InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Shades of Gray ❯ Behind curtain number one... ( Chapter 5 )

~<>~ Shades of Grey ~<>~

 

 

~<>~ Chapter 5 ~<>~ Behind curtain number one…

 

 

 

Kagome laid silently in her bed, listening intently on a situation she'd rather not. For the past hour, she had been waiting for the labored breathing beneath her to stop.

 

Kagome had snuck back into the tiny dorm, under the cloak of darkness, about five hours prior…but her sleep had been fragmented at best. She was exhausted, yet couldn't manage to coax herself to sleep. And right as she got comfortable and happened upon chance to doze off, she would roll onto one of the open welts on her back and send a sizzling sharp pain straight through her nervous system and awoke with a yelp. It was amazing, in her opinion, that she hadn't woken the slumbering couple that rested underneath her. Well, that was to say, partially slumbering.

 

About an hour ago started her sixty minute long wait. She had felt something warm starting to trickle down her back and instantly knew that the last twitch of pain she felt she must have twisted the wrong way and ripped open the haphazardly formed scabs. She rolled over immediately, trying to contain the bleeding, and praying it wouldn't' stain through to her sheets. That could prove a certain type of hell to explain to her cousin. When she moved to get up, she heard a few disgruntled sighs, a giggle and then the sounds of clothing being rustled above her. That alone was enough to have sway over her upchuck reflex. It took amazing reserve for her not to vomit at the thought of her cousin fornicating under her with that dog of a man she dated. Then again, she nearly wanted to vomit over the thought of her cousin with anyone.

 

It wasn't as if she hated Kikyo, Kagome could say there were very few people on the Earth that she truly hated. She just…didn't like…her cousin. Maybe it was a jealousy that Kagome was hesitant to admit to, but that was stretching it. They had grown up practically as sisters. Their parents, being that Kikyo's father and Kagome's father were brother's, were always together, and by association, it made the girls' friends. It had always been a competition, though, and no one could deny that without naming themselves a liar. When they were in elementary school, their parent's pitted the girls against each other on opposing softball teams, soccer teams, competition dance squads; anything that was reputable enough to don the Higurashi namesake. When they went into secondary school, it became more of a competition between the girls rather then the parents. Fashion, cheerleading and anything else that was considered trendy. Kikyo always came out at the top.

 

Kagome winced in retrospect; it wasn't that she wasn't as popular as Kikyo as much as it was that she couldn't be the cold bitch that Kikyo had nailed to a T. Sure, Kikyo could put up a beautiful front to those who she just met, but the minute she realized that they didn't matter, or weren't up-to-par with Kikyo's standards, she cast them off like a piece of lint, and never cast a second glance at them again. Kagome could only match half the bravado of being so mean…but hated herself at night for it. So she melted, conformed to be a follower of the all-mighty Kikyo, and though was only popular by association, as InuYasha loved to rub it in, she was still much more well received then her bitchy counterpart. Then there was the Japan incident, as her father called it.

 

Kagome felt all her muscles stiffen at the mere thought of that hellish vacation. It was that trip that had ruined everything. It had systematically destroyed her life, and vicariously, tore down every foundation her family had structured themselves upon. They were supposed to journey out with Kikyo's parents and the royal bitch herself to visit Kikyo's parents' friends, and a business acquaintance of her father's, but at last minute, Kikyo's mother came down with a serious case of the flu. Being bedridden, it ended up just Kagome and her family that went out to Tokyo to stay with Ito Hirorichi and his family. That August had been the worst of her fourteen years of existence, and then to top it off, that September her parents had a rather outlandish divorce in which her and her mother were completely excommunicated from her father's family. From that point on, the only thing she saw of her father was a child support check that was addressed to her mother. No birthday cards…no Christmas cards…nothing, her father refused to acknowledge his daughter's existence outside of that six hundred dollars allowance.

