Disclaimer: I still do not own Inuyasha... And I borrowed (read: stole) again the title from the title of the song "She will be loved" by Maroon 5... I own that song as much as I do own Inuyasha. (i.e. none of it)
Chapter two - She will be loved
Kagome's eyes widened in surprise. Her gaze flew from the plain golden ring to Hojo's chocolate brown eyes which were staring at her, holding in an unanswered question - maybe even a slight hint of a plea.
It struck like a bolt of lightning from clear summer sky. They were 20 years old and Hojo had loved her ever since junior high, but still… Still she had not really been expecting this.
She didn't notice how many of the couples in the tables nearby were glancing at them, whispering something along the lines of "Ohh, look at that!", "How sweet!" or "So romantic! Look how cute they are together!"
Her mind went blank. What was she going to say? Hojo was sweet and caring and good-looking too... He had a good part-time job - and he just had been promoted too - and he was studying to become a doctor and it was partly because of her that he had chosen that career. He had got the spark when Kagome had in high school had her mysterious period of illnesses. It was around that time when the medical science had started to fascinate him. Hojo bought her sweet gifts every once in a while. He never forgot the important dates. He always had time for her. He was never late from an important meeting or a date with her... Indeed, he was an ideal boyfriend to have. But still, Kagome hesitated. Would Hojo make an ideal husband as well? Did she truly love him? She cared about him, a lot, but did she want to live with him under the same roof? Did she want to have children with him? Did she want to wake up in the morning with him by her side? Did she want to grow old with him? Was she willing to share her whole life with him?
Question after question whirled around in her mind that was rapidly falling to chaos and confusion.
Then she took a deep breath to calm herself. Maybe this warm feeling for him was love..? How could she know? She had never loved anyone before... right?
An image flashed in her mind.
The black-haired boy lying down, his purple eyes closed. Resting his head in her lap. Telling her that she smelled nice...
She mentally shook her head. That was a dream, right? A dream! Not reality.
Hojo was still staring at her. The hint of plea in his eyes had grown bigger.
How could she resist those adorable, pleading chocolate eyes?
She couldn't.
"Yes."
It was nothing more than a hoarse whisper, but its influence on him was remarkable. His face immediately lit up. A proud, happy wide smile appeared. His eyes glimmered, filled with adoration and love.
Hojo gently pulled her hand to him and slipped the golden piece of jewelry onto her ring-finger.
"I love you," he repeated, meaning every word of it.
"I love you too", Kagome answered. Though deep in the back of her mind, something kept tugging her heart. It was telling her that she really did not mean that. That she really was not as sincere as Hojo had been.
She determinedly silenced that little annoying feeling.
What had love to do with it anyway, she told to the little feeling of wrongness. She was going to have a sweet, perfect husband and a secure marriage...
But of course, she did love Hojo. Why wouldn't she love him? What was this ever warming feeling in her chest, if not love?
"Ohmygosh! Honestly? Let me see!"
Kagome raised her left hand to the level of her eyes.
"Aaaaaaawww!"
Kagome nearly fell on her back when Kayade suddenly pounced and hugged her.
"This is so great! I'm so happy for you! Awesome!"
"What's this commotion about?" Shaere asked, standing in the doorway of the staffroom. "You girls should already have changed..."
"Look, Shaere-san!" Kayade chirped, grabbing Kagome's left hand from the wrist and dragged the whole girl with her as she hurried over to Shaere-san to shove the hand right under her boss' nose.
"Notice any changes?"
Shaere-san frowned.
And then she did notice.
"Oh my dear!" she blurted out and gave Kagome one of her rare hugs.
"Have you told my sister yet?"
"No, Hojo and I will go visit mum and grandfather on Sunday and tell them then."
"Congratulations," Shaere-san said warmly, before walking out of the room.
Kagome turned back to Kayade.
"I was so surprised! I seriously had no idea..."
"I'm jealous of you," Kayade admitted. "Hojo is such a nice guy. You truly deserve a nice guy! Oh, that reminds me.. You know what? The weirdest guy came here yesterday... I honestly swear he had white hair and amber eyes! My gosh, he was rude! Just stared at me coldly and then walked away, without saying a word! He seriously gave me shivers. But... He had to be the hottest guy I've ever seen. Aww, anyway, I wish I had a boyfriend.."
