Chapter 7: We All Make Mistakes
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and Co.
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The bright morning sun filtered between the flimsy curtains causing the semi-conscious female on the couch to fling an arm over her burning lids. 'I must kill that god damn light.' Thought the tired teenager while a hoarse groan echoed throughout the silent room.
Withdrawing her thin limb away from her face, the woman groaned some more and slowly pushed herself into a sitting position. Another beam illuminated her features, causing her to jerk to the side. She suddenly cringed and reached up to massage her stiffened neck, grumbling to the empty room. "Shit that hurt."
Though what did she expect when she passed out on the narrow sofa? It wasn't the ideal place to crash, especially with all those throw pillows her mother has scattered about, but it could be worse. Thank god she didn't have a hangover. That would be the cherry on the shitcake that was her life. When did it get so freaking complicated? Oh yeah, when Sesshōmaru stepped into her world. "Damn Inuyōkai," Muttered the annoyed priestess before shaking off the thought and getting up to grab some pain relievers for the pain than to the kitchen to make something to eat.
Heading back into the quiet room, the moody female flopped down on the sofa with a bowl of yogurt topped with granola and fruit. Wiggling around to get comfortable, Kagome picked up the remote to turn on the tv and streaming service, so as not to sit in the family room in silence. If she did that, her mind would wander to the events last night, and she didn't want to go there. Today the teen just wanted to relax and eat her brunch. Later she would think about the things but not now.
Settling on a slice of life anime that everyone was talking about; the eager mother started digging into her homemade parfait. Savoring the silky texture of the yogurt and focusing on the lighthearted and heartwarming comedy, she let both distract her for the time being.
An hour into the show, the sound of the doorbell echoed loudly and had Kagome wondering who that could be. She wasn't expecting anyone, and as far as she knew her mother and brother weren't either. Pausing the episode, the curious teen popped up from the couch and hurried to the front door.
Skidding on her socks down the hallway, Kagome hit the frame with a light thud and giggled softly. She quickly opened the door to reveal an unknown man waiting patiently on the stoop. He wore a uniform of a well-known florist in the area and held a large bouquet in one hand and electronic device in the other.
The delivery guy smiled and glanced at his electronic pad before speaking. "A delivery for one Higurashi Kagome."
What did the man say? That couldn't possibly be right. Who would want to send her flowers, especially ones from an establishment so expensive? Her face flushed with embarrassment when she realized she had been staring at the man for a moment longer than was proper. "I am her," squeaked out the mortified teen while trying to force down the sea of red.
This guy must have seen that kind of reaction before because he didn't even bat an eye as he handed her the device and pointed at the screen. "Just sign here."
Kagome signed where the man had indicated then passed the pad back to him. "Here you go."
He took the device and quickly handed her the big bouquet while he stepped away from the stoop and waved happily. "I hope you like them and have a nice day."
The young priestess waved in return and nudged the wooden slab closed with her foot. She carried the large bouquet into the living room and set it on the coffee table. Kagome sat on the couch and eyed the floral arrangement. It was the most beautiful one she had ever seen. The flora was in various shades of blue, and they were resting in a vintage style crystal vase. She didn't recognize the flowers but thought they were beautiful nonetheless.
Her eyes slid down to a small envelope embraced by the delicate petals and plucked it out. She slowly opened the flap and pulled out the tiny card. Two words were printed neatly on it: For You. There was no name to identify the sender just those two words. The person seemed to want to remain anonymous. Why would someone send her flowers? Who would want to?
She looked from the card to the flowers too deep in thought to hear the knocking. The unfocused teen jump when a whistle penetrated the silence. "Damn who sent the flowers?"
Kagome recognizing the voice of her best friend shrugged while still eyeing the white card. "I don't know they didn't leave a name."
Sango plopped down next to her and snagged the small paper from her hand. "Ah, a secret admirer type thing."
Leaning forward and smelling the stunning flowers, she shrugged some more before answering. "I guess. All the note said was 'for you'. I don't have the faintest idea who would have sent them."
"Well, the Ajisai mean apologies and/or gratitude. The Bellflowers mean unchanging love, honesty, and obedience. As for the Sumire, they mean love, sincerity, and small bliss. It seems to me that this is some type of apology bouquet," explained the brunette as she placed the note on the table.
An apology bouquet. Why would someone send her something like that? Kagome lightly touched the soft petals and scoffed. "Who would need to apologize to me?"
An unattractive snort left the other woman while resting against the cushions; her tone was dry as that old well in the courtyard. "Really? You can't think of anyone who may feel like they needed to apologize. No one comes to mind, especially with how you were acting last night."
