A Distant Promise – Drabble #4
"A new boyfriend?"
The voice rang out behind Kagome's head, as she perused the isles in the local grocery store, Inuyasha at her side. Like ice-water had just been poured on her head, the shrine maiden felt a chill rush down her spine. Turning slowly, she saw one of her old friends from middle-school, Yuka.
Until the whole fiasco with the Shikon Jewel, Kagome had been best friends with Eri, Yuka and Ayumi. But then, her idyllic relationship with the three girls had become strained. After a year of fighting for her life in the past, a modern-schoolgirls' concerns just seemed so silly, stereotypical, and selfish.
Worse, she had made the mistake of telling them about Inuyasha, during one of her angry rants. Irritated by his antics at the time, she had described him as a violent, rude, selfish, two-timing boyfriend. For months afterward, the trio had conspired to set her up with someone nicer, like Hojo. But eventually, Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi had met Inuyasha in person and found him to be pretty cool.
And now, Yuka was standing there, staring at the back of Inuyasha's head accusingly. Apparently, she had liked the old Inuyasha more than Kagome realized. The ex-half-demon studiously ignored her, focusing on the ramen shelves instead. Still, Kagome knew he'd hang on their every word. "Whatever happened to the last one?" Yuka continued, curious yet reproachful. "With the silvery hair?"
Kagome bit her lip, wondering whether to claim that Inuyasha had bleached his hair before, and this was his 'natural' look. "Oh, well, you see… He's my…" she began tentatively, feeling a rising blush of color staining her cheeks red. Then, because she didn't know exactly what Inuyasha 'was' to her, she fell silent.
"It's okay," Yuka added, sensing her embarrassment. "This one's cute too! I don't mean to cause trouble."
With an armful of ramen, Inuyasha stood and dumped the containers into her shopping basket, glaring out the corner of his eye at the schoolgirl beside Kagome. Anyone who knew him could have seen the thought flowing through his mind – 'Do I really look that different now?' But Yuka plowed ahead, unwittingly deepening the trench of miscommunication that divided them.
Addressing Inuyasha to downplay her earlier criticism, Yuka explained, "No, really! I'm so glad to meet you. Her last boyfriend was a troublemaker. A total brute, a cheater too! I'm happy Kagome has a guy she can trust now."
The temperature of the store seemed to drop ten degrees, as Kagome paled and Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest, in a challenging fashion. "Is that so?"
"Er… yes?" Clearly, something had gone wrong, but Yuka did not know why. Covering her tracks, she changed the subject. "Oh! But where are my manners? Ha-ha! My name is Yuka. What's yours?"
"None of your business," he replied brusquely, pushing past both girls down the isle.
Waving a quick goodbye to her friend, Kagome hurried to catch up to him. Luckily, since he was slower as a human, she found him just outside the market. "Inuyasha!" she called out frantically, "Wait!"
He stopped, but never met her gaze. Heart racing, she began to apologize. It wasn't true, she told him, Yuka didn't know what she was talking about – obviously, she had not meant such horrible slurs, back when she spoke them to her three modern girlfriends. She had just been antagonized by Kikyou. That was all!
Excuses had never been her strong point.
"But, Kagome," replied Inuyasha, with deceptively calm eyes, "That's what I always liked about you – the way you speak your heart and say exactly what you mean."