 

For months Kagome had cried, blaming herself for being the cause of their breakup and her mother's plummet from the life she had grown accustomed to for over twenty long years. And though her mother never turned a harsh word to Kagome, she never could rid herself of the sounds of her mother crying herself to sleep at night. Those tears that streamed her mother's face in the darkest hour of the night were the silent torture that Kagome had to endure. Those dreadful hours, where Father-Time seemed to step to the side to take a moment to rest thinking that no one would notice, were the bane of Kagome's existence. For in her room, she would be awake, her ears against her wooden door, sobbing in unison with her mother.

 

About three months after the divorce, her mother relocated them out to her sister's house to wait out the other five. They lived in Pennsyl-tucky; that was to say, the parts of Pennsylvania that could have been misconstrued for being another hidden area of Kentucky. The Mennonites* always made for some fun entertainment…and riding in the horse and buggies with them was a blast. But that was just about the social spectrum of her life for those agonizing months.

 

Then came Souta, and the tears that flowed at night were joined by the howls of an infant baby. Rumors spread faster then the world could blink, her mother labeled a whore and a conniving wench. People doubted that it was her father's child, saying the reason of her parents divorce was that her mother cheated on her father. Darker insinuations grew as her mother's name slandered without remorse. And all Kagome could do was to stand idle, and support her mother in ways a fifteen year-old never should have to, the dark truth never uttered.

 

Her mother's pregnancy, known when they left only by her father, became a widely common knowledge among the people `who mattered' back in Deal, New Jersey. Kagome thanked her Aunt Chiyo, Kikyo's mother, for that fact.

 

What was the worst part of it all, for her, was that she still had to face Kikyo everyday in school when she returned the following September. Though the kids thought nothing of the infant, Kikyo's entire attitude towards Kagome had shifted. She was colder, meaner, and a lot pushier (and that was saying a lot). Kikyo thought herself better than Kagome, as if the new baby was a plague upon her name.

 

And then…there was Kikyo's new boy toy.

 

InuYasha.

 

They had started dating in the April that Kagome was away in the bumble-fuck of Pennsylvania. The boy had graduated the spring before Kagome returned, but had a fascination with being at lunch everyday with her cousin…and consequently, her. Though they didn't speak to each other, there was a wall of ice built almost immediately between them that seemed to be thicker than Kikyo's skull. But, in an odd turn of events, the more Kagome and InuYasha argued, the closer Kagome and Kikyo grew.

 

And so it was the way of life, one that Kagome despised and loathed, for six long years.

 

Hearing the sounds of steady breathing broke Kagome of her reflection into her own past. Slipping off her bed, she tiptoed her way to the bathroom, sliding through the darkness like a night crawler. She entered the bathroom, pressing one hand against the wooden door, closing it slowly enough to avoid making a sound.

 

Kagome wasn't sure if Kikyo had taken note of her absence for the night prior. If she had, Kagome had already created a well plotted excuse that she had been picked up by her mother to baby-sit Souta so she could attend a conference in the city the following day. Kagome could easily pull off the disappearing act for one night with her cousin…it were those multi-missing days that always caught her up in her lies. Thankfully she had only suffered through only one of those, and that was at the time she was actually dating …Oberon. And with Kikyo's blessings backing their relationship, it wasn't too painful a reunion when Kagome surfaced five days after she had last been seen. But what a painful five days those had been.

 

Speaking of pain…

 

Kagome glanced into the mirror and sighed dejectedly. She turned on the hot water in her shower and moved back to the mirror. Removing her contacts, something she should have done earlier, was a bit of a chore, but freeing herself from the crystal blue orbs was like casting off that veil that she lived under at night. To bad the bruises wouldn't simply vanish like that.

 

And thinking of bruising…

 

Kagome ran her fingers under the black and blue spot that marred her left cheek. Oberon had never struck her before that night. Well…out of anger, that is to say, and on her face, and that was another ballgame all together. This was going to require some hefty lying to cover up, she realized as she propped the discolored flesh dejectedly.

