InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ I'm Teaching Myself To Dream ❯ Fear of Feeling ( Chapter 9 )

I'm Teaching Myself To Dream

Disclaimer: Don't own Inuyasha, Takanaka, or any of the songs, lyrics, music. All songs are work done by geniuses who I think are awesome, so please don't sue me… I WON THE LOTTTERY! Well, not the actual lottery… more like the scratch cards you get at a deli or grocery store or those nifty little vending machines… and it wasn't like winning a million jackpot… it was only like… $2.37…But that's still good! … Right? -___- Just read the next chapter…

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I'm Teaching Myself To Dream

Chapter 9: Fear of Feeling

I still believe...I still believe...

{The scene becomes almost completely black… The music and voices are completely gone…complete silence… All you see is two silhouetted figures of faces mere millimeters apart…before the scene blacks out entirely and the dream has come to an end…}

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Kagome woke up with a startled gasp on the dark green living room couch (they don't really have furniture that matches the house). Sitting up, she tried to keep her heartbeat down to a normal speed and her heavy breathing to a moderate pace. Pulling a hand up to heart to try and help slow it down, she glanced up towards the sky and began to glare at any and all gods ever imagined and started to curse at them mentally.

"This is so not funny." She thought out loud.

Taking in a deep breath she looked out through the screen door.

It wasn't night, but it wasn't dawn. The sun hadn't begun to rise, and the moon was probably at the very edge of the horizon behind her. The sky was a deep, dark gray, as if it were going to rain. And the blue, greenish-gray ocean waves were slowly washing up to the shore. She took a deep breath of the ocean-fresh scent that was always guaranteed to calm her nerves.

She turned her head towards the TV. Kagome's bags were still on the floor, untouched. Up on the entertainment system shelf sat a digital clock that read 4:09.

"Great." Kagome sarcastically said to herself rubbing her forehead with the palm of her other hand while the first was still trying to calm her heart. She closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind of the memories from the dream…

`Nope,' she thought sadly. `Not working.'

She plopped herself backwards back down onto the couch in one swift, solid motion, still with her hands on her forehead and heart.

She laid there for a few minutes, rubbing her forehead trying to ease a headache that was coming. She opened one, the one closest to the clock, and glanced at the entertainment system.

`4:11.' Kagome thought closing her eye. `Well, great. This is going no where.'

She took a heavy sigh and removed her hands from her heart and forehead. She wasn't tired anymore. Now that the memories from the dream plagued her mind, she couldn't fall back asleep. She closed her eyes and tried her hardest to fall asleep. She waited with her eyes closed, praying to either fall asleep or for the sun to come up, which ever came first.

When she couldn't take it anymore, she slowly opened the same eye and looked at the clock…4:11. It was as if she thought the clock would magically skip an hour or two within three seconds…

"Ugh." Kagome groaned. "I do not need this." She told herself, bringing her hands up to cover her face, and bringing them down again.

She blinked a few times, just to get whatever grogginess or sleep that was left in her out. She slowly sat up and just sat.

Sitting there quietly she listened to the rhythmic sound of the waves gently crashing into the sandy shore, a sound that always soothed her. She quietly stood up at the side of the bed and stretched.

Once she had gotten satisfied with her stretching routine, she walked into the kitchen and up the stairs, quiet all the way as to not make a sound. She quietly slipped into her room.

She hadn't even realized how tired she was yesterday. She was so set on doing everything again, seeing her friends, surfing, and the usual stuff that she hadn't even really noticed how she tried to pack everything in the first day. And all she did yesterday was fall asleep on the couch…

She hadn't even gotten out of her clothes or seen her room yet…

It was small, but Kagome didn't care. It was blue (DUH) with a bed, TV, VCR, phone, desk, stereo, and pretty much anything else that an average teenager would have. The queen-sized bed with white sheets and a blue comforter matched the walls and the ocean that was in perfect view out of Kagome's window. The window went out to her little "balcony", or so everyone called it. When actually, all it did was have a small space of roof and rain gutter underneath it. But the little space of roof and rain gutter was all people needed to step outside the window, onto the larger portion of the black roof, and have front-row seats to the beach, ocean, and sometimes even a glorious sunset.

Kagome slowly walked over to the window and rested her elbows on the sill, staring out at the big blue ocean. She sighed before opening the window all the way and letting the salty fresh scented breeze flow into the room. She inhaled the scent deeply, taking in its comforting fragrance. She stared sullenly at the horizon for just a few more seconds before taking a step back and walking to her closet.

She opened the closet doors to find a very messy, unorganized mess of clothes anywhere but on the hangers.

`I thought I cleaned this last time…' She thought.

Kagome groaned inwardly before tossing numerous clothes items onto the floor behind her, in search of something to wear. When she had found something to run in (a sports watch, gray jacket, black tank top, gray drawstring sweatpants, and some sneakers), she took off her clothes, leaving her bathing suit on for later (she was just going to put it back on later that day), and got dressed. She didn't bother putting all the clothes back in (obviously she wasn't as determined as Miroku ^_______________^), she thought she would put them back in later.

She threw them on her bed, in one large, lumpy pile, before exiting her room. She tiptoed down the stairs, careful not to make Leo stir if he wasn't already awake, and went into the kitchen. As she reached the kitchen, she looked down the hallway of the guest bedroom and Leo's room, only to find a quiet, peaceful corridor. She stepped back into the kitchen and headed towards the fridge.

The fridge, microwave, toaster, stove, and all other appliances were white, while the table was stained clear leaving it's natural oak color. The white tiled floor made the table stick out the most, and it was the first thing you saw when you came in. The cupboards were white, along with the drawers and the stainless-steel sink was right below a window that gave you a beautiful view of the dock in the backyard.