Sesshōmaru? Shit. She was so consumed with not thinking about the night before that it had never occurred to her that they could be from him. "Why would he send flowers?" pondered Kagome picking the card and rereading the words.
Sango's thin brow rose at the crumbs of information and attempted to weasel some more out. "Who is he, and why would he need to send you flowers?"
Uh oh. It appeared that she said that aloud. Brushing off the questions, Kagome waved the tiny card at her friend and played it off as if it wasn't that big of a deal. "It's not important."
The other teen snatched the small paper from her grasp once more and examined the note again.
"Hey!" Cried Kagome and tried to take back the card.
Sango dodged her attempts and cheekily pushed the issue. "It sounds important to me."
Even if it was important, she really didn't want to talk about it today and let her best friend know that. "Sango, I don't want to talk about it."
A frustrated sigh escaped the brunette, and she tossed the note onto her edgy friend's lap before snarking, "That's what you said last night too."
Refusing to elaborate any further, Kagome attempted to change the subject by distracting the female next to her. "What are you doing here?" Normally Sango would be helping Grammy Kaede in the garden not harassing the shit out of her.
"Can't I visit my bestie and see how she is doing? Especially, after the mess that I cleaned up and the ramen, you asked me to make. Which I might add, you didn't even eat because you ended up passing out on the couch," retorted the teen and waggled a finger at her.
Well, that explained how she ended up in pajamas and why she woke up on the couch. Kagome sniffed haughtily and flipped some hair over her shoulder. "Not if you are going to be all snotty."
Placing a hand over her heart, Sango gasped and fell against the cushions dramatically. "Awe. Is that any way to talk to your best friend?"
"When she is annoying me then yes," snarked Kagome throwing a pillow at the woman being a tad bit theatrical.
The brunette caught the decorative pillow and tossed it back, laughing when it hit its mark then quipped at the fallen teen. "I'm going to ignore that. I just came to see if you wanted to have a girl's night. We could watch a couple of movies, eat loads of food, and do some beauty stuff. If you want, we can stop at some vending machines. I know where there is a bunch, and one of them is a pizza one. We'll get some junk food and maybe go to Matsumoto Kiyoshi to get some face masks and such."
Ooh, movies, spa time, and some pizza. Well, it beat what she was planning to do; finishing the anime series then hitting the sheets. Plus, who wouldn't want to try a vending machine that has hot and fresh pizza? She wondered how many kinds it would carry and hoped that it would have at least one thing she enjoyed. "That sounds like fun," stated Kagome while popping up from the couch tossing the pillow in her hands on the cushions.
It was already noon, and depending on what area that they traveled to, they would need to leave shortly to fit all the things in. "We should probably get going then."
Sango stood up and glanced at her wristwatch, agreeing. "If we hurry, we can just make the next bus."
"Great!" Clapped Kagome happily and hurried out of the room with her friend scrambling to follow.
She paused that the bottom of the staircase and turned to the brunette. "Give me five, and I will be ready to go."
Motioning down the hallway, Sango let her know where she would be until then. "Sure. You'll find me by the front door waiting."
"Perfect. See you in five," stated the chipper woman who then took off taking the steps two at a time, so she could get to her room faster and throw something on.
True to the teenage mom's word, she was done in record time and back downstairs sliding some large sunglasses over her makeup-free face and slipping into a pair of tennis shoes.
Sango grinned at the sight and opened the front door. "You ready to go?"
Grabbing some money, metro pass and keys from the abandoned clutch on the seat, Kagome popped the 'p' and chucked her the keys as she scrambled passed. "Yep. Though I wish we had a vehicle, so we didn't have to take the bus."
A sigh came from the woman in agreement while locking the door behind them. "We'll take the bus there, then take a taxi home," suggested Sango when she turned around and tossed the keys back.
Not having to lug a bunch of bags on the bus was a wonderful idea and something Kagome agreed upon wholeheartedly. "That sounds great. Plus, it will be easier with all the stuff we might decide to get."
"Exactly." Noted the brunette who glanced again at her watch and swore softly. "Crap. If we hurry, we can get there just before the bus arrives." She motioned for Kagome to follow then started the jog down the pathway.
The duo rushed out of the shrine making it just in time as the public transportation pulled up to the stop. They scrambled on scanning their passes and flopped down in the first vacant seat that they could find.
It took them several minutes, and two transfers before the teenagers arrived at the area that the drug store and the vending machines were located. They sped walked down the three blocks to Matsumoto Kiyoshi. Once in the large establishment, the twosome began to fill their baskets with the items they would need for the night.
