InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ All But One ❯ In Which We Consider Naraku ( Chapter 2 )

All But One (by S'revan - inspired by *Shichan)

Kagome's willing to do almost anything to get Inuyasha's attention. Problem is, he's not interested… but others are.

~~~-~~~-~~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~-~~~-~~~- ~~~-~~~

Chapter Two: In Which We Consider Naraku

Kagome had been so caught up in what she wanted to do and the whole rush of meeting and living with new people that she didn't really think about those new people until she had a truly free moment. 'Truly free' as in: she had finished all the work for the week that she knew of, Sango was out doing something that she wasn't interested in, and Inuyasha was on another date with Kikyo, so there was nothing else to do. Now that she thought about it, she had to wonder why Fuji hadn't caught her attention before.

Fuji was a foreigner, and unlike most of the foreign students, she didn't try to hide it, and she wasn't very defensive about it either. Her skin was pale and very translucent - Kagome had seen her trace a blue vein from the inside of her wrist through the armpit and down her top once - her eyes were large and pale, her hair was bright copper red and short, in a spiky, punkish sort of way, she wore heavy makeup around her eyes and on her lips, as well as several rings and bracelets. She was taller than the average, too, which she emphasized with thick, clunky shoes that added at least three inches to her height, and more if they were platforms.

At the same time, Fuji was an extremely feminine girl. She was slim and well muscled, with breasts that were just a little too big for her body, and she liked lace and tended to wear short, flowing dresses and skirts. One very short skirt, which had to be worn with a leotard underneath because it was really little more than a very wide belt, was reserved for the only pair of shoes that did not have large heels: they were lace-up dominatrix boots that came to mid-thigh and could hook to a garter belt if you wanted them to. Kagome hadn't seen her wear them yet, but she had been in Yuka's room when Fuji had come in and held them up, asking Yuka's opinion on whether she should wear them or not.

But everything she wore was black. Boots, belts, skirts, dresses, lace, fingernails, eye-makeup, bangles were all black, with occasional silver or steel where metal was appropriate. The only exception to the all-black rule were her lips which, dark or bright, were always red. Inuyasha said that she had been very affected by Neil Gaiman's Sandman before she made her own style of it. He called her 'happy goth' and said that he wished he "could go to an SF convention again, like we always used to."

Kagome really hoped that Fuji wasn't a rival for Inuyasha's heart, because it was damn near impossible to dislike her.

Except when she was yelling about dinner or lunch.

And then there was Fuji's almost counterpoint, Kuronue. Kagome had seen them standing together once, and had told them how good they looked together (after all, if Fuji was dating Kuronue, then she wasn't going after Inuyasha) but they had just laughed and Fuji had said something about Kuronue missing something. Maybe it was the fact that he was Japanese, unlike her? Kagome wasn't sure, but it was all she could think of off-hand. Then she'd found out that Kuronue was tentatively dating Hiei, yet another member of her new sponsor group and one of the few girls who could give Fuji a run for her money height-wise.

Hiei was another interesting person to consider. She wasn't as striking as Kuronue or Fuji, but her family rejected Buddhism outright, so it was always interesting to discuss religion with her. She'd been given the name Hiei, she said, because her grandfather had been so determined that his child was male that he'd insisted upon it. The fact that he was going blind and nearly dead made her parents give in to his demands, and the old man had passed away long before he could have found out that his beloved grandson was really a girl.

The tips of her hair were blond from the passing fad, and she said she was planning on dying them green or blue so she could stand out a bit. Kagome personally thought that since Hiei's hair wasn't dark enough to be black, she'd be better off going for a warmer color, but Kuronue said that green would work if Hiei also got streaks.