Kagome quietly walked over to the junk-drawer, which was conveniently placed by the fridge. She opened it up and searched for a pen. When she found one, she looked for a piece of paper of any kind. When she discovered some pink post-it notes hidden at the bottom underneath the numerous bottle caps, rubber bands, and clothes pins, she ripped one off and slapped it gently on the fridge. She set the unused post-it notes back in the drawer and let the automatic closing springs installed in the drawers do the task for her. As she heard the drawer shut with a small thud, she had already been writing her note to Leo:

Leo,

Went for a run at 4:23. Be back in an hour or two, don't make breakfast, I'll pick some up.

Kag

She opened the drawer once again and carelessly dropped the pen back into it's original spot. She walked over to the stairs to the sliding double-screened doors located to the left of them and gently slid it open. Stepping out onto the small wooden deck that was exactly under the one roof Kagome always liked to sit on, she closed the door gently behind her. Standing on the deck, she stared out at the gray sky and the bluish mass of water that seemed to be everywhere anymore.

Feeling the small breeze wave her hair in her face, it reminded her of the dream.

Giving a heavy sigh, she crossed her arms and frowned.

`This is so not funny anymore.' She told the ocean in her mind. `I mean, it was bad enough before, and I thought it was really bad, but this…' She trailed off seeing images of her and him from the dream. `This is insane. I can't keep doing this…I'm sick and tired of being the stupid school girl with a crush…' She rubbed her arms staring out at the blue water. `This is just pathetic, how much more am I supposed to take?…How much more CAN I take?…How can I get so worked up about a guy like him? I'm so sick of this!' She let out another very unhappy sigh and shrugged her shoulders.

She walked off to the small set of steps that led to the little stone path way which conveniently led to the front of the house, or to the dock. Taking the path that led to the front of the house she zipped her jacket, shivering slightly from the morning air.

`Well,' She thought. `I'll just think about it when I run. What's a better medicine for this than a run with the ocean?' She asked herself as she made it to the front of the house and headed down the drive way to the street. Taking a left towards the dead end sign, she headed towards the section of the beach that was usually deserted until about noon when the local surfers finally woke up and saw the waves.

Walking down the street she started to jog. Then her jog got faster, and faster, until it was in a full out run.

^_^

Man, was she tired.

Running for an hour along the sandy beach, Kagome was just about ready to call it quits. The morning air didn't seem so chilly any more. The sky was still gray, but it was getting brighter. Slowing down to a stroll, she checked her watch.

`5:32.' She read. `About time to get breakfast.'

She wasn't sweating too much, but even if she was, she wasn't in the mood to care about what people thought. Besides, the store she was going to wouldn't care how sweaty or smelly she was…okay, maybe they'd care about the latter one, but not he the first one so much. Anyway, she was still a native-born Hawaiian surfer girl, and before him and the whole `superstar thing', people could've cared less about the way she acted. Now everything was "Don't do that!" or"It'll ruin your reputation!" Or even"You need a new image!" Even on her vacation, Takanaka and Sheryl lectures stayed in her mind. Kagome definitely needed to get out more…

She started to walk toward the parking lot of the beach, and then headed for the road. All the while thinking of a topic that she had pushed from her mind the entire hour she ran…

"Okay." She told herself. "What can I do to get him out of my head?" She asked herself. Kagome walked along the empty streets, only seeing a car pass by once in awhile. With her hands in the pockets of her jacket. "I could…" She thought hard, slightly biting her lip. "I don't know, what could I do?" Kagome asked herself, oblivious to how weird she sounded talking to herself, even if no one could hear her.

She walked along the road thinking of any possible way to get over him. It wasn't supposed to be this hard…

Remembering all the scenes and the images from the dream, she couldn't help but think that maybe this was a sign or something. But she always pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind. No matter how much she believed in fate, destiny, serendipity, and that everything happens for a reason, she wouldn't let this count.

Yet they looked so happy in the dream, and so peaceful, and at the end, they almost…

"Woah." Kagome instantly stopped walking and put her hands in front of herself. "Don't go there Kagome." She told herself. "Think of something else."

And she did. The first image that came to her mind, was the last day she ever saw him. The day the well closed up, the day they had a fight, and the day that would never leave her memory. She saw him two years ago, right before "the big sit". He had the smuggest damn grin, and almost an evil, antagonizing look in his eyes. The eyes were taunting, teasing, telling her that she wasn't Kikyo, telling her that she wasn't as good as her, telling her she'd never be anything like "the great Kikyo" that he once loved…

She slowly crossed her arms and started to walk very, very slowly towards town.

"I don't even know how I could've fallen for a guy like him…" She said sadly. "Where did I get the idea he felt anything for me?" Images of the dream flashed before her eyes. "Heh, that damn dream means nothing." Kagome said unhappily reaching the "Welcome To Oahu Square" sign. "Just the gods haunting me…" She thought out loud.

She continued walking slowly towards the store, passing a palm tree here or there. There weren't any cars around except for a few parked in the numerous parking lots. The wind calmed down, and the sun was just starting to show through the horizon. When her feet left the soggy grass for the cement sidewalk, she started to feel better. It was the first time she had been home in ages…

The arcade was still at the start of this street, followed by the pizzeria, the bakery, some thrift shops, and the local surf shop, randomly placed on the two sides of the street. At the end of this street, you could turn right or left. If you turned right, the street would be filled with restaurants, bars, and pubs. And at the very end of that street was a restaurant that was right next to the beach, The Seaside Café, known to be the fanciest restaurant in town. It had a deck that went over the ocean about fifteen feet, and it had a very beautiful view of the sunset.

If you were to turn left, there would be souvenir and gift shops, places to get your pictures developed, a mall, one Wal-Mart, one McDonalds and Burger King, an ice-cream shop, and more places to turn. If you turned onto a few more roads, then you would be heading for another section of the beach, the section where it was usually crowded with tourists and visitors. Where the lifeguards went on duty, and the swimming sections were marked off so they didn't get in the way of boats.

