Teacher's Pet
Chapter 52: Breaking Up is Hard to Do
Kagome closed her locker, still trying to figure out the best way to tell Tsubasa that Sesshomaru actually hadn't cheated on her and that she still wanted to be with him…without breaking his heart. Of course, she could just say those words, but then that would probably break his heart.
"It really isn't that difficult, Kags." Inuyasha said, knowing what her internal struggle was about.
"It is if I want to handle it with class and tact. To him, it could look like I'm just jumping from Sess' bed, to his, back to Sess. And I don't want it to look like that." Kagome sighed, frustrated. She had way too much on her plate. She hadn't taken note of all of the girls holding flowers and the guys either looking panicked or pleased.
"Well, you'd better think of something quick because here he comes. With a huge bouquet of roses." Inuyasha walked to the other side of Kagome's locker.
"Roses? Why?" Kagome looked around her and saw that the school was decorated in red, pink, and white. Of course it was Valentines's Day. She sighed. Just her luck.
"Good morning to the most beautiful girl in the entire world." Tsubasa kissed Kagome's head and handed her the flowers and the chocolates he'd hidden behind his back. "This is just part one of a romantic day for you."
Sesshomaru was walking by and watched as Tsubasa handed Kagome the roses. It seemed that the boy didn't know as much as he thought he did about Kagome. One of those important things was that Kagome hated Valentine's Day. She didn't mind other people celebrating it, she simply didn't celebrate it herself.
"Um…thanks, Tsubasa." Kagome leaned up and Tsubasa kissed her on the cheek. She looked at Sesshomaru as he walked by them and her heart skipped a beat.
The inu youkai smirked inwardly as he heard Kagome's heart skip a beat, knowing that it was because of him and not that damned bear youkai. He would have his miko back soon. He was sure of it.
During the day, Kagome tried to figure out a way to break up with Tsubasa, and it seemed like he knew because he smothered her even more for it. But the thing was, Kagome knew she couldn't do it at school. Hell, she knew that there was no way she would be able to break up with him that day. What kind of heartless bitch broke up with someone on Valentine's Day?
"So have you figured it out yet?" Inuyasha asked at lunch.
Kagome shook her head. "I can't. Not here. Not today."
"Why not?" He was confused.
Tsubasa came to the table with more flowers and her lunch. He'd ordered her favorite pasta from her favorite restaurant and had it brought to the school. "I hope my girlfriend is hungry."
Kagome shot Inuyasha a look, signaling that this was why she couldn't break up with Tsubasa. "Oh, thank you, Tsubasa."
"And after we get out of school, I'm taking you shopping then out for dinner." Tsubasa announced, opening Kagome's to-go plate for her.
"You really don't have to do any of that." Kagome said, her heart literally squeezing in her chest at the thought of hurting him. She sighed. "How about we go for a walk in the park instead?"
"That's fine, too. Whatever you want." Tsubasa was happy to just spend time with her.
Kagome hoped they could finish the rest of lunch in silence, but apparently Tsubasa had other plans. "Kagome, you are so beautiful. If I spent the rest of my life waking up to you, I would be happy."
"Layin' it on pretty thick there, aren't ya?" Inuyasha noticed how uncomfortable Kagome was.
Tsubasa flushed slightly. "It's just now I feel about her."
Kanna decided it was her turn to intervene. "Um, are we still having practice today?"
"Nah. I don't think the girls would like it if I took them away from their boyfriends today." Kagome gave a weak smile. "I wish I wouldn't have cancelled it, though. The championship is coming up and I don't think we're strong enough yet."
"Do you have anything specific you want worked on?" Kanna smiled as Kagome eased into the conversation. She could tell that her friend was grateful for the distraction from Tsubasa's affection.
Finally, it was the end of the day and Kagome was looking forward to the hour and a half of not being around Tsubasa before she met him in the park.
"You know you have to do it today." Inuyasha told his best friend.
"Yeah, Kagome. It's better to rip it off like a Band-Aid instead of leading him on until tomorrow, or whenever you feel is the right time to do it." Kanna agreed.
