Meet me halfway
by ArikanW
Chapter 1: Meet me halfway
Non/con warning: I have some serious issues being obsessed with a playboy-ish, sexy and pushy Inuyasha, and I absolutely intend to enjoy myself with this fanfiction (not to worry, I created an established plot as well). If you don't like this kind of stuff, please do not read further cuz' I will not be holding back. Hah!
Cringe factor: I am that type of author who feeds off of reviews. Sorry and thank you. :")
Beta-readers: I need you! Please do reach out!
Cover art by もとび
Her heart filled with the warm autumn sunshine that glimpsed through the leaves of the enormous oak tree that guarded the main building of the dorm Kagome stepped inside. She worked so hard for this new chapter of her life. After some terrible years of struggling to get back on her feet and find the strength to keep fighting for herself and not letting her life go off the rails over some stupid teen drama - here she was, pulling her trolley bag as her eyes searched for her new room, in her new life, at her new campus.
She knew Shikon University was ivy league and thus enjoyed the benefit of many insanely wealthy parents, but what she saw exceeded her wildest expectations. The park she passed from the railway station easily competed with that of Versailles - she was pretty sure about that. As she remembered how hard it was to fight back the urge to take off her shoes right there and then, to feel the picture-perfect emerald grass under her feet, she passed yet another breathtaking corridor with its walls made of glass on one side. She looked outside and couldn't help but smile at the sight of all the young men and women, youkai and humans alike, bustling around the campus grounds. She was already in love with the exclusive and vibrant atmosphere of this place.
"I will live here," she whispered to herself as if to help herself sink the thought into her mind. "I belong here now." She felt like screaming with joy. And the delicious cherry on top of her finely baked cake? She got to share this new beginning - including a room that undoubtedly shall be just as awesome as practically everything here - with her best friend.
Kagome took a deep breath as she tried to tame the happiness she felt, that was starting to go totally wild in her stomach. Could her life be any more perfect?
'Well, to be fair, some ice cream would be nice.' She giggled at the thought as she finally arrived at her room. A small golden plate on the door read #A024.
Not waiting for a reply after her quick knock, she pushed the door open. Sango, who seemed to have been in the middle of trying to find space for all her 3 stuffed suitcases of clothes, jumped in surprise. Her face immediately lit up with the broadest smile as she leaped over a pile of sheets to wrap Kagome in a warm hug.
"Hi, Kags! I am so happy to see you!"
"Me too, Sango! I know I already told you, but I really am sorry I canceled our coffee date yesterday." she smiled. "Buuuuut, I guess we now have all the time in the world to make up for it. I still kinda can't believe this really is happening," said Kagome letting out a happy sigh, looking around the spacious, bright room with renewed awe. "Sooo, which one is my bed?"
"I was actually waiting for you to pick whichever you like most," Kagome noticed a familiar glint of mischief in her friend's eyes. "After careful testing, which absolutely did not include jumping and touching the ceiling cuz' what grownups would do such a thing, I found them equally perfect. And hey, Kags, watch this! The pillows smell so amazing!" With that, she playfully threw a pillow at her giggling friend.
"Wow, you weren't joking, it DOES smell amazing!" Kagome took a big, happy sniff, then dropped the pillow back down one bed and turned to her friend "Alright, Sango, now I have a serious question for you about choosing the right bed for the right cause. Do you think you will get so wasted again, like that time that-we-vowed-to-not-mention-ever-again, and flirt with some huge ass dude like who-we-vowed-to-not-mention-ever-again because if you do-" she was interrupted by another pillow flying right into her face.
"SHUT UP!"
Lighthearted talk and laughter filled the room as the girls proceeded to unpack into this new chapter of their life. After a few hours, all their lovely dresses, shoes, books, and even some childhood plushies finally found their rightful places. Some students tend to let their boxes and suitcases lay around for weeks after moving in, but Kagome and Sango agreed beforehand that it was best to get over this nuisance quickly so they could enjoy order and cleanliness. The girls dropped themselves down onto the light grey couch with tired satisfaction.
" Pizza?" Sango asked.
"Yep. Pizza." Kagome delivered. "Here, I grabbed a handful of these flyers on my way inside. Some poor soul in a full body pizza suit was handing them out at the entrance."
