InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Broken Hearts and Crushed Dreams ❯ Kissing Under the Stars ( Chapter 11 )

~Chapter Eleven~

.:Kissing Under the Stars:.

 

Kagome had been in the bathroom for the past half- hour putting on her make- up for her date with Houjo. She was far from thrilled; she didn't want to go anywhere. She felt like crap; she wanted to hide under the covers on her bed and cry. As she skimmed the edge of her eyelid with eyeliner that she hardly ever wore, Inuyasha eluded her mind for the twentieth time in the past thirty minutes.

Kagome couldn't help but feel like she was cheating on him. She felt as though she was betraying him. She knew if Inuyasha ever came across her with Houjo, he would go ballistic and threaten to tear him to pieces; he never would, of course.

She had softened his heart over the years. He would never hurt another human being without an extremely good cause. She couldn't help but think of the enormous changes he had undergone.

“Kagome! Houjo's here!” came Souta's small voice from the bottom of the stairs.

“Be down in a minute!” she called back without averting her eyes from her reflection. She grabbed a tissue from the box next to the sink and swiped at her eyes.

Screw it…

She wiped away the eyeliner and reached for the doorknob. She gracefully walked down the stairs catching the gaze of everyone in the room. She had to admit, she looked pretty good.

Kagome had borrowed a plain red dress from her mother; it fit her perfectly. It hugged her in all the right places and fanned out in all the right directions. The spaghetti straps kissed her skin and stuck to her slim form. The bottom came to just above her knees and swayed back and forth when she moved. She wore her hair down, like she normally did and as little make- up as possible on her face.

“W-wow… Kagome, you look really nice…” Houjo said from the bottom of the stairs looking up at her.

Her brother was the only person in the room with a frown on his face; he was perturbed about her date. Inuyasha had always been his hero, and to see his sister leaving with another guy on a date, it hurt him probably as much as it would Inuyasha.

“Thanks,” she said, smiling down at Houjo.

“Let's go.”

They walked out of the house together, side by side. She resolved not to think about Inuyasha at all; the whole date.

Ugh… Yeah, right.

 

 

The conversation in the car had been pleasant but idle. She never knew any one person to be so boring. He was nice enough, sure, but he never talked about anything that was meaningful to her like Inuyasha did.

They had arrived at the nice Italian restaurant and entered through the front door. Houjo gave his name to the waiter behind a stand.

This is nice.

I can't believe he would spend so much money on our first date.

Since she had been fifteen, Houjo had been asking her to the movies. She always had to turn him down or cancel because of her responsibilities with Inuyasha. It amazed her that he hadn't given up on her by now.

The waiter almost immediately led them towards the back of the restaurant to a table by a window. It was overlooking the countryside as the sun dipped below the horizon.

“It's beautiful…” Kagome said as she sat down across from Houjo.

“Yeah, it is,” he replied without even looking out the window. They locked eyes and Kagome immediately blushed. He gave a sly smile, “So, what's your summer been like?”

“Oh, I've been having a good time. I've mostly been looking for a job,” she lied.

“That's good. I still can't believe you aren't going to the university.”

“Yeah, well, I'm tired of school anyway,” she said jokingly.

“What!? How can you be tired of school?” he looked completely petrified.

“I was joking…” she replied, her brow furrowing in disbelief.

“Oh… sorry.” They sat in silence until a waiter introduced himself and took their orders.

“So, how was your summer?” Kagome asked, desperate for conversation.

“Oh, uh, mostly preparing for school. But every once in a while I would hang out with friends,” he said.

“That's cool. I've been with my friends all summer…” she trailed off, thinking of Inuyasha and their friends cold in their graves.

“But I thought you were looking for a job,” he said dubiously.

“Oh, I, uh, found one in the beginning of the summer,” she said, getting caught up in her lies.

“Ah,” he said shaking his head, “so, how are your friends?”

“Actually, not so good. Three of them died…” Kagome said staring at the nearly blindingly white tablecloth.

“Oh… Kagome, I'm so sorry,” he reached over and found her hand resting near her glass of water.