Kuronue. He was one of those guys whose looks were stunning enough to distract her from Inuyasha every now and then, just like - oh, what was his name? Sesshoumaru? - that guy that came by every now and then to talk to Fuji because he was her FSMP [1] mentor. Kuronue had black hair that didn't turn any color but black in the sun and that grew longer than Kagome's. His eyes were dark and his skin was really paler than it should be and he liked black and leather and buckles and straps and he could reach up and put his palm flat on the ceiling, he was so tall. He was the kind of guy that whips and padded handcuffs seemed made for, especially when he wore a vest without a shirt. He was super-masculine, despite that his ears were pierced multiple times and he always wore a red teardrop pendant on a chain. All the time: even when he came out of the shower wearing just a towel, with his hair loose and dripping wet, he also had on that pendant. Kagome had overheard him saying once that he died for that pendant, although that couldn't be right - she must have misheard. Still, that thing seemed to define his personality, except that it was the only red thing in the middle of all that black.

Then there was that girl in Kagome's Modern European History class, who was tiny and deeply tanned and was one of the few non-foreigners Kagome had ever seen who could pull off red hair and not look cheap about it. Her name was… was… Kiri, that was her name. Her elder half-brother (half Rom, Kiri said, and her parents had married after her mom got pregnant by the guy during a trip that their parents had sent them on to Europe in the hopes that they'd fall in love) was another one of the FSMP mentors. He was a junior, with even darker skin and the same red hair as Kiri had and most everyone who knew him liked him and he liked to drink a lot. Or at least, that's what Kagome had heard.

Man, she was so bored.

"Kagome?"

"Huh?" Kagome sat up quickly on her bed. The young woman in her doorway was someone she'd only seen occasionally passing by. "Can I help you?"

"It's more like the other way around," the other said, smiling. "I don't know if anyone's told you about me yet, but I'm Midoriko, the RA for this hall."

"Oh! Pleased to meet you." Kagome stood up and moved to the doorway to shake Midoriko's hand.

"Since you weren't there for the run-down last semester, I'll go ahead and tell you now: if you're ever locked out and can't find Sango, you can come find me down at the end of the hall." She pointed. "And I'll let you in. I love to have you guys visit, but just remember: I am a senior, so if my door's closed, that means I'm either asleep or don't want to be bothered. And if it's after midnight on a school night, then the RA can't help you and you'll have to call Campus Security. Alright?"

"Yeah."

"Also, since this is a freshman hall, you guys shouldn't be having alcohol, and illegal drugs are, of course, illegal. I won't be wandering around trying to catch you at it, but if I smell it I'll come after you."

"Of course. I don't like to drink anyway."

"Good for you. Alright, I'll see you around then."

"See you."

Midoriko left.

Two girls came clattering down the stairs a couple doors to Kagome's left and started heading for the northern exit. Since she was already in her doorway, Kagome wished them a good afternoon.

"Good afternoon," the one with brown hair and European eyes answered.

"Ah, you are Kagome, yes?" the other said. "I think we share archery."

"Yes, I'm Kagome, but I'm afraid I've forgotten your name."

"I am Zora. My boisterous friend here is Dosa."

"Pleased to meet you," Kagome said, bowing slightly.

Dosa echoed her. "Oh, hey, we're going to go bowling and then visit a couple shrines with Jei and Enishi from Yama. D'you know them? Wanna come?"

"Sounds interesting," Fuji said, appearing in her doorway.

Dosa and Zora shrank back from her a bit.

Fuji smiled humorlessly. "Don't let me bother you. I haven't drunk blood since I got here."

"Fuji!" Kagome said, upset.

"What? Just because I don't complain doesn't mean I don't notice." She nodded her head at the two girls in reference to the way they were still acting uncomfortable in her presence. "I'd rather people be frightened than disgusted anyway. Excuse me." Fuji closed her door with deliberate quietness - Zora jumped anyway - and practically prowled away, scowling.

"I'm so sorry," Kagome said. "She's probably had a bad day, she didn't mean it-"

"I meant every fucking word I said," Fuji's voice called back.

Dosa looked thoughtful and a bit ashamed. "If I were in her place, I'd probably react the same way, when everyone starts judging you for what you look like. In a way, the West is more advanced than we are: they got over calling us barbarians long ago."

"You are right, of course," Zora said. "I am sorry that I acted the way I did."

"Yeah, me too. So!" She turned back to Kagome. "Wanna go?"

Kagome blinked. Then… "Sure, why not?"

