These past three days have been very hard on me but I believe that things will get better and that I will write better because my inspiration is best when I'm sad. Well here's the third chapter for those who have really taken a liking to this story.
Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Takahashi, Rumiko-san.
School Starts Complications Arise
Kagome's (subject to change) pov
Today was the day before school started and Kaoru and I had been getting along very well and getting to know each other better. I had learned many things about Kaoru-kun that Kaoru-kun himself didn't say or rather admit. It seemed that Kaoru-kun is a very quiet, sensitive, and kind person. He would rather spend his time quietly, reading a book or just holding my hand when we watched TV, than talk about unnecessary things. He was also very strong despite his slender and slim figure, he was after all a trained fighter, and despite being trained to fight he was gentle and avoided unnecessary fighting if he could. He had a very pretty face and many aspects of his personality were too cute and adorable for a guy. He was so good looking that girls would often flirt with him and tried to pick him up even though it was agreed that I would be his pretend girlfriend when we were outside for that very reason. We had been doing that since the incident in the supplies store. He was the perfect gentleman when we had to go outside of the apartment for something together. He would also insist on helping me with cooking and cleaning things around the house, in short he was the perfect guy. I really liked him but I wasn't sure how he felt.
I looked at the clock on my wall and saw that it was only eight minutes until ten. I decided to get up and make breakfast. As I walked into the bathroom I'd only just realized that the door to Kaoru-kun's room had been open. I walked into the bathroom to see that he was brushing his teeth and silently sighed in relief. He looked over at me in surprise and smiled as much as he while he was brushing his teeth and turned back to spit and rinse out his mouth. When he was done he grabbed his hand towel (which I found a bit odd that he would have one but I decided that it was cute that he had one) and wiped his face dry he looked up at me and smiled again. "So what's up? Are you going to make breakfast after you're done brushing your teeth? What can I do to help Kagome? Actually what dish are you going to make?" He asked me so many questions at once. I noticed he did that when he was excited about something and he would only do that around me. I supposed that was because he saw me as a good friend.
I smiled at him and said teasingly, "one question at a time Kaoru-kun." I smiled at flustered expression on his face and I said quickly before he could respond, "don't worry Kaoru-kun, I was just teasing you," I smiled and a lost look replaced his flustered expression. He's too cute to be a guy I swear! I've never met a guy this cute before. Sometimes I wonder how he can be so cute considering his family situation … he's blushing again now. Way too cute for words. "Don't take so seriously all the time Kaoru-kun. Anyways I'm thinking about making some eggs sunny side up with a little sugar coating and a fish sauce to add some flavor on top of rice. How's that sound Kaoru-kun?" He smiled at me as if to say that he would really like to eat that. I blushed at his smile. His smile only enhanced the prettiness of his features. The effect was simply amazing. I went over to the other side of the sink to brush my teeth and distract myself from his smile. He still stood there and I glanced over to the side to see him eyeing his fading bruise. The bruise had faded to a slight yellow coloring his face, which was barely noticeable at this point because of his olive colored skin. I didn't realize I was staring at him until I saw him look over at me as if sensing my stare. I turned my attention back to the task at hand.
He had spiked his bangs in a way that a few hairs framed his forehead and the rest was spiked at an angle over his forehead. The effect it had made him more masculine and handsome in appearance than when his hair was pulled and his bangs reached just above his eyes, which made him look prettier and a bit feminine. I had just gotten into the kitchen when I saw him setting eggs down on the counter and went to a cabinet filled with pots and pans to grab a pan for me. He looked up and smiled at me making me feel weak in the knees for a minute. "What took you so long? I was just about to start cooking without you Kagome." He said in a teasing lilt and smirked at my blushing cheeks. "Anyways I'll go ahead put some rice on two plates for us, tell me when to stop for you." He said and stopped at three pats of rice. "Are you sure that's all you want? It's not very much." He looked at me expectantly and I nodded that that was all I wanted. He put four and a half pats of rice on his.
After saying 'itadakimasu' we ate a delicious meal and I made sure his was a little yolky and he gave me an appreciative look when he poked one to see that. I was surprised, and evidently so was he, that I knew which dishes he likes and dislikes already even though we'd not known each for that long yet.