Kagome smiled. It was so much like Kayade, to talk like that, just blurting out pretty much everything that came to her mind...
A frown appeared on her forehead. That guy she had mentioned sounded familiar though.
"I think... I think I know that guy."
"You do?"
"I mean, I think I've seen him before... Did he have weird marks on his face? Like a crescent moon over here," Kagome said, tapping her brow.
"No, he was normal, save for the weird hair colour and eye colour... Bet he's dyeing his hair and wearing contacts!"
Kagome didn't reply.
Shaere-san came in again.
"Girls, please, today..."
They got up and went to work.
"No! Honestly?"
"Yes, just imagine how surprised I was..."
"I bet... But that's just great! I'm happy for you!"
"Oh.. Yuka.. Please don't tell the others yet.. I'll tell them tomorrow when we meet."
"Sure! But hey, I'm truly sorry but I got to go now."
"It's okay, I have to go too."
"Bye!"
"Bye, see you tomorrow!"
She hung up.
"I'm sorry for the disturbance, Hisakata-san."
He nodded coldly.
"It was my friend. She got proposed yesterday." the woman flashed him a smile.
Why would he want to know that? He did not care. The only reason why he was dealing with these humans was because he had no other choice. Humans were everywhere. Youkai were gone. Well, not completely. Some were still left, hiding, pretending to be humans…
How pitiful and disgusting.
You are doing that too, he reminded himself.
I know. I have no other choice, he growled back.
But knowing that he had no choice did not stop him from despising it.
"I am so happy for Kagome-chan!" the young woman said more to herself.
Kagome? He had heard that name somewhere…
He shook his head. So what? He did not care.
"Could we please continue already?"
"Sure! I am sorry, Hisakata-san."
He grunted in a low tone.
"Mom? Hi!"
"Hi Kagome. How are you doing?"
"I'm all fine. Listen mom, would it be okay if I come over for a visit this Sunday? With Hojo?"
"Sure you can, dear. When are you coming?"
"I suppose in the afternoon. Probably around two o'clock."
"All right, I'll see you then, my dear. Tell my sister I said hi."
"Okay! Bye mom!"
Kagome hung up and set the phone on the table.
Shue brushed himself against her feet, yearning for attention.
Kagome reached down to pet him.
"You know, I still can't believe it..." she said quietly to her cat.
He answered her with a purr.
"You need some food, hun." She picked him up and walked into the kitchen. After awhile of digging through the fridge, she found the cat food can she had been looking for. She filled up Shue's bowl and the cat started to eat straight away.
Kagome returned to the living room and settled down to her favourite spot on the sofa, pulling her laptop from the table into her lap. She still had someone to whom to tell about the latest news...
Heya.
How are you doing? Is your hand still hurting?
I have to tell you, I've had the weirdest dreams lately... I'm sure I've never seen such dreams before and yet they seem familiar… I personally think I'm going crazy, and haven't told any of my other friends about the dreams. I know I can tell you anything, I trust you, and I know you won't laugh at me or ask me if I am feeling well... -rolls her eyes-
Anyway. In my dreams there's always this one red-clad guy, who has quite long white hair and amber eyes - AND DOG EARS!
... I know, it makes no sense... A creature straight from some weird anime or something. But still. I also dreamed about a tall guy, who also had white hair and golden eyes, his hair was longer though... Maybe those guys are related in some way..?
Anyway, they were fighting with one another and when I woke up - now we get to the freaky part - he was still there! First I thought I was either still dreaming or then hallucinating..
But no! He really was there, alive and breathing.. He even had the weird markings on his face, Red stripes and purplish crescent.. He just.. seemed so inhuman. Which is silly. What else could he have been?
And Kayade told me today that he had come back to the restaurant, she said he bore no marks on his face though. And I am sure they were there! But I think that it still has to be the same guy..
Anyway, that was not the subject I indented to tell you about.
