Chapter 1: First Meeting
Kagome Higurashi was a normal fourteen year old girl. Or at least she tried to be. It seemed like her mother had the right idea when she named her at birth. Kagome, meaning "lost" and "bird cage" was a very fitting name for the girl who always had her head up in the clouds. Growing up in the quiet suburb of Setagaya-Ku, 18 kilometers away from the bustling city of Tokyo, had contributed to her semi-introverted personality.
Unlike most girls in Tokyo, Kagome's family lived in a shrine that was passed down on her father's side for generations. So naturally being raised in a home that was well versed in Japanese myths only fueled her imagination and constant daydreaming, aside from her sheltered upbringing.
For whatever reason, her father had been very protective of her. From what Kagome could remember, she had been very close to him until he died in a tragic car accident. She was only five years old when it happened, but there wasn't a day that went by that she didn't miss him. However, on a brighter note, she had her mother, grandfather and younger brother to keep her company. Not to mention her fat cat Buyo.
Despite the loss of their provider, the Higurashi family had been relatively privileged. Mr. Higurashi had enough money left in his savings to care for his family, which was unusual for someone whose career involved wildlife conservation, but they lived comfortably. Kagome and her brother were fortunate enough to be enrolled in prestigious private schools in the city, a provision their father had left in his will. However, aside from the wonderful opportunities they had, Mrs. Higurashi ensured her children remained grounded.
The tight-knit Higurashi family had no idea they were watched closely by a pair of sky blue eyes.
For years they were unknowingly watched over by a man who had worked closely with the deceased patriarch. They were coworkers and close friends who met during their younger years. They shared the same passion at preserving wildlife and were both employed at centers that focused on wolf conservation.
The watchful blue eyed man worked alongside Mr. Higurashi and waited for the day that he announced his wife was pregnant with their first child, and then second. Eventually his conscience couldn't allow Higurashi to face the fate that would soon become of him.
One day, over drinks, he told Higurashi his origins, and that Higurashi would die when his first born reached age five, and what would become of that child in the near future. Naturally, Mr. Higurashi was skeptical, but his longtime friend convinced him just how true his words were. And although he could not change Higurashi's fate due to the human man's stubbornness, he felt it was his duty to make sure his family was well cared for long after death.
A week before Kagome's fifteenth birthday, he felt it would be right to make his move. The future and past depended on his very carefully planned actions. Kagome Higurashi was under his protection now, and he would see to it that he took care of his responsibilities.
Kagome woke up and got ready for school like she usually did. Once her green and white uniform was on she made her way downtown. She Dreaded her commute due to the large crowds and incessant stares she received for looking different. It wasn't every day you found a native Japanese girl with naturally blue eyes. A trait she could thank her hafu father for. As always, she was grateful when the inquisitive looks lessened as she got closer to the city. The people of central Tokyo were a bit more used to diversity; although the real reason may have been due to many assuming she was wearing colored contact lenses.
Getting off at her stop she saw her three best friends waiting for her at the station. She ran and gave them each a hug, "Eri! Yuka! Ayumi! I missed you all so much!"
They giggled at their friend's clinginess, "Kagome it hasn't been that long since we've seen you." Yuka said.
Kagome smiled and pulled away bashfully, "I know, but weekends are so long for me. You're all lucky that you live closer to the city. Setagaya is so boring!"
Yuka put an arm around Kagome's shoulders, "Some of us would kill to live in a quiet suburb. The traffic here is terrible!"
Kagome looked up with a childish pout, "We all want we don't have I suppose."
They laughed and made their way out of the station. They continued their walk to school, which was only a few blocks away. As teenage girls, naturally they updated each other about what was going on in their lives and shared the latest gossip.
"So Hojo told me he's got a crush on you Kagome." Ayumi said as they reached the stone staircase leading up to their school.
Kagome blushed a bright red, "What? You're lying!"
"When have I ever?" Ayumi asked in a tone that sounded like she took offense to the accusation.