---~[]~---

[1] - FSMP = `Foreign Student Mentor Program'

---~[]~---

The five of them were on their way to Zora's room when Kagome caught sight of Fuji leaning in someone's doorway, looking into it.

"Hey," she said, her words clear through the silence of the hall. "I'm going to dinner. Wanna come?" Suddenly, though, she shifted, becoming tenser. "That's how you ask a girl out, not `I want you, let's fuck.' Got that?"

"I do," Naraku said, although she couldn't see him. "Why are you telling me?"

"'Cause I know who you're interested, and she's likely to react the same way I did. Think of it as a second chance." She pulled back and turned, pausing for a moment when she saw them. "Oh, hey Kagome, hey Jei." And she passed them, heading for the stairs down.

"Kagome?" Naraku appeared in his doorway, looking a little tousled and somewhat surprised. "Welcome back Zora. What were you guys up to?"

"We went bowling," Zora said.

"And then we visited some shrines and got to meet Kagome's family!" Dosa added.

"Oh?" He looked at her, one eyebrow raised.

"Yes." Kagome blushed a little, wondering at the same time why she did so. "My family maintains the Sunset Shrine."

"Ah, so that explains why you weren't living on campus last semester. Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Yeah."

Dosa and Jei started to walk off and after a moment Kagome made as if to follow, but Naraku caught her wrist. "You guys go on," he said. "I've got something I want to ask Kagome."

"Alright. You know what room it is, right?"

"I think so."

"Okay, see you there."

Kagome looked back at Naraku expectantly.

"Sorry," he said, dropping her wrist. "I wanted to know, um, if you'd like to have dinner with me sometime?"

"Oh! Um… I'm sorry, but I already like someone…"

"Inuyasha?"

"How do you know?"

"I've seen you trying to get his attention every now and then. I've also seen him a lot, and he comments to Kikyo that you've been acting strange. She is his girlfriend, you know, and she lives right there." He nodded at a door across the hall and one door over. "Sometimes I can't help but overhear."

Kagome looked at the floor.

Naraku took this as a cue to wrap a comforting arm around her shoulder. "I just want you to know, okay? And it's not like I'm going to push you - you heard Fuji chewing me out." He smiled self-deprecatingly. "Although, I assure you, she was exaggerating. I just want to get to know you better." Gently, his free hand stroked her jaw. "Okay?"

"Okay."

"I'll talk to you about details later. Go join your friends." With a last squeeze, he let her go and stepped back into his room.

---~[]~---

"You're going out with Naraku?" Sango squealed, loud enough to reach to Inuyasha's room.

"Shh! I'm just going to dinner with him sometime. That's all."

"Oh. But what about Inuyasha?"

Kagome shrugged. "It's not like he's going to notice me anytime soon. He has Kikyo, after all. Besides, Naraku was being so nice about it… I would have felt bad to turn him down."

"Alright. I gotta go to class, see you later!"

"See you!" Kagome turned to the essay she had due in half a week and started her first draft.

Half an hour later, Fuji stuck her head into the doorway. "Hey."

"Hi. How are you doing?"

"Fine, fine. And you?"

"Pretty good."

"Good." Fuji fidgeted for a moment, looking nervous. "Hey, do you have a moment?"

"Yeah… I think so."

"Okay." She came in and sat on Sango's bed, facing Kagome. "Look, I just want to make sure that you know what you're getting into with Naraku, okay?"

"With Naraku?"

"Yeah… just that you know certain things about him and are okay with them, y'know?"

"Yes, but I'm not involved with Naraku. I'm not interested in him - we're just eating dinner sometime, that's all."

Fuji shrugged, accepting it. "He's interested in you. Has been for a while - I'm surprised he didn't do anything more."

"Like you were suggesting last night? He said you were over-exaggerating."

"Well, of course he'd say that!" She rolled her eyes. "See, it's like this: Naraku moves fast. Which is okay, most of the time, cause he's also a little slow on the uptake, and he usually only likes girls who like him back. Now, you're not interested in him - I know that, you know that, yadda yadda, but he probably doesn't take your interest in Inuyasha seriously, because he's interested in you. That's what I mean when I say he's a bit slow: he has trouble understanding people when they're not like him. And you're not like him."

