Have you ever watched a movie and thought to yourself, "This is good, but I can do it better?"
Come on, don't humble brag - all of us writers on here have thought it at least once! Obviously, because that's what I'm doing here. I watched the movie Beautiful Disaster (which I am aware if based off of FanFiction) and, while I enjoyed it, there were definitely some parts in it I wanted to fix. I thought it was no better way to get back into writing again. Even better to do it with my favorite fictional couple of all time.
To be clear, this story is based off of the movie Beautiful Disaster, but I admittedly haven't read the original FanFiction, so I am throwing no hate that way! This is simply my inspiration taken from the movie and in what way I would do things differently. I do not own the story of Beautiful Disaster, nor the characters.
Please enjoy chapter 1!
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to InuYasha or any of its characters. Any likeness to any real person or event if purely coincidental and should not be taken as fact.
She didn't know what was worse.
The fact that she had left home, with nothing but a note to signify her departure, or starting college. You could probably guess that Kagome didn't come from a family with a history of post-secondary education. In fact, most of her family members laughed at the idea of obtaining a college degree. And at one point, Kagome would've laughed at it, too. But things were different now – she craved a normal life, with normal problems. She wondered what it was like to worry about what outfit you would wear on your first day of school, or if your crush liked you back. Hell, she didn't even know what it was like to gossip with your girlfriends at a slumber party. There had been no room for such frivolities in her life.
But things were different. They had to be different.
Admittedly, college scared the hell out of her. It had always seemed like a dream to her – a fairytale she could never obtain. Like watching one of those stereotypical movies about college parties and finding the love of your life through a foggy window. She could see it, but never clearly. It wasn't supposed to be a part of her life. For that reason, Kagome couldn't help but be a little nervous about embarking on this new adventure. What if she hated it? What if her family was right: that she belonged with them, and nowhere else?
So lost in her thoughts, Kagome didn't even notice the bus she was on jostle to a halt. It wasn't until the car steward shouted out the name of the stop they had reached did she whip her head from gazing out the window, to jolting up quickly while gathering her things. She didn't have much – just a suitcase of what clothes and toiletries she had, and a backpack with her laptop, a few of her favorite books, and a couple chargers.
Walking into the main lobby of the train station, Kagome's eyes scanned the crowd, looking for a particular brown-haired girl.
Is she running late again?, Kagome thought, exasperated.
As she began to pull out her phone from her back pocket, a voice rang out above the crowd of people: "Kagome! Kagome, over here!"
Turning her head towards the noise, Kagome saw Sango jumping up above the crowd and waving her arms to get her attention. Smiling, Kagome waved in acknowledgement and headed in her friend's direction.
"Oh my god, I'm so glad you're here!" Sango exclaimed as she wrapped Kagome into a hug once she was in reach.
Laughing, Kagome hugged her back. "Glad to see you, too, Sango. Thank you for picking me up!"
Sango shook her head and waved her off. "It's not a problem. Come on – we need to go get you set up in our room!"
Sango very enthusiastically took Kagome's suitcase and marched in the direction that Kagome assumed was the exit. While not many people owned cars in Tokyo, as public transportation was almost always available, Kagome was grateful Sango had her own so that they could enjoy a few moments just between the two of them.
After navigating their way through the rest of the station, they made it to the parking lot. As Sango placed Kagome's suitcase in her trunk, Kagome proceeded to slide into the passenger seat with her backpack between her legs.
Sango hopped into the driver's side and turned to face Kagome. "So, how did you tell your family? How did they take it?"
Pausing, Kagome wondered briefly if she should make up a story, but she had promised to herself that she would never lie to her friends. Or, well, friend. Sango was really the only one she had.
"I left a note," Kagome finally admitted.
One blink. Two blinks. Three.
"You. WHAT?" Sango bellowed.
Flinching a bit at the loud volume in such a tiny space, Kagome put up her hands in appeasement. "Hey, look, I'll explain! Just promise me you won't crash the car. I would like to at least start college."
With a huff, Sango put the car in drive. "Fine but you have to explain yourself."
"Look, I know it wasn't the best way to go. I meant to tell them sooner, it's just . . . you know how they are. It was difficult and I really didn't know how to explain it. Then the day came for me to leave, so I left a note. They'll come around to it eventually."
Giving her a look with a cocked head and a stern face, Sango gave the impression that she wasn't buying it. "Are you really sure about that?"
"Yes. No. Maybe?"
The young woman driving let out a snort. "I hope you're not placing any bets on that."
Kagome sighed. "No. No bets. Not anymore."
Sango shot her friend a sympathetic look but didn't press the issue. There would be plenty of time to talk later.