Also on the road she was currently on, is Carmen's Coffee Shop, which was owned by none other than Carmen Anderson, a forty-year single mother of one. She and her husband divorced a year a year ago when Kagome had just become a celebrity. Her husband moved to New York City studying psychology, and is currently dating some writer. When Kagome was still an average small-town surfer girl, she and all her friends hung out there. They'd fill in whenever her employees got sick or had to leave, and helped out whenever she needed it. Especially when Carmen needed a baby-sitter, and because she had to bring him to work sometimes, she needed someone to look after her son for awhile. All the girls thought that her two year-old son Jorin (Jory for short), was the cutest thing, and almost never turned down a chance to play with him. In return Carmen was counted as one of the only adults the teenagers liked, and Carmen gave them a lot of free coffee. Carmen had long brown, frizzy hair, that was usually in a ponytail with hazel eyes. And everyone could only picture her in jeans, a tee shirt, and a "Carmen's Coffee Shop" apron, because that's the only way they knew her.

As Kagome passed the coffee shop, and saw the "closed" sign hung on the door, she thought she should stop in later. But right now she was on her way to the grocery store. There were a few grocery stores in town, but there was really only one that mattered. It wasn't even a grocery store really, it was too small. The store or whatever it was, was called Mrs. DeSanto's Deli.

Mrs. DeSanto, or Mrs. D, was a 49 year-old widow (she kept her husband's name after he died), who was overweight (enough to be Mrs. Claus) and owned the grocery store everybody bought food from, hence the name Mrs. DeSanto's Deli. Kagome and her friends were always broke, being the lazy surfer people with temporary jobs, and Mrs. D was the kind of person who would always give them discounts and things for free out of the goodness of her heart. She was another of the few adults the surfers liked. Mrs. D had long, brown frizzy hair, big, metal rimmed glasses, and she was known for her ridiculously long red, manicured, finger nails. But overall, she was one of the nicest people in Oahu…also one of the most stubborn…

The deli/mini grocery store was only down the block from the coffee shop, yet another plus as to why everyone went to Mrs. D's deli.

As she neared the deli, it was the only building on the street that had it's lights on, which didn't really matter because stores would be opening soon, and the sun was halfway up the horizon, giving the sky pinkish colors. She passed the windows that showed food, drinks, medicine, magazines, newspapers, and any other thing for sale in the deli. She didn't see anyone at the register through the window, nor did she see any customers in the store. She reached the double glass doors and was about to open one when she heard some groans and grunts coming from the alley to the right of the deli. Kagome instantly focused all her attention towards the alley and started walking over to where the sounds were coming from.

^_^

"And…Checking in… Five… Forty-five… and… Thirty-two seconds…" A young man with brown hair and brown eyes said to himself in a sing-song voice, in the dark, back storage room of Mrs. DeSanto's Deli. When he had put the card with his name in the "IN" slot and marked off what time he checked in, he walked over to the corner to get his apron by the open exit.

The young man was very attractive, a little taller than average, and lean. His brown hair was just a little longer than what most guys usually have, and it almost made him look a little like "shaggy style", but in a good way.

"Eric? You here yet?" A feminine voice from outside the open "EXIT" door called.

"Yeah Mrs. D, I just checked in. I'm heading out to the register now." Eric grabbed his apron off the hook and stuck his head out the door to see Mrs. D standing in the middle of the alley next to an abandoned truck full of a bunch of boxes. She was wearing an apron of her own, heels, and a long pink dress. "Whatcha doin'?" He asked with a smile, making him even more attractive.

"Oh, don't mind me, I'm just gonna unload all these boxes, they're the new order of desserts and ice-cream." She said.

"In heels?" Eric asked glancing at her high heels and tying on his apron at the same time.

"Honey, these are nothing." Mrs. D said pointing to the boxes.

"You want some help?" He asked heading for the box closest to the edge.

"Naw, I'm fine. You go inside and work the register. I'll be fine out here." She waved him away going towards the truck.

"You sure you don't want some help?" He asked concerned about this lady who was two feet shorter than he was, in heels with extremely long nails, and was convinced she could unload an entire truck of ice cream by herself.

"Please." Mrs. D laughed. "I'm not that old, I'll be fine. You go inside and buy yourself a soda while you wait for the customers to come." She said stubbornly.

"Alright." Eric said putting his hands up in the air to signal defeat as he started walking back to the door.

"Close that door will ya, Eric? I don't want that open. Somebody might try to sneak in or something." Mrs. D told him as he stood in the doorway.

"Sure." He said, though thinking there wasn't any real reason why he should, no one would want to sneak in. "I'm inside if you need help." He said as he walked back into the storage room.

Mrs. D just gave a small laugh as if to say "As if" before walking to the edge of the truck and started to pick up a box.

Eric entered the dark storage room, closing the door behind him, and passed the small white clock on the wall above the check in/out box. He opened the door to the actual deli, to find a well-lit room, filled with hundreds of products in the majority of the room, and a small register squashed into a small section.

Outside the deli, was a pinkish colored sky, and dark buildings on the other side of the street. Despite the fact that he got up every morning around five to come work at Mrs. D's Deli, no one was ever around this early to actually buy-

'Hello…What's this?'

He was still standing in the doorway leading from the storage room to the deli when he saw someone outside.

`No one's outside at this hour. Who'd get up this early?' He thought.

He just stared in an unusual kind of awe and fascination at this person who was clearly crazier than he was to get up this early on a Saturday. But the person in gray outside seemed to be totally focused on something to her right and started to walk in that direction.

He didn't realize who she was until he saw her face clearly from the light.

He just stood there, with his jaw dropped slightly, hand still on the door handle, staring at the girl who had just disappeared from view as she turned the corner.

It took him about two minutes to regain composure, blink a few times, and get his jaw back in order. But when he did, he walked over to the register's counter and sat it in the metal chair behind it. He just sat leaning his arms on the counter staring at the food aisles blankly, before shaking his head.

"Naw." He thought aloud. "That couldn't be her." He said sadly, leaning back in his chair still shaking his head. "Couldn't be…Kagome doesn't get back until Christmas…" He glanced back at the doors, half expecting to see her there again, but knowing it was a very slim chance. He bit the inside of his cheek thoughtfully, staring at the building across the street that had just turned its lights on. "Can't be Kagome…" He repeated. "Couldn't be… Could it?" He asked himself hopefully.

