Turn On Me

Chapter 5- For Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti

If there's anything to say
If there's anything to do
If there's any other way
I'd do anything for you

For Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti by Sufjan Stevens

I woke up the next morning to the sound of my phone ringing on the bedside table. With a sigh, I raised my head from the pillows and reached out for it. Eri was the name across the screen and dread filled me. Without another thought, I picked it up. It was better to get this phone call over with.

"Hello?" I answered, sleepily.

"Kagome? Is that you?" I rolled my eyes.

"No, it's the Easter Bunny. Of course it's me, Eri!"

"Don't get mad. God. You just sound different. Are you sick?"

"No Eri. I'm not sick. I've just woken up though," I responded, my voice polite but strained.

"You're still sleeping until noon? I thought you stopped that in high school!" I frowned, glad that she wasn't physically in the room so that I couldn't strangle her.

"Is there a point to this phone call?" I asked, exasperatedly, not wanting to waste the time to explain to her that I had been up into the wee hours of the morning writing. I had forty pages on my computer that I needed to look over today.

"Uh, yes, yes there is," she replied, her voice nervous all of a sudden. I was surprised. I was sure that she was calling to tell me Inuyasha had asked her out. Why would that make her nervous.

"What's up, Eri?" I asked more sympathetically.

"You and Inuyasha went to school together right?"

"Yes," I answered hesitantly, not quite sure where this was going.

"Well then you knew him well?"

"Not…really," I got out. Part of me was rather annoyed with myself for lying about that, but I didn't want my family to suspect anything.

"Oh. Well, you had to have noticed something, right?" I shrugged even though she couldn't see it.

"I guess. Why are you asking, Eri?"

"Well, you see, he called me up today and asked me out." She didn't sound as excited about it as I would have thought she would be. The Eri I knew would have been shouting it from the rooftops. Not only had she bagged a handsome man, but rich and famous one at the same time.

"And you're not happy about that because?"

"Oh no, I'm incredibly happy…but, well, I was wondering if you had any advice for me. Like, what kinds of girls did he go for in college? What does he like?" She whined out and I felt sorry for her.

"Eri, you don't have to change who you are to get a guy to like you," I tried to console her.

"This isn't just any guy! This is Inuyasha Azuma! I just…want this date to go well." I sighed.

"It will be fine. I don't remember him dating much at school, but one thing that I noticed is that if he was interested, you knew. He would ask you out. He's noticed you already. You don't have anything to worry about. He wouldn't pursue you if it was just for a fling."

"But what if he changed?" She asked me, panicked.

"Then he's not worth it and I certainly can't advise you how to make him like you. Although, if you ask me, he already does. We talked about you yesterday," I admitted, hoping that this piece of information would make her realize that she didn't need my advice.

"Really?" She was intrigued.

"Yeah. He wanted the same thing you did; to see if you liked him. So I think you'll be fine. Get dressed up, go to dinner, be yourself, and in the end, you'll have a wonderful time." She was silent for a moment before she responded.

"Thanks Kagome. You're a really good friend." I smiled bittersweetly. As much as I appreciated the statement, I knew it wasn't true. If given the chance, I would steal Inuyasha away in a heartbeat.

"Look, Eri, I gotta go. I'll see you Friday, yeah?"

"Of course! See you then lovey! Muah!" I hung up and sighed, laying back in bed for a couple more minutes, ruminating on this next set of events. I expected to feel jealousy, anger, and sadness. But I didn't feel any of those things, at least not full force. The jealousy and regret were simmering under the surface, and the anger was fading quickly. The sadness was more pronounced, but not overwhelming. In fact, what I was feeling was relief. There wasn't any wondering what I could possibly do to make him look at me again. He was with Eri. If this was what he wanted, if Eri was what he wanted, then I could only do my best to make sure that both he and my friend were happy. And was the end of that. He was getting on with his life, so why couldn't I?

Without another thought, I closed my eyes and let sleep wash over me once more.

"Oi! Higurashi!" the shout came from down the hall. I barely heard it, headphones in my ears blasting music in my ears. I paused and stooped my music, turning towards the boy who for years had been my tormenter and, only now, had been occupying my thoughts.

