InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Just The Way You Are ❯ Promises ( Chapter 4 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: xbitternessx 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 09.10.2005 | Updated On: 09.13.2005 | Pages: 3 | Words: 2.3K | Visits: 1.5K | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 09.10.2005 | Updated On: 09.13.2005 | Pages: 3 | Words: 2.3K | Visits: 1.5K | Status: Completed
Hello. I don’t own Inuyasha.
*******
After only an hour, Kagome wanted nothing more than to leave. Seiji had introduced her to a countless number of people, and had then disappeared. On top of that, the sake she’d been drinking was making her head hurt, and she felt… funny. Was she drunk?
She made her way out to the backyard, which was less crowded than the house, leaning against the trunk of an old tree. The conversation of a nearby group of girls drifted her way. She didn’t pay any attention until she heard Seiji’s name.
“I heard he brought his new girlfriend,” one said.
“Are you kidding? Is Aiko even here?”
“I haven’t seen her around.”
“He’s probably just trying to make her jealous. Those two can never stay apart for long.”
Kagome’s face burned as she listened to the chatter. Who was Aiko? Seiji had never mentioned her. Is that where he was now?
Feeling paranoid, Kagome returned inside, finally finding Seiji in the crowd. “Kagome!” he exclaimed, hugging her tightly, which caused her shoulder even more pain.
“Are you drunk?” she asked him.
“What?” he laughed. “Maybe a little. Are you having fun?”
“No. I’m not. Could you walk me home?”
“Right now?” Kagome nodded. Seiji seemed thoughtful for a moment, looking over the party. “Sure. Okay. Can I saw goodbye to a few people first?”
“Yeah. I’ll wait outside.”
Another half an hour later, Seiji finally met Kagome on the front lawn. “I’m sorry you didn’t have fun,” he told her as they walked.
“Seiji, who’s Aiko?”
He stopped in his tracks. “Who said anything about Aiko?”
“I heard some girls talking.”
“Oh.” They continued their walk. “She’s my ex-girlfriend.”
“You’ve never talked about her.” Kagome slowed her pace, trying to keep the sidewalk from moving so much. Why had she worn such tall shoes?
“That’s because there’s nothing to say. I’m with you now, right?”
“…Right.”
Once they reached Kagome’s, she decided to take the hill by herself, not wanting to Seiji to injure himself, since he was much more intoxicated than she was. She allowed Seiji to hug her again before making the way long way up to her house. She wanted to get out of her stupid dress, and stupider shoes, and then go see Inuyasha.
She slipped her shoes off at the door, thankful she’d made it in the door with no harm to herself. Going up the stairs, however, proved to be pushing her luck. Before Kagome knew what had happened, she was back at the bottom of the stairs, a red spot appearing on her knee. “I’m bleeding,” she said to no one.
Mrs. Higurashi woke at the sound of the thud coming from the stairs, running out of her room to investigate. That’s when she saw her daughter sitting at the bottom of the stairs on her bottom. “Kagome?” she asked, rushing down.
“Hi, Mama. I fell.”
“Kagome… are you drunk?”
Kagome swallowed. “What?”
“I thought you were with Inuyasha.”
“I was, but I had a date.” Mrs. Higurashi helped Kagome to her feet, and they took the stairs slowly. After her mother sat her firmly on her bed, she looked at her firmly. “You’re telling me you went out with Seiji. And you were drinking?”
“I didn’t mean to!”
“Just where were you?”
“A party.”
“A party,” her mother repeated. “Get into your pajamas.” She found them for the girl, tossing them on her bed.
Kagome pouted. “Are you mad at me?”
“I’m very disappointed in you, Kagome. I’m not so sure about this boy.”
“He… he walked me home.”
“Was he drunk, too?” Kagome nodded reluctantly as she struggled to get her pajama pants on.
“I’m sorry,” she told her mother.
“Well, I’m glad for that. But you’re grounded, Kagome.”
That woke the girl up in a hurry, as she looked at her mother with wide eyes, her dress still pulled up over her head. “Grounded? But Inuyasha’s waiting for me!”
“Well, I’m sure he remembers how to get here.”
“For how long?”
“A week. You’re a good girl, Kagome. I don’t expect you to do something like this again.”