When he had finished eating he picked up his plate and put into the sink and ran enough water to fill the plate and sat back down as I took my last three bites. He stood up and grabbed my plate before I could protest and put it on top of his washed them and put them into the dish holder to the left of the sink. "You know, you didn't have to wash mine too? I could've done that myself," I said pouting at the last part, "why do you always seem to want to help so badly?" He looked up from the plate he was drying and smiled his heart melting smile before he responded.
"I just want to do my part too. I'd feel too guilty if I let you do all the cleaning, cooking, laundry, and dishes all by yourself so I want to do my share and help you with yours. Wouldn't you feel guilty too, if I did everything and wouldn't let you help? You'd want to help for sure, I know you would." He said smiling at me again making my heart melt. I nodded and sighed in defeat making him smile even wider. "Now what's on our agenda for today Kagome?" he said walking over to where I sat and taking my hand in his to pull me up. I liked the way his hands fit over mine perfectly rather engulfed me. His hands were bigger than mine but still smaller than most other guys' hands. I walked with him into the living room with him and he sat me down with him on the couch.
"I don't really have anything I want to do today Kaoru-kun." I looked at him thoughtfully before an idea struck me, "why don't we go see a movie? Do you know what's out in theaters right now?" I looked up at him and saw him shrug and then shake his head. "Hmm, then when what should we do today? Maybe we should just have a lazy day instead then? What do you think Kaoru-kun?" I smiled at him waiting for his response.
"Well it is the day before we go back to school … so I suppose it's fine for us to have a day dedicated to relaxing ne, Kagome?" He said with a smile and I nodded. "Do you want to watch some TV or do you think we should just sit here and relax?" He asked me with a small smile. His smile was so contagious.
"I don't know why don't you pick Kaoru-kun? Knowing you though, you'd rather just sit here quietly." I said smiling when an idea struck me. "Since it's a relaxing day why don't we go to the park for a walk Kaoru-kun?" He smiled in response and nodded going back into his quiet mode. When he did that I knew he already did enough talking. Maybe that's why he was surprised I knew so much about him without him having to say much. I'm sure not many can say that they know him as well as me because of how quiet he is. The thought brought a sense of pride and a smile to my face. He looked like he liked that idea very much and gave my hand an appreciative squeeze, our hands were still interlaced.
"Well then I think I shall go change into something else that will give me easier movement and I suggest you do the same Kagome." He smiled at me and my heart stopped for a moment. "You never know what'll happen right? So best be prepared for the worst, no?" I nodded and he stood up and walked me to my room and then went into his own room.
He emerged in a pair of black shorts that reached just above his knees about an inch and a loose fitting green button up shirt that complimented his forest green eyes. I noticed that his eyes seemed to change from a lighter meadow green and a darker and deeper forest green a lot. I couldn't really be sure as to the reason for that but he certainly didn't act any different when his eyes changed color. The only time I'd seen him angry his eyes had been a strange green I couldn't name. They were a dark, dark green that was nearly black but noticeably green at the same time. I had been scared because I had never seen him angry no matter how annoyed he had been with all those girls flirting with him. He had been livid with anger when he heard me squeal because someone had the nerve to grope me in an inappropriate manner and before the pervert could run he caught the guy and lifted him by his shirt. We had been walking around on an open street and he had told him for touching me. The crowd that crowd had formed applauded him and many girls cheered him on and many others had been throwing flirtatious looks his way and glaring at me. I was happy that they were glaring at me because that meant that they thought that I was his girlfriend and that made them jealous and envious of me for having such a hot, protective guy for a "boyfriend".
"Hey you look really nice in that outfit Kagome." He said smiling at the compliment. I blushed and thanked him. I was wearing a blue-grey button up blouse with sleeves that stopped just under my elbows and a white skirt that fell just below my knees. "Well then … shall we get going? The park is about a five minute walk from our apartment right?" I nodded and grabbed my keys and followed him out the door.
We arrived at the park and were holding hands as usual. We walked around for a while and they spotted a little stream when we walked deeper into a heavily forested area. We walked along the edge and peered at the water.
