Categories > Anime/Manga > Inuyasha > Mirrors
Disclaimer for entire story: Don't own Inuyasha.
o-o-o-o-o-o
Mirrors
o-o-o-o-o-o
Chapter 1
I gaze down at the dimly lit well. It's boarded up now, a thin layer of dust already casting its shadow over the sutras Jii-chan plastered on it. Closing my eyes, I feel a single hot tear seep from underneath my eyelid, sliding down my cheek and falling. I can see it in my mind's eye, glittering for a brief moment before pressing its wet print against the wood.
Back in the beginning, I cried to fill the well with the salty water of my tears. The week that I spent almost completely at the bottom of the well, screaming and sobbing until my voice left me, and all I could do was pound my bleeding fists against the earth-it's only a blur in my mind, but the knife that had stabbed my heart then is still there, twisting in my chest. All I have to do is look down, and I'll see it there, slick and red with my heart's blood.
Then came the numbness, for who knows how long-I lay in bed, not thinking, not hearing, not speaking, not seeing. All I could see was Inuyasha's face, smiling one of his rare genuine smiles at me, hear his cocky vows of protection-feel the touch of his cold hand cupping my face in a gentle caress as the life slipped from his body, and his golden eyes dimmed. There was no time, no time at all. A mere few seconds, while I collapsed to my knees, sobbing. A mere few seconds, while he spoke his last words to me...
Kagome...koishii...stop crying... I hate it when you cry...
His blood on my hands as I knelt over him, trying desperately to stem the flow of the gaping wound in his chest, covering his face with kisses, sobbing his name over and over, long after the warmth had left his body. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair. Not after everything we had fought for... I had never told him I loved him, but I did then. I screamed it, not caring who heard me, as if the words could call him back to me. But they didn't.
My miko powers failed me. The completed jewel failed me. Even Tensaiga failed to bring him back to me. I begged Sesshoumaru to revive him, literally begged on my knees in front of him, even though he told me it was useless, until, grim-faced, he gave in. But after all the legends surrounding that sword, the awe in which people spoke of it, it failed to bring back my love.
The wound in his chest, though grave, was not enough to kill him on its own. Naraku didn't just kill Inuyasha, he severed the connection between Inuyasha's soul and his body, manipulating life and death with an ancient weapon that should never have been forged. But Inuyasha still hung on long enough to free my soul from Naraku's grasp, pushing me back from the realms of a psychic death I still didn't fully understand. It was a miracle, Kaede told me, that Inuyasha had stayed with us as long as he did.
He protected me. Just like he promised.
Kikyou was right. She told me once that neither of us would have Inuyasha, and she had been right. At the last, Inuyasha had chosen me-but what did that matter, if I no longer had him?
/No/, I think fiercely, balling my hands into fists at my sides. /It does matter/. It was Inuyasha who forced me to climb out of bed on that muggy day in late July-it was Inuyasha who kept me from seeking death-it was Inuyasha who made me smile one morning at my family, and tell them that yes, I did plan on returning to school in the fall.
I shift my backpack on my shoulder, and straighten the oh-so-familiar short green skirt of my school uniform. Closing my eyes, I can almost pretend that I'm preparing to jump into the well, to be swallowed by its familiar blue light and emerge in a time that has almost become more familiar than my own in the past two years, to be greeted with a scowl and the words 'you're late' by the cocky, arrogant, irritable hanyou that I loved with all my heart...
I always hated it the way he did that-but what wouldn't I give to hear those words from his lips again...
"Kagome?" the timid voice from the door of the well-house startles me, and I look up to see Souta, regarding me anxiously. "We-I-are you coming? We'll be late..."
/Poor Souta/, I think, with a sudden flash of sympathy for my brother. I mean, I know I frightened him with my breakdown. I frightened everyone. Souta still walks on eggshells around me, as if I might burst into tears at the slightest provocation.
I smile up at my brother, my eyes dry. I want to tell him that he doesn't need to worry so much about me anymore. I've decided that I want to live, no matter how much it hurts, because Inuyasha would have wanted me to, and if there's one thing the Feudal Era hammered into me, it's don't give up without a fight. Still, I have to keep reminding myself that I'm only seventeen, and I've got my whole life in front of me. It's hard to remember that.
