~There She Goes~

Chapter Two: Kagome's Perspective

It had never been a struggle for Kagome to make friends. She enjoyed meeting new people, enjoyed learning about their lives. When her grandfather retired and her family moved partway through a new school year, she never once worried about whether she'd be accepted in her new surroundings. She took genuine interest in people, so people took interest in her. But the first day she met Inuyasha, she knew he would be different.

She'd noticed him only in passing her first week at her new school. He sat a few seats behind her, and she thought the shoulder-length hair fit his boyish face surprisingly well. Despite her friendly attitude, she knew when to give people space, and from the start she could tell that the space around Inuyasha was more like a gulf. He seemed to like things that way – or so she thought, until one day she caught him watching her, and the look she'd seen hiding behind his yellow eyes told her a very different story. He'd turned away from her surprised gaze with a miffed expression, but she'd caught the hint of loneliness before he pushed it back.

After that, she couldn't get him off her mind. She'd tried to say hello a few times, but he made his disinterest clear. Not wanting to press her luck, Kagome began to watch him from afar, and what she discovered broke her heart. He had no friends, he ate alone, he was the last to be picked for projects and the first to be blamed when they went wrong. He took it all with a growl or a grumble, biting out sarcastic comments that only separated him further from everyone else. At first Kagome was convinced he was deliberately pushing people away, but the more she watched, the more she realized: it was his only defense. No one trusted him, no one liked him, and he certainly had no reason to like them either. She honestly couldn't blame him for the way he acted; that didn't mean it had to stay that way.

Kagome determined that if his behavior was reactionary, then she'd just give him something different to react to. Her morning hellos became a daily occurrence, and even though he never responded, she noticed that his attitude towards her changed. He didn't growl at her like the others. He didn't tense up every time she got too close. She dropped her folder once on the walk home, and he called her a klutz as he helped gather her fallen belongings before continuing on ahead. She hadn't even known they walked the same route. Her efforts were mostly subtle, and no one really said anything about her useless attempts to befriend the grunge loser. They just assumed she was 'being nice'.

When Kagome heard of an approaching school dance, she began to notice Inuyasha a little differently. He had a nice profile and a strong jaw framed perfectly by heavy silver-white bangs. Vibrant amber eyes stood out drastically against dark lashes and thick eyebrows, and his occasional fanged smirk was captivating. Out on the field he was faster, stronger, and more agile than most of the demons. And she'd been dying to touch his furry ears from almost the first moment she saw them. As the dance drew closer, she found it harder and harder not to get distracted in class by just how handsome he was. Even his baggy, second-hand clothes were becoming attractive to her – especially when he wore red. But he never noticed her the same way, and instead boys she'd never even seen were approaching her almost daily, asking if she'd be their date. Kagome tried her best to be diplomatic, all the while knowing that she really only wanted to go with one boy in particular. The day before the dance, knowing her half-demon classmate would never bother to ask her out (if indeed he planned on going to the dance at all), Kagome took matters into her own hands and decided to ask him. He'd never ignored her so forcefully before.

After a dateless dance, she returned to school resigned to a fate of useless pining over a boy who never spoke two words to her. And then he said hello. For the life of her, she couldn't imagine what had changed to make him suddenly so responsive, but she wasn't about to let the opening go to waste. When he finally started walking with her to and from the school, she had to keep pinching herself to make sure it wasn't a dream.

For the longest time he seemed mystified by her presence. Kagome herself couldn't be sure just what it was that drew her to him so. Half-demons were rare, even in a mixed school, and she supposed that's what had first caught her interest. Not that he was some spectacle, but it took guts for demons and humans to get together despite all the social stigmas, and for a half-demon to brave the torrents of prejudice and attend public school showed a certain strength of character that Kagome couldn't help admiring.

Of course Inuyasha never saw it in such noble terms. He survived, day to day, defiantly living his life like any human or demon would. Any comment from Kagome on the subject was construed as pity, and that was something he hated more than the prejudice.

Kagome never pitied him though; she wanted to share his burden, help him carry the weight. She got a few tastes of what it was like for him when they finally became official, but never in the same degree. No one really accepted her choice, but they still accepted her. "It just goes to show how kind she is." "She feels sorry for him for always being such a loner." "Once she feels she's done enough for him, I'm sure she'll move on." They wouldn't even listen when she'd try to correct them.

Inuyasha never got off so easily. "You've corrupted her." "She's too good for you." "She's only dating you out of pity." They never said it when Kagome was around, and he never told her, but she knew. She saw it in every judgmental frown, in the way everyone skirted him to be closer to her. More than anything, she wished she could make them understand the truth about their relationship: that being with him changed something in her. It made her see the world for what it really was. It made her face the fact that even nice people could hold ugly grudges. Being with him made her appreciate sincerity, appreciate genuine kindness and honest acceptance. It made her more forgiving, more understanding, more patient even when her peers were so cruel. Being with him made her a better person.

To everyone else's eyes, she was out of his league; to Kagome's eyes, she'd found a hidden gem.

*Author's Note:

Yeah, I know I said this would be a oneshot, but I have other stuff I've written for this au that I've been posting on tumblr, and like... might as well post it here too! This is probably going to follow the same format as "The Delinquent Boyfriend", where each chapter is a separate oneshot in this universe, instead of following a linear storyline. So keep an eye out for future chapters!