"Well, unlike us, he will actually have money to spend on all those legendary welcome parties." Sango giggled and grabbed a leaflet to study the pizza selection.
"I will have a hawaii."
"Gee, what a monster I am going to live with… Pineapple on pizza…." Sango frowned while she dialed the numbers from the paper in her hand.
A good 60 minutes later, during which Sango and Kagome kept themselves busy by rearranging some of the furnishings of their room and putting up the nice, frost blue blinds that Sango thankfully didn't forget to bring, they finally heard the long-awaited knock on their door, followed by a loud "Pizza delivery!"
"YAY!" Kagome clapped with delight and rushed to open the door. A tall, slim man stood there, dark bags under his eyes, messy hair in every direction, and a face that certainly did not meet a razor for at least a week. He seemed like someone who could use a nice pizza break himself. Or ten. When he finally started to talk, his tone was dragged and foggy.
"Tae- Taije- Taijiya right? Two pizzas 'nd a free cake for our freshmen cus'mers, enjoy goodbye." his voice lacked even the slightest hint of... well... life, and he had already turned to leave. Kagome couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him.
"Excuse me, would you like to eat this cake? I mean, umm... I thought you might be happy to have a dessert break for yourself." she smiled at him kindly, hoping he wouldn't find her assumption insulting. But he only gave her the dumbest blank stare.
"Wha…? Uh no babe. Anyway, y'know which door is Taisho's?"
Kagome could feel the smile freezing on her face and the blood stopping in her veins. Her head went dizzy in a matter of seconds. After what, to her, felt like minutes of staring at the delivery guy in utter shock, he shrugged, mumbling 'nevermind' under his nose. Kagome backed up, and without saying goodbye, she closed the door in a robotic motion.
"I can't believe you almost gave our free cake to that junkie!" Sango teased, but as soon as she noticed the look on Kagome's face, her smile dropped. "Oh my god, what is wrong? What happened? Kags? KAGOME?!"
Kagome finally blinked and snapped out of her terrifying stillness. Still feeling a little numb, she dropped right back onto the couch. Where did the pizzas disappear from her hand? She did not remember putting them down. Whatever.
"Sango, did you hear what he just said?"
"No, I don't think so, given your face. What the hell did he tell you? Do I go after him and rip his heart out?" Sango kneeled in front of her best friend anxiously, grabbing her hands to get a better look at her face. 'What the fuck could have possibly transpired under those approx 3 seconds I wasn't paying attention?'
Kagome's expression kept changing rapidly, but after a few long seconds, Sango saw her blue eyes harden as she finally regained most of her composure.
"He was looking for the room of Taisho," Kagome said in a finally calm tone, looking straight into Sango's eyes. It was her best friend's turn to gasp.
"What. The. Fuck."
"Yeah. Precisely," replied Kagome with a scowl.
"Alright, Kagome, listen. We are half a country away from him, and I am damn sure he is not the only one by this name. Anyway, those assholes own a whole business empire. They are practically everywhere. And and … last year he got accepted to Tamake University, remember?" Kagome kept staring into her best friend's eyes tensely, trying to decide what she should believe. Sango sighed. "Ok, you know what? For a moment - just for one moment - let's pretend it is him. So what?" Sango shrugged violently. "Fuck him. Who cares anymore? He is history and a really dull one at that."
With every word from her friend, Kagome felt comforting waves of relief washing over her. Of course, it must just be some unfortunate coincidence. She has a higher chance of winning the lottery than meeting him here, thousands of kilometers away from their hometown.
'It really makes absolutely no sense. Sango is right.' She closed her eyes and took a deep breath that she tried to exhale as slowly as she could in an attempt to calm her flared-up anxiety. 'Come on, you are not a high school lassie anymore. Don't be pathetic.'
She remembered the butterflies in her stomach. They appeared that day. It was a perfect spring morning when one no longer needs their coat in the mornings, but the air is still cold and smells like fresh rain. As she walked towards the entrance of Joikan High, someone tapped her shoulder. She turned around with a surprised face, and her blue eyes met with the most beautiful amber she had ever seen. Inuyasha.
Everyone knew him at school, and not only because of his distinctive features; the silverish hair, the smirk complete with a set of pointy canines, the golden eyes, or dog ears. Nope. He was known as "the hanyou." Someone who got along well with everyone yet never really belonged anywhere and most definitely didn't let anyone close enough to know him.
