InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Nature of Change ❯ Saturday ( Chapter 2 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

She was sitting in her living room, in the dark. She wore her oversized bedshirt, and a pair of panties. She was sitting on the edge of the tile in her kitchen that met the plush carpet, a bottle of sake sitting next to her as she stared dully at the far wall. She reached before her, picking up one of the darts laid out on the floor and aimed it at the dart board that was across the room.

Aiming lazily, she threw it.

Understandably, she missed. Usually her aim was nothing short of perfect, what with all that time firing bows and such, but she figured considering how absolutely wasted she was it would make sense.

Her evening had begun simply enough.

Sesshomaru had walked her home, told her he would pick her up next Tuesday, to be ready at seven p.m. sharp. Of course his highness wouldn't be tardy, he was never tardy, he was nothing short of perfect, was he?

She grabbed another dart as she took another swig of her sake.

If one could consider a frigid bastard perfect. I wish he would just leave me alone to be miserable already.

A dull thud sounded across the room as yet another dart lodged itself deeply within the drywall.

Of course, when he had left her alone, the silence of her single bedroom apartment began to crowd in on her. There was no one and nothing else there. Nothing to distract her from those traitorous memories, nothing to keep her from the lump that formed in her throat, nor the keening whines that had let loose from her body. Nothing to stop her from demolishing her apartment, ripping up papers and throwing over her coffee table and just breaking loose for the first time in a long time.

Damn, it had felt pretty nice.

Cleaning up with her hangover tomorrow was going to be one hell of a bitch, but at the moment she couldn't find it in her to care much.

Thud.

Miss.

Just seeing him had stirred so many of those memories. Things she really rather not consider to begin with.

Her piss-poor wish, for one.

That thing that was always ghosting its way in her subconcious, her single blaring mistake amongst her life. It was the spectre that loomed over her, reminding herself that was never good enough.

...Wasn't she supposed to be good and strong, and pure...?

Oh, so pure?

More like weak as shit.

Yeah, she had helped destroy Naraku. Yeah, he had made his wish. Yeah, she had fallen inside the Shikon Jewel.

Inuyasha had used his Meidou Zangetsuhi to get her out. Had she trusted him enough to find her?

No.

Downing another shot of sake, she hissed as this pass burned her a little worse than the other times. She found anger made the alcohol sting a little more, become a bit more bitter.

Grabbing another dart, she threw it with a little more zest at the dart board.

In buried itself soundly on the far edge of it.

At least this time, she hadn't missed.

Grabbing the bottle, she faced away from the wall and instead came to lean against the one nearest her, her back resting against it as she pulled her knees up to her chest. Tears stung the corners of her eyes as she relished in the pain of her mistakes.

Perhaps rebuilding her own hell over and over was her karma for letting Inuyasha down. For succumbing to her humanity, to fall from grace because she was scared.

...For letting her fear override her love for him.

As far as she could tell, that love was long buried. She had ripped it to shreds enough to make sure of that, attempting to purge it from her very being. Though it no longer existed, the toll on her had been taxing...

...With the murder of her love for him, so had her love for mostly everything else in life followed suit. It was like it took everything she had to rip his essence out of her mentality, and she was left empty and wanting.

She felt like the walking dead.

...still...

...Inuyasha didn't deserve her weakness. She wouldn't taint him by claiming to love him when all she did was betray him by making that selfish wish.

...I wish I could escape. I want to go home.

Stupid, frightened little girl. She hadn't wanted to be trapped with all those demons, hadn't wanted to be stuck in a place of darkness alone. It felt like she had drifted there for a hundred lifetimes, waiting to be rescued. Clutching that sacred bow she had received when she thought she had proven her trust of Inuyasha to the mountain spirits, that she wouldn't succumb to the darkness.

Oh, how wrong she was...

The youkai had taunted her, telling her all she had to do was make that one stupid wish, and all of it would go away. She wouldn't be their prisoner anymore.

And she had listened.

Kagome allowed the back of her head to bang against the wall, squeezing her eyes shut as wetness leaked out from beneath her lashes finally.