"Urgh, of course Kagome gets the cutest guy in school!" Eri whined.
Kagome was about to object until she tripped over a step, not realizing they had reached the staircase that led up to their school. She closed her eyes, dreading the fall, but instead she bumped into someone.
"Hey, watch it!" said an unfamiliar and very male voice.
Kagome looked up and squeaked. It was a guy she had never seen on campus before. He looked like he should have been a high school student but he wore a black uniform the boys at her school were required to wear. Of course with her luck- he was one of the most attractive guys she had ever seen. Completely mortified, she jumped back red in the face, "Uh, I'm so sorry!"
The guy in question was a whole head taller than her and the pure definition of tall, dark and handsome. He had cropped black hair and messy bangs. But his eyes are what captured her. Kagome thought to herself that this is what it must have been like for people who were so struck by her eye color. Hers were a dark shade of blue, whereas his were light in color like a clear sky. It was… captivating, to say the least.
He grinned down at her, "Well now that see that it's a beautiful little lady like yourself that's fallen for me, I guess it's alright."
Kagome was relieved to see that he wasn't angry at her for her clumsiness, but was completely embarrassed at the suggestive compliment he just gave her. A short distance away she heard her friends not so deceptively whisper, "Oh my gosh, he's so hot!"
"Why is Kagome always the lucky one?"
"Look at those eyes! His skin! Do you think he's hafu?"
Kagome couldn't have been more embarrassed for them. She desperately wished to herself for the ground to split and swallow her whole.
He smirked at hearing her friends' approval, but he wondered if the girl before him shared their sentiments, "Are you going to say anything Kagome?"
Her eyes became as big as saucers and her heart pounded in her chest, "How do you know my name?"
The stranger leaned in close to her ear, "Your friends don't exactly know how to whisper."
Kagome shivered at their close proximity, she felt his breath on her ear when he spoke and it tickled her with a strange sensation she had never felt before. Slowly she recovered and took a step back.
She laughed nervously, "That's a good point. They really don't know how to whisper," she said loud enough for the trio to hear.
The girls were in shock that they were so easily discovered and blushed. Finally embarrassed by their girly antics, they laughed awkwardly. "We need to get to class Kagome, bye!" they practically blurted out in unison and scurried off in the opposite direction.
Kagome looked back at the ones who were abandoning her, 'Oh, I am so getting back at them!' But her musings were interrupted by the guy standing in front of her. He cleared his throat to get her attention once more.
"So Kagome… Mind escorting me to the main office. I'm a new student enrolling." He explained.
Kagome ignored how he used her first name so casually to address her, "Sure, follow me." She stepped around him to lead the way inside the school.
"Um, what's your name again?" She asked to fill the awkward silence between them.
"I didn't. My name is Yuuta Kouga." He answered with a dashing smile that made her blush.
Kouga was simply getting a kick out of the reaction he was receiving from the small girl. It was safe to assume she found him as attractive as her friends had.
"Nice to meet you," she said and stopped to show him the cubbies where students switched their shoes. Once she had her school slippers on, she pointed out important areas while they walked towards the office. Kouga let her chatter away and admired her thoughtfulness at providing him a mini-tour. She wasn't any different from what he remembered. Her caring heart was still intact. Time hadn't changed a thing.
"It's strange though." He heard Kagome say, "For you to transfer here at the end of October."
Taking it as an invitation to explain himself, he smiled down at her, "Well my family just moved here." He said, which wasn't a complete lie since he had recently returned to Tokyo just for this moment.
"I see." She said, "Well here it is Yuuta. I'm sure they can give you your school slippers in here."
"Thank you very much Kagome." he said with a bow, "And please, call me Kouga."
She was taken aback by his sudden politeness, but she returned his smile, "No problem, see ya Kouga!" She said trying out his given name on her tongue; and with a skip in her step she rushed down the hall so she wouldn't be late for class.