"Um. Thanks."

"You're welcome. So he'll probably think that you like him too, now that he's told you about Inuyasha - he did that, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay, good to know I'm on the right track. And then he'll try and do something to you, and it won't turn out well. I just don't want you to have to deal with something like that."

"Is that why you interrupted him before?"

Fuji chuckled. "Some of that was chance, but yes. Also it's my chance to work out some of my dislike for him. I don't dislike people easily, you know, but sometimes I just want to - to grab and twist."

"Ouch."

"Well, he deserves it! He just doesn't understand that sometimes `No' and `Stop' mean `No' and `Stop', and - like a lot of guys - it doesn't occur to him that a girl can feel… dirty, if she's been groped against her will!" Fuji spread a hand over her face and stared at the ground. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought that up."

"No, no, it's fine. Are you alright?"

A pause, then: "No."

"What happened?"

Fuji ran a hand through her hair and visibly composed herself. "Last semester… Naraku thought I liked him. And I didn't. I don't like guys like that. Anyway, I'm not sure why he decided to go after me, but one day he cornered me in my room and… kissed me and groped me and told me that he wanted me. I've said I don't like to dislike people, right? So all I could do was just stand there and wait for it to end, but then when I realized that he wasn't going to stop… I kicked him in the nuts and almost strangled him, and then I threw him out of my room and locked the door." She blinked her eyes rapidly to try to keep from crying.

Kagome remained silent.

"Before then, you know, I was okay with kissing guys, though probably nothing more, but a little experimentation is okay, right? But now I can barely bring myself to touch them, and the idea of sex with anyone is just… yuck. It's disgusting. I hope I never have to feel one of those ever again." She stared at the ground a bit more. "Can I have a tissue?"

"Sure." Kagome handed one to her. "So Naraku's a rapist?"

Fuji shook her head. "He didn't get that far. And it's not like he goes `Bwa-hahaha, let's see what innocent girl I can defile today.' He just doesn't really think about anyone other than himself. I'm sure, given someone special, he could grow out of it, but till then…" She wiped her eyes as she spoke, then blew her nose. "Anyway, the rest of the hall knows about it, and Naraku's backed off, but I wanted to make sure something similar wouldn't happen to you."

"Thanks."

Fuji snorted, visibly turning her mind to other matters. "While we're on the subject, do you know Miroku?"

"I may have met him once. Why?"

"I think his life goal must be to hit on every pretty girl in existence or something." Fuji was smiling now, mostly recovered. "Another pervert to watch out for, but since he seems to've fixated on Sango recently you should be okay."

"He's the guy with some kind of covering for his right hand, right?"

"Yeah. Guess what?"

"What?"

"It's really a prosthetic."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He and Shippo were in the same sponsor group last year (so was Naraku, but meh) and he told me and Hiten and Musou about it. Apparently Miroku got into a bad car crash involving a semi on the way to Target - I think they got lost? In any case - and they had to amputate his hand `cause it was so badly crushed."

"Ouch!"

"Yeah, really. So now he seems to think that he's got this drastically shortened lifespan and wants to have a kid as soon as possible."

"Okay… So he likes kids?"

"He's great with them. We both work part-time at the local elementary school, and the kids love him so much they're thinking of hiring him full time once he graduates. "I don't think he'll take it, cause he'd rather be a stay-at-home Dad, but it's still pretty neat, yeah?"

"Yeah. He seems like a very nice person."

"Well he is. He's just got perverted tendencies."

Kagome laughed. "Okay. Well, I need to finish this paper, so I'll see you later, okay?"

"Sure. Ja!"

"Ja!"

Fujji got up and left, leaving Kagome to stare at the computer screen and try to think.

~~~-~~~-~~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~-~~~-~~~ -~~~-~~~

So, we have Naraku's good side and Naraku's bad side. Keep voting, if you're interested. Who should I do next?