Kagome sighed and Sesshomaru walked through the door to his home. She turned around to look at the man she was absolutely in love with and narrowed her eyes. "I hate you."
Sesshomaru paused, confused. "What?"
"You make my life so difficult. So I hate that I love you." Kagome grumbled and flopped herself on the couch.
Sesshomaru walked to Kagome and knelt in front of her, gathering her small hands in his much larger ones. "I do apologize for the complications. Had I just been honest from the beginning, you wouldn't have even felt the need to seek comfort in the arms of the bear."
Kagome suddenly couldn't breathe. The amount of honesty and passion in Sesshomaru's voice and eyes was suffocating her. She wanted nothing more than to throw herself into his arms and kiss him passionately, but she knew better. Instead, she nodded and her resolve strengthened. She would break up with Tsubasa. She would hate herself for it for a while, but she knew that it was better to set him free than to keep him with her when she so badly wanted to be with Sesshomaru. "I'm leaving now."
"Jia you!" Kanna yelled.
Kagome stopped walking and turned to the small void demon that had come to be her best friend, and burst out laughing. "Why the hell did you tell me good luck in Chinese?"
Kanna shrugged, a smile on her face.
In her car at the park, Kagome took a deep breath. Her heart was racing and her palms were sweaty. She was beyond nervous. "You can do this Kagome. It's the right thing to do." She knew in her heart that it was the right thing to do, but that didn't make it any easier. She sighed and got out of the car, walking to the park bench where Tsubasa had told her he'd be waiting.
He was there, sitting down and waiting for Kagome. He reached for her hand, not noticing the reluctance she had in giving it to him. "I've been doing some thinking, Kagome." Tusbasa said as they started to walk.
"About what?" Kagome was actually curious.
"Well, we're juniors now, and pretty soon we'll be going to college. I'm sure we're gonna be able to have our pick of schools. We're both athletic and smart, but I was wondering…" He stopped and turned to Kagome, pulling something out of his pocket. "This isn't what you think it is. It's a promise ring, not an engagement ring. But with us graduating in a little over a year, I want to make sure that I can keep you by my side." He opened the box to reveal a gorgeous sapphire ring, the same color of her eyes.
Kagome wanted to cry. In fact, she did allow a few tears to fall from her eyes, but Tsubasa mistook them for tears of joy. "Tsubasa, I can't." She choked out, shaking her head. "I'm sorry. I-I can't accept that. I can't be with you, this won't work. I'm so sorry." She met his eyes briefly before she turned and ran back to her car, more than thankful to see that Inuyasha nd Kanna were leaning against her car.
"We figured you'd need a friend." Inuyasha said, opening his arms, while Kanna stepped up and grabbed the keys from Kagome's hand.
"Oh Yash, Kan, you guys are the best!" Kagome flung herself into his arms, crying on his chest as he rubbed his hand up and down her back. He guided her into the backseat and let her cry herself out while Kanna drove them to Kagome's house.
"Kagome, you're gonna be ok. Why are you so upset?" Inuyasha asked when they were in her room.
"Because," she hiccupped, "I care about him and I didn't want to hurt him." She smiled Kanna when she came into her room with ice cream. "I really do love you guys."
"We love you, too, Kagome." Kanna smiled and threw her arms around Kagome.
Across town, Tsubasa was confused. Things were going great with him and Kagome, so why would she break up with him? He drove back to his house, his mind swimming with possibilities. There was Naraku and that whole ordeal, of course, but he knew that wasn't going to bother Kagome enough to break up with him. Then there was…their history teacher. Kagome hadn't come back upstairs the previous night after visiting with him, so perhaps it had something to do with him. Of course it did. He probably lied to her again and made his way back into her good graces.
Tsubasa didn't know what led him. He didn't know whether it was anger or his passion for Kagome, but he found himself knocking on the door of a condo that wasn't his and when the door was opened, he brought his fist back and crashed it into the face of the person standing on the other side.
And there you have it! Three more chapters. I'm hoping to have more up within the next couple of weeks. Happy New Year everyone!
~KM705Msan