She remembered as she made her wish, Inuyasha had actually found her. She remembered him calling out to her, reaching for her, his fingertips barely brushing against hers...

And Midoriko granted her wish.

He was sucked away from her, that look of horror plastered on his face burned forever into her memory as she cried out his name.

Really, she should thank the old miko.

A selfish wish was supposed to have trapped her in the jewel, but Midoriko wouldn't allow it.

Instead, she made her wish come true.

She went home.

The jewel faded away.

Was it purified? She didn't know. She never found or heard of it again, so she could only assume.

She threw her head back and downed the contents of the sake bottle in one shot, trying not to sputter as she felt her toes curl from the invasion of warnth assaulting her body. She threw the bottle across her living room, standing and swaying on her feet. Her hand shot out to steady herself against the wall as her world tilted, her vision blurred.

Yep, she was piss ass drunk.

Stumbling, she tried her best to step around the remaining darts on the floor so they wouldn't stab her in the foot. That would have been the last thing she needed, a bloody foot and stains on her carpet. It would be a bitch to get out, after all.

At least she had enough presence of mind to do that much.

She managed to do it as she tiptoed around the small metal things that gleamed threateningly from the light that filtered through her living room window from the street lamp. But, her coordination was off and she tripped on her own feet as she faceplanted into the ground. Groaning, she pounded the floor with one fist, sighing insufferably.

Why me?

She was sure it was because she had drunk herself into a state of near alcohol poisoning. That probably-maybe-kind-of had something to do with it.

Grimacing, she pushed the flats of her palms against the ground and attempted to lift herself off of it. Her concious mind revolted as her sight began to whirl, and she closed her eyes tightly to shut it out. Her hands shook beneath the weight of her, and she moved them slightly apart to disperse her own mass for better support.

As she did, her palm curled around a small rectangle of paper inconspiciously, crushing it in her grasp. She hardly noticed as she tried to crawl in the direction she hoped was her bedroom.

Or at the very least, the couch.

Muttering complaints to herself under her breath, she vowed to herself for the thousandth time she wouldn't do this to herself ever again. But like the previous nine hundred and ninety-nine times, she knew it wouldn't be the last. It was an empty promise to herself, one she would forget the morning after her hangover was gone.

Daring crack one eye open in the darkness of her apartment, she noted she had indeed made it to her room. In fact, she was just a few feet from her bed...

Blissful unconsciousness called to her as the motivation to cross the last eight feet between her and her destination inspired her in a burst of energy to stand and go into a running fall onto her mattress. She landed on the full size bed on her side, her world tail spinning out of control. A shuddering whimper passed her lips as her stomach decided to launch a revolution, and she squeezed her eyelids tighter shut still, willing the sickness to subside.

A crinkle of paper in her ear caught her attention, and she demanded for one eyelid to open partially, peeking at the inside of her palm. Finally, something worthy of her attention, to divert her focus from the consequences of her manic inspired decision to consume unholy amounts of booze.

And that distraction was...

Of course, Sesshomaru's business card.

What else would it be? The universe had oh-so-kindly shoved him into her life to begin with, when all she had wanted to do was forget.

He was the one that started her on her depressed rampage anyway. In fact, she figured he should know about it.

Very loudly.

Rolling unto her back, she reached clumisly for the cellphone that always managed to find its way to her nightstand. Habit was indeed something hard to break, and for once she was glad of it. She successfully retrieve it after knocking over her lamp in the process, hearing the tell-tale sound of breaking glass as it hit her carpeted floor.

Oh well.

She shrugged it off. She had a mission to complete, afterall. One of dire importance involving scorned women and such.

Was she scorned?

She couldn't remember.

She certainly felt scorned, which was good enough she supposed. Him being alive scorned her enough.

Nodding resolutely, she continued her task. Squinting at that tiny little piece of paper, she leered at it, willing the numbers to make sense instead of dancing tango across her vision in a mish-mash of lines.

Eventually, she made them sit still enough for her to see, though it was no easy feat to accomplish.