"Kaoru-kun, look at the water! It's so clear and beautiful isn't it Kaoru-kun?" I asked excitedly, he smiled at me and nodded in response. I blushed because he was looking at me so intensely again. It's not that I hated it when he did that, but rather it was because I couldn't tell what he was thinking when his eyes became so intense. I slipped on a slippery patch of grass and he brought his hands out to help catch me before I fell. I fell and somehow he managed to position himself under me so he would take the brunt of the fall. I fell in a sitting on his lap and he fell and lay down on the grass and rubbed his head with one hand and the other hand was around my waist. "S-s-sorry Kaoru-kun … I didn't mean to! Are you all right? I'm not too heavy am I?" I asked hurriedly worried that I had hurt him when he tried to catch me and break my fall.
He looked up at me and smiled at me, shaking his head in response. "I'm just glad I was able to take the fall for you. I would've blamed myself if I hadn't caught you in time being as trained as I am you know. It would've been a disappointment for me and I would've been very ashamed with myself if I hadn't been able to spare you this little pain." He said looking at me very seriously.
Before I realized what I was doing my hand had found his head and I was patting it gently. Startled I started to pull my hand away when I felt his hand grab mine and place it back where it had been on his head. His head was a little warm and I was worried. Without realizing it I had started to lean forward towards him. The sudden sound of a twig startled me and I looked up without pulling away to find a figure hidden in the trees. The only way I knew it was there was because it had moved. It came out of the shadows and I saw a man in his late twenties maybe come out from behind the cover of a tree. He smiled wickedly, "well, well, well what do we have here? A pair of lovebird's maybe? I don't think it's a very good idea to leave two young people such as you alone now." He snapped his fingers and another two came out of the shadows and came to stand by him. "What do you say boys? Why don't we take care of that punk and mess with his cute little girlfriend?" They cackled wickedly and smiled.
Before they could turn their attention back to us Kaoru-kun had already taken out some hidden weapons and threw them at their sleeves, pinning them to the trees. "I suggest you get out of here before I have to become violent with you." He had already pinned the three of them with their shirt sleeves and pant legs on both sides. "I'll have you know I'm a master of ninja arts, jujitsu, akido, karate, Tae Kwon Do, and Tang Soo Do, and many other martial arts you've probably never heard of." He smirked at their fearful expressions. The leader looked at him rebelliously.
"Why don't you prove it? I don't believe your lies little boy." He said defiantly. The other two looked scared of him and didn't make any move to try and back up their leader when he ripped one sleeve to free his arm and used his free hand to remove his shuriken from the rest of his limbs. "Come on then, state your terms and we can begin all right?" He smiled wickedly again.
Kaoru-kun sighed but then grinned. "All right then. The conditions are when I win you will leave this place without fussing and never come back here again and should you ever see us in the streets I want you to steer clear of me and my girlfriend. Agreed?" He said slowly thinking things through. With a nod they went into fighting stances but before they could start Kaoru-kun interrupted him to say something. "I also wanted to add this as rule for fighting. I want you to play fair, no tricks or help from your friends and no weapons. And if you want you can create a little ring for us to fight in." He said. The man looked at him thoughtfully for a moment and then slowly nodded his head but said no to the ring. And then it started.
Sango's pov a.k.a. Kaoru
I waited, in an equally offensive and defensive stance, for him to come at me first. He charged at me as I had suspected he would and I jumped up and slammed my heavy shoes at him. He fell over from the pure force and he seemed to be having trouble standing up because of how heavy my shoes were. I flipped back over so that I stood a few feet in front of Kagome again.
"Heh, you're … good kid. Let's see how well you do against this!" He stood up and grabbed my arms and tried to slam me into the ground and choke me but I used my legs to kick him hard in the stomach and when his grip loosened from the pain and he lost focus I used my legs to wrap them around his head and slammed his head down into the grass. "Fine … I give kid. I'll keep my word. Even if I'm a thief and thug I still keep my word. That's something I'll always do." He got up and held his hand out to me and I shook it. With that he left.