Kagome sniffled, tossing her dress to the floor. “I just felt so… out of place there.” After slipping her shirt on, she laid down, but quickly sat back up, wincing.
“What’s the matter?” her mother asked. She’d seen Kagome’s bandaged shoulder, but had grown used to seeing such things, and hadn’t thought much of it.
“Oh, I think it opened back up,” she replied the pain having a very sobering effect as she stripped her shirt back off. Mrs. Higurashi peeled the gauze away, examining the wound.
“It’s bleeding a little. I’ll be back.” As the older woman made her way downstairs, she was met in the kitchen by the red-clad hanyou.
“Where’s Kagome?” he demanded.
“That didn’t take long,” she said under her breath. “She’s upstairs.” Before Inuyasha could escape, she grabbed him by the wrist. “And she’s not decent.”
“She’s bleeding!” he countered, gold eyes flashing.
“Of which I’m aware. You can help me carry some things upstairs to her.” Inuyasha growled, but followed Kagome’s mother into the bathroom, where she loaded him with all the necessary medical supplies before leading him upstairs with her. “Kagome?” she called. “You have a visitor.”
“Huh?”
“Cover up, dear.”
“Oh, okay.” After a moment, Mrs. Higurashi allowed Inuyasha in the room, where he immediately set upon Kagome, whose front was covered only by her blanket. Kagome’s mother was very proud of the fact that her daughter was something of a hero, but why did situations like this have to be involved?
She had planned on bandaging the wound herself, but the job was taken over by the hanyou, who was already beginning to clean it, seemingly ignorant of the fact that she was even standing there.
“I know this was going to happen,” Inuyasha griped at Kagome. “I shouldn’t have let you go.”
“I’m sorry, Inuyasha.” Kagome couldn’t see the slight softening of the boy’s face, but her mother did.
“Yeah, well, next time you want to apologize to me, do it before you take a bath in sake, alright?”
Kagome glanced desperately at her mother before replying. “I’m grounded,” she told him.
“Grounded?” he asked, wrinkling his nose in confusion.
Mrs. Higurashi thought she could handle this part. “Kagome lied to me, Inuyasha, and was out drinking, and endangered herself by walking home in the middle of the night. As punishment, she’s not allowed to leave with you, or anyone else, for a week.”
Kagome cringed, waiting for Inuyasha’s explosion, but it didn’t come.
“What’s a week again?” he asked.
“Seven days,” Kagome’s mother supplied.
“Do I have to leave?”
Mrs. Higurashi repressed a smile. “No, Inuyasha, you can stay.”
“Then, it serves you right, Kagome!” the hanyou reprimanded the girl.
*
Once Kagome’s shoulder was taken care of, and her skinned knee was sporting a brightly colored Pokemon band-aid, she ordered Inuyasha to turn around while she put her shirt back on. Once that was finished, she stood up to hug her mother.
Inuyasha had already taken a spot on the floor to sleep, and Mrs. Higurashi knew she would never quite understand the circumstances that led her to think it was fine for a boy to stay the night in her teenage daughter’s room. Especially a boy with cute little doggy ears.
Once her mother had left the room, Kagome turned her light off, mindful of her shoulder as she crawled under the blankets. “Inuyasha?”
“Yeah?”
“I̵ 7;m sorry I got in trouble. It’s going to put us behind on looking for the jewel shards.”
“Kagome, don’t talk about the jewel shards.”
“W-why?”
“Because I’m not mad about that.”
“Oh. But you are mad, right?”
Inuyasha sighed. “Kagome, you’re drunk. We’ll talk about it tomorrow, okay?”
“I’m not drunk anymore.” It was mostly true.
“I’m not mad at you. I just know you’re better than this,” he replied.
“Better than what? Acting like a normal girl?”
“Kagome, you’re not normal!” he exclaimed, and she heard the soft scrape of fabric as he approached the bed, looking at her. “Why would you want to be?”
“Because I have to live here, Inuyasha! I can go back with you, and fight demons, and even kill them. And I can run faster than anyone in my school. I know more geography than my teachers! But no one here can know that. To everyone here, I’m just Kagome.”
“And what they think matters so much to you that you have to become someone else? Why does it matter if they know what you can do? It shouldn’t. I don’t care about any of that, and I don’t see you trying to impress me.”
“You don’t understand.”