"Hey," I greeted him. He walked quickly to catch up to me, through the throng of people that were trying to get to class. "What's up?"

"Have dinner with me," he said calmly. I scrunched my brows in slight confusion.

"Um, sure. I'll see you at the dining hall then." He rolled his eyes at me.

"Not like that, wench! I meant in a restaurant. On Friday," he explained slowly, as if I was incapable of comprehending it.

"Well, not if you keep calling me wench!" I bit back. He only did it to get under my skin.

"Feh, you know you'll say yes," he responded arrogantly.

"Oh really? Just because I like you doesn't mean that I'm going to let you demean me!" I blushed the minute I realized that I had admitted to being romantically inclined towards him. He smirked at my statement.

"Is that so? You know you like it when I call you wench."

"No woman likes to be called wench," I retorted. "It's demeaning and undignified. It suggests that women are inferior. I have a name, you know it, and I suggest that if you're serious about having another conversation with me, that you use it."

"Oh really, Ka-Go-Me? Let me rephrase then, bitch, will you go out with me." My eyes widened.

"NO!" I shouted. He laughed at my reaction.

"Well, I didn't call you wench."

"What in the world would make you think that by calling me bitch, which is worse than wench, I'd be willing to say yes?" I asked him, exasperatedly.

"I just thought I'd point out that it could totally be worse than wench," he responded calmly, clearly amused by the whole situation.

"Ugh, you're so infuriating!" I exclaimed before stomping back off down the hall. He laughed at me.

"You never did answer me, Kagome!" he called after me. "Are we on for dinner?"I whirled around and scowled at him.

"Yes!" I shouted back. "But I'm not going to like it!"

Oh how wrong I was.

The next few weeks went by uneventfully. I went to work, I came home, I ate, I slept, occasionally, I'd get a call from Sango. Life had seemingly gone back to normal. On Fridays, I'd head to my sister's and enjoy the company of my family and generally ignore the fact that Inuyasha was sitting across from me, making googly eyes at one of my oldest friends. We didn't speak to each other more than the expected pleasantries. I knew that there wasn't much more time I'd have to put up with it. Soon enough, Aunt Kimi would demand that we go down to the beach house and visit my mother and Kikyo. She dreaded it as much as the rest of us did, but she knew what society expected of her. Which is why, when she called to let me know that her business trip was going to take more time than expected, I was shocked. We weren't going to leave for quite a bit more time. But I just grinned and bore it. There was no point in dwelling on what wouldn't happen. Besides, now that the first shock of it all was over, I had to say that it was getting easier.

But as I had learned at the start of this summer, life liked to mess with me.

One Tuesday afternoon, I was sitting at my desk at work. It had been quiet. There were very few meetings, no phone calls to be dealt with. I had taken to playing solitaire on the computer. It was like any other day. And up until that point, I was thinking of going out and enjoying myself after work. Have a drink with Jakotsu and some other coworkers, perhaps. See a movie. Curl up on my couch with a pint of ice cream and watch trashy reality TV. Oh the possibilities. But it all came crashing down around me when my boss popped his head out of his office and called out my name.

I jumped in surprise with a small screech. I quickly closed out my solitaire game and turned to face Myouga. "Yes sir?" I squeaked. He nodded his head towards his office.

"I need to speak with you." He sounded serious and tired. His face was drawn as he allowed me into the office, closing the door quietly behind me. He shuffled back to his desk, his head bowed, unable to look me in the eye.

"Kagome, you know how much I appreciate the work you've done here over the years," he began, his grandfatherly voice giving me no comfort this time.

"Sir?" I asked hesitantly, not really sure if I was going to like where this is going.

"But I'm afraid that it's just not enough. In this economy, we've had to reevaluate our budget and in order for the company to stay afloat, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to terminate your position." The color drained completely from my face and I sat there, complete still, not saying a word. "This is not a reflection of your work. In fact, Kagome, you've been fantastic. I'm sorry to lose you." I swallowed, trying to get rid of the lump in my throat. It didn't help.

"You're firing me?" I croaked out, still shocked. Myouga shook his head.

"I'm not firing you, Kagome. I'm letting you go. You'll get your full severance package, I promise." I still didn't move.

"I, I'm not sure what to say, sir." He sighed.