She pressed the phone to her ear, breathing heavily as she allowed her eyes to slip close, drawing in air deeply and trying to calm the pounding of blood in her ears.

On the third ring, she heard his smooth voice answer the phone in his oh-so-professional manner regardless of the fact is was nearing 2:34 in the morning. In fact, his voice sounded deeper, thicker than usual.

Had she had woken him up?

Under any other circumstance, maybe she would have felt guilty.

Maybe.

"Yamamoto Daichi," he said roughly.

Her heart fluttered and her skin warmed, though she was sure it was only the lingering affects of the alcohol in her system.

"Daichi my ass," she snipped into her receiver, snorting at the idea of his fake name.

"...Excuse me?" he sounded vaguely aggravated.

"Couln't you have ch-chosen sumfin bet'r? Like Se-hic-Sessho?"

The silence stretched out between them, perhaps disbelief there. She heard the deep tenor of his calming breath across the line, the only sign that he was still present and hadn't in fact hung up on her for calling him drunk at the butt-fuck thirty in the morning.

"...Miko?" he inquired after a solid minute of quiet, his voice somehow softer than usual.

Softness wasn't something she would have associated with him generally, but there she had it.

She felt her eyebrows knit together, annoyance spearing through her suddenly, "...whas wrong wit my name... You should u-use it, y'no. Ka.go.me. Easy-sh-shmeazy, see?"

"...are you drunk?"

"Pffffffffffffft, no."

More silence.

"...You're not very convincing."

"Whuz it to you, yer not teh boss of m-hic-me."

"... go to sleep. I'll see you Tuesday."

Panic rose in her, the thought of him leaving her hanging bothering her much more than it should. Why was it bothering her?

"No!" she said it with much more fevor than she should have, the fire in her voice the only thing that kept him from hanging up on her. Her breathing had escalated, and her eyes were staring at the ceiling that was waving slightly from side to side.

"...why?"

Why indeed?

"...because I don't want to see you," were the words that fell from her mouth suddenly, as she turned over on her side and curled up into a ball. She felt the tears washing over her again, tightening something wicked in her chest and causing her head to pound.

"...I didn't know we were negotiating that. Seeing as you're under duress, I'll leave you be to think about it."

She figured he would have hung up then, but still, he didn't. The steady candance of his breath still echoed in her ear.

"...why can't you talk like a normal person?"

"How do you mean?"

"Why can't you ask me what the fuck is wrong with me, like most other human beings would do?"

When was it easier to talk? She wasn't slurring her words as much.

Maybe the words in her heart had waited so long to come out, it was just auto-piloted into a word vomit she couldn't seem to stop anymore than she could cease the Earth from rotating.

" I'm not human."

"I don't care."

Silence.

"... All right, then. Miko, what seems to be the problem?"

"You still said it wrong, y'know."

"...Higurashi Kagome, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Thank you."

"...you're welcome."

She was hiccuping. She wasn't sure if it was because she was crying or because she was still drunk.

It was probably both.

"...my problem? It's you. Why did you have to come back and make me remember?"

"I doubt me being absent would have prevented that."

"Just... leave me alone, please? Just... go away. Stop making me fall. Don't let me fall anymore, please?"

Kagome curled up further into herself.

Don't leave me alone please.

"...I cannot accomplish both."

"I thought you could do anything?"

"...when one lives as long as I do, you eventually concede to the fact you cannot."

"What if I said you could?"

"It would not make it the truth."

"Then just stay away from me."

Don't go. Don't leave me alone anymore.

"...that is not something I can do."

Thank you...

"...why?"

"The same reason you have chosen not to move forward since you left."

"I dont get it--"

"You do not wish to forget, really."

When those words passed through her receiver, she finally caved in. A heartwrenching sob ripped itself out of her throat, and though she covered her mouth to stifle it, she had no doubt he knew what was going on with her.

"Sleep, Kagome. I'll see you Tuesday. Goodnight."

She nodded at her phone, though he could not see it, and closed her phone shut, hanging up on him.

Not long after she had, she found herself in the depths of sleep to dream about things that had never came to be. Even things with him.