The knife twists again in my chest as I remind myself that it's a life without Inuyasha. But I fight away the pain, and take a deep breath. "I'm coming, Souta," I say, cocking one hip and playfully swinging the car keys around my finger. "That is, if you trust me to get you to school in one piece."
His small smile in return warms me a bit, before Mama's voice calling for him pulls Souta away from the door. I sigh and follow him, going up the steps and sliding the door shut without looking back. I can't look back. It just hurts too damn much.
Mama is just handing Souta his lunch when I come running up. "Have fun at school!" she says brightly to me, giving me a soft kiss on my cheek. I smile back at her. That's Mama... ever the optimist. It isn't because Mama's blind to the pain I feel, either. Mama lost the man she loved too. I barely remember my father-he died when Mama was still pregnant with Souta-but I know Mama still misses him very much. She understands, as much as it is possible for someone else to understand.
Still, I can't help but feel my pain is greater. At least they had time together-years.
"I'll try," I say. And I really will. But I'm a little nervous too. The last time I went to school was more than five months ago. And then I went through the well for what-three weeks? One week of hunting, one day of fighting, one moment of parting... and then two weeks of recovering, of mourning, of sleeping on Inuyasha's grave, of always feeling his presence just over my shoulder, of unthinkingly turning to greet him and finding nothing but the wind-but I didn't cry again after that first awful day. Not until, the jewel purified, my duty done, my goodbyes said, I passed through the well one final time. And then the tears came.
So much for my happy ending...
I shake my head. I missed the end of my third year, and so much before that as well-it was a miracle I didn't flunk. As it is, I have a lot to catch up on this year. I'll try, Mama.
"Come on, Souta!" I say, climbing into the driver's seat of my new silver Toyota 4-Runner. It still feels strange to be driving-I'm so used to the Sengoku Jidai that anything more technologically developed than a bike kinda scares me now. The car is sort of a 'sorry the love of your life is dead, but cheer up!' gift, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate it. With a wave to Mama, and Jii-chan sitting in a chair on the front porch, I start the car and drive off toward school.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Hey kid... got a light?"
I shake my head, not bothering to glance at the guy who's approached me. The reek of cigarette fumes and unwashed human accosts my nose, almost overwhelming me. Ignoring him, I start walking, as the bus I just got off pulls away from the curb. Dad wanted me to take the limo, but there's no fucking way. As of right now, I've got a clean slate at this new school, and that suits me just fine.
I hate school-most of it's pointless, anyway. But good luck convincing my father of that. If I brought it up I'd just get the same old speech about how as a Nishimoto I have certain /responsibilities/, etc., etc. It doesn't make any sense to me though, why any of this matters if I'm just going to get a job working for my father anyway. It's not like he's even giving me a choice.
At least here, no one knew about my... /episodes/. Or any of the rest of it. Even so, it fucking sucks. I don't like opening myself up to others, but I know that things are worse when you don't have friends. I know all the right things to say, how to judge in an instant who can be an ally and who will be an enemy, and who just isn't worth my time. My old man taught me that much at least.
Anyway, I don't doubt that by the end of the today, I'll be fully engrained within the system, just because I don't know how it could happen any other way. As I near the front doors of the school, I glance around. All the faces blur together, the scents-both human and youkai-that accompany them a dizzying mess. But one scent reaches me that I somehow separate out from all the others, and I curiously follow my nose with my eyes.
Why does that girl smell like tears?
o-o-o-o-o-o
I gaze at the front doors of my high school, clutching my books to my chest as people stream past on either side of me; girls in their green and white skirts and blouses, identical to mine, boys in their high-collared black suits. For a moment I feel a deep rage toward my fellow students.
Look at them. All caught up their silly little high school dramas-they don't know anything about pain, and loss.
I take a deep breath, force the anger away. It's not their fault. The rage fades into a kind of quiet envy.
/Here goes nothing/, I think, and take a step forward-only to promptly fall flat on my face. Well, actually, the process is a bit more drawn out than that.
My toe snags on an uneven spot in the pavement, and I begin to windmill my arms wildly as the ground tilts toward me. For a moment I hover at the edge of recovery-but inertia and gravity take over. I have just enough time to think Oh NO before I fall with a crash, knocking the breath out of myself.