She was surprised at the contact but made no move to disconnect. She looked up, into his eyes, “Thank you…”

“How did they die?” he asked, totally oblivious to the moment he just passed up.

“They, uh, were in, uh, a-a car accident.”

“Oh, my… I'm so sorry, Kagome,” he said finally removing his hand from hers.

“Yeah, I miss them so much,” she said with tears coming to her brown eyes.

“I remember when my grandmother died. I was so devastated. But it's been a little over six years, so it doesn't hurt so much,” he tried to console her as the waiter brought their steaming plates of food.

The waiter looked at Kagome and winked when she looked up at him.

She brushed off the creepy feeling she had just received from the young waiter, a few years older than she was.

Inuyasha would have gone crazy if he had seen that…

Houjo continued after the waiter left them, “I know it's not much consolation, but it will get better, with time. That's what helped me the most. I mean, my friends and family were all there to help me too,” he said as he swallowed another bite of his meal.

Kagome twirled her chopsticks in her spaghetti, absent mindedly, “Thanks, Houjo. My mom is always there for me, so I know I can always talk to her.”

“Well, you can talk to me too, you know. I'm here for you, Kagome. You know, if you ever need to talk, I'll be there,” he said with sympathetic eyes.

Kagome never expected this from him. She never thought he would be so understanding of her feelings.

Maybe this isn't so bad after all…

They finished their meals and Houjo graciously paid the waiter who had tried to flirt with Kagome.

The waiter watched them leave and winked at her once again. She felt like his eye candy.

They returned to Houjo's small red car he had recently purchased. The seats were torn up and it smelled of gasoline.

After talking for the ten minutes it took to arrive at the theatre, Houjo bought tickets for the eight o'clock showing.

 

 

Inuyasha emerged from the forest carrying Mirosheen on his back. The old man had taken a beating on the journey and it was evident that he was in pain. It didn't help that his scent seemed to attract youkai. Inuyasha didn't know how many he'd had to fight off before he reached Kaede's village.

The man's breathing had become jagged so he took off towards the well. Once they arrived he set Mirosheen down. The old monk looked into his eyes as he said his final words, “Inuyasha, once I open the time slip you will be able to pass through, however, once you reach the other side you have one day before it will seal again. You must choose whether you want to live in her time or yours. Now, when I say, jump into the well.”

Inuyasha nodded and faced the well. The old monk raised his arms and chanted something inaudible, even to Inuyasha. There was a brilliant flash of light and the time slip opened. Mirosheen had sweat streaming down his face as he yelled, “Now!”

Inuyasha didn't hesitate as he jumped over the edge and felt the familiar warmth of Kagome's time. He looked around. He could hear what Kagome called, cars, on the street. He exited the well house and looked up into the sky; the stars were like glitter on black velvet.

He'd made it. Inuyasha jumped up to the side quickly and set off for Kagome's house.

Back in the feudal era, the saint collapsed. He knew he was going to die. He lay for a few moments in peace and then drifted off into the eternal sleep.

 

 

Kagome approached her home as Houjo walked her to the door. As they stood there, an almost painful silence consumed them both.

Kagome had had a better time than she expected. Dinner was impressive and the movie had been romantic, to top it all off, she was starting to find herself seeing Houjo in the future. She had a funny feeling that they were being watched from a distance.

“I had a really good time tonight, Kagome,” Houjo said, breaking the silence.

“Me too,” Kagome replied looking up into his face. She knew what was coming next; the good- night kiss.

Houjo leaned towards her and closed his eyes. She couldn't kiss him. She turned her head to the right as his lips made contact with her smooth cheek.

The look on his face was surprise, “Uh, good- night, Kagome. I'll call you later.”

“Alright,” she said in reply, color rising in her cheeks smiling brightly.

He took his leave and made is way to his car.

She turned towards the door as Houjo's car rumbled to life. Out of the corner of her eye she saw something move; she turned and looked into the darkness. Inuyasha came out of hiding behind the corner of her house. His arms were crossed over his chest with a smirk on his face, “You couldn't kiss him, could you? Because of me?”

Immediately her cheeks erupted in color and she smiled in reply. She ran to him only a few feet away, wrapped her arms around his neck and locked him in a kiss.