"You dropped this." He held out a clawed hand, and Kagome gasped as she noticed her long-lost lily necklace glinting in his palm. She was absolutely devastated after losing it a few days prior; a precious gift she got from her father before he passed away long-long years ago.
"Thank you." as she took the precious trinket from him, she could feel warm tears of relief welling up in her eyes. But she couldn't care less about showing off her vulnerability. "Where..? How…?"
"I heard what happened and I have a good nose for finding things. No big deal." with a careless shrug, he turned to walk into the school building. However, the slight blush on his cheeks refuted his indifferent tone.
Suddenly yet another knock on the door broke the silence. Kagome and Sango exchanged a concerned glance before opening it. However, their shared internal tension eased instantly as they registered the two – rather handsome – young men standing on their doorstep.
"Oh wow, hello, Beautiful." A blue-eyed demon with long black hair tied in a high ponytail and sparkling cobalt blue eyes sent a pleasantly surprised smile toward Kagome. She blushed and couldn't help to notice how tall and handsome he was. Human men could be nice looking for sure, but dear god, demons were another deal. Mentally slapping herself, she conjured a calm smile on her lips. But before Kagome could open her mouth, Sango overtook in a chatty voice, not missing a beat.
"Hello to you too, handsome strangers. Lost something?" She looked at the guys with a playfully questioning face, a hand on her right hip while her other hand still held the knob.
Her powerful energies were something Kagome always admired about her, but something men often found too intimidating and sometimes maybe even masculine. But Sango did not seem to mind at all. Once, after a ghosting case that Kagome thought was particularly nasty, Sango only laughed and said, 'a bit of confidence a day keeps fragile masculinity away'. The more Kagome thought about that phrase, the more she loved it.
Suddenly she got violently snapped out of her thoughts by the most hilariously unexpected thing to hear.
"I think I love you. Will you bear my children?" The other guy, a brown-haired human with unusual violet eyes, pushed the wolf demon away to grab Sango's hands.
"So it is a brain you lost. Sorry, can't help with that." Sango grimaced, jerking her hands away from the good-looking creep's grip. "Now, if you'll excuse us…." She moved to close the door, but the blue-eyed demon's strong hands stopped it.
"Ladies, excuse my retarded friend here. My name is Kouga. We are dropping by every freshmen room to let newbies know that we will hold our annual year-opening party tonight" While he talked, he looked deeply into Kagome's eyes, who blushed some more but managed to hold his gaze. Kouga finally stepped back and theatrically held up his hand, withdrawing himself from forcibly keeping the girls' door open. "I am sorry. I just really hoped you ladies could come. Please do." His light but confidently sexy smile made Kagome's throat feel suddenly dry.
"We will think about it." With that, Sango finally succeeded in closing their door. They looked at each other at once, and Kagome was the first to ask the obvious while making little effort to fight back her excitement.
"We will go…right?" Sango grinned right back at her.
"Hell yeah."
...
...
A few hours later, the room looked like a bomb had gone off inside. So much for order and cleanliness. Dresses were lying everywhere, a sandal here, a bra there… While Sango and Kagome were definitely not your average club bimbos, once in a while they did allow themselves to enjoy a few drinks and a blissfully dizzy night on the dance floor.
Sango decided to wear a pair of high-waist black leather shorts and a red shirt embroidered with light gold floral motifs. Her set was complete with some golden bracelets, and she decided to let her hair down for a change. Kagome preferred a softer approach and decided upon a pair of jeans shorts with her favorite open-back shirt tied around her neck. Being the mildly experienced "party girls" they were, both of them decided to keep up the healthy habit of ditching the high-heels for some pretty sandals, which spared them a whole bunch of pain and blisters.
By the time both were close to finishing their minimal-style make-up too, the music was already loud enough to make the chairs rumble under their butts, causing their anticipation and excitement to jump by the minute.
"Shall we?" asked Sango with a huge smile and gestured theatrically towards the door like some knight in shining armor.
"Absolutely! And remember Sango. The bed is not strong enough to—"
"Oh fuck off, Kagome!" Sango growled amusedly and pushed the laughing Kagome out the door.