Uhm.. Well, I shall just blurt it out. Hojo proposed me yesterday! I was so surprised, you wouldn't believe it. He took me to this really fancy restaurant and then told me he loves me and asked me to marry him.. I'm so excited! I still fear that it all was just a dream and I'll wake up any minute...
But, I got to go now. Take care, my friend!
Hugs!
-Kagome
"E-mail sent", flashed on the screen. Kagome logged out and switched off her computer. They had been e-mailing each other for some years now. She lived in Hokkaido, in Sapporo. They had met once, when Kagome's class had made a class-trip to Hokkaido. She and Eri and Ayumi had got lost from the other group. They had ran into the red-head girl, who had kindly guided them to the museum they were supposed to go. They had then changed their e-mail addresses, and had been keeping contact ever since.
She stretched and yawned.
They were on a little clearing. The kitsune-cub was sitting in her lap and the red-clad, silver-haired boy was lying on his back next to her. Little further away were sitting two humans. They were discussing about something in low voices. She sighed happily. The flames of the fire danced happily. They had been walking for the whole day again and she was exhausted. Her feet hurt…
Everything was peaceful, she felt like home. She turned to look at the dog-eared boy. He had closed his eyes so he did not see the gentle smile that was on her face. The kitsune-cub had fallen asleep and she gently brushed his tail into a better position. Kirara the cat came to her. She brushed her head against her knee...
Wait, what?
The world settled around her. Shue was still rubbing his head against her knee. Kagome blinked.
Now what exactly had that been? Why these weird dreams kept coming? She never usually remembered her dreams after waking up. But ever since she had first dreamed of the dog-boy, she had remembered every second...Why now?
Why her?
She sighed and forced herself to get up. She felt all stiff after falling asleep on her sofa. A cup of chamomile tea and then she'd go to sleep, tomorrow was an important day...
"I'm leaving now," she shouted to Shaere-san, who was busy in the kitchen.
"Sure! Off you go, dear. Have fun!"
"Thanks, I will. Bye!"
Kagome hurried out of the restaurant. She straightened her skirt with a quick tug as she shuffled among all the people walking on the crowded street. She made it just in time to the subway. Mechanic doors closed behind her and she wrapped her hand casually around the metal pole. In 8 minutes they reached her stop and she got off. After a little walk she was in front of the gallery-building. Eri and Ayumi were standing next to the double doors, waiting for her.
"Kagome!"
The girls exchanged lots of greetings and hugs.
"Ehh.. should we go in now..?" Ayumi said, interrupting the cheery chitchatting of the other two girls.
"Sure," Eri said, grabbing Kagome's hand and pulling her friend inside the building after her.
They paid for the admission to the counter and then proceeded into the actual gallery-room. Yuka saw them immediately.
"Will you excuse me, Hisakata-san? My friends just arrived…"
"Do as you wish," the man replied with a bored tone. Why had he let his secretary to talk him into this nonsense? And why had she hired that kind of a woman to organise the art exhibition? He deeply disliked her. Idly his gaze followed Yuka as she walked over to greet her friends.
His inner demon raised its head. It knew this scent…
"Let me see the ring," Yuka chirped after she had greeted Kagome, Eri and Ayumi.
"What ring?" Eri asked suspiciously.
Kagome extended her left hand for her friends to see.
The sight caused her friends to gasp and stare at the ring, then getting over the surprise they hugged and congratulated her. Sesshoumaru watched the scene from the other side of the room. He snorted. Foolish lowly humans. Was it really that necessary to them to make such a racket? It was highly disturbing to his delicate ears. That much squealing and gasping and getting that excited only for one plain ring?
How foolish.
Kagome beamed. She had been a little worried about Eri's reaction.
"I have to go back to Hisakata-san now," Yuka said, flashing an apologetic smile.
Kagome glanced at the tall man.
It couldn't be...
He had pale skin and high cheekbones. His silvery hair fell gracefully down his back and his cold golden eyes were staring at Yuka with a hint of disgust. Only emotions that could be read from his face were boredom and arrogance. And then she spotted the indigo crescent moon that was on his brow. It had to be him.
"Have you ever wondered what that crescent moon on his forehead means," she heard herself asking, still watching Sesshoumaru's quiet form.