When they were nowhere in sight I fell to my knees and held onto my neck. He had had a very good and strong grip on it and I had held breathe until he left so he wouldn't see how much damage he had actually done to me. I coughed hard and a few droplets of blood fell onto the ground. Kagome was immediately by my side. "Kaoru-kun … Kaoru-kun … are you all right?!" She asked in a panicked voice and she gasped when she caught sight of the little pool of blood that had formed on the ground below my face. I looked up and smiled and had another coughing fit and a few more droplets had added to the small puddle.
She gingerly put my head into her lap and stroked my, slightly sweating, face and looked down at me worriedly. "I'll wait for you to feel better before we go back to our apartment ok Kaoru-kun?" I smiled, or tried to through the pain coursing through my throat, and nodded at her suggestion.
When we got back to the apartment I immediately went to the bathroom to look at my neck. It was swollen and bruised. Kagome had followed me and stopped and knocked to ask for my permission to come in and I reached for the door with my right hand and opened the bathroom door for her. She came in and gasped at my neck, it seemed that it hadn't looked as bad as it did now. She grabbed my hand and sat me down on the couch and came back with a bag of ice. She laid my head down on her lap and put the bag of ice on my neck. I felt my face flush a bit at the thought of me laying my head on her lap like this.
I felt a little dizzy, maybe it was from blood loss? I hadn't lost that much blood though … then again I lost enough to form a small puddle a few inches wide. I sighed and closed my eyes.
I guess I had fallen asleep sometime after I closed my eyes. I looked up to see Kagome had also dozed off. The ice cubes had melted and now there were only small pieces left among the pool of water. I took it off of my neck and it felt cold and numb, but I suppose it would with how cold the ice is. I sighed and tried to sit up much to my chagrin my neck wasn't numb enough for me not to feel some pain when I moved my neck in the process of getting up. I went to dump the water out of the bag and set it on the counter and went back to the living room to find that Kagome had shifted and that she was leaning to her side a little. I chuckled and went to pick her up and drop her off into her room again. She had somehow managed to take hold of my shirt again. I sighed and gently pried her from my shirt and immediately regretted the action because of the whimper that came from her when I had done so. I sighed and quickly went to check my appearance in the bathroom mirror one more time to see how my neck was.
The swelling had gone down considerably but the bruise was still dark and noticeable on my neck. I would have to wear some kind of sweater to cover it up. I sighed and walked back into Kagome's room. She had stopped whimpering but she was frowning instead. I gently picked her up and moved her further into the bed so I could lie down next to her. I looked at my watch to see that it was nearly ten. I set my alarm on for five the next morning so we could get ready for the first day of college and fell asleep to the rhythm of her breathing and beating heart.
I awoke with a start and looked at my watch to see that it was about 15 minutes until my watch would go off. I looked down and noticed for the first time that Kagome's face was pressed against my chest and I blushed and gently slid out from underneath her head. I looked at my watch again and decided to get dressed before I woke her up.
I put on a fancier kind of sweater made of a soft cottony material. I put on dress pants to match. I was lucky that I was a taller girl at 5' 8" nearly 5' 9" and that when I bandaged my breasts up to flatten them out they appeared to be muscles rather than what they truly were. It also helped that I had a toned stomach that should my shirt lift up a little my abs showed and I appeared masculine.
I looked at my watch for the third time today to see that it was just thirty seconds before it would go off so I turned it off and headed to Kagome's room. Boy did I get the surprise of my life. I hadn't bothered knocking because I had assumed she was still asleep and I hadn't heard any movement from her room. I walked into the room and looked up just in time to see her take her shirt off from around her head and I scrambled out of the room hoping that she hadn't seen me. Apparently she did because I heard the door slam just as I got out into the middle of the hallway. My heart was thumping in my chest, almost throbbing painfully, and I was breathing heavily. Remembering the image of the smooth skin of her stomach I felt my face burn and my lips and throat dried at the thought. I was ready to slap myself for thinking such … unladylike thoughts.
I knew my parents wouldn't have cared though because they would never be gender specific whenever they talked about me falling in love and getting married someday. They would always tell me "someday when you fall in love with that one special person and get married you will be at peace, happy, and content with your life Sango." One day, about a year ago, I had pointedly asked my parents why they never said I would have kids or marry a good guy. They looked at each other and smiled. "Love knows no bounds Sango. It does not matter to us if you fall in love with a woman or a man. Just as long as you love that person and that person cherishes you we are happy. You will understand one day what we mean I think." I had sat on the edge of the wood extending outside of the house thinking about what they had meant by that. I think I finally understand … maybe. I was sure about that yet though.