 

With a melodramatic sigh, Kagome turned and looked over her shoulder at her back through the mirror. Sure enough, the blood had seeped through her shirt and had stained the back in a beautiful shade of crimson. She almost didn't want to take off the shirt, fearing to see the real artwork. Instead she took the chicken shit way out.

 

Stepping into the shower with her tee-shirt still on, Kagome allowed the water to rush over her body, sending blinding pain up her backbone as the flow softened up the scabs that she was about to rip off. Inhaling sharply, she began to peel the white cotton tee up her body. She bit into her bottom lip until she could actually taste her own blood as she finally freed herself from that damned shirt. Turning into the piping hot stream of water, she washed the blood from the shirt, wincing as the water sought refuge in the five large wounds on her back.

 

Two were lashed across her shoulder-blades, both about four inches long and one inch thick, made from the bullwhip the night she was at the club. One ran the length of her back, made about ten hours prior, that gashed open the one that had closed on her left shoulder. The other two were strung out across her lower back, one reaching as low as the middle of her ass, and weren't nearly as wide as the other two.

 

Satisfied that her shirt was decent enough to put into her laundry basket, Kagome took to herself. With a resolve that she wasn't sure she could muster, she turned and thrust her back into the stream. She didn't mean to yelp, but the pain was overwhelming.

 

Yet as Murphy's Law would decree, as the yelp left her mouth, the bathroom door opened. Kagome turned immediately to press her back against the cool tiled wall, aghast that her cousin would be up at this hour, and even more scared that Kikyo would manage to see through the shower curtain magically, and witness the truth that Kagome hoarded for nearly two years.

 

The door closed and Kagome held her breath, her eyes widening with every padded step taken across the cold tiled floor. The shadow that was cast on her side of the cotton barrier came to stop in the middle of the room, presumably staring at the material and the girl behind it. Kagome choked, staring at the shirt lying across the top of the shower rod. If she grabbed it now, it would drag attention to her immediately and the rusty stained fabric. In a futile action, she nipped at her bottom lip with her teeth, grimacing and waiting for hell to break loose.

 

“Yo girly; stay in there for a minute longer, I got to piss like a racehorse.”

 

Kagome felt her jaw drop, her eyes darkening to hide beneath her long bangs. For a minute her mouth moved but not a word came out. Too many thoughts were flying through her brain for her to comprehend at the current moment. The first was that InuYasha, not Kikyo, was in the bathroom with her. The second and most prominent of the thoughts was that she was completely butt-ass naked, with her cousin's boyfriend three feet away.

 

Hearing the lid of the toilet clank against the porcelain base brought about the third, and most disgusting, issue; InuYasha was pulling his cock out with her still in the bathroom.

 

“Oh hell no!”

 

Lavender eyes flickered to the mirror, a smirk growing on the boy's face as he turned from where he stood by the toilet, his right hand down his pants, to lean against the sink and stare back at the curtain that hid Kagome's body from his sight.

 

“Listen up, wench,” he said with a rather even tone, “I got to go…and there ain't no bathroom `sides this one that I can use, which means, either you get your fat ass out of that shower and give me some privacy, or you'll just have to deal with it.”

 

Kagome huffed, her chest puffing out with serious rage. Her jaw set forward, and that savvy hellfire that she knew how to control rekindled in her eyes. If she wasn't so aware of her nakedness, she would have stormed from that shower and given that boy a real piece of hell. “How dare you try to order me around in my own room? Get out this instant! I was here first!”

 

InuYasha studied the silhouette hidden from his eyes, his smirk only growing in lecherous ways. `This bitch really doesn't know who she's fucking with, does she?' he thought as he braced himself against the counter with his left hand behind him, his right hand still wrapped solidly around his cock. “Tell that to my penis, Ka-go-me. See, it's telling me that it needs to throw up, and who I am to talk back? `Cause I'll tell ya, it does so much for me. I don't think I want to anger it.”

