Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ First Love ❯ Chapter 4

First Love

 

Chapter Four

 

“Hello Kagome!” Hojo greeted as she met him at the edge of the village. He unsurprisingly wore the same colors that Kagome had on, a dark blue kimono trimmed with a lighter blue that had a matching sash.

 

He had dressed them to look as if they were a couple.

 

Which they weren't.

 

I wish he wouldn't do things like this, thought Kagome to herself, a little aggravated by the fact she had actually though he would do this when she left her house.

 

Hiding her annoyance, she greeted him, although not enthusiastically. “Hey Hojo…”

 

He grinned, not noticing her expression and took her hands in his. “Are you ready to go?” he asked cheerfully.

 

Kagome took a deep breath and nodded her head. As ready as I'll ever be.

 

As they headed to the festival, Kagome bit her tongue when he had her hand, remembering that they were still close friends and that he meant no to harm. She was going to try and have fun tonight.

 

0000

 

The town was bustling with people who were all dressed in beautiful kimonos. Once they were deep into the town Kagome made sure she got her hand back from Hojo.

 

She saw his disappointed frown out of the corner of her eye for only a moment before he turned and cheerfully talked to her. “Would you like something to eat Kagome? It's been a long walk so I bet you're hungry! Stay here, I'll be right back!”

 

Before she would say a word to him, he was off and running. All Kagome could do was give his retreating form a half smile. “He really is trying hard.”

 

She turned her head up towards the moon, the color reminding her of someone. She closed her eyes and let herself bask in the moonlight like how she would in the forest at this time at night.

 

I wonder…

 

“Kagome!”

 

Turning her had, Kagome saw Hojo running up to her with what looked to be three little dough balls on a chopstick.

 

When he reached her, he was panting heavily. Hojo had obviously been rushed to get back to her. Did he think she was going to wild away into nothing if he didn't get this food back to her as soon as possible?

 

“Here…Kagome,” he said out of breath and handed her the food.

 

Kagome smiled down at him, mentally shaking her head. “Thank you Hojo.”

 

He looked up at her sheepishly. “I hope you like it.”

 

Kagome eyed the food that she held in her hand. “I've never seen or eaten anything like this before. What is it?”

 

Hojo took a bite of his and chewed on it before swallowing. “Its called Tako-Yaki. Usually they make it with pieces of octopus but I asked them to give us plain. I wasn't sure if you liked octopus or not. They taste great and are very popular amongst the people who come to festivals. I've had these many times before and I always get them when I come to festivals! Taste it and tell me what you think!”

 

Kagome turned the food again in her hand. It didn't look harmful or gross looking which was a plus. And there wasn't any octopus in it, which was an even bigger plus. The scent that wafted off of it smelt good. It was just a little fried dough ball of goodness from Kagome's point.

 

Not needing to observe it any more, Kagome took a bite and could have died happily right where she was standing. It tasted fantastic and didn't compare to anything she had ever had before. It was warm and soft and delicious. Best of all, it made Kagome and her stomach happy.

 

“This tastes great Hojo!” She paused to let herself swallow the whole dough ball at once. “Thanks so much for buying it for me!”

 

At least the night was getting off to a good start.

 

She could see Hojo watching her out of the corner of her eye as she ate the delicious Tako-Yaki. He seemed to be pleasantly thinking by his expression and Kagome hoped he wasn't thinking of something to say to her.

 

She was wrong.

 

“Hey…Kagome?”

She looked up from her finished Tako-Yaki stick at him, waiting for him to continue. In her mind she knew what he was going to say and it wouldn't bother her. If he said what he could also say, Kagome knew she would dread it for the rest of her life because she knew what her reaction would be to him. She wished it wouldn't come to that though.

 

His eyes left her after a moment and he brought a hand up to scratch his head nervously.

 

“I-” He cut himself off and groaned in frustration a bit. She saw him shake his head before turning towards her. “I'm…I'm glad you came with me tonight Kagome!” he blurted out rather quickly.

 

Instead of becoming embarrassed and turning red, Kagome just smiled and said, “You're welcome Hojo.” Normally, when a guy she liked spoke to her, she would become embarrassed and she would stutter like the way Hojo just spoke to her. But sadly, she didn't have feelings for him like that.

 

To her, they were just friends. Kagome knew Hojo wanted to be with her and probably eventually marry her but she couldn't. She just couldn't. She would always be his friend and respect him but she could never become his lover.

 

A loud scream brought Kagome out of her thoughts.

 

“It's the bandit Youko Kurama! He's here!” she heard a woman not to far away scream and in reaction everyone stopped and became silent.

 

“What? A bandit?” asked Kagome to herself rather than anyone else.

 

Everyone seemed to remember the bandit and all hell broke loose.

 

Eruptions of screams from women and children engulfed Kagome's ears as they ran to get out of the town. Everyone had become frantic just from the name. This Youko character must have been rather scary to cause this kind of a reaction out of so many people.

