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The room was full of familiar faces though here and there they had been touched by adulthood. Nevertheless, seeing everyone gathered like this, laughing and chatting just like the old days, took Kagome back. She smiled, remembering those carefree days of youth when school had seemed endless.
“Kagome-chan! Here, here!” Eri waved at her from the end of the table and Kagome made her way to her friend, greeting her former classmates in passing as they called out to her.
“I’m so glad you came!” Eri gushed as Kagome slipped down to the seat next to her.
“It’s our middle school reunion,” Kagome replied, her eyebrow arching. “Of course I came!”
“Here, I got you a beer too.”
“Cheers,” Kagome said, accepting the can with a smile.
“Still, I can’t believe it’s been ten years!” Eri sighed.
“Mmh, me either,” Kagome hummed, though as she stared down at the drink in her hand it wasn’t just the school days she was reminiscing – it was the adventures she’d had five centuries in the past, fighting alongside with her friends while piecing together the Shikon jewel.
“I heard you’re working at Nijimura day care,” Eri continued, pulling Kagome back to the present. “That really suits you, Kagome-chan!”
“Eri-chan, too,” Kagome replied with a small smile. “A matchmaking agency sounds right up your alley.”
“Oh, so you heard? Actually, I’ve been wanting to talk to you about it, but wasn’t sure how to broach the topic, especially when we hadn’t seen each other in such a while…”
“Talk to me about what?” Kagome frowned, slanting a curious look at Eri.
“Ne, Kagome-chan… Would you let me to create a profile for you?”
Kagome’s mouth fell open in shock. “A Profile? At your agency?” She shook her head. “I don’t know… I’m not much of a prospect, am I? And honestly I’m not looking to get married any time soon.”
“Please, Kagome-chan!” Eri said, her lips quivering. “My bosses are always nagging at me, saying I should bring in more new clients. And everything’ll be fine, I bet plenty of people would be interested in you!”
“I don’t know…” Honestly, Kagome wasn’t too excited about the idea, but her heart was already wavering before Eri’s pleading puppy eyes.
“Please!” Eri clasped her hands together. “I’ll lower your registration fees and I promise to set you up on only a few dates!”
Kagome took a careful swig of her beer, then sighed. “Fine. But only a few.”
Kagome had just come out of the bath when the call came. She frowned at the caller ID – she and Eri had met up only a few hours ago to set up her profile, why was she calling her now? Was there still something missing that Eri had forgotten to ask her about?
Clutching her towel, she answered the phone.
“Hello?”
“Kagome-chan! It’s incredible!”
“What is?”
“I found a match for you!”
“Eeh?! Already?!” Kagome blinked.
“I know, I’m just as surprised! I told you I had a meeting with another client... He’s a super VIP one, too! I wasn’t even going to show your profile to him since I figured you wouldn’t be his type…”
“Then why did you?”
“Well, he browsed through the ones I brought him and didn’t seem interested at all. Then he just stared and me and said ‘Is this it? You brought another one, didn’t you?’ I was so confused because I didn’t even remember I had yours in my bag, since we had only just put it together… But I had to hand it over and he just went ‘This one, I want to meet with her.’”
“Really?” The more Eri told her about it, the more mysterious it became. Why should a VIP client – someone who likely was rich, successful and from a good family – want to be matched with someone like her, a kindergarten teacher who had grown up at a shrine?
“Yeah! It’s amazing, isn’t it? Uwah, it almost feels like destiny!”
No, Kagome thought to herself. It felt decidedly weird. But despite her suspicions, she couldn’t help growing curious, too.
“Ah, should I come over and show you his profile?” Eri suggested
“No, I don’t need to see it,” Kagome decided. “I told you I’m not thinking about marriage yet, I’m only going to go on a few dates because you begged me to help.”
“You don’t have to put it like that!” Eri pouted. “Anyway, which of these dates work for you?”
Despite being so half-hearted about her date, when the actual day dawned, Kagome was so nervous she kept going back to check the mirror and almost ran late. Somehow, though, she managed to make it to their agreed meeting place with a scarce few minutes to spare, and smoothed her dress and patted her hair one last time when she caught her reflection in the window.
Stepping into the restaurant, Kagome’s breath lodged in her throat, her knees almost buckled.
This was–!
Eri had told her earlier that she wouldn’t be there to introduce them to each other; that the VIP client had insisted on meeting Kagome alone. But even though she hadn’t read his profile or seen his picture, she could single her date out instantly.
Slowly, Kagome made her way to the table he was occupying, the hairs on the back of her neck rising in response to the demonic energy swirling lazily in the air. It was dark but not threatening – there was no question he had only released the youki for her benefit, to command her notice.
She probably wouldn’t have recognised him even if she had seen a photograph of him, the absence of his markings and exotic colouring changed his appearance significantly. Even so, when she looked closely, she could see the delicate demonic features – the chin, the cheekbones, the arch of his nose.
A smile touched Kagome’s lips, and finally reaching the table she bowed her head in a greeting.
“Hello, Sesshoumaru. It’s been a while.”