 

“God forbid you argue with your brain, InuYasha,” she shot back hotly.

 

InuYasha smirked. “You got some balls, Bitch.” He made motion to grab the shower curtain, earning all sorts of threats upon both him and his dick if he were to reveal her. “Come on, I want to see if they're bigger than mine.” The mischief that sparkled in his lavender eyes seemed almost malicious.

 

“Get out, get out, get out!!! Oh my god, I swear to all that is holy, I will wake up Kikyo!”

 

InuYasha shrugged with a chuckle. “Go ahead, you do that and I'll bend her over this counter and fuck her in one of her three well-used holes when she walks in. Maybe can get yourself off in the interim. That could make a wonderful morning for you, wouldn't you say?” He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and kept prodding. “Or is it night for you? Because, by technicality you haven't slept, therefore it is still night.”

 

Kagome's retort died on her lips.

 

InuYasha must have just about envisioned her face because his tone became rather chiding in nature. “My, my…Kagome, you don't really think that I am completely oblivious to you slipping in at four o'clock in the morning, do you? You're cousin might be…but then again, what can you expect from her? I swear she should be blonde.” With a smile, he knew he had the mouse captured in a corner. “So why don't you tell me, princess; where have you been hiding?”

 

“That is none of your business.”

 

InuYasha's smile flattered as he asked rather dryly, “So you finally find yourself a man?”

 

Kagome's eyes widened, thinking back to the look on Oberon's face as he snapped that bullwhip over her back, the lust that filled his Aqua-marine orbs...and the sex that followed. Kagome closed her eyes, whimpering ever so slightly at the recent memory carved into her brain.

 

“You're taking a long time to answer that question, Sweets. What, you playing with yourself in there or something?” InuYasha moved for the curtain again, never intending on actually touching the material. It was just to easy to fuck with her brain at this early hour.

 

Kagome blinked herself back to reality, grounded faster then lightning with the sound of his voice. “Keep away from the curtain, you letch! As if I would stoop to touching myself around you.”

 

InuYasha's tone turned rather condescending mixed with a rather heavy air of something that Kagome couldn't put her finger on. Whatever entered the man's voice sent shivers up Kagome's back. “So at least you're admitting you touch yourself when I'm not here. That's hot. So tell me, is it me that you visualize getting you off, cause you know, that would just be hotter.”

 

“You are so disgusting, you pig! Explain to me why I would ever envision you touching me when I can't stand the thought of you?”

 

InuYasha held up his left hand and moved away, eyeing over her silhouette. He couldn't say the girl didn't have curves. She had one of the most alluring hourglass figures that he had ever seen on a broad; real curvy hips that were made for digging his fingers into and pulling against his own.

 

`Holy hell, where did that thought come from?' InuYasha wondered in amazement. Swallowing thickly, he licked his dry lips as the girl called him a number of interesting and rather vibrant names. “You ain't got anything back there I haven't already seen…in much larger proportions.” With a smug grin, he snorted and responded in a rather playful quip, “You know little girl, you should really stop playing with me.”

 

Kagome's face was crimson as she stared at the curtain, her fists balled and ready to get physical if the jerk dared to keep provoking her. “That's not me, you asshole. That's your right hand!”

 

InuYasha knew that she meant that as a jibe, but all be it, the girl was quite right. `Well I'll be damned…' At some point amidst the argument, he had slowly begun jerking his right hand over his shaft. Staring down, a part of him really didn't want to stop pulling at it to the sound of her voice. There was something about her pissed off that always got him hard…and now he had her in quite the predicament. But at the same time, he was more then sure he didn't want her to realize just what he was doing. There wasn't a doubt in his mind it would be back to Kikyo in a matter of milliseconds.

 

But he didn't want to stop.