^_^

Kagome cautiously walked over to the alley and looked in. Mrs. D was in a pink dress, her usual apron, and…heels?

`There's something you don't see everyday.' Kagome thought. `A forty year-old woman unloading a truck full of boxes in heels.' She shook her head smiling. `Of course,' she hesitated. `She's got about half of those boxes unloaded…And really, I don't see her everyday…' Kagome tilted her head in annoyance as she spoiled her own little joke thing. `Come on, Kagome.' She thought. `You're home, don't depress yourself anymore than you already are…'

She looked back at Mrs. D, who was still oblivious to the fact that a famous celebrity was standing right behind her. Kagome sighed quietly and had to stop herself from laughing. She had almost forgotten how Mrs. D was. She could always be described in three words. Yes, there were a million words to describe her, but these three always did it best.

Kind

Stubborn

Oblivious…To…Well, pretty much everything…

But that's just what made Mrs. D… Mrs. D. Kagome quietly walked up to her until she was

only two feet away from the old woman struggling to lift an exceptionally heavy box off the truck.

Kagome calmly and cheerfully asked:

"Need any help?"

"Ugh." Mrs. D grunted. "No thanks Kagome, dear. I'm fine." Mrs. D said as she continued struggling to move the box. She was making some slow progress and had actually succeeded in picking up the box and lifting it into the air.

Kagome tried her hardest not to burst out laughing at her, and didn't make a sound. Instead, she mentally counted down until Mrs. D realized who she was.

`5…4…3…2-` She was only one second early.

"OH DEAR GOD!" Sudden realization hit Mrs. D on impact and she dropped the box. Luckily Kagome's reflexes had quickened in the past few years, and she caught the box along

with Mrs. D easily. Mrs. D literally shoved the box back into the truck (which wasn't going to make things easy getting it out again) and turned wide-eyed to Kagome.

Kagome just stood looking at her smiling before imitating the singsong voice used by the little girl in Poltergeist.

"I'm ba-ack." She said happily.

"Aah!" Mrs. D cried with joy as she lunged for Kagome, squeezing her tight in one of the "old-lady-grandma-hugs."

Kagome's breath caught in her throat as the tiny woman's arms started cracking her spine and crushing her lungs.

"*gasp* Mrs.-*gasp*" Kagome tried to speak but to no avail.

Mrs. D tightened her arms around the poor teenage girl spilling out thousands of happy sentences such as "You're back!" and "This is so unexpected!" and "What a wonderful surprise!"

"Mrs. D…*gasp* Can't…*bigger gasp*" Kagome tried again.

"Oh! Dear!" Mrs. D finally realized how tight she had been holding her and quickly took a step back, removing her arms. "I'm sorry, Kagome. It's just so wonderful to have you back!" Mrs. D smiled.

Kagome took in long deep breaths until she was finally able to form a sentence again. Or a small sentence at least…

"Same here." Kagome said happily.

"I don't understand. The last time any of us heard from you, you said you wouldn't be able to take a vacation until Christmas." Mrs. D said confused.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. Takanaka let me take off for a month and come home. I wouldn't be here though if it weren't for Leo. He talked Takanaka and my publicist into giving me a break. It was kind of short-notice and we don't really want a lot of press. I just want a regular, normal vacation at home." Kagome explained.

Mrs. D just stared happily at Kagome. "Look at you Kagome, dear. Our small-town surfer girl… Singing in New York City, running from the press and crazy fans, and signing autographs." She sighed happily.

"Heh," Kagome chuckled a little. "It's not really all that it's cracked up to be." Kagome scratched the back of her head thoughtfully.

"Well, either way." Mrs. D said happily. "It's nice to have you and Leo home." She said. "Have you seen anyone else yet?" She asked.

"No. We planned to go surfing today, and see everybody then. I just came by on my way back from my run to pick up some breakfast." Kagome explained.

"Well, you go right in and help yourself." Mrs. D offered as she started to remove boxes from the truck again.

"Thanks." Kagome said as she started to walk towards the closed door before turning around. "You sure you don't need any help?"

Mrs. D sighed. "What is this?" She joked. "All teenagers today, they see me and must think "Oh! A little weak old lady! Mercy me! She needs help unloading boxes! She needs help crossing the street! She must need help washing her dentures!" She crossed her arms. "I may be old, but I'm not THAT old."

Kagome laughed a little. "Alright, but if you need help, I'm inside." She started to open the door when she stopped and turned back to Mrs. D. "Wait, did you say `all teenagers'? As in plural?"

"Oh yes! That's right! You don't know!" Mrs. D once again left the boxes alone and turned her focus on Kagome.

"Don't know what?" Kagome asked.

"While you were away, Miles, you know Miles, Miles who used to work here-Miles? Well, Miles broke his leg and moved into a retirement home." She explained, using her hand motions to express her point…waving her hands around in the air as she rambled on was another thing she was famous for. "I told him to be careful with that ladder when he was fixing my sign, but does he listen to me? Nooooo! The old coot falls off the ladder and breaks his leg in three places. I had to call the hospital, they sent an ambulance…Gave me such a fright-" She continued babbling on until Kagome stopped her.

"Mrs. D!" Kagome interrupted.

"Yes dear?" She stopped, hands still in the air in the middle of a motion.

"What don't I know?" Kagome asked calmly.

"Oh! That's right! I'm sorry dear! I get a little sidetracked sometimes, but you know that already." She apologized. "Anyway, I needed to hire new help. I wanted to hire someone that was strong enough to do the hard work-"

"Like moving boxes?" Kagome interrupted, nodding pointedly at the truck.

"Yes! I mean…" She folded her arms and gave Kagome a pointed look while Kagome just smiled. "As I was saying, I wanted to hire some young people. Anyway, I found I only need one person to help. I hired your friend Eric, in fact he's in there now at the register, so you two can catch up if a little if you're not in a hurry." Mrs. D said.

"Eric?" Kagome asked disbelieving. "Eric Olsen?"