Sesshomaru.

Her mystery.



Kagome had piled her pillows on top of her head, trying to block out the light of the noon sun that was streaming through her sheer curtains. She had a pounding headache, she smelled like shit, and she needed a shower something disgusting.

But she couldn't bring herself to move, no matter how sticky and sweaty she felt.

Thank Kami it's Saturday.

She sighed miserably, shifting herself on the mattress as an ache that felt like a thousand hot needles ran through her body. She winced, hoping she could at least pass back out and sleep off the rest of her hangover.

Unfortunately, the world had other plans for her, as usual.

The doorbell rang through her apartment and she moaned in pain as the sound spliced through her head with the efficency of a sledgehammer.

She didn't move, figuring if she laid there long enough the intruder on her peace would just go away.

But, alas, her visitor would not be deterred.

The doorbell rang again.

Kagome sat up, slamming her fists down on the pillow in anger, letting loose a growl of frustration. Really, couldn't she just be left alone?

She climbed irritably out of bed, pulling off her smelly bed shirt and tossing it into some far corner of the room. Instead, she conceded to use her bathrobe which had a far less offensive odor, and tied her hair up into a messy bun.

And the doorbell rang, again.

Closing her eyes to quell the throbbing migraine she had, she grit her teeth in supressed anger. "Just one MINUTE PLEASE!"

She ripped her bedroom door open and shuffled into her bathroom, glancing in the mirror.

She looked like a zombie. Dark bags hung under her eyes, her hair was matted and she looked deathly pale. Even her eyes seemed duller than usual.

Shrugging miserably, there was nothing to be done for it, she knew that much. Best thing to do then was to ignore it.

Turning back, she dragged her feet to her door and opened it. There stood Eri and Yuka, two matching quizzical glances looking back at her. At the sight of her, Eri balked and Yuka frowned, opening her mouth to speak her mind unwelcome, as she tended to do.

"Wow Kagome, you look like shit. You smell like crap, too. What, did you get into a fight with a bar and loose?"

Kagome swallowed the sandpaper that had decided to take residence up in her mouth, rolling her tongue around and grimacing at the aftertaste of her unbrushed teeth after a long night of binge drinking.

Gross...

"Gee, Yuka. Don't be so generous with the compliments today."
She saw Eri elbow their mutual friend not-so-subtly in the ribs and clear her throat. Yuka glared at Eri and rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, it's just we've been trying to call you for the last hour but your cell phone is shut off. We were all supposed to go out to the museum today, remember?"

Kagome fizzled out, staring into space as her brain orbited, trying to find a place to land. Nope, there was no place to come back down to Earth from the milky way, so she stayed zoned out.

Seeing Kagome's blank stare, Eri sighed impatiently and snapped her fingers in Kagome's face. She started suddenly in response, looking back at them.

"Hello, Kagome! You don't remember at all, do you?"

She shrugged and had the decency to at least smile sheepishly.

"Ugh, you're in no shape to go anywhere. Don't worry! Me and Yuka will help you with your hangover blues," Eri pushed her way past Yuka and ushered Kagome back inside her house, uninvited. But Yuka stood there, looking uncomfortable, shifting hesitantly on her feet.

"Really, guys, I don't need..." she began, but Eri cut her off.

"Nonsense, that's what friends are for! It's no problem, right Yuka?"

Yuka fidgeted, looking back and forth between the two women. It was obvious to her by the miserable expression on her face that Kagome really rather be left alone, but she also didn't want to leave her to be depressed by herself. She settled for the middle ground, excusing her way out so Kagome wouldn't feel crowded. She was closer to Eri anyway, though at times it made her jealous. She brushed it off, knowing there was nothing to be done about it at the moment.

"Actually, I have some errands I need to run. I was just putting them off to help Kagome with her paper, but they are really rather important. I trust you'll be fine Eri, right?" she gave her best friend a knowing look, one that only Eri would understand from years of being close enough to have silent conversations. Yuka saw Eri's eyes become serious and she nodded, turning back around to smile brightly at Kagome. "Of course! Don't put yourself out Yuka, it was so kind of you to try and help her to begin with."