They did not receive any kind of guidance from the demon and the creep, but as it turned out, none was needed. All they had to do was following the music and the trail of half-emptied cups sitting here and there, on the ground or a ledge. They left building 'A' and crossed a beautiful ornamental garden. After about 5 minutes of walking, they reached a separately standing, U-shaped building with a nicely illuminated pool in the middle. Kagome was pretty sure it was only a matter of time before this turned into a full-blown pool party. She mentally patted herself on the head for choosing a black shirt.
"I might be a bit too judgmental, but do you think these rich kids got themselves built an actual party building? What the hell is this place?" Sango asked in a mocking tone. Kagome shrugged. Shikon University, in fact, was a hatchery for millionaires. Everyone knew that. As far as she was concerned, if it meant more fun for those who actually used their wits to get in, she was happy too.
The girls have just arrived at the pool when they suddenly felt heavy arms landing on their shoulders. The demon who introduced himself as Kouga, obviously slightly drunk already, greeted them with a cheerful howl.
"I knew you girls would come! I totally knew! So now tell me, what are you beauties drinking?" Kagome glanced at Sango with a questioning face.
"White wine?"
"Yep, will do."
Kagome looked up at Kouga, who was still standing in the middle, hugging their shoulder in a rather friendly manner and with a sweet smile. He seemed a genuinely nice guy. "We would like to drink white wine, preferably dry, with sparkling water added. Can you make that happen?"
Kouga raised an eyebrow, but after a second, he grinned widely. "Well, Beautiful, never heard of such a thing but it sure sounds fun. Sure, why not? I will try it too. Don't you go anywhere!"
"My name is Kagome. She is Sango."
"Gotcha', Kagome and Sango." he winked and left towards the bar, nearly bumping into a group of senior students.
While waiting, Kagome and Sango sat by the pool and watched the party. They did not talk; they just let the sight and sounds sink in. They didn't even notice they were smiling happily as the feeling of their never-ending youth and carelessness flowed through them. There was no place on Earth they would've rather been. Just sitting here, letting the music and the buzz of the partying people – demons and humans alike - fill their senses was pure bliss. A moment of being just and only in the present.
After a few minutes, Kouga returned with their drinks, and as the glasses collided in a loud cheer, a few drops of sparkling wine splashed on their arms. Kagome and Sango did not mind, while Kouga probably didn't even notice.
One sip after another, the loud music in their ears, the beat of the bass on their skin... The nearby dance floor lights started to get blurry; red melted into green, then yellow, then blue... Through the pleasant fog of her mind, after god knows how much chatting and emptied glasses, Kagome found herself leaning slightly against Kouga's strong arm as the trio was still sitting by the pool, legs in the water, talking and laughing carelessly. She was surprised to find she really liked the warm touch of his skin on hers.
Mood song: The Black Eyed Peas, Meet me halfway
Oooo, I can't go any further than this
Oooo, I want you so badly, it's my biggest wish
Suddenly a familiar tone reached the girls' ears, and they jumped up with a childish shriek, leaving Kouga blinking in surprise at their feet.
Cool, I spent my time just thinking thinking thinking 'bout you
Every single day yes, I'm really missin' missin' you
"Holy shit, I MUST dance! Come on, Kouga! Oh my god, I love this song! It had been AGES since I heard it!" Kagome yelled in her drunken joy as she grabbed the wolf demon's hand to pull him up to her, not even fully realizing what she was doing.
And all those things we use to use to use to do
Hey girl, whats up, it use, it use to be just me and you
I spent my time just thinking thinking thinking 'bout you
Moving her hips to the beat, Kagome half danced, half ran toward where everyone else was dancing under the colorful lights. She laughed in drunk bliss at Kouga as he caught up to her and put a hand on her hip. She gently pushed him away with a teasing smile, not wanting to feel restricted by anything and anyone yet.
Every single day, yes I'm really missing missing you
And all those things we use to use to use to do
Hey girl whats up, whats up, whats up, whats up
She closed her eyes smiling happily, moving her body as she felt right, riding the beat. She felt beautiful, free, untouchable. As the song was reaching its climax, she opened her eyes, wanting to meet Kouga's eyes again.
And that was exactly when she saw it.
Can you meet me halfway, right at the borderline
Is where I'm gonna wait, for you
I'll be looking out, night n' day
The glowing golden gaze piercing right through her.
Took my heart to the limit, and this is where I stay
I can't go any further than this
I want you so bad it's my only wish
