InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Counting the Days till Valentine's ❯ Seven Days ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: Shinku Katana does not own Inuyasha or any of the characters or elements from the series. The original character Mikomi and the plot are owned by Shinku Katana.

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COUNTING THE DAYS TILL VALENTINE'S

By Shinku Katana

Genre: Romance/Mystery

Rating: PG

Seven Days

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Valentine's Day.

It was the day she dreaded above all the other holidays it seemed. To her, it was mocking those who do not have the perfect person to share that day with or those who have rocky relationships. It was the day when every year, she saw couples kissing, holding hands and giggling while others, like herself, look longingly, envious of those who have their special someone.

Kagome's thoughts continued to stray to the upcoming holiday as she walked down the streets to catch the bus. It was hard not to considering the fact that every window of every shop had red and pink hearts with the words, "Valentine's Day", printed on them. It was not as if she was not happy for her friends who love the spirit of that day or those who have a reason to celebrate; it was just that she wished that people didn't make such a big deal out of it.

She got to the bus stop just in time to see the bus drive off.

`Oh crud.'

Kagome ran but then gave up when the bus kept going down the street. She walked back to the bus stop, panting slightly and looked at the schedule. She sighed in frustration. She sat down on a bench and leaned her head against her hand.

HONK!

The sound startled Kagome so much that she jumped about a foot in the air and almost fell off the bench all together. She was about to give who ever it was that startled her a piece of her mind before the sight of the person stopped her.

"Inuyasha!"

The driver behind the wheel of a new silver Porsche GT2 smiled and waved at her. His silver hair swayed in the winter breeze as he tipped his dark sunglasses.

"Hey Kagome! You need a ride or something?" he said cheerfully.

"Don't I ever! The next bus won't be here for another twenty minutes," she replied while settling herself inside the vehicle.

"Where to?" Inuyasha asked as he drove.

"The mall. I need a new pair of gloves. My fingers were freezing ever since they were torn." Kagome pouted.

Kagome knew what was coming when Inuyasha's right eye twitched. "What? No candy hearts? No cute little red and white teddy bears? No . . . valentine cards?" He laughed at the last suggestion when Kagome gave him a small smack on the arm.

"Come on, Inuyasha! That is so elementary school." She giggled.

He gave her his trademark grin. "Yeah well you're not the most mature person I've come across."

"Shut up! And you are?" she retorted back with a teasing tone.

"Yep!" Inuyasha puffed up his chest a little, making Kagome laugh.

Inuyasha parked in one of the farthest parking spaces from the mall since it was already filled with anxious shoppers.

As they walked to the entrance, Kagome said, "Well somebody seems happy today."

"Can't help it when there are red and pink everywhere," he replied, smiling.

"Oh really? So the grumpy Inuyasha finally turned over a new leaf?"

"Not likely."

"Tell me. Why are you so cheerful?"

Inuyasha hesitated a bit before answering. "Well . . . Kikyo's gone to visit her relatives so she won't be back in town until Monday," he said with a smile though Kagome could tell it was fake.

Kagome said sympathetically, "Another fight?"

Her companion's smile was lost completely when he answered, "Yeah but it's her own fault! I swear that girl needs more high maintenance than my car and you know how much I spent on it to keep it in tip top shape." Kagome listened as he continued. "And now I have to buy a present for her and knowing her, she probably wants something like a hundred designer dresses." His hands flew to his head in frustration and anger.

Kagome patted Inuyasha on the arm and gave him a half smile to get him to calm down. "You're exaggerating." He growled and stuffed his hands in his pockets before retorting, "Well maybe just a bit."

She replied as they entered the mall, "It's what? Like the twentieth fight in the last week? If you're not happy with her then why are you two still together? It isn't fair to either of you to keep being a couple and pretend that nothing's wrong."

"I wish I could, Kagome." Inuyasha held her hand that was still on his arm. "But she's the daughter of my dad's associate who owns a big company on the other side of the city. Dad's hoping to get a good deal out of him by having me continue dating Kikyo. I know he's gonna give me hell if I object. He made it clear to me when he threatened to cut off my allowance and driving privileges."

"But hey," Inuyasha's face brightened, "it's gonna be Valentine's Day and it gives me an excuse to buy YOU something." Kagome shifted uneasily. He knew that she fell uncomfortable when he bought her gifts, especially since they were fairly expensive.

"Inuyasha..." Kagome gave him a look that he understood so well.

He waved his hands in front of his face. "All right fine, Kagome. I promise. I won't buy you anything expensive." `Even though you deserve it,' he thought. Out loud he said, "Too expensive that is." With that he ran off before she could protest.

Kagome shook her head with a grin before heading off in the opposite direction. Sometimes her best friend had more mood swings than she did. She chuckled before saddening a bit. `Lately Inuyasha's been so angry and sad. I know he's been arguing with Kikyo a lot. He's also been trying so hard to reason with his father.'

