Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Well Worth It ❯ Chapter 1

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Title: Well Worth It
Author: inuyashagirl5
Rating: T
Genre: Romance
Pairing: Kagome/Kuwabara
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. InuYasha is owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Yu Yu Hakusho is owned by Yoshihiro Togashi. I only borrow their characters for my own amusement and the amusement of my readers.
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Gods he hated being the odd man out on these days. He felt like the spare wheel. The one that fit no place but in the back of some dark corner. What made it worse was that even Hiei had a date. Hiei! The short stature, anti-social, brooding hybrid had a date and he didn't. Sure, it was only Shizuru...but it still sucked!

So here he was, being rushed around by Yusuke, who was screaming at him to hurry his ass up. Kuwabara rolled his eyes for the hundredth time in the past five minutes. He didn't want to go, but they wouldn't listen. They very rarely listened to him anyways.

He was shoved towards the car and Yusuke snickered at him, calling him a slow ape. He, in return, said nothing and climbed into the car. Kurama and Yusuke shared a surprised glance, both surprised that he hadn't responded to Yusuke's teasing like he normally would. Each shrugged and climbed in after him. They had some place to be and being late would mean listening to Keiko complain, which they all wanted to avoid.

The club was crowded, but finding the girls wasn't hard. Taking a booth off to the side so they could sit and talk, maybe enjoy a few drinks. Kuwabara was sure he'd have a few himself, maybe make himself a little numb to everyone around him. He was sure they probably wouldn't notice anyways.

Mid-way through the second round of drinks, Hiei and Shizuru were amongst the missing, Keiko and Yusuke were playing a fierce game of tonsil hockey and Kurama and Botan were chatting happily, eyes only on each other. Kuwabara sighed softly and slipped out from the booth intent on making his way to the bar and away from his lovesick friends.

The music switched to a bouncy, fast paced dance beat as he walked, when he felt a tiny pair of hands grasp his hips and pull him back a little. He turned, expecting one of his female friends, but instead finding a young woman of incredible beauty staring up at him. She smiled at him, blushing a little.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you." She began, her blue eyes glowing under the lights above. "Um, I'm Kagome. Uh...would you dance with me?"

He was speechless. Surely this was a joke set up by one of his friends. He glanced back over at them, but they were still in the same positions as when he left.

"Why?" he asked. She was startled by the question and frowned.

"Why what?"

"Why would you want to dance with me? There are guys here far more...attractive than me." Not that he was looking at any of the other guys. He didn't swing that way!

"Wait. Who said you weren't attractive?" Kagome moved in a little closer to him, taking one of his larger hands between both of hers. He felt her power then. A gentle brush of her aura against his own. It was warm, gentle and very pure. She pouted before speaking again. "You shouldn't think so little of yourself. It just makes things worse. I would know. I was like that not too long ago."

She opted to pull him off the dance floor and over to a quiet little table. He followed along quietly, still wondering why such a beautiful girl would speak to him at all.

"I don't understand what you mean. Why would you think so little of yourself?" He asked the first question that was bothering him. "You're very pretty."

"It was because someone else was always telling me I wasn't. I was compared to another girl, and in his eyes, I could never ever be as good or beautiful as her."

"I hope you dumped him." He muttered, annoyed at the guy he had never even met. He hoped he never did. He knew he'd probably beat the crap out of him.

"It was an unrequited love." She blushed and shook her head, "We were friends. He couldn't love me because he still loved her and I accepted that."

"Friends shouldn't treat friends like that."

"I agree." Kagome nodded, "Your friends don't seem very nice. They don't seem to care that you're missing."

She watched his friends laugh and joke with each other. Their eyes never strayed away from the table.

"They know where I am even if they're not looking. They know I can handle myself if I get into trouble." Kuwabara muttered again. Kagome giggled a little as a new song began and he watched as her face beamed with excitement. "Should we dance?"

"Oh! Can we? Please?" She jumped to her feet and grabbed his hands, pulling him out into the crowd. "This is one of my favorite songs. Every time they play it I have to dance to it!"

