#kagoe

The sun was already setting on the horizon, leaving on its path a series of reddish -purple stripes of clouds lingering on top of the scraping towers of Tokyo. The city was almost immobile if looked from afar, already swiping its hectic traffics away and leaving the place to the nightly scenery of its chaotic town center and juvenile life. As soon as one left the freeway, though, the suburb area would pop out to welcome the travelers with a tranquil neighborhood and quiet streets. That’s where the local Buddhist temple of the Higurashi family was, a relic of the last generation of priests of the province. Nowadays, only the former family lived there, sometimes providing religious services to the community, but overall the structure turned into a symbolic state of a dismantled old power. And that’s where a flaming red Honda NSX was currently waiting, at the bottom of the long stairway directed to the family residence, just opposite to the temple. Inside, the driver was lightly tapping on the leather wheel, unconsciously following the drums’ rhythm of Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ while trying to make up his mind and get out of the car.

Inuyasha never thought of himself as a hesitant guy. On the contrary, he was one of the most steadfast people of the school, never backing out of a fight nor holding back his sharp tongue for a hasty remark. His bad boy status was what made him so popular in high school, that not a single soul dared to stand up to his feisty attitude. It wasn’t that he was a delinquent per sè, for that there were already too many bullies and stereotypical bitch types in his own life for him to act like one on his own. No, he surely wasn’t anything special: average school life, average private life - if you don’t count the fact his own father and brother were actually pretty powerful demons with powerful mingling with human business - then yeah, he managed just fine. Significantly more now that his position as an apprentice mechanic at Totosai’s Car Saloon was finally paying off the bills, with the first rewarding outcome of his job currently under his own butt. Tessaiga - or, as he liked to call her, Tessy- became an inseparable part of himself as soon as he laid eyes oh her when she was first brought to Totosai’s as a clunker to get pieces from. A little gruff on the outside, some dents here and there, but her unmarred interiors of beige and black leather and the thundering, smooth rumble of the engine spoke volumes of how much more than hot wheels could still do. And Inuyasha could tell that right away that she was speaking to him. So after a little quarrel with said shop owner, and after some negotiations from Inuyasha’s side, he was left in complete charge of the scarlet beauty, on the condition that he would do the reparations by himself, with his own paycheck. Surprisingly enough, he didn’t care that much for that detail, as he finally had his own vehicle for the first time ever, and, after a couple of months’ work, she became alive again.

It was never a mystery for Inuyasha how to fix stuff. Whenever he was given a broken or damaged object, he knew exactly what had to be done, which parts to dismantle, what to throw away, or even which ones had to receive the white-glove treatment. Don’t discard something that could earn back a second chance, his motto was. That spoke volumes for him and for everyone’s else, one of the reasons as for why Totosai was left quite impressed during an interview with the boy when he came to his car garage years ago. 

One could say Inuyasha had a way with tools and machinery. However, when it came to people, that’s when he always hits a slippery slope. If we were to use a term from the area of his expertise, that’s what would “jam his system”. Not a single time he connected with people around him, not at work - although, social relationship was kept at a low rate there, only focusing on the work’s tasks and making some witty remarks when the occasion called for it - and most importantly, not when he would go to spend a scrape of his almost nonexistent philanthropic relationships with people. Usually, the solutions would be either not having a social life at all - but that would mean more harassment from his best friend Miroku - or swallow down the bitter pill and get on with the show. If it was up to him, he would choose neither.

Now, though, things were different. And Inuyasha had a hard time adjusting to that new fact.

His grip on the car wheel tightened, with both hands grasping at the coarse leather which now became slightly hotter thanks to the setting sun now peeking through the driver’s window. He deeply inhaled, flaming nostrils getting as much as they could, and then a woosh of air which pretty much didn’t do anything for his nerves, but wonders to the dusted dashboard in front of him. He wasn’t nervous, he definitely wasn’t, why would he anyway? It’s not like he has never done this before. Well, it has been a while since the last time he went on a date, maybe one can get rusty in that department, but dammit if that didn’t annoy him.

And what made things even worse, was the fact that he managed to get a date with none other than Kagome Higurashi. Kagome Higurashi, the president of the archery club at his own high school, and currently priestess under training. 

She wasn’t the brightest student but she managed just fine, juggling herself between all her classes and still having time for the archery activity. Most of the times he would find her outside of class, talking with a bunch of other students, chatting happily or discussing the club’s administrations when it was with her fellow members. Never once has he saw her alone, always surrounded by people, were they her friends or just casual ‘hellos’ down the hallways. But she ain’t just a pretty girl to hang out with, Inuyasha though with a slight smirk, recalling the time she stood up to a  teacher who wouldn’t stop dismissing a student’s request for delayed homework. She took out this fierce, bossy attitude that no one could tell she had in her, a spur of fight that made her quite the temerarious, but that in the end made her victorious in helping her classmate out. 

