Innocent Kisses in the Rain
After school, Kagome's house, Tokyo, Japan, July 17, 2004
Kagome stared up at her ceiling and sighed for the umpteenth time.
Two days had passed. She hadn't been able to look Inuyasha in the eye yet.
"It's not his fault that he… knew Kikyou longer…" She sighed (again) and rolled over on the fluffy pink comforter.
'He's probably really getting torn up with the way I treated him yesterday too… Like he didn't exist… I'm going through a lot too though! Besides, if he cared at all, he wouldn't be cuddling Kikyou right now anyway!' Kagome sighed once more, and her cat companion finally got fed up and abandoned her.
"I haven't spoken to Sesshoumaru in a while." Kagome's comment brought realization to her eyes and, though she knew it wouldn't help her conflicting relationship with Inuyasha, she desperately wanted to see Sesshoumaru again. In any case, Inuyasha was probably with Kikyou and wouldn't know about it…
Kagome swerved off her bed and hit the ground with a thump.
Walking across the bedroom's tatami mats, she opened the door and departed the stifling cage's confines.
She walked down the stairs and managed an adoring smile towards the smaller Souta, who was building an exotic castle with his new building blocks.
She stepped into the kitchen and met up with her mother briefly.
"I'm going to see if I can get together with Sesshoumaru today, okay?" Kagome asked with a grin.
"Okay Kagome, but don't stay out too late…"
"Don't worry, he can drive me home if the need arises!" Kagome assured cheerfully, retrieving the phone happily.
--------------
Kagome walked to the park happily, humming energetically.
Sesshoumaru had agreed to meet her at the park so they could talk, even thought the hesitation in his voice did alert her to the possible fact that he had the same feelings as most high school goers about going to 'children's parks'.
In all cases, he had agreed.
But… what would she say to him when she saw him? She hadn't planned any of this…
Maybe she would ask him more about Kikyou…
The park came into view but Sesshoumaru had not yet arrived. Kagome jogged the rest of the way and took a seat on one of the swings. After what seemed an eternity of no Sesshoumaru, she began to swing herself…
Kagome studied the bright blue sky and the feathery white clouds, the absence of storm clouds and the fluttering of dark birds' wings.
Then after a second eternity, Sesshoumaru finally showed his angel's face.
Kagome smiled brightly when she saw him, and beckoned him beside her.
He stepped forward and she could imagine his grimace, knowingly sitting in the center of a child's play place. But he didn't grimace. Kagome sometimes envied him for his ability to keep the un-emotion on his face.
He studied her face for a moment before looking back ahead, his silent question heavy on the air: What did you call me for?
"So…" She began, "How are Inuyasha and Kikyou?"
Sesshoumaru obviously hadn't been expecting such a question, for his uniquely colored eyes flew to her instantly, trying to calculate her exact intentions. He finally shook his head and his eyes returned to their previous place.
"Inuyasha mopes, Kikyou in all her deviousness ignores it, and manipulates him into a false happiness every hour of living daylight." Sesshoumaru said monotonously, his eyes narrowed as he studied something on the distant horizon.
Kagome did not ask further.
"Well, I suppose I didn't really like him, because I got over moping yesterday." She decided aloud, not sparing him a glance.
She was surprised by his wry chuckle.
"You are brave, and foolish, Kagome." Sesshoumaru spoke, a critical, amused, but still enticing and slightly friendly smile lighting his lips.
She took a look at his expression and huffed indignantly, acquiring the childish urge to stick out her tongue in response to his 'observation'.
"Well, it's true!" She insisted, but found a smile catching her lips at his light, knowing glance.
"Alright Kagome. Is there anything else that you wanted to talk about?" He asked, raising a sleek eyebrow.
She recoiled in surprise at that statement, searching unexplainably for a decent answer…
Finding all the boldness in her, she looked him in the eyes and asked: "Do you want to eat ice cream or something? I really only wanted to be with you anyway!"
He blinked and looked taken aback and a defensive look crossed her face automatically.
"What? Did you have prior engagements? Are you suddenly allergic to ice cream? I can just go home if you like." Her eyes challenged his, but he laughed softly again, but with none of the cynical bitterness in his voice as before.
"Very few people surprise me Kagome." He said with twinkling eyes, "You have the most violent mood swings second only to Inuyasha. I find them far more pleasant than the little whelps whining though, so I would be glad to just be with you. Eating ice cream, of course, if you insist, for I have been tested time and time again and I have no such weakness as sugar."
She blinked at his mini speech - had she been expecting more than the minimum of necessary words anyhow?
She allowed very few people to surprise her as well… And Sesshoumaru surprised her…
A bright grin lit her features.
"Alright then! I have a few dollars in my pocket, so it'll be okay!"
Sesshoumaru smiled, not daring to ask if she had planned this.
---------------
"The difference between Inuyasha and I is too drastic a wasteland to go into detail about." Sesshoumaru decided over a dignified bowl of chocolate ice cream… Or some insane mutation from such a flavor, in any case…
"Why?" Kagome grinned, a gigantic cone of vanilla-chocolate-caramel whatnot before her face.
"You could not go through twenty ice cream cones nor could you survive fifty bouts of hyper activity before I was finished with my list." Sesshoumaru decided stoically, and Kagome giggled.
"Well, you're more of a gentleman than Inuyasha." Kagome started.
"Inuyasha would not be capable of defining the word 'please' even to save his life." Sesshoumaru agreed.
"You both have the same looks though --"
"Not so. Inuyasha has no sense of personal hygiene, style, health, et cetera. He is a hopeless cause compared to me…"
"You are soooo vein, Sesshoumaru! There's another major difference!"
"Inuyasha would be vein as well, if he could amount to anything beside me."
Kagome grinned but said boldly still, "Inuyasha isn't that horrible!"
"Try living with him sometime." Sesshoumaru decided.
"Well… Cheers then! To not having to live with Inuyasha! How messy is his room anyway?" Kagome asked, raising her cone.
After bopping the offered waffle cone with his plastic cup, Sesshoumaru returned to his refined high-ness and answered sardonically once more: "You can't imagine."
They laughed once more...