Inuyasha and she were best friends since elementary school in grade three. Now sophomores at a local high school, they weren't as close anymore with extracurricular activities, having different classes, more homework and in Inuyasha's case, relationships, cutting their time together short. Recently it seemed that every time they did get to talk to each other, Inuyasha would complain about his girlfriend in one way or another. Kikyo and he had been together for about six months now.

In the beginning, Inuyasha had appeared to be happy with Kikyo. He had no problems as far as she was concerned since Kikyo was the most popular girl in the school and he was on the popular guys list. They were dubbed as "the perfect couple". Pretty soon, Kikyo started demanding things, expensive things from Inuyasha. He didn't mind buying things for somebody he cared about, like Kagome, but asking for things every day was far beyond ridiculous. Not to mention that he was already frustrated with keeping his mouth shut every time she insulted him.

Kagome sighed as she went into a store labeled, "Fab's Wear" and looked at a pair of leather gloves. It was far too expensive for her tastes so she continued to browse through the selections.

Kagome's blue-gray eyes saddened a bit when she thought of Inuyasha and Kikyo's relationship. She had had a crush on her best friend for years before realizing that it was never meant to be. Inuyasha only saw her as his best friend, somebody to depend on, somebody to have fun with. She had no problem with that but at the time, she had wanted something more. When Inuyasha had first dated Kikyo, Kagome cried numerous times before telling herself to move on. She had never told him because she couldn't risk her friendship with him and his relationship with Kikyo. As time went by, Kagome had gradually come to accept having only Inuyasha's friendship in return. That was enough for her. She had no more feelings other than a love for a friend towards him now or so she thought. . .

When Inuyasha first dated Kikyo, she had doubts about their relationship. Kagome herself had encountered with Kikyo before and to say that she didn't like her at all was an understatement. Kagome had given the girl the benefit of the doubt, trusting that Inuyasha made his choice wisely. But when he started to complain, Kagome had bitter thoughts towards Kikyo and finding herself questioning her feelings towards her best friend. Did she still have feelings for him or were they just feelings of concern?

A familiar sight flashed in the corner of her vision. Was it her imagination or did she just spot a few strands of silver hair?

She shrugged. Probably her imagination.

Kagome did not find a pair of gloves that she liked so she left the store. She checked her watch. It was five in the evening and she promised her mom that she would be home by six.

Not catching a glimpse of silver hair in a crowd of dark heads, Kagome called Inuyasha on her cell phone. He did not answer. `Probably too much in thought. Nahh!' she thought with amusement. Kagome left a message for Inuyasha instead, telling him that she was going to go home by herself.

A familiar voice caused her to turn around as she headed for the exit. "Kagome! Wait up!"

"Kouga! It's good to see you. What's up?" Kagome said with a smile.

"Nothing much. So do you need a ride home?" Kouga gave her his grin that was guaranteed to have girls swoon at his feet.

"I was going to take the bus, but I'll take up your offer," she said, walking towards the parking lot. Apparently his grin worked on every girl BUT her.

`Oh well, if there's one thing I'm good at, it's persistence,' he thought, leading her to his midnight blue Jaguar XK.

The drive to the Sunset Shrine, her home, was a comfortable one, with Kouga and Kagome tossing jokes at each other, a break from Kouga's persistence in making Kagome `his woman'.

Kagome thanked Kouga and went inside her house and said a greeting to her mother, brother and grandfather before helping with dinner.

She was going to channel surf after dinner and watch movies till midnight since it was Saturday night.

Dinner was filled with the usual hearty conversations with her mother asking way too many questions about her nonexistent love life.

Just as she was about to plop down on the couch, prepared to watch any movie that involved action, adventure and romance, the doorbell rang. Sighing, Kagome got up and opened the door, only to find no one there.

Her eyes widened however at the sight of a beautiful bright red silk bag at her doorstep with a real white rose and a note tied to it with a white ribbon. Making sure that nobody was watching her, Kagome took the bag and closed her door. Plopping down on the couch, Kagome read the beautifully written calligraphy:

Dear Kagome,
There are no words that can describe the deepest feelings I have for you.
You must know that the love I have in my mind, heart and soul are true.
I think about you constantly, my heart aches whenever you're not near.
You're my everything, my hope, my comfort, my love, my fear.
Why you ask? Because I'm too afraid to announce my emotions.
Please accept this rose and this present as a token of my affections.
You have the purity of a dove,
With all my love.

It took a moment before the message finally sank into Kagome's head. She opened the bag to reveal the leather gloves she was looking at earlier. For the rest of the evening, she could not concentrate on the movie she had chosen, for the question in her mind was bothering her:

Who WAS her secret admirer?

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