Summary: She's done it! The jewel is finally complete and she can put fighting demons in the past as last! With a sigh of relief, she turns her focus to her future. Able to resume her school life, she somehow gets dragged into the world of "S" by classmate and new friend, Reki. Meanwhile, Kojiro is forced to realize that his baby sister isn't a baby anymore.

Pairing: Undecided

Disclaimer: I do not own either series. Each belongs to their rightful owners.

Note:
Jewel is still around, but it's dormant.


Chapter Seven


As the night drug on, Kagome found her place alongside her two classmates. The excitement steadily died down, and she was taken aback when Reki draped his arm over her shoulder. She didn't react outside of glancing up at him with a curious light in brilliant blue eyes.

"If you want, we can drop you off at home," he offered, but a separate voice stopped her before she could respond.

"Actually, why don't I take her home?" Cherry stated. It wasn't exactly an offer, and Kagome found herself agreeing with it before she knew what she was saying.

"It might be for the better," she remarked. She doubted it was recommended for them to try and fit three people on that bike. Reki shrugged and relented.

"If you think so," he stated. As he did, he looked between the two, curiosity blooming. "How did you two ever meet?" he asked, and Kagome blinked owlishly. At the question, Kagome didn't miss the way Langa had tuned in, eyeing them curiously.

"I've known him for as long as I can remember," she stated. It wasn't a lie, that's for certain. In all her early memories, he was sure to be found. "He knows my brother," she added for the sake of offering some sort of explanation.

"Huh," Reki mused, "go figure…"

Her response solved the curiosity concerning how she knew the man, and in the following silence, she waved a quick farewell to the two boys her age. Kirara leaped up onto her shoulder as the miko bounded after the pink-haired man.

She came to a halt beside him, giving him a curious glance. "Why do you wanna take me home?" she asked. Not that she wasn't grateful for the offer. He looked down at her, blue meeting amber.

"I figured it wouldn't hurt anything," he stated, and Kagome tilted her head to the side. After a second, she shrugged and readily climbed on in front of him just like she'd been earlier.

The ride back to the shrine was quiet for the most part. Kagome let her head rest against his chest, gaze fixed up at the sky. Despite the events of the night, her mind still seemed to flitter back to the lingering reminder of her half-demon friend coming to see her. Her heart felt heavy. She wanted to be excited, but…

"Something on your mind?"

The question was out of the blue, and she surfaced from her thoughts upon registering the words spoken into her ear. She was abruptly aware of just how close he was, his body pleasantly warm against her own compared to the brisk night air. Suddenly she was grateful for the fact that he couldn't see her face with clarity. Otherwise, the pink tint staining her cheeks would be obvious.

"A-Ah…" she paused, trying to think of what to say in response to his question. Trying to explain felt silly to her. "How do you face someone who you care deeply for, but they've hurt you a lot…?" she asked, voice soft. No matter how she looked at the situation, she loved Inuyasha dearly as a friend, but the reminder of everything he'd put her through stung. "Should I just put it all behind us?" she whispered.

Cherry was silent for a few seconds after she asked her question. After a pause on his end, he sighed. "Sometimes that can be for the better," he said, "but not all the time. However, if you're interested in keeping this friend, then coming to even ground with them can benefit both of you."

Kagome was silent as she nodded, merely taking in the advice he had to offer.

"If you care for them as you say, then perhaps you'd benefit from facing them. Heal the hurt and commit to the future."

"Heal the hurt, huh…?" she mused softly. A second later, she nodded and let her head fall back to rest on his chest once more. "Thanks, Kaoru."

At the very least, his advice made her feel better.


"Kagome!"

The following day, just as she was about to leave and meet up with Reki and Langa, her mother's voice calling from her in the kitchen caught her attention. A hum of confusion came from her, and she made her way to where the older woman was to be found. When she walked into the kitchen, a stunning bouquet of blue and red roses caught her eye immediately. Kagome cocked her head to the side.