Inuyasha could tell that she was a master of sociality, not just because of her many stunts, but mostly because she had this aura of positivity around her that drew folks towards her. She was reliable, willing to help, had a clear mind on her shoulders, and she was incredibly straightforward, to humans and demons. Which was why he redeemed her as special. See, while most people wouldn’t immediately jump at the idea of going out with a half-demon - yes, the biased selection among races still happened in the renewed Tokyo, even if tamed down to a historical minimum - she went completely on board as soon as he proposed her that. Given how skilled Inuyasha was, it was purely casualty that helped him even talk to her, and eventually get her to go out and have a stroll at the monthly city festival. He was casually leasuring on the front yard at lunch break waiting for Miroku’s ate arrival, when he was approached by her, the only time he saw her with no company, and Inuyasha immediately froze, not for fear or anything, but he was mindful enough of the fact he didn’t have the most welcoming appearance that time - uniform not always on point, shoulder-long white hair, couple of tattoos visible on his arms and at the base of his neck because of said disheveled look - but after a quick “hi” and the commonplace questions, he just started having a chat with her, a great milestone on his part. 

She never once felt uncomfortable with his presence, since, y’know, she was the one who went to him in the first place, nor she held a superficial attitude because he was a halfty, but instead even giggled at his quick remarks. In the end, they even shared the lunch break together - Miroku was long forgotten and Inuyasha was grateful for once that he didn’t show up. By the end of the little vis-à-vis, Inuyasha landed a Friday date with her. Double milestones, ladies and gentlemen! 

Thinking back about that time, Inuyasha still felt baffled by how simple it was to talk to her, how carefree he felt with just being in her presence, the anxiety of facing a conversation just gone. She truly made him feel like himself, and he finally understood what her secret powers were, maybe that’s why he didn’t even stutter when he asked her out, maybe he felt like it was something so normal, yet so better than just hanging around for lunch. And it all took a ten minutes talk with this girl.

He unconsciously smiled and that memory, a warm, tingly sensation coursing through him at the anticipation of seeing her again, and that was his final resolution, turning off the radio and swiftly exiting the car, ready to get to the front door with his head held tight.

He jogged up the stairway, so happy he was. As soon as he reached the front door, he stopped and took a deep breath. He once again looked down at his own attire: donned in nothing but a white T-shirt, black jeans and dark Nikes, he hoped that he wasn't being too casual. It was just Tokyo’s late spring festival after all.

Miroku’s teasing, usual encouragement echoed in his mind: C’mon ‘Yasha, let your inner dog out! and Inuyasha agreed with it for once. He lifted his right hand and rang the doorbell.

Couple of seconds after, the door swiftly opened and he was greeted by a small boy, who looked incredibly similar to Kagome and was anything but surprised by his presence at his entrance. “Hey, you must be the guy my sister’s dating! Name’s Souta, I’m her brother. Sis is not quite ready yet, she’s always late when she makes herself pretty. You can come in and wait with Gramps in the living room.” With that, Souta quickly left as he arrived, leaving Inuyasha dumbly standing at the door, trying to process what just happened. Was that....did that just happened? Was there even a boy earlier?..... What?

Shaking his head lightly, he stepped inside the little house, discarding his shoes at the entrance and then approaching the wooden corridor, which he assumed would lead to the living room the boy talked about. Not even after a couple of steps, and a woman with dark hair like Kagome’s but shorter appeared from the corridor’s end. As she glanced at him, she smiled warmly “Oh, hello, dear! You must be the boy Kagome talked me about” the woman started while approaching him, her hands busy with cleaning themselves on the apron she was wearing, “I’m her mother, nice to meet you, Inuyasha right?” She quickly raised her hand towards him in a greeting way. Inuyasha, still quite taken aback from all the informality received so far, slowly reached for the woman’s hand, shaking it lightly “Uh, yea, nice to meet you too, Ma’am” he automatically replied, his posture a bit rigid. The woman giggled lightly - a sound so cristally pure, just like Kagome’s own giggling. “Oh, please, no need to be this formal. ‘Ma’am’ makes me older than i already feel!” she jokingly argued. “Kagome is still getting ready in her room, but it won’t take long, why don’t you wait in the living room? Can I get you anything dear?” she kindly offered. “Oh, no thank you, Ma- I mean, I’m fine like this. I’ll just wait for Kagome” Mrs. Higurashi beamed at him, then gently said “Alright, dear. I’ll let Kagome know you’re here in the meantime” and with that, she slowly turned to the other stairway which went up to the second floor. Inuyasha watched her climbing up the stairs for a while, before finally turning towards a room at his right from which the sound of a TV came. 

