InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Changes ❯ Homecoming ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: My name is not Takahashi- so I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters from the anime/manga.

 

You are Cordially Invited:

The Class of 1995

Will be meeting at the

Shikon Hotel on May 29th, 2005

In celebration of their 10 year reunion

 

Kagome sighed as she set the elegant invitation down. Had it really been 10 years? She had just come back from yet another trip to the United States, and had found the invitation in her overstuffed mail slot.

 

After graduation, she had moved to Tokyo and hadn't looked back. She had gone to Tokyo University in pursuit of a business degree, and had graduated at the top of her class, with an internship to Takeda Electronics. From there she had worked her way up the proverbial ladder.

 

Smiling to herself, she decided it was time to go home. She had gone back to see her family on holidays, and other special occasions over the years, but never for long, a weekend at most. Kagome unpacked her luggage from her last trip, only to refill it with fresh clothes for her trip home. The reunion was only days away, she had barely made it back from her trip in time.

 

After a quick shower to freshen herself up, and a pitiful look around her barren apartment, Kagome walked out the door, locking it behind her. She tossed her suitcase in the trunk of her flashy car, one of the few things she had splurged for herself on, and pulled onto the road once more. The world was her playground, she had achieved her dreams and all that she had set out to do, but she couldn't get away from the nagging feeling that something was missing in her life.

 

An hour later, Kagome pulled up to her family shrine in Kyoto. At the honk of her horn, her brother was soon running down the stairs and enveloping her in a hug before she even had a chance to stand up straight.

 

“Sis! Your home!” cried her eight year old brother. “What'd ya bring me?” he asked as she ruffled his hair.

 

“Take my suitcase up to my room, and then look in the side pockets.” She laughed as he took off with an energy Kagome didn't know he had. She hated not getting to see Souta often, but kept in touch by phone and mail frequently. When she looked up to the top of the steps, she saw her mother smiling down at her, with tears in her eyes. Kagome took the steps two at a time, and hugged her mother tight when she reached the top.

 

“Momma.”

“Kagome, I've missed you.”

“I know Momma, I'm coming home for a bit longer this time. I've cleared a couple of weeks to spend here with you and Souta. Can you believe it's been ten years?” Kagome asked as she released her mother.

“Yes, I can. And a long ten years it's been. It's good to have you home sweetie.” She hugged her daughter once more before linking her arm with Kagome's and leading her eldest inside.

 

Nothing seemed to have changed in their little house. Everything seemed to be just the same as it had been when Kagome had left.

 

“Kagome, why don't you and Souta go pick out a movie? I'll order pizza in for dinner.”

“Okay, sounds good.” She nodded to her mother. “Souta,” she yelled up the stairs, “come on down before I go get movies with out you. I'll make sure and pick out a real mushy one, just like you like!”

 

With that, Souta was bounding down the stairs and attaching himself, once again, to his sisters side. “Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!” he practically yelled at her. Every time Kagome made a trip, she would get her little brother a keychain from every stop she made. She had started his collection just a few years before, not thinking it would mean near as much to him as it did. He had gushed over the trinkets, though, and since then she had steadily added to his stash. She brought him other things as well; toys, games, books, whatever caught her eye, but it was the key-chains he seemed to have the most attachment to. After every visit, he couldn't wait to show his friends the gifts his sister brought him from around the world, things that he knew most of his friends had never seen in person before. Kagome knew she spoiled him with all the goodies, but she didn't know how else to make it up to her little brother. She hated not being around while he was growing up, and wanted badly to be as close as she could to him.

 

“Come on kiddo, let's go get some movies!” She said as she squeezed his shoulders. It was an excuse to spend a bit of time alone with Souta more then anything. Every time she came home, this was their routine. Kagome would take Souta to pick out a movie, and when they made it home, they would eat pizza and catch up on life while the movie played in the background.

 

Kagome pulled her car into a parking spot in front of the small movie store in their neighborhood. Walking inside, she saw a flash from the past in the face of the woman behind the counter.

 

“Sango! What are you doing here? I thought you'd be shining up on the big screen by now!”

 

Her old friend came around the counter and gave Kagome a hug. “Are you kidding? I left that dream behind years ago! What are you doing in town? No one's seen your face around here in ages.”