Kagome looked back and forth between the two of them, feeling there was an undertone to the conversation she was missing, but she shook it off. Really, she didn't want any help at all, and her main concern was finding the ability to be alone and promptly head back to bed.

"I'm fine, really, you can both go. I'm sure you have something important to do, right Eri? You have to write that paper, don't you? I don't want to take away from your time," she was almost pleading, begging for her to go. She couldn't handle her friends butting into her personal life right then, she felt too emotionally drained for it.

Eri gave her a hard, almost motherly look and gently let her down, "No, Kagome, it's ok. You're not putting me out at all. Why don't you go take a shower and I'll make you some coffee and some breakfast, ok?"

Kagome ran a hand down her face, covering her eyes and nodding finally in tense agreement. Eri wrapped an arm around her shoulder and smiled at Yuka, thanking her once again as she locked the door behind her once Yuka left. Leading Kagome gently to the shower like she was a sick child, Eri gathered her up a towel and offered to wash her clothes since she didn't have many clean ones to begin with. Of course, Kagome protested, but Eri wouldn't hear any of it.

I guess I should be grateful she's so domestic... she'll make someone a fine wife someday.

Though her stomach twisted a bit, pointing out the fact that she wasn't going to make a wife for anyone at the current rate her life was going, she was actually thankful that her friend really enjoyed cleaning and cooking. It was her love for the domestic family life that had made her want to be a child psychologist to begin with, believing every child deserved everything the parent had to give.

Stripping out of her clothes and turning the water on to lukewarm, she frowned in thought.

Perhaps... I should just be grateful she's in my life to begin with.

And it was true. Her friend didn't have to help her, and didn't have to cook for her and didn't have to do her laundry, and yet she was. Through all her hinting and protesting, Eri wouldn't hear any of it and had made it obvious she was going to take care of Kagome.

I don't deserve it... I've been such a bad friend, acting like they're barely tolerable and pushing them away.

And even though they were immature, they had never let her down. Not the way she had let them down recently, letting her sadness get the better of her.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she stepped into the water and began to scrub away at all the grime that had gathered on her skin since the night before.

"OH MY GOD KAGOME!" Eri shrieked, and Kagome jumped in surprise, banging her head against the low hanging shower head. In a panic, she grabbed the back of her cranium as she cursed in pain, calling out to her friend.

"What, what happened Eri?!"

Her friend burst through the unlocked bathroom door.

"You were robbed! You apartment is a wreck! When did that happen?! Why didn't you tell me?! You aren't hurt, are you?!"

Kagome's eyes unfocused, trying to recall what her friend was talking about. What had happened...?

The memories of the night before came rushing back to her, her intoxicated fury, her destroying her house, calling Sesshom---

Oh. my. God.

She raised a hand to her lips, a tormented gasp leaving her mouth. She completely forget Eri was standing there, waiting for her friend to answer her. Kagome's world zeroed in on her and her alone, and the shame that was currently flushing her entire body in waves.

Please dear Kami, no. I'll never drink again, I promise. I'll never sleep around again, I'll become a good Miko and move back home like Grandfather wanted me to and take over the shrine and pray everyday, and follow my tradtion like my ancestory called for and...

"Kagome?" her friend cut into her mental tirade, and Kagome pulled aside the shower curtain meekly to look at her. Tears of fear were swimming in those concerned soulful brown eyes of Eri's, and she looked like she was on the verge of hysteria.

Sighing embarrassedly, Kagome let her fingers massage the back of her head a little more to ease the headache that was still there, and looked down at Eri's feet.

Might as well 'fess up.

"No one robbed me, Eri."

One of Eri's feet tapped twice, the moved to rub itself along the back of her other calf.

"What?"

"I did that. Don't worry about it, I'll clean it up."

Kagome was moving to push back the shower curtain, trying to shut Eri and her unwanted questions out, but her friend wouldn't have it.

A feminine hand grasped hers, preventing her from doing what she was trying to do.

Drown out the world.