I hear some people snicker, and some make noises of sympathy, both false and sincere, but the bell's already rung and everyone's racing inside, not wanting to be late on the first day.
I am mortified beyond belief.
"Owww," I moan a little, still flat on the ground. I don't want to get up. I can almost see the headlines. Higurashi Kagome Dies of Embarrassment! Girl Takes Plunge, Classmates Amazed At Tragic Clumsiness!
"Hey," says a voice that makes my entire body stiffen-"Are you alright?"
I slowly lift my face to see a pair of narrowed golden eyes peering at me, as he crouches in front of me. Silver hair... no, his hair is black, like on his human nights, but... I can't breathe. I know that face like I know my own soul. My heart's pounding like it'll fly right out of my chest. It can't be. Those eyes. It just-can't be.
"Inuyasha?" I whisper. Then tears are streaming down my cheeks, and my heart leaps. "Inuyasha/!" And then I'm scrambling to my knees. I throw my arms around him, hug him tightly, feel his warmth surround me. /Oh, Inuyasha, I'll never leave you again, Inuyasha I love you...
"What the hell?" he says nervously, thrusting me away from him. He might as well just stab me, for the pain that I feel as I fall back against the pavement, even though he doesn't really hurt me.
The knife twists deeper into my heart.
"Sorry," I whisper. "Sorry." It's not him. But it is him. I don't understand. It's all so confusing.
o-o-o-o-o-o
What the fuck/? I scowl. How'd she know who I was? Why'd she hug me like that? I hate it when people touch me. The fact that when /she did it I didn't really mind so much bothers me almost as much as the action itself. I'd remember if I had smelled her before. She's got a nice scent, actually, underneath all that embarrassment and fear and sadness. Which is kind of odd, really, because I don't like the way most people smell.
I'm totally freaked out right now. Best to just forget this... weird moment, put it behind me. Yeah.
Keeping my voice light, I say, "Hey, where'd you hear that name? Call me Yash. Come on, you gonna lie there all day or what?" And I hold out my hand.
She seems completely dazed, staring at me with those huge blue eyes, and gives me her hand almost as if she doesn't realize what she's doing. Quickly I stand, pulling her easily to her feet. The way she's staring at me is making me really uncomfortable, though at least she's not squealing and flirting with me and shit. I thought she would, after that hug she gave me. Nervously she tugs at her clothes, which have become a little disheveled in that spectacular fall of hers. I can't help but grin a little.
One minute she was all grace and tragic power, and then, splat/. So I went over to help her up. What was I supposed to do, just let her lie there? She'd looked so unhappy there, that for a moment I felt this weird urge to comfort her, to protect her. Me, Nishimoto Yash. The whole /comforting thing is definitely not my style. I blame her eyes. Her goddamn blue eyes.
To distract myself from these uncomfortable thoughts, I fall back on the usual sarcasm. "That was one hell of a fall. You always this clumsy?"
She still looks completely shell-shocked, but her mouth seems to be functioning well enough. "No, only on special occasions."
I snort. I can't help it.
o-o-o-o-o-o
I can only stare at him, my eyes wide. /No. It's not. It can't be. Can it? I can't-it can't. No. No/. He looks the same, exactly the same-the same smirk, the same eyes, the same handsome, tanned features-except that it's as if his human and hanyou forms had been mixed together, so that his hanyou eyes shine out of a human face, with human ears, and human teeth. /You cut your hair/, I almost say with a strange disappointment, but then I notice that he's tucked his ponytail underneath his uniform jacket, per the rules.
"See something you like?" he says, his grin widening.
I go from bloodlessly pale to beet red in under two seconds. /I was staring at him, like, like some kind of-airhead/! Embarrassment makes me bristle slightly, as my lungs begin to work again. "Thanks," I say shortly, taking the bag from him. /He put back my books for me/... I almost smile.
"Nishimoto Yash," he says, clearly enjoying my discomfort. "I'm new here." Something flickers in the depths of his eyes, but vanishes as soon as it comes.
I swallow. "Higurashi Kagome," I murmur, feeling shy. Suddenly, I realize I'm toying with the worn beads of the rosary I'm wearing around my neck. My neck, not his. The thought gives me a strange feeling of vertigo. This is Inuyasha, and yet it isn't; he looks completely at ease in his school uniform, a book-bag slung over his shoulder-my Inuyasha would be tugging at the neckline and complaining about how he couldn't breathe, trying to kick off the shoes the first chance he got, casting suspicious glances around him.