"Who sent the flowers?" she asked, coming to a pause by the counter. Her mother looked at her before passing the card off with a giggle.

"They're for you," she said. At once, Kagome's eyes went wide, and she took the card to read it. She had to be joking. Who in the world…?!

Her mother's claim was the truth. Reading the card, it said her name clearly in elegant writing. She was taken aback, and she let her gaze stray back to the surprise flowers.

"Who's it from?" her mother asked, tone teetering on excitement on her daughter's behalf. Kagome looked for the sender, but there wasn't anything aside from an "A" punctuated with a heart. Looking at it, she tried to ignore the nagging feeling in her chest.

There's no way, right…?

Her gaze drifted to her bracelet where those two charms lurked. As she did, the blue-haired man she had in her memories flashed behind her eyes. She flipped the card over, where a note was written.

"My dear, my heart still sings of my promise."

Kagome wasn't sure how to describe the feeling she got from reading the note. The image of that man from her memories had yet to fade, and she wasn't certain why these had been sent so out of the blue.

She soon registered her mother curiously watching her, waiting for the response, and Kagome shook her head. She slipped the card into the back pocket of her jeans. "Strange enough, it didn't say," she eventually answered. It was a lie, but it was a small one.

"Oh, that's a shame," her mother responded. "But I guess that means you have a secret admirer," she said then with a giggle. Kagome fell silent as her mother giggled. Once again, that feeling she couldn't define resurfaced.

Secret admirer…?

She didn't know what'd prompted the flowers to be sent, but she didn't want to think it was for that reason.

She wanted to toss the card in the trash, but she couldn't find the strength to do so. So, instead, she put it in her pocket for safekeeping. For now, at least. Her thoughts switched to the text Reki had sent her half an hour ago, and she shook her head.

"I'm heading out," Kagome said as she made her way toward the door. "I'll be back later!" she called out over her shoulder.


She made it to the meet-up spot, coming to a halt and getting off her board at the sight of her classmates at the stairs. Reki stood up and waved her over with a grin on his face.

"About time you show up," he said, and Kagome rolled her eyes.

"You say that as if I've kept you waiting for hours," she deadpanned. Her comment made him laugh.

"You're just in time, actually," he said. Kagome arched a brow as Reki motioned to their blue-haired classmate. She looked at him just in time to watch him set the roll of packing tape to the side. Kagome sighed.

"Good thing I brought my first aid kit…" she mumbled to herself. Upon hearing her, Reki snickered.

"Why'd you bring it?" Langa questioned, and Kagome spared him a quick look before she picked her skateboard up, tucking it under her arm.

"Intuition," she responded. A second later, she jutted her thumb in Reki's direction. "After all, who do you think bandages this guy up all the time?" she stated flatly.

"Bright side," Reki stated, "if you bail and get hurt, you're in great hands!" he exclaimed. He'd let both of his hands fall to rest on her shoulders as he leaned forward from behind her. His head nudged against her own, and she nudged him back. A reminder of their claims, Reki's hand was still bandaged up. "Now, let's go, let's see how you skate!" he encouraged as he stepped up to Kagome's side, draping his uninjured arm over her shoulders.

"Right!" Langa pushed himself up from where he sat, the roll of tape still resting on the stairs. "You don't have to tell me."

She observed beside Reki as they waited for him to make a move. Therein came the first problem with taping his feet to the board. After a few seconds, the silence was broken.

"Push me," Langa stated flatly, and she heard Reki sigh. He pulled his arm from her shoulders as he walked over to the blue-haired boy.

"Fine," he said, pressing a hand to the middle of Langa's back and giving him a gentle push. It did the trick, and the board moved.

As he went down the hill they were on, he took the corner with ease, but, as he did, he gained speed. As he got out of sight, the reminder of the road at the end of the hill became apparent.

"Langa!" Kagome shouted, running down the hill and down the path he'd gone. Seconds after, Reki had followed her.