When she made it to her first period geometry class, she spotted the friends who had left her behind and stomped over to them, "Hey! What was the big idea?"
Yuka laughed, "Sorry Kagome. We didn't want to interrupt."
"He was gorgeous!" Eri chimed in.
Ayumi giggled to show she agreed with their boy crazy friend.
"He looked like an idol." Eri sighed, "Almost as if he was ripped from a page of ViVi magazine!"
Kagome rolled her eyes, "I don't know which I hate more, you three or this math class."
They laughed at the moody blue eyed girl as she took her designated seat. Their cheerfulness was cut short however when their teacher entered the room.
During their lunch period, the girls resumed their talks.
"So we need to know two things from you Kagome, what are you going to be for Halloween and what are you going to do about Hojo and the new guy?" Yuka asked.
Kagome looked over with a blank expression and blinked, "That's three things."
"Oh don't be a smarty pants!" Eri cried.
Kagome bit her lip and thought for a second, "Hmm, I did see a cute Little Red Riding Hood costume at the mall the other day."
"You should hurry and get it before it's sold out Kagome." Ayumi remarked, knowing her friend always left things for the last minute.
"And Hojo? New guy?" Yuka prompted.
"What are you talking about? There's nothing for me to do." Kagome blushed.
"Look! She's as red as a tomato!" Eri grinned, "Which boy do you choose?"
"I should really try passing geometry before I think about boys in that way." Kagome said trying desperately to change the subject.
They all gave her a skeptical look, but dropped the topic for the time being. Kagome absentmindedly picked at the lunch her mother had packed for her. She had a strange feeling in her stomach that something big was going to happen. Meanwhile her friends talked amongst themselves knowing they'd lost their friend to her internal musings.
Kagome's wandering thoughts were brought to an abrupt end when the bell rung, signaling their next class, P.E. The girls made their way to the locker room and changed out of their standard white and green uniforms into their exercise ones, which included white long sleeves and red shorts or sweatpants. Kagome opted for shorts knowing that today was their scheduled cardio. She was first out of the locker room since her friends always took forever to change clothes with their non-stop chatter.
Kagome stood alongside a gate nearest to the track field while she waited for her friends patiently. Little did she know the two guys her friends had been asking about earlier had spotted her.
Kouga couldn't help but admire her long legs while she stood there looking up towards the sky. He finally understood why she was so fit compared to the humans of his time. She wasn't a world-class athlete or anything like that, but she was a healthy and strong girl despite not work out regularly.
Kouga reached her first, "Well look who it is."
Kagome whipped around at hearing the now familiar deep voice, "Kouga!"
He smirked, "Nice to see you again too."
She was about to reply to his statement but was quickly distracted when Hojo jogged over, "Higurashi!"
Kouga looked over with a frown, not appreciating being interrupted. 'Who the hell is this whelp?'
Hojo looked at them both and nodded Kouga's way to show he acknowledged him before he returned his full attention on Kagome, "Hello Higurashi."
Kagome returned his smile, which Kouga really didn't like, but he bit his tongue, "Hi Hojo. How are you?"
"Great, and yourself?" he asked a little too enthusiastically for Kouga's liking.
"I'm fine," she said kindly, "Hojo, have you met Kouga. He's new here."
"No. I haven't. Nice to meet you." Hojo bowed.
Kouga returned it with faux pleasantry, but before he could say anything, the boy focused again on Kagome. Kouga frowned, 'Oh god, talk about a one-track mind. His puppy dog stare is nauseating.' He thought to himself while he turned his head to roll his eyes. 'I sure hope this isn't what Kagome's into, he's pathetic…'
"I was wondering if you were going to the Halloween dance Saturday. Maybe we can go together?" he asked.
Kouga's head whipped back at the question. Did this boy have the gall to ask Kagome on a date in front of him? Kouga bit back a growl. The boy was either really brave, or extremely stupid. But, Kouga had to admit that it was a pretty ballsy move for a wimp like him. 'Guess I can't be too mad at him,' he thought while he turned his head back to look at the girl in front of him, 'she's a beautiful girl after all.'