When he approached the open door, he was greeted by another person - just how many people this house has? - sitting on the green tatami, but the huge newspaper covered the person on the other side. The room itself was nothing special: a sofa in the right corner where the boy from earlier, Souta, sat with crossed legs while playing with a GameBoy with his face furrowed in concentration, the TV opposite of the sofa, and the coffee table right in the middle. Inuyasha’s sight lingered briefly on the other figure, then slowly made it for sitting at the same table, when the man from behind the newspaper spoke out of nowhere “You came here by yourself?”.The voice startled Inuyasha for a second, stopping mid-air from completely sitting down, then looked right at the newspaper in question. “What?” he asked confused, not sure if the question was directed to him at all. The upper half of the papers was hastily bent and the face of an old man appeared with a crabby look on. “I was asking if you came here by yourself, boy”; with that repeated, the old man put away completely the newspaper at his side, then clasped his hands on the table in front of him, while never leaving his eyes from the half-demon. 

He was probably in his late 60s, a tiny yet challenging figure with an old house kimono on. By looking at him, Inuyasha assumed he was Kagome’s grandfather or something, so he didn’t feel particularly threatened by him, but he didn’t appreciate much his look, specifically when he was clearly observing his sleeveless arms adorned with scattered tattoos. Inuyasha regarded the old man with both brows furrowed, his eyes slowly drifted across the room as if to look for an answer anywhere, but eventually sat completely down, his leg crossed, his arms folding on themselves, an unconscious twitch of his dog ears. After that, he answered “Uh, no, I came here with my car” “What? you got your own car?!” Souta quickly exclaimed, his attention completely drawn away from the game, “What car do you have?” he now sat straight on the sofa, his hands on both his knees, looking in excitement toward Inuyasha. 

“I drive a Honda NSX. It’s a pretty recent model, 1990” he replied, quite content for the fact that the boy was curious about his car, something Inuyasha was comfortable enough to talk about. The old man, though, was not that impressed. “Mh, those cars are pretty expensive, where did you find one?” he inquired, pensive. Inuyasha didn’t understand the implications behind those words, but he gave the old man the benefit of the doubt, “I didn’t buy it, it was gonna be dismantled for change pieces but it was still good to work, so I took it and fixed it myself at the garage where I work” he simply stated, his eyes shifting from the old man and Souta. 

At the mentioning of a car shop, the old man’s whole figure lit up with a new aura, changing from guarded to genuine surprise.“Garage?” His posture became more relaxed and for the first time since Inuyasha joined the conversation, the mood became more light “Say, isn’t it by chance... the old Totosai’s car saloon in Shibuya?” Inuyasha’s own look matched the old man’s and was quick to confirm his thoughts “Yes, it’s actually still there, I’m his apprentice mechanic. I started almost a year ago” At that, the old man took off.

“Oh, I can’t believe it! That scranky old man still has his business going on?! It’s been so long since I’ve been there, these old bones of mine crack at the slightest breeze, ahh! But I bet that old raisn’s not yet given up, uh? Tell me, boy, does he still smell like an old burnt shoe?” While asking that he showed a playful smile, already prepared for the answer. Inuyasha was more than glad to tell him about it, surprised that the old man knew his demon boss. A fang poked out while smirking back at him, not even hiding his amusement. “Oh, yeah, the more he spends time covered in greasy motor oil, the worse it gets. Everyone at work thinks he has never taken a bath in a whole millennium!” Grandpa Higurashi bursted out laughing hard, slamming a hand on the coffee table, leaving the poor Souta shocked at his reaction. “I didn’t know you had a friend like that, Gramps. I thought all the people you knew were already...gone” Souta muttered, and not being too specific on that topic, but that was enough to bring back the old man on Earth. Grampa quickly turned to the boy “Don’t say such nonsense, Souta! Back in my days, I knew all sorts of people, both human and demons. It’s more than normal for me to have friends amongst the youki population”.

Those words caught Inuyasha’s attention, whose eyes widen in astonishment. Never in his life has he heard of someone of the old generation who befriended both demons and human without any problem. Apart from his mother, who was the only person he knew capable of such a thing, he now was the one curious about the old man’s life. He inched forward, his upper arms resting on the smooth surface, leaning on both of them “So you know him? And for how long?” he found himself asking with unsuppressed stupor. Grandpa Higurashi scoffed smugly, crossing both arms in a resolute way, his chin held high “Well, I’ll have you know that we were quite the duo a long time ago, I was barely 17 years old when I started helping him in his workshop. Gotta get myself some pocket money to go out and have fun, y’know, I had to get started somewhere, and good ol’ Totosai owed me big time!”

Grampa narrated. “He owned you a favour?? He’s the most tight-fisted person I know! Ain’t no soul who managed to make a deal with him!” Inuyasha inquired bewildered, still incredulous at the fact he found probably the only person around Tokyo with gossips about that old fart. And it happened to also be his date’s grandfather!