I sighed and walked into the bathroom and quickly went the bathroom before Kagome entered and I pretended to put the seat down after I flushed as I usually did nowadays. I finished off brushing my teeth still deep in thought and hadn't noticed when Kagome came in. I carefully spit so that my throat didn't have to do any strenuous work. I heard her clear her throat and snapped my head in her direction and clenched my eyes shut and winced in pain having temporarily forgotten that my neck was still very much bruised and throbbing. She looked at me guiltily, most likely blaming herself for startling me and causing me to turn in her direction.
I closed my eyes for a few more seconds and gently eased my sweater from around my neck a little to see the bruise was still a sick looking dark purple. "Sorry about that Kaoru-kun. I didn't mean to startle you." She had unconsciously reached for my neck and gently rubbed it with her thumb. I winced at first but then it started feeling good against my throbbing neck. For some reason it was soothing. "Um … about earlier … Kaoru-kun … I'm sure you … um … didn't … mean to … um … see anything so … I guess … I'm … saying … I forgive you." Her face had been pink when she started and it steadily became pinker and turned into a red which became darker with each pause.
I opened my lidded eyes and looked into her light blue eyes and smiled at how impossibly cute she was without meaning to be. I didn't think I could talk at the moment and I was sure she knew that too. I tried to nod my head in agreement only to take a sharp breathe and wince at the pain from my injured neck. She looked at me sympathy and guilt written across her features. I opened my mouth and struggled to talk through the pain. "I'm … s-s-s-o-o-r-r-y. I didn't … mean … to. Just … wanted … to … wake … you … up …" I paused my throat was throbbing horribly from talking so much. She shook her head at me as if to say she didn't want me to talk anymore and that she understood. I smiled again, relieved.
"Do you need any help with anything Kaoru-kun? I don't want you to hurt your throat too much so … um … how about you use that little magnetic board in the kitchen to write with what you want to say and use the black dry erase marker?" I nodded slightly at the suggestion, my face brightened at the idea. She giggled at me making me look down at her and scowl in a playful manner which caused her to laugh even harder. I smiled and pointed at the sink to tell her she still needed to get ready and I looked at my watch. It was half past five already. We needed to be at the university in a little over two hours now. I showed her my watch, knowing she also wanted to know the time, before I headed off to the kitchen to grab the dry erase board and marker.
I grabbed one of the small hand towels we had strewn about the kitchen to use as my eraser.
After we had finished breakfast it was only 15 after six, so we had about an hour and a half to get our things ready for the classes and lectures we were to go to today. I packed up my school supplies into a handbag (similar to a briefcase only a bit different in Japan, akin to a schoolbag students in high school use if you know what those look like) and hid my weapons for my martial arts and ninja classes for when I got to the university. I looked and saw that I still had about an hour before the classes started and I figured that I only needed to leave twenty minutes early so I went out of my room, my things in tow, and sat on the couch. Not even two minutes after I had settled down comfortably in the couch Kagome came out and sat down with me.
"You know I like it when your hair is down Kaoru-kun." She said shyly and smiling at me before she continued. "It looks so pretty and silky soft." I nodded slightly before remembering I had the board in my handbag. I took it out to write my response. 'Thank you very much Kagome! I … kind of … forgot to gel it or tie it back today actually.' I wrote and blushed a bit. She smiled at me and responded, "I still think your hair looks very nice down Kaoru-kun. Although you do look a bit more feminine … it's still a nice look. … That'll have more girls coming after you, I think Kaoru-kun," she said in a mischievous tone of voice. I looked at her in true horror and smacked my forehead with the palm of my hand. She giggled in response.