"What crescent moon?" Yuka wondered out loud.
"He has a purple crescent moon... On his brow.. Right?"
"You must have seen some reflection of light or something," Yuka blinked in confusion. "He has no crescent moon on his face."
What is it with this? Kagome pondered in her mind. Why was she the only one who was able to see the odd markings on his face..?
She shivered. He was watching back at her.
Somehow she found the situation familiar...
"Let's go to watch the paintings!" Eri chirped grabbing Kagome's arm and dragging her on.
Ayumi giggled and followed.
Yuka had been telling the truth, he truly was talented. The paintings were really beautiful. Kagome stared in awe.
No matter how rude that guy was... He sure could paint! She respected him on a whole different level now. Most of the paintings were old-fashioned landscapes. There were forests, mountains, rivers and villages. One feudal age castle was in several paintings.
What it would have been like to live on that era, Kagome thought as she examined the paintings with her intense stare. There was one painting that had especially caught her eye. It was of a dark-haired girl who seemed to be about 8 years old. She was wearing a checked kimono, a bright wide smile on her face and there was a bouquet of wildflowers in her outstretched arms. She was standing on a field of flowers and several butterflies were surrounding her form. It was the cutest thing she had ever seen, and it seemed so weird that such a cold and arrogant guy could have created something that adorable.
"You like it, miss?"
Kagome startled. Beside her was standing a young woman, who seemed to be about the same age as Kagome herself. She had raven hair and sweet smile on her face.
"Yes, I like it very much," Kagome replied after she had got over her surprise.
"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Miyame, the secretary of Sesshoumaru-sama - I mean, Hisakata-sama."
"I am Higurashi Kagome," Kagome replied with a tiny bow.
"He is so talented, isn't he?" she gave an admiring sigh.
"Yes, truly. Far better than I had expected."
"He probably hates me now, though," the secretary giggled.
"Why so?" Kagome wondered out loud.
"It was my idea to put up this art exhibition. I persuaded him to do this. And he doesn't seem to be too happy about that."
"That's pretty mean, you know," Kagome scolded but couldn't help smiling.
"I know... But I had to. People must see these. They're amazing, he shouldn't keep his talent hidden..."
"True. Umm.. I was just wondering.."
"Yes?" she asked brightly.
"As you are his secretary, you must know him pretty well, right?"
"Oh, I've known him for ages!"
"Then would you know the girl who was the model for this painting?"
The woman laughed.
"Yes, I know her as well."
At that moment, the peace and quiet of the art exhibition was harshly destroyed.
"Sesshy-darling!" squealed a high female voice.
Kagome and Mrs. Miyame turned to see a beautiful dark-haired woman in a fur-coat clinging to Sesshoumaru's arm.
"Uh.. is she.. like his girlfriend or something?" Kagome asked blinking in confusion.
Mrs. Miyame gulped at the expression Sesshoumaru was had on his face.
"No, she's not his girlfriend at all. If you'll excuse me, Higurashi-san, I have to go and save Sesshoumaru-sama."
Mrs. Miyame hurried over to her boss.
"Yuka-chan, could you help me?"
"Uh, sure."
Together they pulled the woman away from Sesshoumaru.
The secretary spared one glance at her employer and gulped again. She had better to hurry.
"Higurashi-san, if you please would help Yuka-chan to see her off?"
"Hai."
Kagome hurried to take over Miyame's place and they started walking towards the door, as Mrs. Miyame grabbed Sesshoumaru's sleeve and dragged him into a small empty room.
"Sesshoumaru-sama! Calm down. That was too close."
He didn't reply, only took a deep breath.
"Your sealing spell nearly broke! You shouldn't lose your temper like that," she continued to scold him, shaking her finger at the demon lord.
"I can't stand that woman," he spat out behind his gritted teeth.
"I know that, Sesshoumaru-sama," she replied and sighed. "I'd still prefer you wouldn't kill anyone."
He answered with a growl.
"It would only draw needless attention and it would be really difficult to explain," his secretary pointed out.
"I am fully aware of that, Rin," he said coldly.