“No, Kagome, I do. I know what it’s like to feel like you’re not important. Better than you do. I thought maybe if I found all the jewel shards, and became a full demon, I could get some respect, or at least fear. But that’s not the way it works. You were the one that’s shown me that.”
“I am?”
“Yeah. What you have isn’t going to amount to anything in the end. It’s the things you do that leave a mark. And you do so much, Kagome. You should be happy knowing that. Not acting like an idiot. This world that you live in; I think you’re a big reason it’s here.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. You, Sango, Miroku…”
“Don’t forget yourself.”
“Fine. And Shippou, too.”
“And Kirara.”
He chuckled. “Will you shut up? I’m trying to talk, here.”
Kagome giggled. “Thanks, Inuyasha.”
“Don’t thank me. Not until you’ve straightened yourself out.”
“Huh?”
“Seiji,” was all he said.
“Inuyasha, this isn’t about him. He was really nice about everything. He even walked me home.”
“Fine. Then, make me a promise.”
“Okay…”
“Next time you see him, I want you to be my Kagome. No stupid stuff on your face, or dumb jewelry. I want you to wear you own stuff, and act like yourself. And if you disagree with the stupid bastard, say so. You got that?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Good. Now, go to sleep.” He turned, his back against the side of her bed, content to sleep there. He let his eyes close, relaxing. There weren’t near as many threats in Kagome’s time, and he thought he’d actually be able to sleep. Just then, however, he felt a soft touch at the base of his ear. “Kagome?” She rubbed the soft fur between her fingers, and Inuyasha found himself turning to lean into her touch, making her laugh softly. He knew she wasn’t making fun of him, though, so he let her continue, resting his head on the mattress.
“Comfy?” she asked, moving her hand to his other ear.
“Mmm,” he answered, his eyelids growing heavy. Kagome smiled, continuing her massage until Inuyasha was snoring softly, his mouth open slightly to reveal one gleaming fang. Sighing, Kagome let her hand travel down to his forehead, where she parted the heavy curtain of his bangs, staring at his face. She’d keep her promise to him. He’d never asked much of her, other than his constant little commands, which she didn’t think he even realized he did. It wasn’t going to be easy, though. She was so used to acting like such a sophisticated person around Seiji, how could she go back to just acting like herself? If it was what Inuyasha really wanted, though, she’d do it. Letting her eyes slip close, Kagome fell asleep.
*******
After only an hour, Kagome wanted nothing more than to leave. Seiji had introduced her to a countless number of people, and had then disappeared. On top of that, the sake she’d been drinking was making her head hurt, and she felt… funny. Was she drunk?
She made her way out to the backyard, which was less crowded than the house, leaning against the trunk of an old tree. The conversation of a nearby group of girls drifted her way. She didn’t pay any attention until she heard Seiji’s name.
“I heard he brought his new girlfriend,” one said.
“Are you kidding? Is Aiko even here?”
“I haven’t seen her around.”
“He’s probably just trying to make her jealous. Those two can never stay apart for long.”
Kagome’s face burned as she listened to the chatter. Who was Aiko? Seiji had never mentioned her. Is that where he was now?
Feeling paranoid, Kagome returned inside, finally finding Seiji in the crowd. “Kagome!” he exclaimed, hugging her tightly, which caused her shoulder even more pain.
“Are you drunk?” she asked him.
“What?” he laughed. “Maybe a little. Are you having fun?”
“No. I’m not. Could you walk me home?”
“Right now?” Kagome nodded. Seiji seemed thoughtful for a moment, looking over the party. “Sure. Okay. Can I saw goodbye to a few people first?”
“Yeah. I’ll wait outside.”
Another half an hour later, Seiji finally met Kagome on the front lawn. “I’m sorry you didn’t have fun,” he told her as they walked.
“Seiji, who’s Aiko?”
He stopped in his tracks. “Who said anything about Aiko?”
“I heard some girls talking.”
“Oh.” They continued their walk. “She’s my ex-girlfriend.”
“You’ve never talked about her.” Kagome slowed her pace, trying to keep the sidewalk from moving so much. Why had she worn such tall shoes?
“That’s because there’s nothing to say. I’m with you now, right?”
“…Right.”