 

“I'm back for the reunion. I found the invitation when I got home from the states. Oh, by the way, this,” Kagome said as she pulled her brother from behind her, “is Souta, my brother.”

 

“Hey, Souta. Me and your sister were inseparable when we were your age. If you want, you can go in the back, my son Kohaku is hiding back there playing video games if you want to join him.”

 

“Okay!” Souta said, suddenly losing his shyness. Sango patted his back and watched him run through the door where he found a boy about his own age.

 

“So what happened? When I left after graduation, you were getting ready for drama school.” Kagome asked as she watched her old friend.

 

“Life happened.” Sango replied with a smile. “Miroku, you remember him right?” at Kagome's nod, she continued, “Well, he followed me to drama school and confessed to having a crush on me in high school. Apparently the one girl he didn't ask to bear his children was the one he really wanted. We dated, fell in love, and he proposed to me on stage after the opening night of one of our biggest performances. We had a small wedding, with just our families there, and less than a year later, Kohaku came along. Then Daddy died, just a few weeks after we brought our baby home.”

 

“Oh, Sango, I never heard!”

“It's okay, it seems so long ago now. Anyways, after Kohaku, things got hectic, drama school was too much for both of us. Miroku is now the drama teacher at our old high school. And me, well, Kohaku keeps me busy between little league and keeping him and his bottomless-pit of a father fed. When he started school, I started directing the kindergarten Christmas pageant. And now, he's going to be a big brother.” Sango added while rubbing the small bump on her stomach.

 

The two girls stood talking and catching up for the better part of an hour. After exchanging phone numbers, hugs, and promises to keep in touch this time, Kagome got Souta and the movies they had picked out, and headed home.

 

After chatting with her family and spending evening with them, Kagome tucked her little brother into bed. Just as she was walking out of his room, her cell phone went off.

 

“Hey Kagome, it's Sango.” Came the voice when she answered.

“Oh, hey, Sango, what's up?”

“Well, Miroku and I are heading to the bar down the road for a few drinks, and when I told him about seeing you today, he told me to have you come along. A few of our old friends are going to be there, too.”

“Sure, sounds great, let me get changed and let Mamma know, and I'll be on my way.” With that, Kagome hung up and went to change.

 

Kagome bounced down the stair minutes later, and grabbed her purse. “Hey, Mom, I'm heading out with Sango. I'll see you later!”

“Okay, Kagome, have fun” her mother called back to her from the kitchen.

 

Kagome pulled up to the old bar soon after. She walked in, looking for Sango, but instead found another face from her past, Inuyasha Tashio. In high school, she had kept her eye on him, all the while knowing it was an impossible dream. He was in love with Kikyo. By graduation, Kikyo's stomach was showing signs of their baby, and they had plans to get married right before the baby was due.

 

“Well, well, well, look what the dog drug in.” He said as he noticed Kagome staring. He got up and pulled her into a tight hug. “Hey bartender, let's have a round for the lovely lady here.”

“Inuyasha! Wow, how're you doing? I didn't expect to see you here!”

“If you'd come around more often, maybe you wouldn't have been so surprised.” He retorted.

“Oh, don't get in a huff, Inuyasha, it's not like you noticed me being gone anyways.”

 

Inuyasha shot her a glare before she quickly changed the subject. “So anyways, I thought you'd be off racing those speed-demon cars of yours.”

His eyes went cold and distant all of a sudden. “I was heading that way. Right after you left, that new gas station offered to sponsor me in some professional races over in Tokyo. Not long after that, Kikyo had Shippo, and we went ahead and got married. His gaze went soft at the mention of her name, and his eyes began to glisten just a bit. “Then, one night we decided `Mommy' and `Daddy' needed a night out alone. We left Shippo at my parent's house. Kikyo…” Inuyasha's voice cracked, “Kikyo and I had more fun that night then we had had in a long time. Around two in the morning, we started towards home. We were about five minutes from home, when… an idiotic drunk driver decided he wanted to come around the curve in our lane driving like a bat out of hell. We swapped paint, and my old vet rolled about five times before coming to a stop. When I came to, there was blood everywhere. I could see flashing lights outside. I looked over at Kikyo, and she was barely breathing, and was in so much pain.” He choked back a sob. “She told me, she would always love me. Then the next thing I remember, I woke up in the hospital, and the doctor told me they couldn't save her. And that DAMN son-of-a-bitch driver walked away without a scratch.”