Kagome held up numerous packets of face masks and waved them about. "Should I get one of each?"
Sango placed what looked like face cream into her basket then glanced over to examine the pouches being flashed and shrugged. "Sure, why not. We can use the rest another time."
With all the shit that's been going on lately maybe it would be best to get more just in case, she needed a spa day of her own. "Maybe I'll get two of each instead?" pondered Kagome for a moment before grabbing another set and tossing them in with the rest.
Her best friend threw something else in the plastic carrier and turned to ask her a question. "Do you have any purple nail polish at home?"
Purple nail polish? No, she didn't think that she had that color in her nail kit. "I'm positive that I don't. You might want to grab a bottle and some toe separators. I couldn't find any the last time I painted my toes."
"Will do," replied the brown-headed teen twisting around to walk backwards slowly down the aisle. "I will meet you by the register when I'm done."
"Cool. If you need me before then, I'll be up in the snack section." Kagome pointed in the direction of the stairs.
Sango's face lit up when she heard the word snack and called out some requests. "Please grab me a bag of Arare and a container of Jagariko. Ooh, and some Pure Gummies."
Like she could forget Sango's favorite treats, especially the Pure gummy. The sour treat was one of her favorites as well. Giving her a thumbs up, Kagome laughed a little and watched her friend disappear. She scanned the shelves one last time and threw in a jar of clay mask and some gel eye pads in the basket before making her way to the upper floors.
Quite a few minutes later had the girls carrying their goodies to the cash register. The young mother's smile dropped when she recognized the person who was checking out their stuff. 'Great.'
The teenaged male greeted Kagome with a wide grin and an exuberant wave. "Hi, Kagome!"
Sango snickered, causing the irritated female to kick the giggling woman in the shin. Her snickering friend grunted loudly, but Kagome ignored it as she painted on a brittle smile and greeted the boy politely as possible. "Hi, Hōjō."
Her ma was childhood friends with Hōjō's mom, and it seemed like every time the two women got together, his mother would try and play matchmaker. Sadly, Kagome held no interest in the boy what so ever. It appeared that Hojo did and tried on many occasions to ask her out. She had always let him down gently though the more she denied his advances, the more he continued asking. It was now quite irritating and had Kagome praying to the Kamigami. 'Please save me.'
Hojo was about to say something when a squeal broke out, and her name echoed throughout the store. "Kagome-chan!"
'Oh, I owe you big time.' Thanked the priestess as she turned to see a small dark-headed child running in her direction. A real smile spread over her lips when the teen recognized the young girl and bent down with open arms. The child slammed into her chest and squeezed Kagome tightly. "Hello, Rin-chan," chirped the woman happily.
"Rin missed Kagome-chan." Declared the little girl and hugged her some more.
Kagome returned the embrace and whispered sincerely. "And I missed you, Rin-chan." How could she not miss this little girl; her sweet and bubbly personality always brightened up any crappy day.
Rin pulled away from the embrace to peer over at her shopping companion, bouncing from heel to toe as she spoke. "Papa, look who Rin found!"
The tall Inuyōkai acknowledged his spirited child then accosted the young priestess with a very familiar quirk of his lips. "I see that Rin. Hello Kagome."
It had never occurred to Kagome that this was where Sesshōmaru inherited his smile from. She had to admit that it was a little disconcerting to see the familiar feature when she was dealing with confusing feelings for his eldest son. Merely thinking about the younger Inuyōkai made Kagome's stomach twist nervously, and the only way to halt the feeling was to shove the thought elsewhere. Making sure the smile hadn't dimmed, the anxious woman greeted the older demon as cheerfully as she could. "Hi, Mr. Tatakau."
"We have not seen you at the house for quite some time now. You should stop by and visit, my dear. Mrs. Tatakau would be thrilled to see you. As you know, you are always welcome even without my son," reminded her child's grandfather.
'Which son would that be?' thought Kagome cheekily. It would be unwise to ask aloud since Mr. Tatakau had no clue that his oldest son had been dating his youngest son's friend. That would just open a whole can of wasp larva.
Though she might visit the manor just to get Mrs. Tatakau's famous butter cookies. They were so good not even the store-bought ones could compare. Those delicious morsels would be so worth the risk of getting caught. Man, now she wanted some. Maybe they could find some in one of the vending machines? Ah, that would be nice.
Shaking out of her cookie filled thoughts, Kagome scratched the back of her neck and came up with an excuse close to the truth. "I know, I just have been so busy that's all. I'll make sure to stop in sometime."