"No, Kagome. I don't care, what's done is done. I'm asking what triggered it?"

Kagome let her eyes drift back up to her friend's, and she felt her sharp intake of breath at the look on her face. Worry, she cared.

Of course she cares, ijit. We have known each other since we were rugrats.

"...I just had a bad day."

"That, Kagome, was more than just a bad day. When you have a bad day, you eat a bowl of ice cream and watch chick flicks. That was a break down."

She sighed again, "Can we talk about it when I'm not naked in the shower?"

Eri blinked at her friend, as if suddenly realizing that Kagome was indeed nude and had forgotten it in her state of alarm. A blush crossed her cheeks and Eri whirled around, hugging herself as if mortified.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm going to go now--"

"Eri, it's fine. We took gym together, and it's not like we're virgins anymore. Don't think about it so much, you were just worried. Not like you saw anything, anyway."

She watched her friend's shoulders shake at the tell-tale sign of her laugh, though she kept her back to Kagome, "You're right, I know. I just know you prefer your modesty."

Kagome grinned and flicked some water at the back of Eri's head, "You're right, I do, now scram!" Eri squealed, running out of the bathroom in defeat, "Eep! Don't do that! It's cold, damnit!"

Kagome rolled her eyes at their antics, a heartfelt smile plastered on her face. Perhaps she really did need the company, after all...

After she was cleaned, she felt worlds better. Besides her nerve-wracking migraine, was all. Cradling her forehead in her palm as she walked to her bedroom, still dripping wet clad in nothing but a towel, she bemoaned herself for her stupidity.  She shut her bedroom door, not bothering to see what it was Eri was up to, secluding herself for a few moments.

She was trying to gather her bearings, and guess what the reprocussions of her stupor from the day before would bring her. Mostly, concerning one Sesshomaru.

He's going to hang this over my head for a lifetime, I'm sure. I might as well commit suicide now and avoid the torture.

She let the towel drop from her and walked uncertainly to her cell phone, staring at it with dread. She wondered if the youkai had managed to leave well enough alone concerning last night, but considering who it was she was thinking of, hell would freeze over first.

She plucked the thing deftly from her nightstand, taking notice of her shattered lap. Groaning, yet another victim of her tantrum to be replaced, she wondered if the money she would have to spend repairing the damage was worth it. Honestly, she couldn't remember. Which in hindsight meant... most likely not.

Pursuring her lips, she clicked the blasted piece of technology on and awaited the tell-tale chime of it being started. Tapping her foot impatiently, she absently considered getting dressed for the fact she had company, but she put it off. What were the chances of Eri walking into her room unannounced when she was in her full glory?

Her cell phone beeped once, a sign that she had a waiting text message. Scanning the number quickly, her heart dropped somewhere into her stomach and roiled around with all the other unpleasantness that laid there.

She grasped the tiny cell phone with both hands, quivering slightly as she debated with herself over opening the text message. Perhaps it was a death warrant, for waking him up at the asscrack of dawn, and disturbing his precious beauty sleep. How else did the man look so gorgeous all the time? He probably did avacado masks for all she knew, his skin was so flawless.

Kagome's brain malfunctioned at the image, Sesshomaru's hair wrapped up in a pink fuzzy towel with cucumber slices over his eyes, a face of green while sipping a cocktail in a mud bath. First, she felt her lips twitching. And before she knew it, she was grasping her sides, doubled over in laughter and trying to draw breath into her abused lungs.

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god...

Tears of humor stung her eyes as she giggled manically, sniffing to dispel the image and calm herself. Wiping at her eyes with the back of one hand, she muttered to herself, "Ok, ok enough of that Kagome."

If she was imagining such things, perhaps it was a sign it was time to check herself into the looney bin. The thought sobered her a bit, and she knew she had been quite a bit more stressed out lately than usual, but still...

Thinking about things like that doesn't help shit Kagome, pay attention.

Nodding resolutely, she turned her eyes down back to her cellphone and clicked the 'Ok' button to open the text message before she could change her mind. She blinked a bit, shifting her weight from one foot to another as she scratched her head. She read the message once, twice, and frowned.