"You feeling alright?" he says slowly, frowning a bit.
I start to nod, then sigh, and shake my head. What's the use/? "I feel kind of dizzy," I admit. Although it certainly isn't for the reasons /he thinks it is. "I should-sit down."
He flicks his eyes over me, and his frown deepens. "Your knee's bleeding," he says. "Come on, let's get you to the nurse."
I glance down. Funny, I hadn't even really realized I'd hurt myself. I suppose that's what two years of traipsing around the forests of the Sengoku Jidai does to one. I've been bruised and battered more times than I can count.
"It's okay," I say, looking up-/hey, where is everybody/? With a sinking feeling, I cast a panicked glance at my watch. "Oh no!" I burst out, horrified. "I'm late! On the first date-day! Day!" Mortified, I give up and simply drop my backpack again, burying my face in my hands.
He chuckles with amusement, raising an eyebrow but not otherwise commenting on my little Freudian slip. "A few minutes more won't make a difference. Besides, you know the first day is all bullshit anyway. Come on."
"I'm sorry," I mutter between my hands, still dazed. He can't be Inuyasha. Can he be? He certainly cusses like him. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Or run screaming for the hills. "I've made you late too. I'm sorry."
"Hell, like I care. I'm not exactly here of my own free will, ya know." He tugs on my elbow, and I'm dimly aware of him picking up my bag and leading me none-too-gently up the stairs and into the building. An expression crosses his face as he speaks that I have never seen on that face before-and the strangeness of it makes me shiver.
"But-it's important-to get-an education," I say, a little breathlessly, trying not to think about the times when I used the same arguments, to get Inuyasha to let me pass through the well into my own time. "Otherwise you can't-get into-a good college-and get-a good job."
He raises an eyebrow at me, slowing the pace a bit. "Well listen to Little Miss Perfect," he smirks.
I glare at him. "Just because you don't mind flipping burgers for a living doesn't mean that I don't mind, baka!"
A/N: Sorry had to cut this in half, well till next time. That won't be long by the way.
o-o-o-o-o-o
Mirrors
o-o-o-o-o-o
Chapter 1
I gaze down at the dimly lit well. It's boarded up now, a thin layer of dust already casting its shadow over the sutras Jii-chan plastered on it. Closing my eyes, I feel a single hot tear seep from underneath my eyelid, sliding down my cheek and falling. I can see it in my mind's eye, glittering for a brief moment before pressing its wet print against the wood.
Back in the beginning, I cried to fill the well with the salty water of my tears. The week that I spent almost completely at the bottom of the well, screaming and sobbing until my voice left me, and all I could do was pound my bleeding fists against the earth-it's only a blur in my mind, but the knife that had stabbed my heart then is still there, twisting in my chest. All I have to do is look down, and I'll see it there, slick and red with my heart's blood.
Then came the numbness, for who knows how long-I lay in bed, not thinking, not hearing, not speaking, not seeing. All I could see was Inuyasha's face, smiling one of his rare genuine smiles at me, hear his cocky vows of protection-feel the touch of his cold hand cupping my face in a gentle caress as the life slipped from his body, and his golden eyes dimmed. There was no time, no time at all. A mere few seconds, while I collapsed to my knees, sobbing. A mere few seconds, while he spoke his last words to me...
Kagome...koishii...stop crying... I hate it when you cry...
His blood on my hands as I knelt over him, trying desperately to stem the flow of the gaping wound in his chest, covering his face with kisses, sobbing his name over and over, long after the warmth had left his body. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair. Not after everything we had fought for... I had never told him I loved him, but I did then. I screamed it, not caring who heard me, as if the words could call him back to me. But they didn't.
My miko powers failed me. The completed jewel failed me. Even Tensaiga failed to bring him back to me. I begged Sesshoumaru to revive him, literally begged on my knees in front of him, even though he told me it was useless, until, grim-faced, he gave in. But after all the legends surrounding that sword, the awe in which people spoke of it, it failed to bring back my love.