"Yes, I hired him sometime ago, it's been here a few months now. He needed money and I needed help. Now, go along, get your food, and enjoy your vacation." Mrs. D said, once again, resuming her duty to unload the numerous boxes.

Kagome stood there for a few more seconds, still recovering from shock of Eric working at the deli, before turning back to Mrs. D.

"Thanks for the food." She said as she turned the handle of the door.

"No problem!" Mrs. D called into the storage room. "Just as long as you come and visit often!" Mrs. D said.

Kagome nodded before shutting the door and disappearing from Mrs. D's view.

Mrs. D sighed happily before going back to the task at hand…

Suddenly, after seeing after all those boxes in the truck again, especially that very heavy one that she worked so hard to lift far, far away in the back, she didn't feel very happy…

"Maybe I should've taken them up on their offer…"

^_^

Kagome closed the door behind her as she walked through the dark, crowded storage room. On the wall to her left was a small, white clock, and the "Check IN/OUT" box. She looked at the names on the "IN" column.

`Mrs. DeSantos… Eric…Olsen…' She thought.

Yep, Eric was here all right. She couldn't picture him working at the deli, she hadn't seen him in a long time. She always figured that he would work somewhere, just not here… He wasn't the kind of person who was like… Jake for example…

Jake…Yet another one of the surfer people, shared an apartment with all his buddies including Eric, and he never paid rent (which caused him to get yelled at a lot by the guys), and he was a total beach bum. He was a party animal, who thought all problems could be solved with beer, and you could almost always expect to find him lying in a ditch somewhere after a party with a hangover and booze breath. He had brown hair, green eyes, he wasn't really lean, but not scrawny either. His skin was always tan from excess sun and lack of sunscreen, and he was tall for his age. No one really thought he'd ever amount up to anything. He'd just go on living his life as a surfer, but everyone stuck by him, despite his bad habits.

Eric wasn't like that, he was the opposite. He was nice and friendly (Jake was usually to drunk to actually be nice), and actually paid rent. He loved the ocean just as much as she did, and one thing that Kagome always liked best about him was his sense of humor. There wasn't really any reason why she didn't think Eric would work at the deli. That's why she didn't know why it was such a shock to her.

She walked up to the door that connected the back room to the deli. It was a brown metal door with a very small, square window at the top, about the size of someone's head. She peeked in the window to find a very bright store empty. She looked to the left to find the register alone. She scanned the aisles quickly, looking to see if he was there. Then she saw him.

Standing in front of the refrigerated glass windows that held all the drinks. He was picking out a soda or something, she couldn't really tell what he was looking at from her point of view.

He pulled out a bottle of Mountain Dew, and untwisted the cap while walking over to the register. Kagome quickly stepped out of view when he passed her to go sit at the seat behind the register. He sat down and grabbed a magazine that was conveniently sitting on the counter. He leaned back in his chair, opened up the magazine and began to read.

Kagome just stood there looking at him for a few more seconds, trying to remember the last time she'd seen him…or anyone from Oahu for that matter… It felt like ages, when really, she had been home in February for her birthday.

He didn't look any different than he did the last time she saw him, he was pretty much the same guy. His personality probably didn't change either. He was just Eric Olsen, another nice, friendly surfer of Oahu, Hawaii. The romantic guy with a sense of humor and a lot of fan girls.

Kagome laughed a little at the memories that came flooding back to her. Eric would always have hundreds of girls chasing him around and somehow she and Leo were always involved with the many love triangles, blind dates, and breakups. They never really figured out how they became involved…just another one of the mysteries of life they guessed…

Kagome decided that she should go in. But somehow it didn't feel right to just walk in…even if this was her hometown, and this deli was like another home to her, and she knew that no one would mind if she did just walk in. She just felt like a total outsider. So, she did what any outsider would do at a door. Knock.

She knocked gently three times, in a slow, steady rhythm still keeping out of view while being able to see Eric.

Eric was in the middle of reaching for the bottle when he heard the knock. He froze and looked at the door confused, unsure if he had actually heard anything. If he did hear a knock, who would be knocking? Mrs. D definitely wouldn't knock to come in her own deli, unless something happened and the door locked itself, but that never happened before.

He leaned to the side a bit to see if anyone was peering through the small window, but saw no one. He squinted his eyes to see if he could make anything out and once again, saw nothing and no one. He knew he heard something. He sighed a little and then leaned back in his seat returning to his magazine. He turned the page before reaching for his soda.

"Come in." He said calmly. If anyone knocked, then they would come in. If no one was there and he was being paranoid…well, no one was there to see it now were they?

Kagome heard him say something. She couldn't hear his voice exactly through the door but she thought she saw his lips move to something along the lines of "come in." Then she saw him lean back in his seat, flip the page of his magazine and grab his soda.

She took in a deep breath as she watched him bring the soda to his lips. As he tilted it upward to get the last bit out, Kagome slowly turned the handle.

Eric didn't really pay attention to the person in the open doorway. He just concentrated on getting the last bit of his soda out.

Kagome just stood in the doorway, hand still on the handle watching Eric with a strange kind of amusement as he tried to get the remaining Mountain Dew out.

"Hey." She said calmly.

Eric's brain froze.

`That voice…' He thought. Eric darted his eyes towards the door to find the exact person he had been thinking of…Kagome.

"K-SPLLLLLLLLLLLLFFFFFFFFFFFSSSSSSSSSSH!" Eric tried to say her name, but still being in the process of drinking Mountain Dew, it ended up being a spit-take…All over the counter.

Kagome raised her eyebrows with a surprised look on her face as she watched Mountain Dew rain down on the counter and floor, spraying the register a little bit.

"Nice to see you too…" Kagome said with a smile as he looked at her with a VERY surprised and confused expression.

"K-Kagome!" Eric stuttered, leaving the sticky soda forgotten. "W-wow! What are you doing here? Not, not that there's a problem with it, but I mean… Why are you here?" He asked, very confused.