 

Kagome only took one step before Hojo latched onto her wrist and ran. “We have to get out of here!” he said hastily towards her and picked up some speed. It seemed that even Hojo had heard of him. Why hadn't she ever heard of the bandit?

 

It was hard to run in the sandals she wore but Kagome managed. Hojo weaved them in and around other people, making sure never to let go of her wrist.

 

It almost seemed heroic of Hojo to do this for her but as they kept running, the crowds became thicker and even more crazed.

 

Kagome was even debating whether or not to tell him to go on ahead and that she would meet up with him but the decision was made for her when a man broke their contact.

No sooner had Kagome been forced to let go, did she lose sight of Hojo. He seemed to disappear in the flood of the crowd. She jumped up to see if she could spot his brown hair out; it was no use.

 

She jumped again, although it was to look for a place to hide instead of looking for Hojo. She spotted an alleyway a couple of yards away. Deciding she would go there turned and headed in the opposed way the mass of people were going. Almost immediately she was shoved very hard at one point and she soon found herself on the ground shortly after.

 

 

She covered her hands over her head in the fetal position and waited as the people stepped over her. Some had actually run into her and Kagome had to bite back the painful tears. When there seemed to be a break in the crowd Kagome looked up hesitantly.

 

The reason why there was a gap in the crowd couldn't have been any worse. It was a horse still attached to a wagon with no rider running freely towards her and her eyes widened. If she were to be hit by that, it would hurt much worse than any person who had hit into her.

 

Without thinking, she dug her sandals into the ground and propelled herself out of the horses' way and into the crowd faster than it could reach her. Finding her footing, she pushed through people this time almost roughly to get to the alley she had seen moments before.

 

Reaching it, Kagome let herself catch her breath as she clutched her hand to her heart and backed into the dark alley so as not to be seen. She took a couple of steps backwards until her back connected to what felt like another person. Kagome whipped herself around and gasped.

 

“It's you…” she said breathily as her wide eyes took in his form.

 

He looked down at her coldly, which sent a chill down her spine. She turned her eyes away from his golden ones only to have them land on something that was almost the same shad as his eyes.

 

In his hand, he held what looked to be a small golden statue that had stones imbedded in it. It looked to be very rare and expensive, like nothing Kagome had ever seen before. It took a moment for Kagome to stop looking at the gems to realize what he was doing.

 

“You're…the bandit?” asked Kagome, returning her gaze to his.

 

It did make perfect sense. He looked and acted like a bandit since he was hiding from everyone. The fact that she had seen him steal with her own eyes the first time they met didn't surprise her. There was also the stature in his hands that didn't make Kagome think differently either.

 

He didn't reply; it wasn't a shock. She had gotten somewhat used to it.

 

Instead, he took his leave and disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving Kagome alone in the alleyway.

 

When the recognition of being left alone hit her, Kagome felt cold without him there. She hadn't realized that she had even felt the least bit warm when he was there. Something clicked in the back of her head, drawing her attention.

 

She remembered what the woman had screamed.

 

“His name is Youko?” Kagome thought out loud to herself.

 

Letting herself slide to the ground, Kagome smiled and rested her chin on her bent knees. “So his name is Youko. I've never met anyone by that name before.”

 

He had never told her his name when she had asked for it. He had totally avoided her question. Now that she knew his name, for some odd reason she felt happiness just by knowing it.

 

0000

 

Kagome had fallen asleep at some point in time in the alleyway but when she awoke, she felt someone set her down.

 

Slowly opening her eyes, Kagome saw Hojo. Their eyes met and he smiled sheepishly down at her tired form. Looking around, Kagome noticed she was home.

 

Seeing her confused expression, Hojo quickly spoke to her. “I found you in an alleyway and I decided to bring you home. I'm very sorry Kagome for loosing you in the crowd! Are you alright?”

 

Kagome sat up and patted his shoulder in a friendly way. “It's okay Hojo, I'm alright. How are you doing?”

 

He nodded and said, “I'm fine.”

 

“I bet Kagome's really tired Hojo, and I think you should be getting home, its rather late and I don't want anyone to worry about you,” she heard her mothers voice say in back of her.

 

Immediately he stood up and bowed. “You're right Higurashi-sama. I'll go home now.” He stood up straight and looked at Kagome. “Goodnight,” he said before turning and walking out the door.

 

Kagome's mother knelt down next to her and tucked her into bed. “Tell me about it in the morning, okay? You need to get your rest now,” her mother said in a calm, soft voice.

 

Kagome had no time to reply, the dream world she longed for had already taken over.

 

00000

 

So yes, another chapter to First Love. First, I wanted to thank everyone for the reviews, I really appreciate it!

 

I really like this story and I can't wait to continue it. Although I have the whole story planned out, if anyone has any suggestions please share!

 

If you wish to see previews of chapters, read about my everyday life, or just feel like talking, check out my livejournal. The link is in my profile. I must say though, that my journal is a friends only and you need to add me as a friend to view my postings or just tell me to add you in a review and I'll be happy to :)

 

Until Next time!

 

Dark Paine