The wound in his chest, though grave, was not enough to kill him on its own. Naraku didn't just kill Inuyasha, he severed the connection between Inuyasha's soul and his body, manipulating life and death with an ancient weapon that should never have been forged. But Inuyasha still hung on long enough to free my soul from Naraku's grasp, pushing me back from the realms of a psychic death I still didn't fully understand. It was a miracle, Kaede told me, that Inuyasha had stayed with us as long as he did.
He protected me. Just like he promised.
Kikyou was right. She told me once that neither of us would have Inuyasha, and she had been right. At the last, Inuyasha had chosen me-but what did that matter, if I no longer had him?
/No/, I think fiercely, balling my hands into fists at my sides. /It does matter/. It was Inuyasha who forced me to climb out of bed on that muggy day in late July-it was Inuyasha who kept me from seeking death-it was Inuyasha who made me smile one morning at my family, and tell them that yes, I did plan on returning to school in the fall.
I shift my backpack on my shoulder, and straighten the oh-so-familiar short green skirt of my school uniform. Closing my eyes, I can almost pretend that I'm preparing to jump into the well, to be swallowed by its familiar blue light and emerge in a time that has almost become more familiar than my own in the past two years, to be greeted with a scowl and the words 'you're late' by the cocky, arrogant, irritable hanyou that I loved with all my heart...
I always hated it the way he did that-but what wouldn't I give to hear those words from his lips again...
"Kagome?" the timid voice from the door of the well-house startles me, and I look up to see Souta, regarding me anxiously. "We-I-are you coming? We'll be late..."
/Poor Souta/, I think, with a sudden flash of sympathy for my brother. I mean, I know I frightened him with my breakdown. I frightened everyone. Souta still walks on eggshells around me, as if I might burst into tears at the slightest provocation.
I smile up at my brother, my eyes dry. I want to tell him that he doesn't need to worry so much about me anymore. I've decided that I want to live, no matter how much it hurts, because Inuyasha would have wanted me to, and if there's one thing the Feudal Era hammered into me, it's don't give up without a fight. Still, I have to keep reminding myself that I'm only seventeen, and I've got my whole life in front of me. It's hard to remember that.
The knife twists again in my chest as I remind myself that it's a life without Inuyasha. But I fight away the pain, and take a deep breath. "I'm coming, Souta," I say, cocking one hip and playfully swinging the car keys around my finger. "That is, if you trust me to get you to school in one piece."
His small smile in return warms me a bit, before Mama's voice calling for him pulls Souta away from the door. I sigh and follow him, going up the steps and sliding the door shut without looking back. I can't look back. It just hurts too damn much.
Mama is just handing Souta his lunch when I come running up. "Have fun at school!" she says brightly to me, giving me a soft kiss on my cheek. I smile back at her. That's Mama... ever the optimist. It isn't because Mama's blind to the pain I feel, either. Mama lost the man she loved too. I barely remember my father-he died when Mama was still pregnant with Souta-but I know Mama still misses him very much. She understands, as much as it is possible for someone else to understand.
Still, I can't help but feel my pain is greater. At least they had time together-years.
"I'll try," I say. And I really will. But I'm a little nervous too. The last time I went to school was more than five months ago. And then I went through the well for what-three weeks? One week of hunting, one day of fighting, one moment of parting... and then two weeks of recovering, of mourning, of sleeping on Inuyasha's grave, of always feeling his presence just over my shoulder, of unthinkingly turning to greet him and finding nothing but the wind-but I didn't cry again after that first awful day. Not until, the jewel purified, my duty done, my goodbyes said, I passed through the well one final time. And then the tears came.
So much for my happy ending...
I shake my head. I missed the end of my third year, and so much before that as well-it was a miracle I didn't flunk. As it is, I have a lot to catch up on this year. I'll try, Mama.
"Come on, Souta!" I say, climbing into the driver's seat of my new silver Toyota 4-Runner. It still feels strange to be driving-I'm so used to the Sengoku Jidai that anything more technologically developed than a bike kinda scares me now. The car is sort of a 'sorry the love of your life is dead, but cheer up!' gift, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate it. With a wave to Mama, and Jii-chan sitting in a chair on the front porch, I start the car and drive off toward school.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Hey kid... got a light?"