 

Forgetting about the main reason he entered the bathroom, his sole focus transferred to the girl in the shower, whom he was well aware, was quite naked. And wet. InuYasha couldn't help the husky tone that washed over his words as his eyes darkened in hues of colors. “So you gonna stand in there all night or you gonna come out and play? Whatcha got to hide? Come on princess; let's see how you stand up to your threats.”

 

Kagome snorted indignantly, completely ignorant of the man's ministrations, and crossed her arms over her breasts. “I'm quite comfortable, thanks. But I'm sure that you're not. So why don't you just leave?”

 

InuYasha waved off her comment. His violet orbs took on a hue of gold in the florescent light as his breathing became labored. All playfulness fell to the wayside as he contemplated pulling down that damned shower curtain. “I'm serious Kagome. Cum on…”

 

Kagome opened her mouth to retort then paused. His words sounded odd to the girl who had spent so many years bantering with him. They sounded strained, as if he was in pain. Chewing on her bottom lip, she began to worry. Was he just making her life a living hell, like he always had, or did he really have to piss that bad? She had heard once that guys could damage their bladders if they didn't pee when needed, and though she hated the man, she didn't wish him actual harm, unless she was directly inflicting it. With a sigh, she seriously began to reconsider their position. If he would step out for a minute, she would be able to get dressed. That was a fair acquiescence…or so she thought. “InuYasha?”

 

InuYasha was very tempted to drop his concealment spell, so tempted that he actually began to curl his fingers with direct intent. He wanted to know what the bitch smelled like; with a silent curse that slipped from his lips inaudible as his groans, he damned his human disguise that depleted all of his demonic abilities. To rend that stupid charm from his body for but one moment would have been ecstasy. InuYasha wanted to know what the air tasted like when it was her aura that filled it. He wanted to know what she tasted like, inside and out. His heart hammered against his chest as he began to pump his shaft harder in his hand. When did it come to this, he wondered. When did he start lusting after this stuck up cunt? For years all he wanted was to argue with her, get her riled up, to get the satisfaction of wining an argument with her; it was the highlight of his days. And now…now it was what got him hard. Something was seriously fucked up with that.

 

“Inu…Yasha?”

 

The curtain shuffled and InuYasha crashed back to reality. He dropped his dick as if it had grown eyes and a mouth and told him how much of a fuck-job he was. His eyes flashed back to the curtain as he shoved his member back into his pants, his breath in heavy pants. `What…the hell…was I thinking?' Had he really just had all those thoughts about Kagome? Stupid, bitchy Kagome who he hadn't been able to tolerate for the last six years, the cunt that made his life a living hell; the Bitch that he would want nothing more to do then push against the shower wall and fuck the living hell out of?

 

`Ah shit,' a voice that probably was his long buried conscious called out from the darkest recess of his mind, `you're fucked.'

 

InuYasha stood upright and rushed towards the door. “Never mind,” he barked back, nearly whimpering with every step as his jeans threatened to chafe his hard-on. “You win.” `God Damnit,' he thought as he stalked past the sleeping body of his girlfriend, storming towards the door, `I'm gonna have the worst case of blue-balls in history! Fuck me!' InuYasha grabbed his shirt and coat, swung it over his shoulder and shot out the door, intent only on getting home and taking care of this aroused…problem. Thank God Kikyo was still asleep.

 

Kagome stood staring out of the shower curtain at the bathroom door, her eyes wide in astonishment. InuYasha…had just admitted defeat. Without an argument, that pesky annoying boy had just bowed out to her, and ran away like a dog with his tail between his legs. Something was defiantly wrong. And that thought alone left her rather shaken.

 

 

&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X&X& X&X&X&&X&

 

Kagome brushed out her hair, staring into the tiny circular mirror that adorned her computer desk. She had put on as much makeup as she could over the bruise, but somehow she was still able to see it. She prayed it was one of those psychological things that she had heard about; she just saw it because she knew it resided on her face. Maybe it would be invisible to the rest of the world. But somehow Kagome doubted that was the truth. With a exaggerated sigh, she tossed her black hair over her shoulder and gathered her books for her first class. Her plan was to escape before Kikyo woke up and make it a day on campus. It would buy her a few more hours to let the bruise fade, at least.