It was simple, and it said:

'When weathering a storm, at times it is best if one stands still.'

What the hell does that even mean?

She text him back, something in the back of her mind giggling fanatically at the fact she was texting with the Daiyoukai. If someone had told her Thursday she would be meeting Sesshomaru in the current era, have him demand her out on what might be classified as a date--her heart stopped beating at the thought, for that was exactly what 'dinner' generally was--get drunk and call him in the middle of the night, only to have him talk her into sleeping and then have him send her cryptic messages the next day via text she would have demanded they seek psychiatric help A.S.A.P.

Yet there she was, and the world was upside down and ever so slightly stranger. Her phone beeped again, alerting her to his oh-so-quick response. He must be glued to his cell phone or something, geeze.

'I would assume it would not take a literary genius to figure it out.'

She bristled, apalled the man had effectively insulted her without even opening his mouth. She scowled, hunching over her cell as she typed back an automatic response, 'Sorry I don't happen to have as much time under my hood as you do, sir. Perhaps my young mind doesn't process things that seem as simple to someone as your very, very experienced self seems to think.'

She figured that was a very extensive and roundabout way of calling him old. She nodded resolutely and pressed send, smiling smugly that she had managed to insult him without insulting him directly the same way he had done her, while still obviously remaining a very clear jab. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot once, twice, and sighed.

At that moment, the cogs finally started turning as the horror of what she had done sunk into her slowly processing brain and she grabbed a fistful of hair, staring in abject terror at her cellphone as she reread what she had sent him. Somewhere deep, deep down inside her chibi self was screaming bloody murder while running around frantically in little circles and waving her little arms in panic.

Why? Why do I do these things to myself?

Beep.

Kagome was trembling, tears pooling in her eyes, almost certain his clawed hand would come through the phone and rip off one of her arms for daring type such a thing. She didn't want to open the response, she was scared it would tell her he was going to kill her, yet she was unable to stop her thumb from reaching slowly... ever so slowly to the 'Ok' button and popping it open. It was like staring into the sun, it blinded her but she couldn't halt herself, even though she so very desperately wanted to.

Reading it once, she screamed.

Eri burst into the room, panic clearly written on her features, "Kagome what's wrong, what happe---"

Eri's eyes became the size of saucer plates as her face burst into flames, embarrassment ever so clearly written there. She turned around to face away from Kagome, but Kagome was too busy going on a rampage to care for her friend's discomfort over her nudity.

"THAT ASSHOLE PISSES ME OFF SO BAD!” she shrieked in frustration again, rereading the text he had sent her, not believing he would ever have written such a thing. But there, clear as day, uneloquent and plain as can be it said:

‘I’d rather be old than stupid.’

She threw her cell phone across the room, avoiding it making contact with the wall--for as satisfying as it may have been for it to shatter into a thousand pieces, she really did not have the money to replace anything else.

“For the love of Kami-sama, Kagome, put on some clothes!”

Kagome’s jaw dropped at Eri’s declaration, crimson staining her cheeks as she scrambled to her dressed and tore into a pair of panties, sweat pants and a tank top in record time. She figured she’d forgo the bra, simply for the sake of being covered to begin with.

“Sorry, Eri, sorry! I just got a text from someone I know, and he’s such a jerk sometimes...” Kagome blurted, really not thinking of the consequences of those words. She should have figured, as she sauntered out into the living room oh-so-obliviously that something in Eri’s brain would shift gears, processing this piece of information.

“He?” she asked ever so innocently.

“Yes, he,” she complained loudly, still too riled up about Sesshomaru’s insufferably dry wit to be concerned with Eri’s questions. She plopped carelessly into a chair at the kitchen table, which had remained relatively unscathed through the entire ‘incident’. She figured that was a nice way to call it, an ‘incident’ and not a ‘depressed tantrum’. It was definitely more appeasing to her poor, abused brain.