"Stop!" he added to her shout. They got to the curve just in time to watch Langa try and bail. In doing so, he lost his balance and flipped, rolling until he ended up flat on his back in the middle of the road.

Before either of them could move to his side, the beeping of a car horn could be heard. Both of them looked towards the source, spotting a large truck hurtling down the road and to where their classmate landed. Unable to do anything, they were helpless to watch as the truck drove by. Once it'd gone by entirely, Kagome breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Langa was still on the road, completely missed by some miracle.

She made her way over to him, Reki not far behind her. With a team effort, they managed to get him back up and out of the road. She ripped the tape from the board and his feet so he could get back on his own two feet. Once they'd made it back to their starting point, Kagome watched Langa slide down against the wall with a sigh.

She picked her back up and rummaged around in it until she found her first aid kit. Once she had it, she approached him and sat down in front of him. He wasn't too hurt, at least. A few scratches here and there. He was lucky, to say the least.

Still, she disinfected them and placed a few bandaids on his palms and fingers. She placed one more over the cut on his nose and sighed.

"At least it's not worse," she commented, and Reki nodded in agreement.

"Jeez," Reki said as he sank down on the stairs. "What happened to the way you skated last night?"

"I don't know myself," Langa responded. Kagome spared him a look as she stood back up to put her kit away in her bag. Once done, she came and sat on the stairs with them.

"You were a lot different last night with it," Kagome said gently as she sat down.

"It's like you're two totally different people," Reki stated, agreeing with her observation. As he said those words, a silence fell over the trio. Reki sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"Reki…" Langa said, turning enough to face the two with him. "Lend me your board again after school."

"Huh?" Reki asked. "You just bailed hard, remember?"

"Not to mention you almost died," Kagome added. Langa looked between the two. "Or did you just forget that part?" she deadpanned.

"I know, but…" Langa said, looking down. His hand fisted into the front of his uniform jacket. "It felt good." Kagome hummed, tilting her head to the side.

"Good?" Reki mirrored her confusion. He thought it over, standing up a few seconds later. "Well, I guess it's okay," he relented, "but what you were on last night wasn't a snowboard," he reminded. "It's a skateboard." He walked down a few of the stairs before couching to be directly in front of Langa. "You seriously wanna skate?" he asked as he handed the board off to him.

"I want to…" Langa mumbled as he looked down at the board he held. "I want to try skating," he said then, a bit louder than before. Reki smiled.

"Then we'll teach ya'," he said. As he did, he jutted a thumb in her direction too. "Right, Kags?"

Kagome blinked when he offered her up to the task, as well. When Langa looked her way, she found it hard to say no. She sighed and shrugged, resting her hands on the stair behind her. "Fine, fine," she said. "I'll help, but you gotta stop taping your feet to the board," she pleaded. "I know you're used to snowboarding and all, but skateboards are different."

Well, helping her straight-faced classmate learn to skate wasn't what she anticipated, but she wouldn't turn the other way.


Auroua-chan: Kagome's been roped in with helping Langa learn how to skate, not that she minds one bit. She's more worried about him getting hurt than anything, though.

Inuyasha will be showing up soon. I decided to push it off a bit until Kagome and Reki have made better friends with Langa. I've gotten the point settled on, and we just need to get there. Cherry gave her some nice advice about it, though, so she's feeling more ready for when Inuyasha shows up.

Kagome got a bouquet of flowers sent to her! Not just any flowers, either. They match up surprisingly well with the charms on her bracelet (and so does the note from the sender.) It's no secret who sent them, and Kagome's left with some complicated feelings about it. No surprise, Adam will also shower her with gifts in person- no matter who she's around.

Anyway, that's it for now! Thank you all for reading, and I hope you all enjoyed. Hopefully I caught all the errors before posting, but if not sorry.

Please remember to Review&Favorite&Follow, thank you!

Bye for now~