'Do you really think that will happen? I'm not that good looking of a person am I?' She giggled again at my question and nodded at both in response since she was in a bit of a fit of laughter. My features turned into a scowl at the thought of crazy wild girls chasing me around the campus. 'I'll tell them I'm taken then!' he looked at me before he continued writing. 'You will help me and pretend to be my girlfriend, won't you? Please? I beg of you!' He looked at me helplessly and I smiled and nodded in response. "You don't have to beg me to help you. I would gladly do anything to help a good friend like you Kaoru-kun."
I smiled at her gratefully and pulled her into a hug. I blushed realizing that I had hugged her without thinking about it. Even though the contact was brief she was also blushing when I pulled back. I looked at my watch and it read just a little after seven. I was getting restless and becoming very anxious about my first day at school. Sensing my anxiety Kagome quietly took my hand in hers and squeezed it for comfort. She smiled at me gently and told me that everything would be fine and that it wasn't that big of a deal. I relaxed a little, comforted by how warm and soft her gentle hand was in my own.
I mad my way over to the dojo for my first class. As I walked to the door, I stopped just before it sensing something would happen when I opened the door so I opened it slowly and braced myself for an attack that did come as I had suspected and I instinctively listened for any movement. I heard a whooshing and ducked just in time before a shuriken landed a few inches above my head and rolled to my right as a foot slammed down on the floor where I had just been standing and I brought my hand up to block a punch coming my way and pushed the arm forward using my weight as I got up to my advantage and threw my attacker into the dojo wall.
I stood up properly when I sensed no danger around the room. I looked to the center of the dojo to see many excited students looking at me in awe. Then I looked at my supposed attacker. He was an older man in his early or mid 30's and I bowed at him in respect before I went to the door to pick up my handbag and re-entered the dojo. The man I guessed would be my teacher so I went to the middle where the other students cleared the center for me to sit.
"Ha ha ha. You're a good one there. I haven't ever seen anyone as good as you walk through these doors in my ten years of teaching this class. What's your name then boy?" He asked me with great ardor and kindness in his voice. I pulled out my white board to write the Kanji for my name and he looked at me questioningly before he read the rest of the board to see that I had already written an explanation for my lack of speech. "Class. Attention. It seems he can't talk for the time being because of an injury he sustained protecting his friend. He won of course," he added with a smirk before continuing, "but this person got him real good in the throat. Would you let me see it for a second?" I looked up a bit startled by his question but stood up and walked over to where he was and pulled down the long neck of my sweater so he could see the bruising. He grimaced and nodded for me to fix it again and sit back down. It was covered enough that if anyone looked at me hard enough they would only see just the peak of the bruising and brush it off as nothing.
'I will not expect any special treatment from you even if I am injured. I will expect you to work me as hard as anyone else in this class.' I wrote and he smiled at me a new look of awe and respect came over his features at my words. "I wouldn't expect any less from any of my students' anyways." He said proudly his smile turned into a huge grin and I returned the grin and he began his instructions.
Kagome's pov
I had chosen to major in English and math courses pertaining to accounting since I had wanted to be an accountant for a while now. My first class happened to be English so I went there for further and a much more advanced and vigorous English learning class. This class mostly concentrated on speech and language structure. I had to speak in English in this class the entire time and I found it fun and easy. I didn't particularly like the fact that several boys in the class had been eyeing me like candy the second I walked into the classroom.
None of them approached me until this class was over and I was headed to a math course nearby where Kaoru-kun said he would be for his martial arts class. I had just walked out of the classroom door when a guy came up to me and flirtatiously asked me if I was doing anything later … that is until I heard him yelp and turn around to come face to face with a very scary and intimidating Kaoru-kun. "Kaoru-kun! I thought I was going to go over to where you were?" I said surprised. He smiled at me and turned his attention back to the cowering boy and pointed at him and glared wickedly and he scrambled off, obviously getting the message.
He smiled again and took my hand in his and lowered his head so he could whisper in my ear, "my throat is getting better Kagome. I … think maybe by tomorrow I'll be able to talk without too much trouble." I smiled at him and blushed a bit when he lowered his head and his hot breathe was blowing against my ear. I had to admit he did sound a lot better than he had earlier this morning.
Well here's the third chapter for my adoring readers! I'm glad I finished today and a little relieved. This is a really long chapter for me! ^^ Well R&R if you want to.
- Hikaru Himemiya