I shake my head, not bothering to glance at the guy who's approached me. The reek of cigarette fumes and unwashed human accosts my nose, almost overwhelming me. Ignoring him, I start walking, as the bus I just got off pulls away from the curb. Dad wanted me to take the limo, but there's no fucking way. As of right now, I've got a clean slate at this new school, and that suits me just fine.
I hate school-most of it's pointless, anyway. But good luck convincing my father of that. If I brought it up I'd just get the same old speech about how as a Nishimoto I have certain /responsibilities/, etc., etc. It doesn't make any sense to me though, why any of this matters if I'm just going to get a job working for my father anyway. It's not like he's even giving me a choice.
At least here, no one knew about my... /episodes/. Or any of the rest of it. Even so, it fucking sucks. I don't like opening myself up to others, but I know that things are worse when you don't have friends. I know all the right things to say, how to judge in an instant who can be an ally and who will be an enemy, and who just isn't worth my time. My old man taught me that much at least.
Anyway, I don't doubt that by the end of the today, I'll be fully engrained within the system, just because I don't know how it could happen any other way. As I near the front doors of the school, I glance around. All the faces blur together, the scents-both human and youkai-that accompany them a dizzying mess. But one scent reaches me that I somehow separate out from all the others, and I curiously follow my nose with my eyes.
Why does that girl smell like tears?
o-o-o-o-o-o
I gaze at the front doors of my high school, clutching my books to my chest as people stream past on either side of me; girls in their green and white skirts and blouses, identical to mine, boys in their high-collared black suits. For a moment I feel a deep rage toward my fellow students.
Look at them. All caught up their silly little high school dramas-they don't know anything about pain, and loss.
I take a deep breath, force the anger away. It's not their fault. The rage fades into a kind of quiet envy.
/Here goes nothing/, I think, and take a step forward-only to promptly fall flat on my face. Well, actually, the process is a bit more drawn out than that.
My toe snags on an uneven spot in the pavement, and I begin to windmill my arms wildly as the ground tilts toward me. For a moment I hover at the edge of recovery-but inertia and gravity take over. I have just enough time to think Oh NO before I fall with a crash, knocking the breath out of myself.
I hear some people snicker, and some make noises of sympathy, both false and sincere, but the bell's already rung and everyone's racing inside, not wanting to be late on the first day.
I am mortified beyond belief.
"Owww," I moan a little, still flat on the ground. I don't want to get up. I can almost see the headlines. Higurashi Kagome Dies of Embarrassment! Girl Takes Plunge, Classmates Amazed At Tragic Clumsiness!
"Hey," says a voice that makes my entire body stiffen-"Are you alright?"
I slowly lift my face to see a pair of narrowed golden eyes peering at me, as he crouches in front of me. Silver hair... no, his hair is black, like on his human nights, but... I can't breathe. I know that face like I know my own soul. My heart's pounding like it'll fly right out of my chest. It can't be. Those eyes. It just-can't be.
"Inuyasha?" I whisper. Then tears are streaming down my cheeks, and my heart leaps. "Inuyasha/!" And then I'm scrambling to my knees. I throw my arms around him, hug him tightly, feel his warmth surround me. /Oh, Inuyasha, I'll never leave you again, Inuyasha I love you...
"What the hell?" he says nervously, thrusting me away from him. He might as well just stab me, for the pain that I feel as I fall back against the pavement, even though he doesn't really hurt me.
The knife twists deeper into my heart.
"Sorry," I whisper. "Sorry." It's not him. But it is him. I don't understand. It's all so confusing.
o-o-o-o-o-o
What the fuck/? I scowl. How'd she know who I was? Why'd she hug me like that? I hate it when people touch me. The fact that when /she did it I didn't really mind so much bothers me almost as much as the action itself. I'd remember if I had smelled her before. She's got a nice scent, actually, underneath all that embarrassment and fear and sadness. Which is kind of odd, really, because I don't like the way most people smell.
I'm totally freaked out right now. Best to just forget this... weird moment, put it behind me. Yeah.
Keeping my voice light, I say, "Hey, where'd you hear that name? Call me Yash. Come on, you gonna lie there all day or what?" And I hold out my hand.
She seems completely dazed, staring at me with those huge blue eyes, and gives me her hand almost as if she doesn't realize what she's doing. Quickly I stand, pulling her easily to her feet. The way she's staring at me is making me really uncomfortable, though at least she's not squealing and flirting with me and shit. I thought she would, after that hug she gave me. Nervously she tugs at her clothes, which have become a little disheveled in that spectacular fall of hers. I can't help but grin a little.