Rin tugged on her sleeve and drew her attention. "Will Kagome-chan come to play with Rin?"
Kagome gently smiled and lightly patted the crown of her raven locks. "Not today, sweetheart. Maybe another day. I have plans with my friend. You remember Sango?" She pointed at the other teen who was paying for their things, and Rin shook her head. "Rin remembers. Hello Sango-chan."
Sango greeted the two as she waited for the change. "Hi, Rin-chan. Mr. Tatakau."
"Hello, my dear." Said Mr. Tatakau with another warm smile then turned back to Kagome. "You make sure to stop by soon. It will be good to see you again." He looked down at Rin and held out his hand. "Well, Rin and I have a movie date today, so we'll let you be on your way. Have fun, ladies."
Kagome giggled and eyed the small child as she grabbed hold of her father's hand. "So what kind of treats are you getting today, Rin-chan?"
The little girl's expressive eyes lit up, and she bounced on the balls of her feet again. "Strawberry Pocky! Rin loves Pocky!"
Patting the child's head once more and laughing at her enthusiasm, Kagome happily agreed. "I do too."
Sango passed her some bags, and she reluctantly bid the due good day one last time. "It was nice to see you guys. Bye."
The father and daughter said goodbye then disappeared into the depths of the huge drug store.
The brunette hip bumped the distracted teen and threw out a suggestion. "Hey. Let's go get some pizza." She rubbed her belly while walking towards the exit. "I'm getting hungry."
Her stomach rumbled as she caught up with her hasty friend. "Me too. Do you think they will have Cheese and Honey pizza? I haven't had that in a while. It sounds good right now."
A look of disgust washed over Sango's features, and she pretended to gag. "Cheese and Honey? Ewe. I think I will stick with my teriyaki chicken."
"Hm." Scoffed the priestess and sniffed haughtily at the air. "You don't know what you are missing."
Her companion kept on faux gagging then rocked her gaze to the tiled ceiling and commented sarcastically. "Oh, I know and am not missing much."
Kagome stuck her tongue out in mild protest and hip-checked the sarcastic teen while quipping back sassily. "Two pizzas it is then."
"As long as only you get the Cheese and Honey that's fine by me," conceded the brunette with a wide smile. She returned the hip bump causing her longtime friend to giggle wildly.
The amused school girls continued to goof around as they made their way out of the store. Neither remembered the doe-eyed peer standing quietly behind the counter.
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Wiping away the remnant tears and sniffling like crazy, Kagome moaned sadly to the woman beside her. "Kami. I hate it when she dies, and they play that song that makes you want to cry even more. It gets me every time."
Sango tried to say something, but her mouth was full of warm pizza. "Wwwawawa..." She swallowed the cheesy substance and tried again. "Why do we watch this stuff if you don't want to cry?"
Of course, her friend would ask that since no tears fell from her dry eyes. It seemed like nothing could get to the emotionally controlled woman-well other than Miroku. He appears to bring out a large amount of anger whenever he is around though that could be because of the groping of certain assets.
Kagome reached for a Strawberry Pocky and slowly started to munch on it as she spoke, "Sometimes you need a good cry." 'And sometimes it's easier to cry over a sappy movie than your own crappy life,' reflected the depressed priestess. She struggled to keep the frown from curling onto her lips and broadcasting her hidden melancholy to the room.
It was like the taller teen could read her mind and basically voiced what she had been thinking. "Or to sulk about certain things happening in one's life." Sango eyed her suspiciously and waved the slice of pizza in her direction.
Snagging the remote from the coffee table, Kagome began exploring the menu for another movie while ignoring the fact that her friend was right. "I'm not sulking," denied the teen weakly.
A snort left the unconvinced brunette, and she tossed her ponytail over a shoulder retorting sarcastically. "You are sulking. Just as you were last night."
The teen mother should have known that her longtime pal was only lying in wait to pounce on the subject. Clearly, she hadn't fooled the sharp-eyed woman one bit. She swallowed another delicious bite of the Pocky and waggled it at her. "I was not."
"Sure, you were." Sango put down the slice and seemed to lose her cool for a minute. "God Kagome, cut the crap. Something happened last, something monumental enough that it freaked you out. Stop stewing in the misery alone and just tell me already!"
Tell her she says- Well, she didn't want to tell her or anyone else for that matter. If she did, the confused teenager wasn't sure if she could deal with whatever it all meant.
"Come on. You know you want to," Goaded the nosey brunette.
