Author's note: Good to see you again. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I wrote my first Inuyasha fanfiction thirteen years ago. And still, I own none of the Inuyasha series or its characters. So sad.
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Chapter 5: Kagome's Memory
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Kagome
"Kagome!"
Kagome's eyes flew open.
Her head hurt. Her body hurt. And she was freezing. The sky was a light violet color, a touch of the night making way for the sunrise. Sango filled her line of sight, her worried eyes darting over her as if she wasn't sure if her friend was alive or not.
"Kagome, can you hear me? Are you okay?" She felt Sango's hands grip onto her arms and give her a shake.
"Um… I'm fine…" Kagome said, her voice a bit hoarse. "...Where am I?" She asked. The last thing she remembered… The last thing…
"You're outside. Kagome, how the hell did you get out here? The museum hasn't even opened yet. And why are you sleeping on a bench?"
Kagome sat up slowly from her makeshift bed and tried to think back, because Sango was right, she was on a bench. ...Had she been there all night? The last thing she remembered was breaking out of the closet. She remembered walking through the cave in the museum, then hiding from security, and then…. Then what?
"Um…" She said again, trying to clear the sluggishness from her brain. She felt like she had a hangover, like she'd drank too much beer at a house party. "I don't know, I was hiding from the guards, and then-"
"Well, what happened to your shirt?" Sango asked, holding the ripped piece of clothing in her hands. She bunched it up in her fist. "Did Hiromi do this to you?"
Kagome hadn't thought that at first, but once Sango suggested it, she realized it must be true. Hiromi had ripped her shirt open while she was being tied up, before she'd been thrown in the closet. That's exactly what had happened, she was sure of it now.
"Yeah," she said, rubbing her eyes against the palms of her hands. Why was her brain so sluggish? "Yeah, it was Hiromi."
Sango sighed, shaking her head. "I'm going to kill her, I swear." She helped Kagome to her feet. "You okay? You look like you're frozen solid."
Kagome nodded slowly. Her head ached, and there was a sharp pain in her side, like something was stabbing into her. She looked down quickly, felt around the area right above her hip, but nothing was amiss. Something must have been digging into her side as she slept.
"Let's get back to my place, it's closer," Sango said. "I covered for you with your mom, told her you spent the night. You can borrow my clothes."
"Okay," Kagome said, willing to let Sango take control. She felt off somehow, like a part of her was being left behind on that bench she'd slept on.
Why couldn't she remember what had happened? She ran and hid from the guard… She hid from the guard and then…
Something must have happened. Maybe they found her? Maybe the guards found her hiding spot and threw her outside?
Once Kagome thought it, she realized that it was true. The guards did find her and they did throw her outside. And she must have been so tired that she just fell asleep on the closest bed-like structure around.
Once she realized these facts, she wondered how she could have forgotten them in the first place.
"Come on Kagome, we have to clean you up for school. We don't want Hiromi to come back and see you like this. You look a mess." Sango said, leading the way.
Kagome trailed behind, letting Sango take control as she solidified the night's events in her head.
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Kagome felt a bit better by mid-day. Her body didn't ache so badly, except for that one insistent spot above her hip, and her head wasn't throbbing so much, although her brain still felt a bit foggy. Sango had been an awesome best friend as always, loaning Kagome some of her clothes and letting her use her makeup, although she had a distinct lack of lighter eyeshadow shades. Kagome opted for the simple use of eyeliner and mascara. She felt almost like herself.
Almost.
History class had been awkward. Kagome kept her head low and ignored Hiromi and her friends, who luckily sat on the other side of the room. But while she could avoid Hiromi easily enough, she could not avoid Itou-sensei. He pulled her aside after class.
"Higurashi-san," he said, his serious eyes shaming her good. "How could you skip out of the field trip like that?"
"I'm – I'm very sorry Itou-sensei. I was in the bathroom for a while, and then…" Kagome let her words hang, hating herself for lying to him. "I didn't feel so well. Feminine issues. I went home."
He looked down at her from behind his reading glasses and a small smile spread across his face. "I like you, Higurashi-san. I know that history is not your favorite subject, but you do try hard, and you're very studious." He stood up and walked behind his teaching desk. "Some girls from class told me that you snuck off to see Hojou-san, but I spoke to him, and I'm happy to hear that your story is consistent with his."
Kagome felt a wave of relief wash over her. Thank goodness Hojou hadn't lied for her. She would have been done for.
"So now let's talk about your punishment," he continued.
"My punishment?" She asked. Shoot, and she thought she'd gotten off scot-free.
"I want you to do a paper on one of the artifacts we saw yesterday. You can pick any item the guide discussed with the class. I need 5,000 words due next week. Can you do it?"