 

“Where were you yesterday?”

Looking back towards the bunk beds, Kagome nullified her expression of haste and carefully leaned back against the bland white cement wall. Crossing her arms over her heaving chest, she prayed Kikyo couldn't see her discomfort. Watching her cousin stretch from her strewn position on her bed, Kagome weaved a delicate smile. “Mom called Tuesday morning and asked if I could watch Souta so she could go to a conference up in the city. I wasn't missing much class wise so I said that would be fine. She picked me up. I'm sorry I didn't leave a note.” Kagome clamped her mouth shut, realizing she was starting to ramble. Besides, in all reality, both her and Kikyo knew that she did not need to justify her actions.

Kikyo stared down at her younger cousin before climbing off the bed. Stretching her long arms behind her body, she studied her cousin for a minute under a rather scrutinizing gaze. “So your mom picked you up? Why didn't you drive home?” Kikyo kept her tone neutral to see just what Kagome would conjure up to say.

 

Kagome smiled evenly; taken back that Kikyo would even spend the time questioning her. “Because she was in the area; she was shopping over at the Monmouth mall and figured it would save me some gas. You know how outrageous those prices are.”

 

Kikyo pursed her lips and nodded once, reaching her desk and grabbing her brush. “Convenient.” She smiled secretively at her cousin. Running the soft tips of the brush through her hair, she spoke rather calmly, recanting Kagome's story. “Do your mom just happened to be in the area and picked you up, to take you home to watch your baby brother, and then was in the city all day yesterday and you just got back…what…this morning?”

 

Kagome suddenly felt like Kikyo had turned on the heat lamps. Playing it cool, she shrugged half heartedly, panicking inside. “Yeah.” `Oh that was a smart retort', Kagome mulled over while diverting her attention towards the purple neon lights that decorated the ceiling. They were going to need to redecorate their room, she realized while checking out the decor.

 

Kikyo nodded very slowly, “Oh. That's nice.” With a smile and a bob of her head, Kikyo sauntered past Kagome and into the bathroom. Filling the sink with water, Kikyo called back sweetly, “oh…call your mom back, she called yesterday looking for you; funny how that works.”

 

Kagome choked on air, her eyes widening in the direction of the bathroom. Grabbing her coat, she rushed towards the door, pretending not to hear the girl. “Anyway, I got to go, Kik. I'll…”

 

Kikyo stuck her head out of the bathroom, her toothbrush hanging out of one corner of her mouth, the other corner turned up in a smug grin. “Hold it, missy!”

 

Kagome held her breath as she paused dead in her tracks. For a minute, she was shocked her sneakers didn't leave a black tread mark on the tiled floor by their door. With a sound grimace, she turned slowly back to look at her cousin. “Yes?”

 

Turning to spit out the mouthful of toothpaste, Kikyo rubbed her face on a towel and walked from the bathroom, twirling the cloth on her fingers. “Your story has a few holes, my dear Cousin; holes that are bigger then the Titanic. Care to explain?”

 

Kagome shrugged, her eyes shifting to stare at the floor with a resigned sigh and a sarcastic retort. “A rogue iceberg, maybe?”

 

Kikyo raised her eyebrows, obviously not amused. “I was worried, Kaggie” she said as she grabbed a sweater from her closet, drifting away from her relative who she had quite seriously backed into the metaphorical corner. “I figured you were home, or something, before your mom called. But after she did…” she turned and stared at her cousin, pulling the sweater over the camisole she was already wearing; “Where were you?”

 

Kagome shifted her weight slowly, still not meeting her eyes. After taking a deep breath, she looked up to see her roommate's expression of skepticism. “I…was out. With friends…and we stayed…in the city.”