"Well, I think you're going to enjoy the University of Tokyo," Sango said cheerfully, quickly changing the subject. "I have some people I want you to meet, and I already have plans for us tonight!"
"What? No, Sango, I can't. I have to unpack and then start studying. Plus, I have to catch up with everyone else!" Kagome stammered.
"Kagome, the semester starts in three days. You have plenty of time to get everything straightened out. Didn't you already set up your schedule?"
"Yeah, I got the confirmation for enrollment two weeks ago."
"Great! Then it's no sweat. We'll even go get our textbooks together and everything before classes start. I promise!"
"Okay, okay, we'll see," Kagome appeased, even though she truthfully had no intention of going out that night at all.
"Whew, finally!" Sango puffed as she fell backwards onto her bed.
Kagome shot her friend a grateful grin. "Thanks for helping me check in and get everything settled, Sango. I appreciate it." It was now almost 9:00pm. They had gotten Kagome checked into the dorm, bought her new bedding, unpacked all her things, and taken a dinner break with some Chinese.
The brunette young woman sat up on her elbows and waved Kagome off. "It was no problem. You really didn't have a lot of stuff."
"Didn't have much to bring," Kagome shrugged. "Well, I think I'm gonna-"
A knock came from their dorm room door. Immediately, Kagome shot Sango a confused look.
Sango gave Kagome a look that she almost would have labeled . . . a little shy. "I want to introduce you to someone."
Kagome followed Sango's movements as she sauntered towards the door with a confused look on her face. Her long-time friend opened the door to reveal a young, dark-haired man on the other side. He had jet black hair that was pulled back into a low, small ponytail. He was wearing a plain black t-shirt with straight-legged blue jeans, tennis shoes covering his feet, and Kagome couldn't help but notice he had an earring in his right lobe. With kind brown eyes, Kagome could see that he was an attractive man; and judging by the slight blush dusting Sango's cheeks, it wasn't hard to see that Sango thought the same.
The stranger waved to Kagome. "Hi! I've heard a lot about you from Sango. You must be Kagome, right?"
Said young woman nodded in the affirmative. "That's me. And who might you be?" Kagome said, giving a playfully suspicious look to Sango.
"Ouch, she hasn't mentioned me, huh?" the young man feigned offense.
Sango finally was able to speak up. "Oh, please, there's nothing to mention! Kagome, this is Miroku. We met in Statistics class last semester. Get used to him – he likes to be a nuisance."
Miroku – now that Kagome could place a name – picked up Sango's hand, enveloping it in his own. "Sango, dear, you wound me. I thought what we had was more special than that."
Sango's face lit up as red as fire engine. As Sango berated Miroku for touching her without permission, Kagome couldn't help but smile in amusement. Throughout school, Sango hadn't paid much attention to boys. Really, neither of them did. But Sango focused most of her energy on her extracurricular sports (yes, plural) and being with her little brother, Kohaku. Their mother had died when Kohaku was very young, and their father worked long hours. For the most part, Sango had raised Kohaku on her own. While coming to college was a hard decision for Sango, Kagome knew she stilled traveled back home often to attend Kohaku's soccer games. Regardless, Kagome was happy to see Sango opening herself up, even just the tiniest bit.
"So, are you ready to go?"
Miroku's voice turned Kagome's attention to him. Kagome's brows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"I told you Kagome – we're going out tonight!" Sango reminded excitedly.
"Oh no, no, no," Kagome waved her hands frantically, "I'm not going. Thanks for the invite, but I'm just going to shower and go to bed."
"No way!" the other woman argued, stepping away from Miroku and grabbing Kagome's hands. "It is your first night of college. You can't spend it sleeping!"
"And who says I can't?"
"I do," Sango stated, putting her hands on her hips authoritatively. "Now, if you come, I'll do the dishes for the next week!"
Kagome's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You? Who hates cleaning most of all?"
"I promise! Please, Kagome, please?" Sango pleaded, giving Kagome her best puppy dog eyes. It was effective – Sango's big brown eyes fit the part.
Kagome sighed, and that was all the answer Sango needed to let her know that the young woman had resigned to her fate. "Fine, wouldn't want to disappoint."
"Yes!" Sango cheered. She picked up her cell phone and the key to their dorm room. "Are you ready now, Miroku?"
Miroku nodded. "Sure am. We better get going or we'll be late."
Kagome grabbed her cell phone as well and followed them out the door. "Late to what?" she asked quizzically.
"You'll see. It'll be so much fun," Sango replied with a devious smirk.