One minute she was all grace and tragic power, and then, splat/. So I went over to help her up. What was I supposed to do, just let her lie there? She'd looked so unhappy there, that for a moment I felt this weird urge to comfort her, to protect her. Me, Nishimoto Yash. The whole /comforting thing is definitely not my style. I blame her eyes. Her goddamn blue eyes.
To distract myself from these uncomfortable thoughts, I fall back on the usual sarcasm. "That was one hell of a fall. You always this clumsy?"
She still looks completely shell-shocked, but her mouth seems to be functioning well enough. "No, only on special occasions."
I snort. I can't help it.
o-o-o-o-o-o
I can only stare at him, my eyes wide. /No. It's not. It can't be. Can it? I can't-it can't. No. No/. He looks the same, exactly the same-the same smirk, the same eyes, the same handsome, tanned features-except that it's as if his human and hanyou forms had been mixed together, so that his hanyou eyes shine out of a human face, with human ears, and human teeth. /You cut your hair/, I almost say with a strange disappointment, but then I notice that he's tucked his ponytail underneath his uniform jacket, per the rules.
"See something you like?" he says, his grin widening.
I go from bloodlessly pale to beet red in under two seconds. /I was staring at him, like, like some kind of-airhead/! Embarrassment makes me bristle slightly, as my lungs begin to work again. "Thanks," I say shortly, taking the bag from him. /He put back my books for me/... I almost smile.
"Nishimoto Yash," he says, clearly enjoying my discomfort. "I'm new here." Something flickers in the depths of his eyes, but vanishes as soon as it comes.
I swallow. "Higurashi Kagome," I murmur, feeling shy. Suddenly, I realize I'm toying with the worn beads of the rosary I'm wearing around my neck. My neck, not his. The thought gives me a strange feeling of vertigo. This is Inuyasha, and yet it isn't; he looks completely at ease in his school uniform, a book-bag slung over his shoulder-my Inuyasha would be tugging at the neckline and complaining about how he couldn't breathe, trying to kick off the shoes the first chance he got, casting suspicious glances around him.
"You feeling alright?" he says slowly, frowning a bit.
I start to nod, then sigh, and shake my head. What's the use/? "I feel kind of dizzy," I admit. Although it certainly isn't for the reasons /he thinks it is. "I should-sit down."
He flicks his eyes over me, and his frown deepens. "Your knee's bleeding," he says. "Come on, let's get you to the nurse."
I glance down. Funny, I hadn't even really realized I'd hurt myself. I suppose that's what two years of traipsing around the forests of the Sengoku Jidai does to one. I've been bruised and battered more times than I can count.
"It's okay," I say, looking up-/hey, where is everybody/? With a sinking feeling, I cast a panicked glance at my watch. "Oh no!" I burst out, horrified. "I'm late! On the first date-day! Day!" Mortified, I give up and simply drop my backpack again, burying my face in my hands.
He chuckles with amusement, raising an eyebrow but not otherwise commenting on my little Freudian slip. "A few minutes more won't make a difference. Besides, you know the first day is all bullshit anyway. Come on."
"I'm sorry," I mutter between my hands, still dazed. He can't be Inuyasha. Can he be? He certainly cusses like him. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Or run screaming for the hills. "I've made you late too. I'm sorry."
"Hell, like I care. I'm not exactly here of my own free will, ya know." He tugs on my elbow, and I'm dimly aware of him picking up my bag and leading me none-too-gently up the stairs and into the building. An expression crosses his face as he speaks that I have never seen on that face before-and the strangeness of it makes me shiver.
"But-it's important-to get-an education," I say, a little breathlessly, trying not to think about the times when I used the same arguments, to get Inuyasha to let me pass through the well into my own time. "Otherwise you can't-get into-a good college-and get-a good job."
He raises an eyebrow at me, slowing the pace a bit. "Well listen to Little Miss Perfect," he smirks.
I glare at him. "Just because you don't mind flipping burgers for a living doesn't mean that I don't mind, baka!"
A/N: Sorry had to cut this in half, well till next time. That won't be long by the way.
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