Once they reached Kagome’s, she decided to take the hill by herself, not wanting to Seiji to injure himself, since he was much more intoxicated than she was. She allowed Seiji to hug her again before making the way long way up to her house. She wanted to get out of her stupid dress, and stupider shoes, and then go see Inuyasha.
She slipped her shoes off at the door, thankful she’d made it in the door with no harm to herself. Going up the stairs, however, proved to be pushing her luck. Before Kagome knew what had happened, she was back at the bottom of the stairs, a red spot appearing on her knee. “I’m bleeding,” she said to no one.
Mrs. Higurashi woke at the sound of the thud coming from the stairs, running out of her room to investigate. That’s when she saw her daughter sitting at the bottom of the stairs on her bottom. “Kagome?” she asked, rushing down.
“Hi, Mama. I fell.”
“Kagome… are you drunk?”
Kagome swallowed. “What?”
“I thought you were with Inuyasha.”
“I was, but I had a date.” Mrs. Higurashi helped Kagome to her feet, and they took the stairs slowly. After her mother sat her firmly on her bed, she looked at her firmly. “You’re telling me you went out with Seiji. And you were drinking?”
“I didn’t mean to!”
“Just where were you?”
“A party.”
“A party,” her mother repeated. “Get into your pajamas.” She found them for the girl, tossing them on her bed.
Kagome pouted. “Are you mad at me?”
“I’m very disappointed in you, Kagome. I’m not so sure about this boy.”
“He… he walked me home.”
“Was he drunk, too?” Kagome nodded reluctantly as she struggled to get her pajama pants on.
“I’m sorry,” she told her mother.
“Well, I’m glad for that. But you’re grounded, Kagome.”
That woke the girl up in a hurry, as she looked at her mother with wide eyes, her dress still pulled up over her head. “Grounded? But Inuyasha’s waiting for me!”
“Well, I’m sure he remembers how to get here.”
“For how long?”
“A week. You’re a good girl, Kagome. I don’t expect you to do something like this again.”
Kagome sniffled, tossing her dress to the floor. “I just felt so… out of place there.” After slipping her shirt on, she laid down, but quickly sat back up, wincing.
“What’s the matter?” her mother asked. She’d seen Kagome’s bandaged shoulder, but had grown used to seeing such things, and hadn’t thought much of it.
“Oh, I think it opened back up,” she replied the pain having a very sobering effect as she stripped her shirt back off. Mrs. Higurashi peeled the gauze away, examining the wound.
“It’s bleeding a little. I’ll be back.” As the older woman made her way downstairs, she was met in the kitchen by the red-clad hanyou.
“Where’s Kagome?” he demanded.
“That didn’t take long,” she said under her breath. “She’s upstairs.” Before Inuyasha could escape, she grabbed him by the wrist. “And she’s not decent.”
“She’s bleeding!” he countered, gold eyes flashing.
“Of which I’m aware. You can help me carry some things upstairs to her.” Inuyasha growled, but followed Kagome’s mother into the bathroom, where she loaded him with all the necessary medical supplies before leading him upstairs with her. “Kagome?” she called. “You have a visitor.”
“Huh?”
“Cover up, dear.”
“Oh, okay.” After a moment, Mrs. Higurashi allowed Inuyasha in the room, where he immediately set upon Kagome, whose front was covered only by her blanket. Kagome’s mother was very proud of the fact that her daughter was something of a hero, but why did situations like this have to be involved?
She had planned on bandaging the wound herself, but the job was taken over by the hanyou, who was already beginning to clean it, seemingly ignorant of the fact that she was even standing there.
“I know this was going to happen,” Inuyasha griped at Kagome. “I shouldn’t have let you go.”
“I’m sorry, Inuyasha.” Kagome couldn’t see the slight softening of the boy’s face, but her mother did.
“Yeah, well, next time you want to apologize to me, do it before you take a bath in sake, alright?”
Kagome glanced desperately at her mother before replying. “I’m grounded,” she told him.
“Grounded?” he asked, wrinkling his nose in confusion.
Mrs. Higurashi thought she could handle this part. “Kagome lied to me, Inuyasha, and was out drinking, and endangered herself by walking home in the middle of the night. As punishment, she’s not allowed to leave with you, or anyone else, for a week.”
Kagome cringed, waiting for Inuyasha’s explosion, but it didn’t come.
“What’s a week again?” he asked.
