Innocent Kisses in the Rain

After school, outside of school, Tokyo, Japan, July 4, 2004

Kagome sighed as she stepped into the cool wind of the late afternoon.

The invisible fingers of air played with her dark tresses, lifting her clothing to join its dance.

She hopped down the steps and braced herself against its insistent pressure.

Glancing behind her, she knew Inuyasha would be coming out soon, after he talked with his friends and escaped the mob of hopeful schoolgirls that is.

Of course, now that she was going out with him, there was a fair decrease in their number, but the more insistent ones still tagged along after him, kissing the ground he walked on. If she was just a friend of Inuyasha's, she would have found it easier to laugh at his predicament, and tease him…

She shook her head vigorously, and knowing that with the arrival of Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru would inevitably appear, she turned on her heel and ran.

---------------

An hour later, at Kagome's house

The phone rang insistently in the kitchen. Kagome turned from her work and went to pick it up.

"Hello?" Kagome asked into the receiver.

"Hey, Kagome!" Inuyasha greeted her with a smile in his voice.

"Inuyasha." She replied with not as much enthusiasm but with a considerable amount of fake cheer. She had to make him happy.

He seemed content with her tone.

"In the newspaper, I found the movie section and it looks like there's a really good movie - you wanna go to that one?" She imagined a twinkle in his eye when he said that.

She realized that he was referring to their "discussion" at the park regarding seeing a movie.

"O-Okay, if that's what you want." Kagome smiled uneasily, but she was sure that he was pleased with her answer.

"Alright. The movie starts in an hour, and my brother said that he could drive us there. Make sure to get your homework done!" She didn't hear the last part, her mind had frozen and the color had drained from her face when she heard that Sesshoumaru knew about their "date".

"Okay, Kagome?" His voice sounded concerned.

"Alright then - yes, Inuyasha!" Kagome let the words tumble out her mouth before a just as hurried 'goodbye' and sprint to her bedroom.

"Is everything okay Kagome?" Her mother's voice called after her, and Kagome barely managed to nod her head in assurance - not that her mom would probably see it.

"I'm going to the movies with a friend, okay?" Kagome finally said stiffly as she opened her bedroom door.

"… Okay Kagome, have fun…" Her mother replied softly and Kagome disappeared into her room.

---------------

Kagome's tongue moved swiftly over her lip for the millionth time, the soothing moistness not calming her soul.

How would Sesshoumaru look at her?

… He didn't care though, right?

She decidedly selected a casual pair of blue jeans and a red Tee-shirt that was about two sizes larger than her real shirt size and read "Cheery"; underneath the said bubble white letters was a line of blood red cherries.

She swept her hair back into a ponytail-bun (as it was to her friends and her) and collapsed on the bed to finish her studies.

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Another hour later, outside Kagome's house

"I'll be back in a couple hours Mama, Sesshoumaru will pick us up when the movie ends and he'll drive me home, okay?" Kagome smiled up at her mother as best she could, though she was beginning to feel sick with all her overwhelming emotions.

"Okay, just be sure to get home before it gets too late. Don't go over to their home or anything afterwards, it's a school night…"

"I know, I'll be back right after it's over!" Kagome reassured her mother with a confidence that was not hers.

Her mother nodded in trust and turned back to scold Souta for turning the TV up too loud.

Kagome turned and dashed down the shrine steps and to the curb.

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In the car

Kagome fell into the comfy seat and managed a smile for Inuyasha, who was beaming brighter than the sun.

Probably because of the cold, distant look on Sesshoumaru's face.

Kagome's smile faded and she meekly buckled her seatbelt. Sesshoumaru did not even acknowledge her presence and she almost cringed.

He drive was silent, because Sesshoumaru was decidedly antisocial, and Inuyasha was not one to start up conversation, and Kagome was too crestfallen by Sesshoumaru's dismissive behavior to lighten the mood. How was one to lighten the mood when that ones mood was already darker than night, five miles into an unending tunnel? It would have been much easier if the train had come by now and had pounded her into oblivion.

He pulled carefully to the edge of the sidewalk and Inuyasha opened the care door automatically, holding it open for her.

She was dumfounded; the politeness was not customary of Inuyasha, she could only ever imagine Sesshoumaru doing something so gentlemanly and nice in this modern era.

All the same, she cautiously slid out of the car and sighed as her feet touched the cement.

Deciding to give their friendship one more chance to rebuild, she caught the door before Inuyasha slammed it shut and put on the cheeriest smile she could muster (the only dimming quality was the self-doubt still lingering in her soul), and turned to face Sesshoumaru.

"Thanks so much Sesshoumaru!" She said and dared to crack her eyes open to see his reaction. She was half expecting him to give a stiff nod or something like that, but she was pleasantly surprised when he gave her a small - tiny smile in return and nodded his head slightly in acceptance.

But he could never possible understand her reasoning behind going with Inuyasha; he could never fathom her selflessness.

She grinned at his response and waved as she closed the car door. He pulled off the curb with the silent promise to be back in a couple hours, when the movie ended.

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The movie

Kagome stared wonderingly up at the screen, watching the familiar scene play before her eyes.

"Have you seen this before Kagome?" He asked her softly, despite the emptiness of the theatre and their place along the final, top row of seats.

"Yeah…" She choked out absently and he turned questioning eyes to her.

"This is pretty corny." He continued on, a mocking smile curling on his lips.

She nodded, in complete agreement, but painfully, slightly.

"Me and Sesshoumaru watched this at your house." She acknowledged.

"What? Really? When?!" Inuyasha turned to her with curious - almost angry eyes.