She sighed again.
"Sure you are, Sesshoumaru-sama. I just thought it would not hurt to remind you."
Sesshoumaru said nothing.
"We should get back now. Yuka-chan and Higurashi-sama must have –" Rin stopped all of a sudden.
"It's her, isn't it Sesshoumaru-sama?" she asked in a weak voice.
"What are you talking about, Rin?"
"Higurashi-san! She's the pretty lady who followed Inu yasha!" Now that she had said it out loud she grew more certain of her discovery.
"Yes. She's the miko."
"How has she survived all this time? Could she have done it in the same way as I?"
"Unlikely. She does not reek of any male youkai."
"How strange..." an idea hit her. "What do you think of Higurashi-san, Sesshoumaru-sama?"
"It is peculiar that she has survived the 500 years, but she is but a low, pitiful human."
"I am a human too, Sesshoumaru-sama," Rin reminded him, looking slightly hurt – although most of it was feigned.
"You are different."
"How do you know she's not different as well, if you don't even get to know her?" the young woman insisted.
"Enough said, Rin. We will go back now."
Everything was calm again when they returned to the main gallery room. Kagome was again standing in front of the painting of the girl with the flowers.
"Sorry to bother you with that, Higurashi-san," Rin apologised.
"It's okay, Miyame-san."
"Please, call me Rin."
"Very well Rin-chan," Kagome smiled. "Who was she anyway?"
"Yameko Kagura. She has decided to become Mrs. Hisakata - but Seshoumaru-sama doesn't approve, as you just saw."
"What a weird woman."
"Well, Sesshoumaru-sama is handsome and wealthy," Rin shrugged.
"Yes, but if you can clearly see you that have no chance, why bother to keep trying?"
"True. Besides, Sesshoumaru-sama has told her quite plainly that he's not interested - several times.
"Uh, persistent one, isn't she?"
Rin giggled.
"You have no idea. She's always annoying me, pleading to arrange a meeting with Seshoumaru-sama."
"Oh, poor you."
"Oh... You wanted to ask something about the model of this painting, Kagome-nee-chan?"
Kagome was a bit taken aback by the familiarity this woman seemed to display towards her. Actually calling her a sister after they had just met? Kagome shrugged it off, figuring that it was just the way Rin was.
"Uh, yes... I just wondered what happened to her."
Rin smiled warmly.
"She grew up, got married and lived a long and happy life."
"I'm glad. She looks so.. Innocent and pure."
"Maybe that's why Sesshoumaru-sama liked her. You know, he does not tend to like hu- people."
"I've noticed," Kagome said dryly. "I've only met him once and it was rather brief, but the look he had in his eyes was so cold that it would exceed the absolute zero anytime."
Rin giggled.
"Where did you meet him?" she inquired.
"He stopped by in the restaurant that I'm working at."
"You work at a restaurant? How cool!"
"You think so? I think being a secretary seems cooler."
"Nah, it's actually very boring," Rin grinned.
A question popped in her head. Before Kagome thought over it more, she noticed she was already asking it out loud.
"Have you noticed that Hisakata-san seems to have a purple crescent moon on his brow?"
Rin stared at her in complete surprise.
"You must be mistaken, Kagome-nee-chan," Rin shook her head.
Kagome frowned.
"But now when we are talking about him, tell me what do you think of him."
Kagome bit her lip.
"Well... He's definitely good-looking. He seems to have some kind of an attitude problem though," Kagome snorted. " But the thing that keeps bothering me is that I feel.. I feel like I would have seen him somewhere long ago. Like I would know him in some way... Which is stupid, 'cause I've never even talked to him in person... Except the time he came to the restaurant and I asked if he wants milk or sugar in his coffee."
Rin giggled again. She clapped her hands together and her eyes were sparkling.
"I have to go back to Sesshoumaru-sama now." Rin hugged the miko. "See you, Kagome-nee-chan!"
"See you, Rin-chan!" Kagome was glad to get a new friend. Rin seemed to be very sweet and sincere person.
As Rin was walking back to Sesshoumaru's side, a coy smile appeared onto her lips. She had an idea. A really good, interesting idea...