“Seven days,” Kagome’s mother supplied.
“Do I have to leave?”
Mrs. Higurashi repressed a smile. “No, Inuyasha, you can stay.”
“Then, it serves you right, Kagome!” the hanyou reprimanded the girl.
*
Once Kagome’s shoulder was taken care of, and her skinned knee was sporting a brightly colored Pokemon band-aid, she ordered Inuyasha to turn around while she put her shirt back on. Once that was finished, she stood up to hug her mother.
Inuyasha had already taken a spot on the floor to sleep, and Mrs. Higurashi knew she would never quite understand the circumstances that led her to think it was fine for a boy to stay the night in her teenage daughter’s room. Especially a boy with cute little doggy ears.
Once her mother had left the room, Kagome turned her light off, mindful of her shoulder as she crawled under the blankets. “Inuyasha?”
“Yeah?”
“I̵ 7;m sorry I got in trouble. It’s going to put us behind on looking for the jewel shards.”
“Kagome, don’t talk about the jewel shards.”
“W-why?”
“Because I’m not mad about that.”
“Oh. But you are mad, right?”
Inuyasha sighed. “Kagome, you’re drunk. We’ll talk about it tomorrow, okay?”
“I’m not drunk anymore.” It was mostly true.
“I’m not mad at you. I just know you’re better than this,” he replied.
“Better than what? Acting like a normal girl?”
“Kagome, you’re not normal!” he exclaimed, and she heard the soft scrape of fabric as he approached the bed, looking at her. “Why would you want to be?”
“Because I have to live here, Inuyasha! I can go back with you, and fight demons, and even kill them. And I can run faster than anyone in my school. I know more geography than my teachers! But no one here can know that. To everyone here, I’m just Kagome.”
“And what they think matters so much to you that you have to become someone else? Why does it matter if they know what you can do? It shouldn’t. I don’t care about any of that, and I don’t see you trying to impress me.”
“You don’t understand.”
“No, Kagome, I do. I know what it’s like to feel like you’re not important. Better than you do. I thought maybe if I found all the jewel shards, and became a full demon, I could get some respect, or at least fear. But that’s not the way it works. You were the one that’s shown me that.”
“I am?”
“Yeah. What you have isn’t going to amount to anything in the end. It’s the things you do that leave a mark. And you do so much, Kagome. You should be happy knowing that. Not acting like an idiot. This world that you live in; I think you’re a big reason it’s here.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. You, Sango, Miroku…”
“Don’t forget yourself.”
“Fine. And Shippou, too.”
“And Kirara.”
He chuckled. “Will you shut up? I’m trying to talk, here.”
Kagome giggled. “Thanks, Inuyasha.”
“Don’t thank me. Not until you’ve straightened yourself out.”
“Huh?”
“Seiji,” was all he said.
“Inuyasha, this isn’t about him. He was really nice about everything. He even walked me home.”
“Fine. Then, make me a promise.”
“Okay…”
“Next time you see him, I want you to be my Kagome. No stupid stuff on your face, or dumb jewelry. I want you to wear you own stuff, and act like yourself. And if you disagree with the stupid bastard, say so. You got that?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Good. Now, go to sleep.” He turned, his back against the side of her bed, content to sleep there. He let his eyes close, relaxing. There weren’t near as many threats in Kagome’s time, and he thought he’d actually be able to sleep. Just then, however, he felt a soft touch at the base of his ear. “Kagome?” She rubbed the soft fur between her fingers, and Inuyasha found himself turning to lean into her touch, making her laugh softly. He knew she wasn’t making fun of him, though, so he let her continue, resting his head on the mattress.
“Comfy?” she asked, moving her hand to his other ear.
“Mmm,” he answered, his eyelids growing heavy. Kagome smiled, continuing her massage until Inuyasha was snoring softly, his mouth open slightly to reveal one gleaming fang. Sighing, Kagome let her hand travel down to his forehead, where she parted the heavy curtain of his bangs, staring at his face. She’d keep her promise to him. He’d never asked much of her, other than his constant little commands, which she didn’t think he even realized he did. It wasn’t going to be easy, though. She was so used to acting like such a sophisticated person around Seiji, how could she go back to just acting like herself? If it was what Inuyasha really wanted, though, she’d do it. Letting her eyes slip close, Kagome fell asleep.