"It was when you were sick. We thought that the movie would be more about the machines and action, but it turned out to have a ton of romance. We made fun of it, it was a lot of fun." Kagome said absently, still hypnotized by the projection playing in front of them.

"I didn't know we had this movie. I've never seen it before. Maybe Dad bought it… I can't believe he'd watch something like this!" Inuyasha fell back into the red cushioned seat with a look of permanent shock on his face. "Sorry, Kagome, I didn't know you'd already seen it… I thought one of those old movie theatres would be fun. See what came out in the last generation… Sesshoumaru likes that kind of stuff. He says modern movies are all about skin nowadays."

Kagome nodded in understanding, smiling softly in forgiveness. She tore her eyes from the kissing scene and looked him in the face. She was beginning to relax under their friendly, casual talk.

"Everybody was young once though." Kagome defended in reference to his earliest comment, and maybe she was defending also her mother's once-youth. It seemed like she just wanted him to know that for some reason - like it was important.

---------------

After the conversation, outside the movie theatre

"Well, I guess there's no use watching a movie you've already seen before…" Inuyasha sighed as they walked along the sidewalk.

"I'm so sorry--" Kagome began sincerely, but he cut her off.

"It's okay, Kagome. It's too bad you can't get a refund for 'trivial' things like already seeing it without realizing it though…" Inuyasha laughed good naturedly, but it was a gruff, almost harsh and untried laugh. "Besides, like you said, it got really sappy." He grinned and stuck his hands in his pockets.

"It was fun all the same…" She said, but knew it to be a lie compared to the 'fun' she and Sesshoumaru had watching the same movie.

"Sure, Kagome. Thanks for the thought, lying as you are…" Inuyasha tossed his hair and looked forward in to the night.

Kagome did a double take when she realized that Inuyasha had been fairly insightful - and correct, for once!

She blinked and almost stopped walking but mustered an apologetic smile all the same -

"Don't worry about it." He said dismissively and continued on.

Where were they going?

"All the same…" She finally found her voice. "Do you think we should go back and see if we can find a phone to call Sesshoumaru and ask him to pick us up early?"

He looked hurt for a vague moment, but then turned his eyes back to her and replied to her question in a gruff voice.

"Don't you want to find something to do with the lost time?" Inuyasha asked.

Kagome looked down and thought about it for a moment; she told her mother that she'd be home after the movie was over… Well, the movie wasn't over yet, was it? She could stay for a little while longer…

"Okay, Inuyasha!" She said with false cheer, not for the first time that evening.

He studied her face for a moment but seemed not to find the answer he was looking for (Sesshoumaru would have read my emotions straight off, she thought) and he turned to his right to reveal an ice cream corner shop that she had not noticed before.

She looked confused for a second, before realization dawned on her.

"I don't have any money for this Inuyasha, I couldn't ask you to -" She began but he once again interrupted her. She inwardly sighed.

"My dad is rich, remember?" He spoke gruffly and without feeling, and she instinctually recoiled from his hurtful words.

'It's as if he's saying that my family is poor.' She thought angrily, but knowing that it was his brother that was giving them a ride home, she followed him silently into the shop.

He would have been much kinder if he had said something like "It's okay Kagome, I want to make it up to you for taking you to a movie that you've already seen" - but that was too much to ask of Inuyasha, wasn't it?

She tilted her head up, 'Sesshoumaru definitely would have said something like "It's alright; I took you to the wrong movie, I want to make it up to you." Just saying, that is. If we were going out or something…' Kagome physically shook her head but a vision was unfolding on the black side of her eye, the perfect scene where she was walking dejectedly out of a movie theatre with him after watching a sad, sad movie, and him suddenly turning and grabbing her hand to show her a little corner shop, specializing in…

"What flavor do you want Kagome?" He asked impatiently, his cruel eyes staring down at her as he waved his hand in front of her face. She withdrew, once again, from his careless actions. She shook her head and summoned a glare to her eyes.

"It's okay, Inuyasha. I don't want any - I insist. I'm NOT hungry." She tossed her hair and retreated to the water fountain, not blessing him another glance.

He stared after her obliviously for a moment before the woman manning the desk told him the total for his ice cream and he nodded and came back to reality.

When Kagome finally reappeared, he was sitting at a small round table with two chairs, but she walked past him.

"Where are you going?" Inuyasha asked, his voice bouncing from gruff to soft as he tried to change it to satisfy her.

"To see if they have a phone I can use. I want to go home." She said tiredly, casting him a glance that illustrated her emotional fatigue and sticking frustration for his insensitivity.

His eyes looked hurt for a second before he tried to stop her again.

"I thought your favorite flavor was moose tracks?" He asked, remembering her babbling on the day he became "un-sick" about the wonderful-ness of his fathers and brothers taste in ice cream.

"No, I don't want it." She said and promptly confronted the lady before the cash register.

"Are you very mad at me?" He asked as they exited the shop a little while later, waiting for his brother; Inuyasha still did not know why Kagome was so annoyed with him.

She sighed, and with the letting of breath her anger seemed to dissipate.

"Maybe we could try this again sometime, Inuyasha. We could go see a new movie." She spoke softly, the tiredness shining in all its blinding alabaster brightness through the sound, though Inuyasha was still ignorant of her state.

He nodded and took this offer as forgiveness, but he dare not take her hand. She did not offer it.

Sesshoumaru's care finally appeared through the blackness and Kagome collapsed in the familiar seats, not looking at either brother.

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed, for he could read every emotion on her face and in her eye.