“‘Cause no one knows him like I do, son. I got him good for that time, lemme tell you about it” Grampa commenced, but before anything could have been said, a feminine, joyous voice spoke just behind Inuyasha’s back. “Inuyasha!”

At that familiar voice, and that familiar sweet scent, Inuyasha’s pierced ear flickered slightly while slowly turning around. The sight that welcomed him left him out of breath.

He already thought Kagome was cute, if not even beautiful to him, but the way she was donned in tonight only accentuated her own natural prettiness.

A simple, aquamarine tank top framed her small but toned bust, the upper edges adorned in a floral, black lace pattern. While the pale blueish color enhanced her soften, pale skin like crystal, transparent water would contrast with moonlight, the blackness of the lace was a touch of elegance perfect for a night out. Her voluminous, long black hair was loosely framing her creamy cheeks and neck, reaching way past her shoulders, the only contrasting color a golden necklace just under her sternum. Inuyasha’s gaze lingered on the skin revealed by the top but slowly descended low, reaching her high-waisted, dark jeans skirt which left her long, smooth legs running dangerously free of constriction. There was nothing out of the extraordinary in her clothing, yet she managed to look ethereal all the same. She stepped into the room more, reaching his place, hands tucked behind her back from shiness. “Hi” she softly muttered, her eyes never leaving him, never ceasing to smile. 

It took a while for Inuyasha to finally talk to her, and when he stopped mentally drooling, he swiftly stood up. “Hey, you” he creatively said, unable to hide his own smile. 

Kagome briefly glanced behind him, looking at her brother and grandpa who also were watching them. Then looked up at him - he sure was tall… “I hope they didn’t annoy you too much, it’s rare for them to see another male being inside this house”, she asked him, her nervous smile less visible, pure amusement was coming from that question, while her hands, now in front of her, were fidgeting a bit. 

Inuyasha turned his head back as well as if to confirm the presences behind him, he then reassured her “Oh, uh, no, not at all, we were just chattin’ about stuff. They’re cool”. At that, Souta’s face lit up with pride while Gramps nodded in agreement, quite content of the young man’s compliment. “I’m glad to hear it. Well, I’m ready to go, so we can head out” Inuyasha dumbly nodded, then gestured the exit for her while following behind. He gave one last glance behind him at the two other members who both gave him a wave of the hand. Relieved from that response, she smiled weakly and waved back goodbye. 

They both reached the door in silence, but then Inuyasha’s mouth reacted before he was able to stop it, “You look beautiful by the way”. He mentally facepalmed himself at how nauseatingly clichè that sounded, even if it was the truth. Kagome turned around, more surprised for a break of the silence between them rather than the compliment itself, but unfazed nonetheless. “Thank you”, she said with a genuine smile, while her cheeks shifted to a light pink that matched her own rosy lips. Inuyasha stared at her but quickly averted his eyes afterward, making himself busy with his shoes scraping the floor. She giggled softly and then reached out for her own shoes, and after she was done, she raised her voice to call for her mother “Mama, we’re heading out! Don’t stay up waiting for me!”

As soon as she finished that sentence, said woman popped her head out in the corridor again “Bye, honey! Ah, remember, the festival has now a Kissing Bridge just above the river in Shibuya. It’s a recent one, in case you two wanted to check it out!” she casually suggested while winking at both of them. The two teens abruptly became as red as Inuyasha’s Honda at that, with said hanyou was unable to form a remark, too busy to observe the doormat. A frustrated “Mama!” was the only thing Kagome could say back, but Mrs. Higurashi barely giggled at that “Have a fun night!” and disappeared again.

Kagome was still pouting at her mother now gone. She had hoped for no intromissions from her own mother when she told her about her grand date. How embarrassing was that! And while Inuyasha was right there too! 

Something warm placed itself on her shoulders, bringing her small self closer to the hanyou next to her. Caught by surprise, Kagome lifted her eyes up only to find said half-demon smirking down at her, the whiteness of one of his fangs caught her attention for a split second, before coming back to his amber-colored irises. 

“We got the whole night to ourselves, a drop at this bridge sounds nice, don’t you think?” His voice held something husky behind it and Kagome found herself drawn by every syllable. Face slightly flushed, she fatigued on responding, but eventually, she managed to emit a soft “uh yeah, I guess so”. Satisfacted with her response, Inuyasha removed his arm from her but never left his sight from her warm, brown eyes. Where that smooth nonchalance came from, he had no idea, but he had to thank Mrs. Higurashi from that wingwoman action right there. He stepped away from her in order to open the door and let her step out of the house, and after she realized that, she quickly exited, just to be followed shortly by her.