DISCLAIMER: I do not own any characters from the Inuyasha franchise.
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6 a.m.
"Kagome, you need to leave right now if you want to make it to gran-gran's place by lunchtime honey!"
Kagome groaned at the voice of her mother's from downstairs. She turned and looked at her bedside clock. If she slept in for 10 minutes then it wouldn't make a difference on the road now, would it?
"Chop chop sweety! We don't want you to miss out on the fun stuff gran-gran has planned for you tonight. Rise and shine!" It was her dad this time.
Clearly, her family had decided to make it their mission to not let her, firstly, sleep for another 10 or whatever minutes and secondly, be late to her grandmother's place for the "fun stuff".
Groaning and running her fingers through her messy hair bun was all she could do while getting up from her bed and dragging her feet to the bathroom. She swore she heard a "Finally!" echo from downstairs when she closed the bathroom door, which added to her already grouchy mood.
Let's be clear, Kagome Higurashi loved her grandmother aka gran-gran to bits but she also loved her sleep. Oh, the dilemma!
Then why in the world was she driving 7hrs "ALONE" to her gran-gran's place you ask? Simple. Her grandmother was plotting something and Kagome was trying to delay it as long as possible. Why? She could list a few things, but being single at her age, which wasn't much but late-twenties, and choosing to stay in her parent's home with them took the cake.
Her grandparents moved to Hamptons when her grandfather retired. He passed away a couple of years ago, bless his soul. Gran-gran was devastated and Kagome was there for her. Kagome suspected she was her favorite grandchild after that, but hey Kikyou could still take that spot with the speed she got married last year and pregnant this year.
Kagome's aunt and parents tried to get gran-gran to move-in with them but she refused. She wanted to live her remaining life with Kagome's grandfather's memories and their new friends and get Kagome married. This brings us to the "fun part" of what gran-gran has in-store for Kagome.
What do 'old Asian women' in a community have in common? Grandkids. Yes. Kagome was going to spend time with her grandmother and 'accidentally' meet the grandkids of her friends. The thought of a potential arranged blind date made her shudder. Alas, she couldn't refuse and so the lamb goes to the Slaughterhouse.
Kagome threw a couple of clothes in her duffle bag, namely jeans and tee with the hope that maybe the absence of an alluring dress would deter her gran-gran. Meh, who was she kidding… gran-gran probably covered her bases and already bought her a dress.
She grabbed her stuff, car keys and headed downstairs to face the music.
"Sweety, you are late! Here, grab a toast and have a safe trip. Call us when you reach." Kagome grabbed the toast in her mouth and could already see the gleaming look in her parent's eyes. Do they expect her to come back married? Is that what this was? An elaborate plan to get her married?
She kept staring at her parents, trying to find some answers… with a toast still shoved in her mouth.
"Oh, look at the time… we need to go meet Kikyou and Naraku. Safe travels, sweety!" Her dad literally shoved her out the door.
This just wasn't her day.
—
3 hrs down the road, and you would think it would get better, right? Nope, it doesn't. Her passenger seat was filled with Junk food packets, she was listening to punk rock (Don't Judge!) trying to make sense of what happened to her in the morning and what was in-stored at gran-gran's.
That's when her car indicated a flat tire.
'Fuck my life!' Was the thought that ran through Kagome's head when she pulled over on the highway next to a shop.
She got out and tried to check the tire and make sense of why the Gods hated her.
"Do you need some help?"
Kagome whipped around suddenly at the sound and met with the most beautiful golden eyes she had ever seen. 'Of demon descent'. There were goosebumps all over and she swore she could hear her heart pounding ferociously.
There was a time when the demons roamed the land and were at war with humans, but isn't that true for all races? Eventually somewhere in history, humans, and demons decided they wanted to live peacefully together and signed a treaty. That was actually pretty cool in her opinion, being cordial with a supposed predatory race. Long story short, the human-demon alliance made the pact and laws which have sustained coexistence between them till now.
Some of them are pretty archaic, like declaring your relationship with the other race in the Human-Demon Alliance (HDA) department even if you are dating. She just assumed that was one of the reasons why intermingling of races wasn't that common, though not unheard of. Who would bother with registering their relationship with the govt mandatorily? There were heavy fines levied at couples who did not abide by this law. And it wasn't even restricted to the US! This was the norm around the world. Pretty bullshit if you asked me, was always Kagome's response on this.
Her head was reeling with all these thoughts and mesmerized over the pretty-eyed man.
"Are you alright?"
"Ah, sorry. I was lost in thought. Could I trouble you a bit with helping me?" Kagome smiled her best smile in hopes he would accept her offer and not dwell on her staring shamelessly like a dumb person.
"No problemo. I see you have a flat. Let's change the tires and you'll be good to go."
"Thank you so much. By the way, I am Kagome." She stretched out her hand and tucked some strands of hair behind her. Damn the wind, getting hair in her eyes and making it hard to look at his pretty eyes.
"Yashiro." The pretty-eyed guy shakes her hand while grinning.
"So Yashiro, what's the diagnosis? How soon can I hit the road? I am running behind schedule as it is and I have a long drive ahead of me." Kagome kept sneaking glances at him while looking at her phone. She needed to send a message to her parents and gran-gran about the delay.
"Well, depends on the spare tire. Should take 5 tops!"
"Awesome! Do you need a hand?"
"Nope. I'm good."
"Alright. I'll grab us some drinks from the store." Kagome helped Yashiro get the spare tire from the back and grabbed her wallet while locking the car. She went inside the store to grab cola for both of them and came out surprised.
"That was quick" Still staring at the hunk, yes… Kagome was so mesmerized by his eyes that she had not appreciated the fact that Yashiro was hot. Broad build, large hands, silver messy hair. God! His white crisp shirt and blue jeans were accentuating his body in the most flattering way.
"Well, perks of being of demon descent" He replied with a wide grin while dusting his hand.
"And I believe you are all set to hit the road. Thank you for the drink" Yashiro said while accepting the drink Kagome offered while walking towards him.
"Thank you so much. You have no idea the kind of hell my grandmother would give me if I arrive late to the Hamptons. You are a lifesaver!"
"The Hamptons? You are driving all the way there? Why not take a flight?" Yashiro was drinking cola while looking very amused at Kagome.
"So, I am going to the Hamptons for a family thing and I kind of want to delay it as much as I can. Roadtrip sounded fun, but I couldn't have been more wrong. So here I am, stuck on a not-so-fun trip. I shudder over my trip back." Kagome took another sip of her Cola and was wondering why she ever thought a Roadtrip would prepare her for what was supposed to happen later.
"You know, I was heading to the Hamptons myself. I wouldn't mind your company." Smooth. Kagome stared at Yashiro and contemplated what he meant. Here was a man, correction hunk, offering to give her company on this failed Roadtrip to the Hamptons. Was this God's way of saying sorry?
"Are you sure? I mean I would love the company, but we just met. Are you sure?"
"Shouldn't that be my line? I could very well be the big-bad wolf enticing red ridding hood for a road tryst, you know." He chuckled and continued with a sly smile. Kagome was feeling it all over. You know, the weird feeling in the pit of your stomach over the possibility of something amazing happening and you getting just a little excited? Yes, that one.
"You promise?" Oh, she had to respond to that.
Kagome and Yashiro and just initiated a dangerous game. There was no turning back. 4hrs on the road with this guy, oh the possibilities.
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Please review! P.S. I might revisit and make small edits to chapters.