'Oh no, Ayumi was telling the truth!' Kagome blushed furiously, "Uh, um… I'm not sure yet if I'm going. I don't have a costume ready. But, uh- I'll let you know if I do!" she said trying to mimic his enthusiasm.
If Hojo was disappointed he didn't let it show, "Sure thing, Higurashi. Just let me know. You know my number." He waved at the both of them and rushed off to the other side of the track to start on his stretches.
"Your boyfriend?" Kouga asked in a deadpan voice.
Kagome looked back at him confused, "What? No! Don't be silly, we're just friends."
"Coulda' fooled me. Your face is so red, it looks like it'll explode." Kouga said in a tone that may have been a little too serious.
Kagome's eyes widened, "It's not!" she looked away, "And it's not that way! You sound all jealous-" she began to say but was interrupted by Kouga's uncontrollable laughter.
'Did I say something funny?' She wondered, getting even redder.
Kouga laughed so hard his eyes watered. After a moment he regained his composure and dabbed his eyes, "Hardly. There's nothing for me to be jealous about."
Suddenly Kagome felt very insecure and foolish about what she had said. Kouga frowned when he sensed her worry and discomfort.
"Don't worry, it's not you. I meant there's nothing about him to be jealous about," he explained with a cocky grin, "And like you said, it's not like he's your boyfriend." He said with a wink and walked off, leaving the girl behind him bewildered.
Barely a moment passed by for Kagome to recover when her friends cried behind her, "Ooooooooooh!"
Kagome sighed, knowing her friends would want updates on her most recent interaction with the boys. But that talk went on hold when their fitness instructor walked onto the field.
The rest of the students made their way out of the locker rooms and quickly took their places on the field, and did their stretches as instructed. Once they finished the warm up, they were told to run some laps and would finish the period off with a relay race. Kagome was grateful for the physical activity, it kept her mind busy instead of getting lost in her own thoughts like she usually did. Luckily for her, unlike many kids in her class, she actually enjoyed cardio exercises. She was the fastest runner on the girls side, Hojo was the fastest on the boy's side, well at least that was true until the class saw Kouga run.
"Whoa! That guy could be in the Olympics!" she heard many of her classmates whisper amongst themselves. And it was true. The guy was fast!
Kouga on the other hand had his eyes on Kagome. Sure, she wasn't nearly as fast as him, but he had an unfair advantage. For an untrained teenage girl, he admired her human speed. She was definitely the top in her class for a reason. He knew if she practiced a little more she could definitely beat that Hojo whelp and be number one. But he shook his head at his musings knowing fully well what was going to become of the little human. She was going to get used to running a lot very soon.
In the last relay race of the day, Kouga and Kagome were the ones that had to reach the finish line with their teams' batons. Yuka ran over and passed it to Kagome, who dashed off like her life depended on it. Kouga smirked at her competitive nature while their class went wild cheering. Moments later Hojo reached Kouga and passed the baton to him. Kagome had a fair lead and Kouga let her enjoy it for a few moments more. The class nearly lost their minds in anticipation over who would win. Seeing the finish line only a few meters away, Kouga kicked it up a notch and passed the girl he was just praising.
'Sorry Kagome. Can't go easy on you.' He apologized mentally and crossed the finish line first. She made it through only a few seconds after him. The crowd was a mix of cheers and disappointed groans.
Kouga looked back at his opponent, she was hunched over, hands over her knees, trying to catch her breath. She had never pushed herself so hard before. He walked over to her and outstretched his hand. Taking a few more breaths she stood up straight and took his hand in a firm handshake. She still had a look of disappointment on her face but she shook it off and looked up at him with a smile.
"Congrats Kouga," she said and pulled her hand back to prop it up on her hip, "we'll see if you win next time though."
Kouga grinned, "I'd like to see you try."