As the beat picked up she leaned into him and moved against him. He was a bit hesitant to join at first, but she brought his hands up to her hips, urging him to participate. He picked the movements up quickly and grinned down at her. It was more difficult than fighting, but far more enjoyable.

Kagome's eyes glanced in the direction of his friends, noticing that they still weren't paying attention to their friend. She discretely pressed her aura out and poked against their own. She laughed when all three males cringed and two females started looking around the room for the source.

"You shouldn't tease them." Kuwabara laughed, pulling the lithe girl tighter against him. "I don't think they'll like it much."

"Aww!" She pouted playfully. "You know, you still haven't told me your name."

He blushed, realizing that he hadn't and feeling stupid because of it.

"I'm sorry. That was dumb of me." He began, and she slapped his arm, "My name is Kazuma Kuwabara. Most just call me by my last name though."

"I think I will call you Kazuma. It's a nice name."

They danced together for a few more songs before they were approached by his friends. Kagome just glanced over her shoulder at them, briefly looked them over and then focused all her attention back on her dance partner. One of them cleared his throat, she didn't know which one it was and she didn't care.

"Come on, Kuwabara. We're heading out to get something to eat." Yusuke crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his foot impatiently. Kagome looked up at Kuwabara, pleading silently with her eyes that he stay and enjoy the night with her. He couldn't resist those blue eyes!

"I think I'll stay. You guys go on ahead and have fun without me."

"I'll bring him home later." Kagome added, glancing back over her shoulder "He's in good hands. You can go."

Yusuke stepped back, his mouth open to protest but he stopped and grinned at the pair in front of him. Both Kagome and Kuwabara gave him curious glances.

"You kids have fun then! Kuwabara, don't do anything I wouldn't do." He laughed and wrapped his arm around Keiko's waist, "Let's go get some pizza! I'm starving!"

"You're always starving." Keiko had replied as they walked off, leaving Kuwabara behind with Kagome.

Kagome's initial analysis of Kuwabara's friends was suddenly replaced with new information and she smiled at their retreating backs before turning her attention back to Kuwabara. She liked them. They weren't as bad as she thought they were.

Kuwabara watched his friends leave, his attention going back to Kagome as her arms circled his waist. He understood now why he was forced to tag along with them. He felt foolish for thinking they hadn't cared when in fact they clearly had. They wanted him there because it was better than being alone. He was also happy he had tagged along. Kagome was wonderful company.

It was a little after one when they stepped out of the closing club and into the warm summer morning. Kagome and Kuwabara walked side by side on the way to her car, their's hands grasped together between them. They continued talking about different things. Her shrine, demons, what they did with their free time. It seemed to them both that they still had a ton of stuff to talk about.

Kagome pulled up in front of the building where he lived. She could feel the auras of three of his friends somewhere close nearby. She climbed out and joined him on the sidewalk.

"So, tomorrow night then? Dinner and maybe a movie or something? There's this really gruesome horror movie playing that we could go see."

"You are something else, Kagome. I've never met a girl, well aside from my sister anyways, that likes horror movies." He laughed, "That sounds like fun. It's a date."

"Good! I'll see you tomorrow then!" She stepped closer to him, grasping the collar of his shirt to pull him down closer. She pressed her lips to his in soft, chaste kiss. It was quick and simple, but not sufficient enough for him. He pulled her back and kissed her again. This time deeper and far more passionate than he expected of himself. Pulling back, he admired the beautiful blush on her pale cheeks.

"Goodnight, Kagome." he whispered and she closed her eyes.

"Goodnight, Kazuma."

He held open her car door for her and closed it when she got it in.

"I'll call you when I wake up. Okay?" He asked and she nodded.

"Sure!" She kissed him quickly again, "Have a good night!"

He waited, watching her car disappear down the road before turning to head inside. Yusuke and Kurama waited outside the front door, both giving him goofy grins. He shoved them inside the apartment, knowing he was about to be bombarded with tons of questions. But it was worth it. He was very much willing to talk about her. To share how wonderful she was with his closest friends and maybe even warn them that she could purify their asses if they pissed her off.