"Neither do I. The company is downsizing. With everything going digital now, the publishing industry is taking a real hit. It's amazing that we've lasted this long, especially in this economy. And as much as I would love to keep you around, financially, I just can't. Please understand, Kagome." I nodded.

"I think I do sir. I guess I'll just pack my things and go." I stood slowly and made my way to the door.

"Kagome!" Myouga called out to me. I paused. "If it makes any sense, I think we both knew that this would never last. I am blessed to have had you as my assistant, but we both know you're destined for bigger things. So take this opportunity and run with. I expect to see great things from you in the future." I nodded at him, not trusting my voice. Affection for him welled in my heart. This was the man who had given me a chance right out of college when no one else would. I had no experience but he took one look at me and said that I had the job. I would forever be thankful to him. I closed the door behind me and walked back to my desk, I began to pack up my things but that didn't take long. Nearly four years of working there and I had accumulated very little. I walked past Jakotsu's office on my way out and waved goodbye. He smiled at me sadly and waved back.

I entered the elevator, and as the doors closed, I sunk against the wall. What was I going to do now?

I drove to Sango's. It was the only place that I could think of to go. I certainly didn't want to go home to my apartment, which I couldn't afford now, and wallow by myself. That would lead down a road that I did not want to go down. I rang the bell and waited for Sango to answer the door. Nothing stirred. Desperate, I rang it twice in succession. C'mon, answer the door! But no one came. Belatedly, I remembered that Sango had her book club on Tuesday evenings and would probably not be in. With a frustrated groan, I sat down on her front stoop, hunched over. I'm not sure how long I stayed there, but eventually, Rin's voice reached my ear.

"Is everything okay, Kagome?" I glanced up to see her at the end of the driveway, looking at me with concern. I shrugged.

"Not really," I answered. She walked up the driveway and placed her hand on my shoulder.

"C'mon, I'll make some tea." Like a lost puppy, I followed her to my old house up the road. I sat down at the table while Rin set the kettle to boil. Tired I leaned my head down on the surface and waited for her to come back. When the tea was finally done, she sat down. She handed me a mug with a some earl grey in it and I smiled as I took a sip. It was more comforting that I thought it would be. "So what happened?"

"I lost my job today," I admitted. She gasped.

"Oh sweety! That's terrible," she consoled me. I gave her a weak smile. "What happened?" I shrugged.

"The company can't afford to pay for my position anymore. So they let me go." She placed her hand over mine.

"That's unfortunate. But I'm sure you'll find a job you love soon." I nodded, taking in her words. I finally looked up from the table and to my surprise, Sesshoumaru was glowering in the doorway. I startled and Rin noticed. She turned towards her husband and frowned at the sight of him. She gave him a look and with one last scowl, he turned on his heel at left. She rolled her eyes. "Men!"

"He doesn't seem to like me very much." I commented. Rin shrugged.

"I know. He's stupid though, so don't you pay him any mind. You're welcome here whenever."

"Thanks. But I wouldn't want to intrude."

"He holds grudges," Rin explained. "I, for one, try to get to know people before I decide they're heartless harpies that want to ruin the lives of good men." My eyes widened at the statement. Is that really what he thought of me? "So you broke up with his brother! Big deal! If it wasn't working, it wasn't working. It was better that you broke things off than lead him on. Inuyasha seems to be fine. He can, after all, stand to be in the same room as you, unlike my husband." I colored at this.

"Yeah well, if it was the other way around, I can't exactly say that I'd be treating him any differently."

"Kagome," Rin began, her voice capturing my attention. "You didn't do anything wrong. Break ups are part of life. If you didn't love him anymore, then it wasn't meant to be. It took Inuyasha a while, but I think he finally understands that. You do, too, I'm sure. Life goes on, even after the worst break ups. " I nodded, not having the heart to tell her that she was wrong, that I still loved and had always loved Inuyasha. It certainly wasn't going to do me any good now. The most I could hope for was friends, and even then, that would depend upon where his relationship with Eri would go.

A/N: Happy Labor Day! I thoroughly enjoyed my day off and in the process, managed to write this up for you all. It's completely unedited because I'm must too lazy/busy to be bothered right now. Let me know if you see any mistakes. See you all in October!

Emily
NaP