Couldn't some things stay private? Why did she have to talk about it at all? Kagome understood that Sango was worried but forcing the subject was just irritating the shit out of her.
The harassment continued until the priestess's temper finally frothed over. "Fine! You want to know I ran into Sesshōmaru at the club. For some unexplained reason and it is possible I'm just losing my damn mind, but when he asked me to dance, I said yes."
Her anger evaporated as fast as it came. She buried her face into the palms of her hands and groaned. "Shit, we did more than just dance."
Sango appeared to be thrown by the declaration and stuttered her words. "You mean... You did..."
Kagome's dark head shot up, and she flapped her hands about to silence her friend, so she could explain. "We didn't have sex, but do you want to know something? If I hadn't stopped us, it would have ended up going in that direction."
"Then why did you stop?" sought the brunette finally snapping out of the shock. She reached out to grab a few gummies and tossed one into her mouth.
Twisting gently at the ends of her ponytail and rubbing the ache in the middle of her chest, her tone dropped to a whisper. "It was the way he said my name; it made my heart hurt."
Sango chewed on the straw of the melon soda for a minute and appeared to be considering what to ask next. She must have decided on something because she carefully broached the subject. "Did you both fight again?"
"We didn't fight per se. I yelled and he," She fell back against the cushions and groaned loudly before continuing. "well, he tried getting me to talk to him, but I wouldn't listen."
"Why wouldn't you listen?" questioned the curious teenager.
Kagome shrugged with an audible sigh and tried to answer as honestly as possible. "I guess I didn't want to hear it. What would be the point? What's done is done, and it cannot be altered."
"So that's why you slammed the shots?"
Drawing in another deep breath, the tired priestess stared up at the ceiling and blurted out the truth before she chickened out. "I wanted to feel nothing for a short time. I just wanted to forget all the bullshit." It was easier not to feel the pain. It hurt too much to remember what they once had. It hurt to remember the way they were.
A hand came resting on top of hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Like usual, her best friend was the voice of reason. "But you can't forget Kagome. You have a child with him. As much as you would have liked keeping Malakai a secret, you can't. His father now knows, and maybe, just maybe he wants to be in his son's life. I'm sorry for what he did, but people make mistakes. Shit. We are all so young it's bound to happen many times, but it's how we deal with those mistakes that matter. Hell, from what you've been telling me, he's been trying, and that's more than I can say for you."
The sensible side knew her friend was right, but the other half; the one that was still simmering bubbled to life whenever the Inuyōkai was involved. It seemed to overcome any sense of rationalization, and this time was no different. Anger rose quickly in the brooding teen and had her sitting up from the cushions. She wrenched her hand away and scowled at the woman beside her. How could Sango stick up for that asshole? She was supposed to be on her side, not his. What the fuck? "Trying, now he's trying! You have no clue what I went through, but he's trying, so I should just forgive him, right? How can you tell me how I should be feeling or doing when you've never had to deal with a relationship or a goddamn child?!"
Hurt flashed across Sango's feature then hardened while she shot up from the couch and snarled. "You're right I've never been in a relationship, nor do I have a child my advice means shit. If you want to wallow in your fucking pity, then you can go right ahead and do it without me. I'm out of here." The pissed-off female picked up her bag and began to shove things into it. When finished she threw the strap over her shoulder and turned to escape the room.
Kagome opened her mouth to tell her wounded friend that she had not meant what she had said, but Sango was already out of the room. Oh god, what did she just do? Shame washed over her, and the mortified teen couldn't believe she had just verbally attacked her best friend. For fuck's sake, she was the very worst. How could she throw those things in Sango's face? Especially, not ever being in a relationship. The young mother knew that her bestie only had eyes for the Houshi, and that was the reason she had never been in a relationship. The woman was waiting for the pervert to be less perverted.
The front door slammed, causing Kagome to flinch then fall against the cushions, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. Fuck. What was wrong with her? For the love of Kamigami, her problems were not Sango's fault. What was it that Sango had said, that she was wallowing in pity, and maybe she was? Everything was just so fucked up right now, and the last thing she had wanted to do was alienate the only person she could talk to about this whole mess. Tears slipped out of her locked lids and ran down her cheeks. How the hell was she going to fix this? That was a good question if only she knew the answer.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
storyweaver4ever
storyweaver4ever The Snacks and pizzas can be found at these websites: (Add the . to the com and delete the spaces.)
soranews24 com/ 2013/10/27/10-crazy-pizzas-from-japan/
99japan com/ blogs/news/50-best-japanese-snacks
*Matsumoto Kiyoshi is a popular Japanese drugstore.
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