"Why I'm in Oahu?" Kagome asked. "Long story, one I'll explain later. Why am I at the deli? To get some breakfast after my run. Why Mrs. D is out in the alley unloading boxes in heels?" She shook her head. "Add that one on to our list `The Mysteries of Life.'"

Eric laughed a little. "Wow." He said with amazement. "It's just so weird having you back…" He said.

"Weird good? Or weird bad?" Kagome said as she gave him a look that clearly said "Say weird bad, and die."

"Neither really, it's just…weird." He leaned back in the chair again, (which was still apparently dry). "Well," He smirked. "Maybe it's leaning a little more to the bad side…" He gave her a boyish smile.

Kagome tilted her head to the side before saying:

"Don't you have some Mountain Dew to clean up?"

Eric's smile vanished as he suddenly remembered the once forgotten soda was still everywhere in sight.

"Oh crap!" He jumped out of his seat and instantly jogged to the corner to get a mop and bucket.

He walked back to the counter, mop and bucket in hand. He starts to mop up the mess on the floor when Kagome goes to the same corner and grabs a blue washcloth. She rinses it out in a utility sink conveniently placed next by the corner before walking back to clean up the counter.

Eric glanced at Kagome without stopping his work.

"You don't have to do that you know, it was my own stupid fault." He said a little sheepishly.

"Nah, it's fine. Besides, I don't think Mrs. D is really going to appreciate a lake of Mountain Dew in her store." Kagome said.

"No, I don't think that'd sit well with her." Eric said reaching in a tight spot in between the wall and counter with the mop.

"Um," Kagome started. "Speaking of her store…since when are you working here?" Kagome asked looking up at him, momentarily stopping her work with the counter.

Eric continued working without looking at her, but said:

"I started around April, a few months after your birthday. Me and the guys were running short on cash, and Jake didn't pay rent for the last few months-surprise, surprise. Anyway, it was around the time Mrs. D was hiring again because Miles' accident, but I guess since you've already seen Mrs. D, you know the story."

"Yeah." Kagome said nodding her head a little. "Unfortunately." She said going back to her work.

"Hmm." Eric smiled. "Anyway, since Chad wasn't about to take the job, and Matt was too obsessed about his dream for professional surfing to become a "deli- worker", so that left me." He said finishing up cleaning the very small puddle.

"Wait, didn't Josh want the job? He's planning to go to law school isn't he?" Kagome asked. "Or did that change too while I was away?" Kagome asked a little sad.

"No, he already had a job, same thing with Mace." Eric said stopping from his work for the first time to look up at her.

"Ah." Kagome said plainly.

"It's so weird having you work here…" Kagome commented.

"Weird good? Or weird bad?" Eric asked with a smug grin.

Kagome stopped scrubbing to look at Eric (who was still mopping).

"Neither really, it's just…weird." She said with a little smirk of her own. "Well," She said. "Maybe it's leaning a little more to the bad side…" She teased.

Eric laughed a little before he and Kagome laughed before going back to their work. Eric let his mind drift off while he mopped.

"No, there's nothing wrong with it…it's just…weird." Weird was the only thing she could describe it as.

`She's back.' He thought. `Maybe…naw, I couldn't…she'd say no…'

"Leo came back with you right?" He asked.

"Yeah." She replied.

"So does he like traveling around with a celebrity?" He asked.

"Hmm, definitely no complaints." She said. "It would've been a lot harder to travel around though if Cirara hadn't moved to Ohio." She said sadly, remembering how hard it was on all of them, especially Leo, when his girlfriend moved away.

"I know." Eric said. "He over it?"

"Yeah. He's pretty good at moving on…" Kagome said.

`Unlike me…' She thought.

"So…how's it being a rock star?" He asked.

"It's okay." Kagome said.

Eric stopped mopping to look at her.

"What?" She asked, a little startled for him to suddenly stop what he had been doing the whole time.

"You mean to tell me…" He said. "That you're the biggest singing sensation on two continents and all you can say about it is that `It's okay'?" He asked while Kagome laughed. "Please tell me there's more to it than that otherwise Matt is going to be disappointed about being famous."

"No, there's more to it. But I just want to tell everybody at once. I figure that's all people are going to be asking me for awhile so I might as well kill a couple hundred birds with one stone by telling everyone at once. Same thing with why I'm here now instead of Christmas…Which reminds me. I kind of have to keep a low profile…I don't think you or Mrs. D would go blabbing to the press…but just to tell you…" She said.

"Wow." He said. "Running from the press and everything. Must be hard to live like that."

"You have no idea." She said with a smile.

She finished wiping up the counter and the small screen of the register that was splashed before walking back to the utility sink. She wrung out the washcloth and laid it over the side to dry.

She walked past the counter to an aisle.

"I'm gonna go find my breakfast." She said starting to feel hungry.

"Alright, done here mopping. Might I suggest that you don't get Mountain Dew for awhile." Eric said rinsing the mop in the bucket for the last time.

"Hmm, good idea." She said as she went over to the cereal aisle. She picked out some Reeses Puffs, one of her favorites, and then walked over to the refrigerated goods to get a gallon of milk.

Eric drained the liquid from the mop in the nifty little strainer thing in the bucket, then went to the corner to put it back. He walked back over to the counter and set up the register.

Kagome walked back to the register, a box of cereal in one hand, and a milk jug in the other.

At the register, Eric was getting a little nervous…

`Just ask her…' He thought. `What's the worst that could happen?' He asked himself as he pretended to be busy with the register. `Besides the fact that'd she'd probably laugh at me and think I was joking…' Somehow the worst-case scenario thing wasn't very comforting.

"Something wrong with the register?" Kagome asked, eyeing Eric nervously playing with the register. She set her things on the counter.

"Uh," Eric said. "No, I fixed it." He lied. "I guess it was just from um, the Mountain Dew incident."

"Oh," Kagome said looking at the register. "I guess that's something you might not want to do again." She looked back at him.

"Yeah…that would be a good idea…" Eric said as he rang up her items. "Kay, that's $5.36." He said.