 

Crossing her arms, Kikyo rocked back on her heels, “does this friend have a name?”

 

Kagome rolled her eyes and stomped one foot, much like a child in the midst of a tantrum. “Damnit, Kikyo, I don't question you when you go stay at InuYasha's. I don't question you when you vanish for a full day! Why are you grilling me? What do you care?”

 

Kikyo actually looked rather stricken. That look then quickly faded behind the rearing head of anger that Kagome flinched under the direct gaze of. “Grilling you? Oh, I'm so sorry! You vanish for nearly two days and I'm not supposed to give a damn? You don't question when I'm gone because obviously you assume I'm with InuYasha; which really isn't that settling to know you don't really give a damn. Thanks, Kagome. Nice to know you care.” Staring unblinking at her cousin, she cocked her eyebrow, “fine Kagome, keep your secrets. You're right, why should I give a damn? Obviously you don't.”

 

Kagome opened her mouth to apologize but winced as Kikyo stormed back into the bathroom and slammed the door. With a sigh, she wasn't shocked to find that no words seemed to slip out of her gaping jaw. Shutting her mouth, she turned and grabbed her pocketbook. She didn't want to be there when Kikyo got out

 

 

X&X&X&X&X&XX&X&X&X&X&& ;X&X&X&

 

The lobby of the dorm was actual quite busy for a Thursday morning. It seemed like there was a group meeting behind held in their recreation room, which was to the left of the entrance across from the elevators. Turning to her right, she paused at the mailboxes and located her room's mailbox. Quickly rifling through the mail, she snagged the envelope sent to her by her mother.

 

“Finally,” she muttered to herself as she ripped open the top. It was her monthly allowance, sent to her mother VIA her father. Her mother would always deposit a hundred of it for Kagome to use on necessities while up at school. Kagome knew that she was short on funds, especially after her train ticket to make it up to the city. Stuffing the deposit slip into the pocket of her pea coat, she turned and walked towards the exit of the dorm.

 

“Kagome?”

 

Kagome paused neared the doors then turned slowly to stare at the reception desk. The mousey girl behind the desk smiled brightly back and Kagome quickly searched her memory for her name. “Oh…Rin! How are you?”

 

Rin slid off her stool and shuffled around the desk to meet her new friend in the middle of the hall. Her black hair was tied into a messy pony tail and the dark circles under her eyes were a precursor to her answer, or at least Kagome would have thought. Kagome prepared herself for a sob story, maybe a long detailed boring story…anything but the response she got. “I'm good, how about yourself?” Her petite mouth fell into an O as she glanced back at the elevators, leveling a finger at the doors. “You…oh! You stay here?”

 

Kagome nodded, stealing a glance at the clock. “Yeah, top story.” Forcing a smile that wasn't all too synthetic, she cocked her head, figuring she could spare some time for mild conversation and still escape her cousin's wrath. “Do you?”

 

Rin shook her head in the negative. “Oh no, I Commute. I have an apartment in Tinton Falls. I'm just doing this as a work study to get some extra money. You know, I mean, I'm on campus, I might as well work.” Her smile flattered as she caught Kagome stealing another glance at the clock. “I'm…sorry…I must be holding you up from getting to class.”

 

Kagome suddenly felt like the wicked witch of the west, watching the way the girl seemed suddenly crestfallen. Reaching out to tap Rin on the bicep with her right hand, Kagome smiled sincerely. “No, no…I just had a fight with my roommate this morning and am hoping to escape before she comes looking for me.”

 

Rin wrinkled her nose and offered Kagome a sincere smile. “I'm sorry. I don't know if I could ever live with someone like they do here. A complete stranger, you know? It would just be so weird!”

 

Kagome laughed lightly and shook her head, “no, we're not strangers. She's my cousin.”

 

Rin's smile brightened. “oh wow! That's awesome! I would love to room with my cousin…well…then again, my cousin is a guy….who is like ten years older then me. But he's still awesome. He took me to Ozzfest out at the Tweeter Center in August, it was awesome!”