Kagome nodded. As long as she was forgiven. She shifted nervously in front of his desk. "I know which one I want to do it on."
"Already? That was quick. Which one?"
"The one with the Legend about the Youkai in the Mirror. With the priestess. I'd like to do that one,"
Itou-sensei sat down in his chair, leaning back, curiosity shining in his eyes. "Really? Why that one?"
Kagome shrugged. She wasn't too sure herself, except that mirror, for some reason, stuck out in her mind as being important. "I'm not sure, exactly. I think… I think I had a dream about it." She finally said, trying to clear her way through her cloudy thoughts. "There's something about it, I just… feel drawn to it, I guess."
The smile returned to Itou-sensei's face. "There's hope for you and history yet, Higurashi-san." He paused, then: "Okay, off to lunch with you. And Higurashi," he said as she turned to leave. "Next time, let me know what's going on. Feminine issues or not."
"Yes sir!" She said, smiling, and hurried out of the room before he laid another extra-credit assignment on her. Sango was waiting for her in the cafeteria, and after inching her way through the lunch line, she sat down next to her best friend.
"Was he super pissed?" Sango asked, taking a bite of her pizza.
"Not really," Kagome said, smiling a little. "I mean, he wasn't happy, but he's making me to an extra paper about that mirror we saw in the museum yesterday to make up for it."
"The one with the legend about spells and witches and whatnot?"
"She was a priestess, not a witch," She corrected.
Sango rolled her eyes. "Whatever. At least he gave you something interesting to work on, that mirror was kind of cool, and there was something about it. It was hard to look away, you know?"
Kagome nodded as she opened a catsup packet and poured it over her fries. Sango raised a skeptical brow.
"What?" Kagome asked.
"I thought you were on a diet."
She waved her friend's words away with her hand. "I was, but now that Hojou has asked me out, officially, I can go back to enjoying french fries and mashed potatoes." She grinned wickedly and popped one of the delicious fries in her mouth.
Sango shook her head. "Don't blame me when he dumps you for getting pudgy."
"Worry about your own weight," Kagome said, sticking her tongue out. "And speaking of Hojou," she licked some catsup off her finger, changing the subject, "Itou-sensei asked him if I snuck off to meet him like Hiromi said. Saved my butt when our stories matched up."
Her friend narrowed her eyes. "You didn't tell him what really happened? With Hiromi?"
She shook her head. "No way. What's Itou-sensei going to do, give her a rap on the back of her hand? No, we have to plot our revenge on Hiromi ourselves."
Sango grinned. "I like the sound of that." Her eyes flicked up and to the left of Kagome then. "Incoming," she muttered, and from the way she smiled, Kagome could tell that it was Hojou walking their way.
"Hey girls," Hojou said, his usual cheery self as he plopped down next to Kagome. "Hey you," he said, just to her, his voice dropping.
"Hi." She replied. She couldn't help the grin that spread across her face, remembering their first date two nights ago.
"So about that text you sent me…" He said, propping his elbow on the table, and his head in his hand.
Kagome's face immediately drained of color. How could she have forgotten that horrible text Hiromi sent from her phone! She opened her mouth, hoping a plausible excuse would bubble somewhat coherently out of her.
"Oh, Kagome didn't tell you?" Sango swooped in, saving the day as usual. "Hiromi paid her a little visit yesterday in the museum."
He tilted his head, glancing from her to Sango, and back to her again.
"Tell him," Sango urged.
Kagome nodded, "Hiromi and her friends caught up to me in the bathroom last night. They-"
"They tied her up and threw her in janitor's closet!" Sango hissed, interrupting her. "But not before sending you that hate-text," she added. "She was stuck in that damn museum all night!"
Hojou's eyebrows shot up. He whistled. "You're kidding." He turned his gaze onto Kagome's eyes, and she wished with all her might that he'd believe her. "Are you okay?" He asked, eyes worried. "I thought that text was pretty out of left-field. It didn't sound like you, which is why I didn't reply."
Kagome shrugged. "It wasn't that big of a deal, Hojou," she said, nervously fidgeting with her hair. "I mean, everyone knows that Hiromi has a thing for you, I just didn't know she was crazy enough to do something so extreme. I've never been bullied like that before."
His hand shot out and grabbed onto Kagome's then. He squeezed her fingers together. "I am so sorry she did that to you. I've been trying to ignore her advances, but she's taken things too far." He absentmindedly brushed her hair out of her eyes. A grin spread across his face. "I know how to handle it."
"How?" Sango asked, leaning in and eager to be a part of it.