Kagome took a ten out of her pocket and handed it to him. Eric took the bill and put it in the register, before giving Kagome her change.

"You, uh, want a bag for that or something?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, that'd be good. Thanks." Kagome said.

Eric handed her a plastic bag and Kagome put the items in.

"Well," Kagome said. "I guess I'll see you later today then. You are going surfing later aren't you?" Kagome asked.

"Yeah, I get off around 12:00." He said.

"Okay, I'll see you then." Kagome said as she started to walk for the door.

`Ask her now, ask her now…' He thought.

He glanced up to where she was, halfway to the door.

`Now, ask now…'

"Hey, Kagome…" He started.

Kagome stopped and turned around.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"Um…" He said. "Would you um…"

"Would I…" Kagome echoed slowly.

"Eric?" A feminine voice from the back room called.

Both teenagers turned their heads to the door. A few seconds later Mrs. D opened the door with a defeated look on her face.

"I think I could use some help, dear." She reluctantly told Eric. Eric nodded.

"All right, I'll be out in a minute." He said.

"Thank you, dear." Mrs. D told him before closing the door and heading back out to the alley.

The two didn't talk for the first few seconds after Mrs. D left. But when they did, Kagome was the first to speak.

"So um, you were saying?" She said.

"Oh, yeah. Uh…" He said.

`ASK! Ask her before someone else does!' His mind screamed.

"Um, Would you," He hesitated. "Would you tell Leo I said Hi?" He finally said.

`Coward.' He told himself.

Kagome nodded a little. "Yeah, sure." She smiled a little before turning back around and heading to the doors. She opened them and walked out.

Eric sat in the chair behind the register, tapping his fingers on the counter as he watched her walk down the sidewalk and disappear from view.

He sighed heavily before lowering his forehead down onto the counter and closing his eyes.

`Coward.' He thought again, stopping his fingers from tapping. `Coward, coward, coward.'

"Eric?" Mrs. D called from the back room.

"Coming Mrs. D." He called back.

He lifted his head off the counter and brought a hand up to his forehead and leaned that elbow on the counter thinking.

`Coward… You've liked the girl for years…' He opened his eyes. `Never knew how much until Leo said something about her liking another guy, and now because she's some superstar… You think she'll think lower of you…coward…' He thought once more before getting up to go to the alley and help Mrs. D.

"At least I'll see her later…" He thought out loud.

^_^

"Leo?" Kagome called as she opened the front door. "You awake yet?"

"Yeah." Leo said groggily as he walked of the hallway leading to his room. "Saw the note. Got breakfast?"

"If you call breakfast Reeses Puffs and Milk," Kagome said heading towards the kitchen. "Then yes."

"Great." Leo said, following her. Leo went and grabbed two bowls and two spoons from the cabinets and drawers.

They both sat down at the wooden table and poured their cereal. After adding milk, they both began to eat.

"This still cracks me up." Leo said playing with his spoon.

"What?" Kagome asked stopping momentarily.

"You're the biggest pop star in the country, and you still eat Reeses Puffs for breakfast." Leo said as he pushed his cereal around the bowl.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I'm still the same person. It's not like I'm going to let it go to my head or anything and order crystallized, fresh, non-carbonated, mountain spring water or something and boss around other people…" She said continuing with her eating.

"Okay." Leo said not too believing.

Kagome gave him a look, but let it slide, before changing the subject.

"Did you know that Eric's working at the deli?" Kagome asked without looking up from her cereal.

"Eric?" Leo asked.

"Yeah. I found out when I went to Mrs. D's deli. She was out in the alley unloading boxes in heels-"

"Eric Olsen?" Leo asked again. Kagome nodded. "Dude…That's so weird…"

Kagome was feeling a bit of déjà vu.

"I know, I don't know why I was so shocked. I just never pictured him there." She said.

"Wow." He spaced out a little. "It's gonna be so weird seeing everybody again… In February, yeah you were famous in Hawaii… but now…everyone in the world knows your name…" Leo said with awe.

Kagome took the last bite of her cereal.

"I know…It's not going to be easy explaining everything to everyone and filling them in… (Think how Souta feels ^___^)" She said.

Leo nodded while he finished up his cereal.

Kagome fiddled with her teardrop necklace before sighing. Leo noticed this from across the table and instantly knew she was nervous. Playing with her necklace was always something she did when she was nervous about something.

Kagome wanted to tell Leo about the dream…but she didn't want to tell him. If she told him, it would only make the whole thing seem bigger, and she didn't want that. On the other hand, she told him everything. Well, except for the occasional things like breaking something of his or having a crush on one of his friends…even if it was years ago…

"I think…" Kagome started. "Call me crazy but, I think Eric was going to ask me out at the deli today…" She said with a thoughtful kind of look.

"Hmm?" Leo's spaced out expression left immediately.

`He finally asked her?' Leo asked himself. `About time.'

"Well, he was going to ask me something…then Mrs. D came in and asked him for help. When I asked him what he was going to say, he asked if I could say `hi' to you for him." Kagome tilted her head. "It's stupid I know… but it got me thinking on the way back. Maybe, to get over him," She said with the shudder that Leo could only identify as `The Inuyasha Shudder'. "I could try dating again…" She said.

"Good idea!" Leo said a little too enthusiastically. "I'm sure there are plenty of Einstein-Pokemon fanatics out there!" Leo said with a very big smile on his face.

Kagome gave him a death glare. "You're never going to let me live that down are you?"

"Don't count on it." He said with a smile as he picked up his dishes and put them in the sink.

"Anyway, I don't plan on dating Einstein fans and Pokemon freaks-"

"I hope not." Leo said as he sat back down at the table.

"Like I was saying," Kagome ignored the last comment. "I don't want to date another Hojo, but I don't want to like another…him…" She hesitated. "Um…Do think there's any possibility that… I could date Eric?" She asked. "Any possibility whatsoever?"