That did not put Kagome at ease, but she decided to stay quiet as she followed Sango and Miroku across campus. During the walk, she learned that Miroku was a Business Major and that he was from Kyoto. He and Sango met through a group project in Statistics class. After that, they would meet up throughout the week and study together. Though, from the sounds of it, Sango did most of the studying. Kagome got the impression that, while Miroku was a bit of a flirt, he seemed to genuinely have affection for Sango. So, Kagome wasn't too worried when he shot her flirtatious comments. She had become quite good at reading people over the years.
As they walked, the lamplights on campus got few and far between. The dark, ominous environment put Kagome's stomach in knots. It's not that she didn't trust Sango – she just didn't trust the situation.
"Guys, where are we going?" Kagome spoke up through a dry mouth.
Sango shot her a sympathetic look. At least, that's what Kagome thought it from what she could see in the dim light.
"Sorry, Kagome. I was the same way, too, my first time. We're almost there."
Your first time? What the fuck does that mean? If this was some sort of weird sex ring, Kagome did not want to find out.
Turning the corner of what looked to be an older, possibly unused building on campus, a stairwell leading underground was staring Kagome in the face.
"After you, ladies," Miroku gestured dramatically for them to lead.
Looking to Kagome, Sango said, "Here, just follow me." With that, she began to descend the stairs.
Cautiously – but determined not to turn tail and run just yet – Kagome followed after her friend. It didn't take too long to reach the bottom, where a metal door awaited.
Sango clutched the door handle and held it open. Kagome was forced to go in first. Once inside, she didn't see anyone, but she could hear raucous voices coming from down a hallway. A single, yellow light bulb illuminated the hallway.
Sango was the first to move, and she began to gallop down the hallway. "Gotta go or we'll miss it!" she called back to them.
Kagome looked at Miroku, who gave her a reassuring smile, and then took off after Sango. Kagome considered her options: a) stand in the creep hallway alone; b) leave and walk all the way across campus in the dark by herself; or c) bite the bullet and follow them. Option C seemed liked the best one.
When Kagome finally caught up to them, she wasn't prepared for the amount of people that were in the room. From what she could gather, the room used to be a large auditorium or classroom that had been gutted, so all that was left was empty space. But the amount of people made it feel tiny. Sango grabbed Kagome's hand and pulled her along so that they wouldn't be separated. In turn, Kagome could see Sango was holding into Miroku's shirt.
They pushed through the crowd, trying to get a good spot. Once through, Kagome observed that everyone was either standing in a large circle – which is where they were – or they were watching from the higher parts of the room. The whole space was abuzz with energy, and it made Kagome have a feeling of anticipation – but she had no idea what she was anticipating.
Finally, an ogre demon pushed through the crowed, holding a microphone. He tapped the mic against the palm of his hand to make sure it was on.
"Welcome, everybody, to another Fight Night!" he exclaimed, greeting the crowd.
Once the worst of the cheers died down, he continued, "Are there any new observers in the house tonight?"
Less cheers than before rang out, and Sango started jumping up and down while pointing at Kagome and screaming. Kagome suddenly wished she was back in her bed.
"That's great, nice to have you here," the announcer chuckled. "Now, Fight Night only has one rule, and that's not to talk to other people who don't know about Fight Night. So, newbies, you're in for one hell of a surprise!"
More screams went out amongst the crowd. Kagome didn't understand how these people retained their vocal cords.
"Tonight, we have a few rounds of fights. Our first competitor you may know: Bankotsu!"
Through the crowd, a shirtless, human man came bouncing through. He had long, black hair in a braid down his back. His knuckles were wrapped in cloth tape, and he was wearing loose gym shorts with tennis shoes. He looked around the crowd, jumping up and down to hype them up futher.
The announcer spoke over the raucous crowd. "His opponent needs no introduction, but I'll give it to him anyway. He has become an unlikely crowd favorite and has remained undefeated in this ring: Inuyasha!"
To the right, the crowd parted to let this Inuyasha through. The energy in the room shifted – if it wasn't hyped up before, it was undeniably hyped up now. A tall figure stepped out from the path that the crowd had created. This man was just as sculpted as the human one, if not more. Muscles rippled everywhere on his body. Abs were displayed beneath tan skin. White, long hair created a kind of curtain around him, with two pieces framing his face. Kagome couldn't make out his face, due to him being turned away from her as he put on a shown for the crowd, but she did notice two triangular ears sat atop his head.
What kind of ears are those?, she pondered. I can't tell if it's dog, cat, or fox from this distance.
Finally, the man addressed as Inuyasha turned to face her side of the crowd. In that moment, golden eyes clashed with deep brown, and suddenly, Kagome felt all of the oxygen get sucked out of the room.
It's a little short, but I thought that was the perfect place to end the chapter. Please like, follow, and review if you feel so inclined!