Hojou leaned in and gave Kagome a kiss – a light one, just a peck on the lips – before standing up from the lunch table. "Can you meet me out front after school?" He asked. At Kagome's nod, he ruffled her hair affectionately. "I had fun on our date, Kagome, try not to let Hiromi get you down. Can't wait to hang out tonight. See you after school." With that, the girls watched Hojou walk back to his seat at his regular lunch table with his friends.
"God, he's nice," Sango said. "Seriously Kagome, you picked a good one. Handsome, caring, and apparently, he doesn't do much for high school drama. He's a keeper."
"Mmhmm," Kagome said, agreeing on the surface. What she didn't say was that something was different about Hojou this time. She hadn't felt that same, giddy excitement when he'd kissed her as she had before. She squirmed in her seat, feeling out of sorts and uneasy. "What do you think he's going to do after school?"
Sango shrugged. "Whatever it is, I don't want to miss it." She threw a wink her best friend's way.
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Math was the last class of the day, and it was horrid. Between math being her absolute worst subject, and Hiromi glaring daggers at the back of her head the whole time, Kagome couldn't take much more. The relief that washed over her when the final bell rang was almost staggering. She didn't hang around to chat with her classmates like she usually did. She made her way straight to her locker, grabbing what she needed to complete her homework for the night, and then booked it to meet Hojou.
She hadn't made it outside yet when she realized that Hiromi and her gang of friends were following her.
Just perfect.
Kagome burst through the double doors of the school building, willing herself not to run. She would not show her fear to these girls. Once they smelled fear, she'd be done for. She forced herself to keep her pace even as she made her way to the meeting place.
He wasn't there when she arrived of course. Disheartened, Kagome turned on her heel to face the oncoming storm.
Hiromi and her friends stopped a few feet away.
This moment felt so surreal to Kagome. She'd always been a big advocate against bullying. She had no problem sticking up for girls who were victims. But she had never been bullied herself. People were gathering, interested in the scene about to take place. Not one person looked to step up and help her out. Hojou was nowhere in sight. Neither was Sango. It was one thing to stand up and shame bullies who were picking on someone else. It was another thing entirely to stand up for yourself. Kagome steeled her resolve and locked her eyes onto Hiromi.
"How'd you get out, Higurashi?" Hiromi asked, lips pulled back into that same stupid sneer.
She tried to relax her posture, to give out a calm, nonchalant vibe. "Did you think tying me up and throwing me into a closet would hold me?"
The insults came then, calling her out on her virtue in every way possible. Kagome clenched her jaw against slinging insults back. She didn't want to escalate anything. She stood stalk-still as Hiromi's friends surround her, cut her off from the bystanders. Hiromi stepped closer. Then took another step. Kagome forced herself to stand still, to not take a step back.
"I'm going to ruin that pretty face of yours, Higurashi," Hiromi said, taking another step. "That way Hojou will want to vomit every time he looks at you."
Kagome had no formal training when it came to fighting. The last time she'd punched somebody was in first grade, and she'd been so scared she cried afterwards. Still, her hands fisted at her sides, ready to give as good as she got.
Hojou had the best timing in the whole world, because that's the moment he stepped through the crowd and moved to Kagome's side. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and drew her to him. "Hey Hiromi," he said, his voice cheery as usual. "What's going on?"
Hiromi froze, her eyes narrowing as they darted between Hojou and Kagome. "Hojou," she said, her voice sickeningly sweet, "I know that you think this girl is who you want to be with, but-"
"There's no thinking about it," Hojou cut her off, never dropping his smile. "Kagome and I are dating. We're a couple." He raised his voice. "I hope no one has a problem with that, as it's no one's business who Kagome and I decided to see."
Kagome looked up at his handsome features then, blinking against the threat of tears. Sango had been right. Hojou was pretty amazing. You didn't find good guys like him every day. Kagome Higurashi was lucky.
"You- you can't-" Hiromi stuttered. "You can't possibly like Kagome."
His grin widened then, and looked down at Kagome, flashing a wink. "I guess I'll just have to prove it." He said. And before Kagome could form an idea of what he was up to, Hojou turned her in his arms and kissed her.
This kiss was deep, not the playful kiss he planted on her earlier at lunch. His tongue swept inside her mouth and Kagome prepared to melt into him like she had on their first date.
…She waited, as the kiss continued. His lips were soft and his mouth was warm and he smelled good. But again, she had this nagging sensation, like it suddenly wasn't good enough. Like now his kisses were boring and insignificant.
He broke free and grinned at her again, touching their noses together. Hiromi and her friends had long since gone, the crowd had dispersed. And all Kagome could think about was that something had changed.
For some reason, Hojou was not good enough anymore.
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Please remember to review, I'm serious about my writing and my stories, and if you have anything to comment about or anything to mention or anything to say, I would love to hear it.
~SugarRos