Leo wanted to say yes, but that would be jeopardizing his friendship with Eric. He had promised Eric that he wouldn't tell Kagome that he liked her. That had been a loooooooong time ago. Maybe Eric wouldn't mind, but then again, maybe he would… But Kagome might like him back…She hadn't told him that she did, but he guessed that she didn't tell him EVERY single detail of her life…And having a crush on one of his friends might be one of those details…

Leo didn't know how to answer… Say yes and possibly jeopardize his friendship with Eric… Say no and possibly cause problems with Eric and Kagome's relationship, and cause Kagome to waste her entire vacation thinking about Inuyasha-er-him…

"Maybe." He took the safest answer. "I guess there could be a chance."

`Good job, Leo.' He thought.

"How much of a chance?" Kagome asked.

"Not such a good job.' Leo thought.

"Um, a pretty good chance." He said.

`Please just leave it at that.' Leo begged mentally.

Kagome nodded with a thoughtful expression on her face again.

"Eric's shift ends around noon, so I told him that's when we'd go surfing. Can you wait another six hours?" Kagome asked.

Leo inhaled sharply. "I don't know, tough call…" Said joking.

`Wait…call!' Leo remembered.

"I think you'll make it." Kagome smiled.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Leo jumped.

"What?" She asked.

"After you fell asleep, I called your house. Souta had some friends over, and he asked if he could bring them with him."

"What did you say?" She asked.

"I told him they'd have to sleep in the hotel room with him, and I didn't think you'd have a problem with it…You don't have a problem with it do you?" He asked, suddenly a little nervous.

"No, I'm fine with it. (^__^) At least he'll have friends to hang out with when he can't be with us."

"Okay, good." He said.

"Well," Kagome said getting up and heading for the living room. "I'm going to go unpack."

"Oh, I already took your bags up to your room." Leo told her.

"Oh, thanks." She said heading for the stairs. "After I'll probably take a nap too, I didn't sleep too well last night…"

"The couch?" Leo asked.

Kagome hesitated.

`To tell, or not to tell…' She thought, and ended up going for the latter.

"Yeah." Kagome said, not at all convincingly.

Leo watched her go up the stairs with a weird look, but shrugged it off as nothing.

^_^

Kagome sat on her bed next to her suitcases. She sighed deeply then plopped back down on the bed and closed her eyes.

She was tired. But not sleepy-tired, just tired in general. She was tired of attention and publicity. She was tired of living up to everybody else's expectations instead of her own, doing everything everyone else wanted her to do… Tired of having to fight Takanaka and Sheryl to get her way…Tired of pain and heartbreak…Tired of feeling hurt instead of loved…

She didn't want to feel this way for the rest of her life, and she intended to make sure that during this vacation, she wouldn't feel that way…

She slowly sat up and opened the closest suitcase to her. The suitcase wasn't giant, but it wasn't puny either.

When Kagome opened it, she found all the clothes neatly folded and stacked. In the top part of the suitcase was a giant pocket with two smaller pockets with zippers. Kagome slowly unzipped one of them.

She carefully and gently pulled out a small black box of the pocket and laid the box on her lap, fingering it gently.

She turned it over in her hands a few times, taking in the details and remembering the first time she got the box, and what she put inside…

She carefully and slowly opened the box, making sure she didn't spill what was inside. When it was open, she looked in awe at the contents.

Sitting alone in the small black box sat a very beautiful gem. There was only half of the gem, and where the other half was, Kagome knew, but didn't care. The gem was always sparkled, and it sparkled even more from the small sunrays shining through the open window, making the gem even more magical and beautiful. It was something that could capture all of your attention the moment you walked in the room. It was none other than one half of the Shikon No Tama, the Jewel of Four Souls. The four souls being of Love, Friendship, Wisdom, and Courage.

To those who did not know the legend or the history of the gem, it might seem like it was just an ordinary broken half piece of a jewel. But to Kagome it was more than that.

It was a constant reminder that she was a miko, and she had a responsibility as protector of the jewel. It reminded her of all her adventures, her battles, her enemies, and her friends in the feudal era…

Although there weren't any demons in the future that wanted the jewel so far, Kagome took the jewel with her. Not wanting to make the same mistake her soul did 500 some years ago. Even though she carried it with her most of the time, she didn't want to be reminded of everything. That only caused more pain, and she was tired of feeling pain. So she put it into this box. She knew it was in there, but she didn't see it. And not seeing it, helped somewhat.

But now here it was. Sitting right in her lap, as if it were staring straight back at her. She gently picked it up, careful not to drop it especially because there was no string attached to it anymore. Turning it in her fingers, she inspected it. Nothing had changed since the last time she had looked at it, long ago after the well sealed shut.

She put it back in the box, but didn't shut it. Picking the box up off her lap, she carried it over to her dresser. She set the open box on the dresser and pushed it back against the wall. She sighed heavily and stared at the jewel for a few moments. She lifted her hands up to the top of the box.

"It's time," She started. "To say goodbye for good…" She swallowed hard.

`Inuyasha.'

She closed the box gently before turning to her window. She opened the window as wide as it could go, pushed out the screen, and set it gently to the side. She carefully stepped out, and went to the roof or "her balcony" to watch the sun end it's rise and think, not bothering to close the window after her.

Back inside her room, inside the little black box the jewel that always sparkled with magic glowed before it went dull, and the sparkle became barely a shimmer of magic.

Kagome sat on her balcony staring at the horizon.

"I just realized something." She thought out loud to herself, not caring how insane she sounded. "All I can do is refer to him as… him…" She stared down at the roof before looking up at the now blue sky. "The last time I ever said his name…was the last time I cried because of him… I haven't said his name in two years…and even if I tried, I wouldn't be able to…" She sighed sadly. "This is how he's affected my life…" She whispered. "Too afraid to say his name, for fear of feeling the horrible pain again, as soon as the word leaves my lips…"

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

End: AN: I haven't been to Oahu, so I don't what kind of stuff they have there. I read about it, but I don't know what it's really like. I don't really like how ended this chapter, but I'd love to know what everyone else thinks…And the only way for me to know is if you READ, RATE, REVIEW Please! Thanks in advance… Till next time…(KC) kcook220