 

Kagome had started to look up at the clock, but hearing those words, her head snapped to attention fast enough to make a military man jealous. “Ozzfest? You? You like System?”

 

Rin laughed she rolled her eyes as she bobbed her knees just slightly, looking slightly off put. “Yeah…I know what your thinking; preppy and rather homely little girl in rags listens to big bad heavy metal…”

 

Kagome held out her hand, laughing with a earnest undertone. “No, no…not at all. I'm just…well…shocked.” Seeing Rin's expression, Kagome laughed nervously, “Okay, shoot me. You're right. But…I mean…you just don't come off as a…and you're not homely!”

 

“I know. I just don't have the extra cash to live that kind of style. I listen to what I can get my hands on, I wear what I can afford, and right now, that isn't much. I'm the head of my household, for the time being.”

 

“Oh, wow. Well…you said you have an apartment right? I guess you don't have roommates. Wow. I don't think I could afford to live on my own.” The shock seemed to set in on Kagome as she stared at the girl in front of her. Here was a girl, who was maybe nineteen, who could afford to go to school, was paying rent on an apartment, and working full time. Damn, that took some courage.

 

Rin shrugged as she walked back to her desk, reaching for her backpack. “Yeah, it's not that easy. I mean, I have some money saved from my parents which helps, and I worked up in New York City for a while on a paid internship at a global marketing company, but…after that ended, and I needed to find my own place, and things got a little tight.” Turning back to Kagome, she smiled wistfully. “I wish I could dorm here, I really do. Life would be so much easier.”

 

Kagome stared into Rin's eyes, noticing so many words unspoken that screamed in volumes. Kagome suddenly felt very uncomfortable; this girl was just about pouring out her life story to Kagome, someone she hardly knew, and seemed to be looking for one in return. Kagome swallowed thickly, wanting nothing more then to remove herself from the environment. There were two things Kagome failed in life at; one was boys. The other was sharing. But it was just so damn hard to walk away from this girl. Instead, Kagome nearly kicked herself in her ass as she read into Rin's statement. “Well, you could apply to be a resident. I mean, it's a little more, but they will give you more financial aid, providing that your grades are good and what they don't cover, just take out a student loan. It's not that hard.”

 

Rin seemed to almost shrink back at the thought. With a wave of her hand, she dismissed Kagome's brash thought. “That would be all fine and well, but if I moved here, Kenren couldn't move with me. And he's not someone I'm leaving behind.”

 

Kagome grinned mechanically, suddenly understanding the girl's reluctance. “Oh. The boyfriend, right? Man, I'll tell you, they can be a drag. Not that I speak that much from experience, but I'm living with a girl who can't seem to shake hers, and you're right, you wouldn't be able to stay with him here…what's so funny?”

 

Rin had her hand to her mouth, laughing lightly at the girl's rant. Realizing that Kagome had paused and taken notice of her actions, Rin waved her hand dismissively. “Oh no, Kenren's not my boyfriend…”

 

Kagome smacked her forehead and interrupted the girl, “oh, stupid me. I should really let people finish their statements. The family pet, I guess? What kind of dog…or cat…is he?”

 

Rin stared at Kagome for a moment, as if judging that she was done. The smile that had shone so brightly on her face moments before began to fade as she shook her head again. “No Kagome, Kenren's my son.”

 

&X&X&X&XX&X&X&X&XX&X&X&am p;XX&X&X&X&X&

 

 

- told ya that you wouldn't need to wait long. Yay! R&R. and to satisfy the thirst to the questions of Oberon; he's canon, the name is just an alias. And no, he's not Sesshoumaru. I have plans for my…beautiful…Sesshiles.

 

*- Mennonites are a following of the Amish religion who are a little more relaxed on their beliefs and upbringing. The locals from the Pennsylvania-Dutch area are normally found around Lancaster.