“And what did... he... do?” Eri inquired, sitting down across from her friend as she reached for the stack of pancakes that had been sitting on the table for a good fifteen minutes since Kagome had gotten out of the shower. Luckily, room temprature pancakes were still just as good, even if butter didn’t melt on it the way Eri liked it. She sighed, pouting a bit, but really was ok with the turn of events since she figured out there was a ‘he’ in Kagome’s life. She just had to play it smooth and get as much information out of her normally tight-lipped friend as possible.

Kagome’s anger always worked to her advantage, and she was silently cheering for it.

“He likes to imply I’m stupid, so I implied he was old, and he said ‘well I’d rather be old than stupid’. And really, what the hell, it’s not like I came outright and said it, and he never has outright said it before, at least he could be more polite about it. Not my fault he can’t just come out and say what the hell he means instead of being all riddles and mysterious like he’s fooling someone,” Kagome griped, cutting into her pancakes with fevor after literally drowning them in syrup and taking the biggest bite her small mouth could manage as she chewed loudly in annoyance.

Obviously, she was trying to prevent from saying something really nasty about her ‘he’. Eri nodded silently, it was a good sign, he kept her avid attention and affected her greatly. She could work with this.
Only one thing, though... “...old?”

“Well yea, I mean, he’s been around for a while,” Kagome replied nonchalantly. Eri was sure, if she hadn’t suffered a hangover, she wouldn’t be so open about it all.

“And... what exactly is his name?”

“Yamamoto Daichi,” Kagome was too busy keeping her avid attention on her pancakes to realize just what weight that name carried. She barely even noticed her friend’s gasp as she dropped her fork, Eri’s homemade pancakes were just so damn good.

“The history professor?!” Eri squeaked, staring incredulously at Kagome. Kagome’s sky-blue eyes lifted guiltly, realization crossing her orbs as she tried to scarfed down half a pancake that hung precariously from her mouth. Excuse, make an excuse, oh my God Kagome you’re so stupid with your big mouth, omfg.

“U-uh...,” was the brilliant reply she managed to stammer, looking ever so similiar to a deer in headlights.

“Kagome, that’s not just bad, that’s a scandal! He could loose his job for franternizing with a student!” Eri scolded, wishing to high heaven for once her friend could have good judgment in suitable men. Kagome grimaced, scowling at Eri and crossing her arms as she practically pouted at her from across the table.

“It’s not like we’re sleeping together Eri! I’ve just know him a long time-- way before I went to the University! I met him back in junior high and--”

“Oh my God, when you were barely a teenager? Is this guy a pedophile or something--”

“We never slept together, for heaven’s sake, he’s Inuyasha’s brother--”

“Oh, you mean the cheating, lying gangster who couldn’t decide between you and his ex girlfriend... because he was such a winner let me tell you what--”

“Don’t rag on Inuyasha, he changed toward the end, and really--!”

“Every used girl says their man can change Kagome...”

“He really did!”

“They say that too.”

“Oh my God Eri, just drop it.”

“Fine, Kagome, but you’re going from one brother to another and don’t you think that’s a bit awkward?”

“I never said I was going for him Eri, we’re just acquaintances.”

“Get real, Kags, no guy can keep your interest for longer than five minutes and you’ve been talking about him since we came out of the room twenty minutes ago.”

“I’ve just known him a long time, and besides, you’re the one who won’t drop it when I said drop it.”

“Fine, I’ll drop it, I just wish you’d be honest with yourself. You’re already hung up on him.”

“I haven’t seen him since me and Inuyasha stopped dating! I only saw him again yesterday! How can I be hung up on him if I just saw him for the first time in Kami knows how long--” she glanced at the clock, “---22 hours ago?!”

“Whatever Kagome, you’re such a bad liar.”

“Argh, you’re so frustrating!”

“Same could be said to you, chicka.”

“Ugh!”

Kagome stuffed her mouth full of pancakes once more, anger clear on her face while Eri hid her mouth behind a hand and snickered at her expense. If only Kagome could see what Eri saw, the way her face was flushed and her breathing rate had accelerated, maybe then Kagome would understand what Eri was saying.

Let her friend be in denial, because it was going to come back and bite her in the ass someday very soon.



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