 

“Oh, Inuyasha! How could I have not known about that, I'm so sorry.”

“Keh, it happened a long time ago. Me and Shippo are doing fine now. Went through a few rough years right after, but we're good now.” He said as he pulled a picture out of his wallet and handed it to her. “Here's my little man.”

 

Kagome took the picture and looked into the emerald eyes of a young boy sitting in up in a tree. She chuckled before handing the picture back. “Definitely your son. So what do you do now?”

 

“You'll never believe me if I tell you.” He replied with a grin. “I, the greatest racecar driver you've ever met, teach driver's ed.”

“You've got to be kidding. You? Teaching those poor kids how to drive?” Kagome gasped between laughs.

 

“Yeah, kind of a turn around there. And,” he added, “I sell used cars. Need a new car? I can see about getting you a discount, for the right price of course.” He said with a wink.

Inuyasha pulled a card from his wallet, then borrowed a pen from the bartender and wrote on the back of the card. “Here's my business card, and this,” he added, “is my home and cell numbers. I don't give these out to just anyone, so don't lose it!”

 

“Inuyasha Tashio, are you flirting with me?” Kagome asked with a grin as she took the card.

 

“So what if I am? A blast from the past comes strutting her stuff my way, there's no way I'm going to ignore what the fates have put right in front of me.”

“Inuyasha, you know I'm only in town for a couple of weeks right? Don't put your bets on me, its been ten years since you've seen me, it could be just as long until the next time.”

“I've got a theory about that, though. The reason you haven't been back is that you didn't have anything to come back to, aside from your family. Now, hear me out, if you had someone here waiting for you, then you will WANT to come home more often. So, in all reality, I'm doing the entire town a favor by giving you someone to come back to.” He finished with a smirk.

 

“Your kind of cocky, aren't you?” She said, hitting him on the arm with a smile. “Okay, tell you what. I'll exchange numbers with you, but I'm NOT promising anything.”

 

“That's all I'm asking. For now. As for the rest of my scheme to get you back around, it will come with time.”

 

The two sat and talked for a few more minutes before Sango and Miroku found them, and joined them around the bar. The four talked for hours about old times and new. Catching up on the years apart and talking as if it had only been days. They went from talking about their jobs and where their lives had led them, to talking about their kids and their little league teams. As the conversation began to focus on the children, Kagome felt a hole opening up in her heart. She had always loved being around kids, and an emptiness began to engulf her as her friends talked about the joys of parenthood.

 

All too soon, Kagome noticed that it was getting late, and knew that she would get no mercy from Souta the next day. She had promised him his Saturday with her, and she knew that he would be up and ready to go just as the sun was coming up. “Hey, guys, I've gotta go. I've got a big day planned out with Souta. See you at the reunion!”

 

Inuyasha stood up as Kagome did and followed her out to her car. “It was good seeing you again, and I was serious about not wanting to wait another ten years to see you. How about I pick you up tomorrow night around seven? We can catch a movie, grab some dinner, maybe get some… dessert.” He added with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

 

“Dinner and a movie sounds great.” Kagome replied with a chuckle. “You remember how to get to Mom's house, right?”

“Actually, I live just down the street from her now. Call me a typical parent now, but I wanted to be closer to Shippo's school.”

“Great, I'll see you tomorrow night then.”

 

With another hug, Kagome got into her car and drove away. When she arrived home, everyone had already gone to bed. She lazily walked around the house, picking up trinkets and pictures. She thought back over the evening, and how much her friends' lives had changed, and knowing now how much she wanted what they had in their lives. Seeing her friends again, and hearing them talk about their families, made her realize just how lonely she was. Kagome had moved into her apartment close to five years before, yet she still had boxes sitting in the closet unopened.

 

Sighing, she picked herself up and went upstairs to her room. Her last thought before going to sleep was a realization that Inuyasha was offering her everything she was missing in her life.

 

~Defiant_Rose