InuYasha Fan Fiction / Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Much Too Young ❯ Chapter Four ( Chapter 4 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Four

The silence in the house at that moment seemed deafening. The front door was still ajar from when Kagome ran out and yet, nobody bothered to close it. The chilly wind from outside blew into the house causing it's occupants to shiver slightly.

Aya stood from his sitting position and clapped his hands to gain everyone's attention. “Well, I think I'll just…” He was rudely interrupted when Kyo decided to speak his mind, not knowing that Yuki and Haru were thinking along the same lines.

“ Isn't it illegal for the three of you to watch a kid? Especially you guys?” he looked pointedly at Shigure and Ayame, “I mean, what were her parents thinking when they hired you guys to watch their precious daughter?”

Aya and Shigure looked extremely insulted at this point, while Hatori casually sipped his tea that had been laid out for him, as well as everyone else, by Tohru. “Now that is just rude! You should respect your elders, Kyonkichi.” “Stop calling me that! I've told you before!”

“Ayame, lets go.” Hatori's voice, though quiet and calm, held an air to authority to it. The room immediately quieted down at the sound of his voice. Hatori stood and nodded his thanks to Tohru and Shigure. Aya nodded as well and turned to Yuki. “Sorry, little brother. Perhaps we will have more time to chat.” Yuki shook his head in irritation and sighed. Sometimes he wondered why his brother wasn't in an asylum.

As Hatori and Ayame made their way out of the house, Tohru turned to Shigure. “So, did you really watch over Gome-chan when she was little?” She couldn't help but be amazed and slightly confused as to why this topic was never brought up before.

Shigure looked at Tohru with a diminutive smile forming at the corners of his mouth. “Yes, well, it is rather a long story…”

----------------With Hatori and Ayame----------------

“Tori-san, where are we going? I was having fun picking on Kyo…” When he and Hatori stepped foot out of Shigure's house they passed Hatori's car and headed down the trail on the houses property.

Hatori took a side-ways glance at his life-long friend and took out a cigarette. He only smoked when he felt extremely stressed and/or he had too much on his mind. Lighting the cigarette, Hatori inhaled the smoke then slowly let it out. “We're out here to find Kagome.” His simple answer made Aya's eyes go wide.

“Are you sure she came this way?” Hatori looked down at the snow. Freshly made footprints made themselves known in the white powder. “Positive.”

“It all started eleven years ago. Aya, Hatori, and I were hired to be her baby-sitters as a last minute kind of deal. Why her parents needed all three of us to watch her, I don't know. However, I do not regret it. We were just three boy's looking for a summer job to make some quick money...”

They have been walking for quite a ways and were amazed at how fast she could travel. And suddenly, the footprint trail stopped. Looking for the missing girl, they began to search around the nearby bushes and surrounding trees.

“…That night we came over to her house. When Gome-chan first saw us she screamed,” a couple of snickers could be heard, “ and ran over to us and called us by our new nicknames that she insisted that we keep. Needless to say, the `nicknames' at the time made our blood run cold with fear…”

Not long after the two men began their search they hear the distinct sound of someone crying. Looking at each other, Aya and Hatori slowly made their way to a lone ever-green bush. Peeping behind the bush they found what they were looking for.

“…First she looked at Hatori. She smiled and pointed at him calling him `Ryuu-chan'. Next, she looked at me and dubbed me as `Puppy-chan',” more snickers followed, “and last but not least, Aya was the last to get a name. When Gome-chan first looked at Aya, she looked a little frightened but then smiled and ran up to him and hugged his leg. After that, he soon became `Rattles-chan'…”

Kagome laid in the snow curled up into a fetal position. She felt like a fool. How could she make a scene like that and then run away from her first friends? To her, what she had just did seemed unforgivable. How was that any way to say hello to the friends that she hadn't seen in well over seven years? `I'm such a fool,' she thought.

A soft hand on her back brought Kagome out of her reverie as she hissed in pain. Looking over her shoulder she spotted Hatori and Aya. Aya retracted his hand from her back as the dragon and the snake looked at her with worry etched into their brows. Kagome sat up and took a better look at the friends she had missed for so long.

“Hey. Long time no see, huh?” She tried to smile, really she did, but it came off weak as tears once again filled her eyes.

“…It seemed that little Gome-chan knew that we were cursed by the vengeful spirits of the Zodiac, though I think she didn't quite realize what it really meant.”

“Then how come she didn't recognize us as part of the Zodiac? If she did, then wouldn't she say something?”

“Because Kyo, Kagome has lost that gift, assuming she had it in the first place…”

Hatori stepped closer to where Kagome sat. He bent down on his knees, not caring if they got wet because of the snow, and placed his hand lightly on her back. She gritted her teeth in pain, trying her best to hold in the hiss that was sure to come out. They didn't need to know about her life. She didn't want them to know about her life.

Hatori's hand pressed a little further down her back. That was it! She scooted away from him and Aya until her back touched the trunk of a nearby tree. She closed her eyes tightly so she didn't have to look at their surprised faces. Digging her fingers into the snow, Kagome made the smallest of whimpers. `I'm supposed to be stronger than this!' Crying is a weakness…to cry proved her to be a failure. Her father said that to her daily. Crying just proves that you have given-up. `I won't let HIM win.'

“…She was such a lonely girl. Her parents isolated her most of the time. Yet, she was never scared of strangers. Anyway, when we came she seemed to want to follow us everywhere, especially Hari-san. Where most kids would cry when their parents would leave them with a sitter Kagome cried when we had to go…”

Ayame stepped closer to Kagome and extended his hand to her. “Come, Gome-chan. Lets get you warmed up.” Kagome opened her eyes and stared at the green eyes that bore into her blue ones. Looking behind Aya she spotted Hatori. He still had that shocked expression on his face. Not wanting to see his facial expression, Kagome looked back at Ayame.

Reaching her arm up, she clasped it with Aya's. Smiling slightly and nodding the three made their way back to Shigure's.

“…We soon became good friends with Kagome. As time went by, her family troubles seemed to get worse. We never thought too much of it and by the time we started to suspect something it was too late. Akito, along with Gome-chan's step-father, banned us from seeing Kagome…”

The three soon arrived at Shigure's and was surprised to see him, along with everyone else, still in the living room. Kagome sighed as she felt everyone's gaze on her.

`Great. What did you tell them now, Shigure?'

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A/N: Well, what did you think? I'm so sorry if my grammar is atrocious. I try. Please review if it's not too much trouble (it only takes a minute).

Information: This fic is NOT direct to that of my happenings. However, most of the thoughts that Kagome is experiencing are very real (I have also experienced). I live happily now and I am learning to put my past behind me.