagome insisted - as if she regretted speaking so for now she would never be seen for what she truly was. But Kagome tried to dismiss such a thought because she had no conscious want to be a priestess, anyway.
His nasty green eyes seemed to exemplify his malicious intent, as he looked over sideways at her, an evil grin on his lips. She tried to glare, to fend the animal off.
"Kuniharu is my name." He said simply, tossing another venomous smile at her.
"Eh… That's not what I meant…" She began to slow on her swing, meaning to get out of here, wherever he was.
"What else should I have assumed you meant by… Who are you?" He taunted her, also beginning to slow.
"How old are you, Kuniharu-san?" She asked sharply. Her feet scraping against the ground while she stopped and stooped to retrieve her book bag.
He only smiled grotesquely as he stepped off his swing.
"You're much older than me. I want nothing to do with you." She tried to be harsh and straightforward but cancelled the affect by taking a nervous step backwards.
"But I want to get to know you!" He protested, almost smiling at her weakness.
"I-I'm sorry, I have to go now. Please leave me alone from now on." She bowed slightly and turned swiftly to leave.
"I feel hurt - what did I ever do to you?" He took a tentative step towards her and she, unsure of how to react, sped up.
"Goodbye, I hope you have a nice day…" She shouldered the pack and walked into the clouds of rain, hoping to lose him.
"Are you sure you don't want to stick around?" He asked and she closed her eyes (though he couldn't see) and shook her head furiously, tears brimming her eyes.
"I've had a really bad day… I just want to go home…" She fought to keep her voice from cracking…
He was about to make another pressuring remark when another cold voice cut in.
"I thought she told you to leave her alone, you insufferable idiot!"
Both heads turned to see whom the voice belonged to… Inuyasha.
"You better beat it kid, this is none of your business." The green-eyed guy sniffed and was about to turn back to Kagome when…
The force of a kick sent him flying forward, a look of shock settling on the older boy's face.
Inuyasha's foot returned to the ground and he glared down at the sixteen or seventeen year old beneath him.
"You're pathetic, by the way." Inuyasha concluded, stepping on and over the unconscious 'green-eyes'. He seemed to pause for a second too long as he rested his weight on the teenager's back, before moving off.
"That was hardly civilized, Inuyasha…" Kagome fidgeted, looking first in gratitude to Inuyasha, then in fear but guilt to the unconscious one.
"He harasses you, and still you feel a need to protect him." Inuyasha mocked her, casting a triumphant look to the fallen guy.
"I-I'm sorry… Thanks though." The rain had stopped.
"This part of Japan is so strange. Rain in, rain out, totally unpredictable, and the rain here is thicker and more humid than a big thick carpet dropped over the city." Inuyasha scoffed, shaking his head as he tilted his face up.
"Why are you here, anyway?" Kagome suddenly asked, curious.
"Oh, am I unwelcome? I'm sorry, I should have left you to pale-skin over there." Inuyasha's brashness made Kagome sigh in annoyance.
"In any case, I'm going home now." Kagome retorted and turned on her heel.
"I only came because I was worried you know, you could be more gracious!" She waved back at him but abruptly stopped. She turned on her heel suddenly and shot at him, throwing herself in his arms with tears in her eyes.
"Thank you Inuyasha. I was kind of scared…"
With that she turned bashfully away, uncomfortable and wondering at her mixed feelings, but leaving none-the-less.
She shouldn't have been mean to him just because she had been expecting Sesshoumaru.
She had no chance with Sesshoumaru, and besides, why would he like a little kid like her?
Another drop of rain hit her nose, and she responsively picked up her pace.