Chapter Text
“I can’t believe he asked you out again…”
“You figure he’d get the hint by now…”
The topic at hand was ignored by the raven-haired girl walking a bit ahead of the other three. None of them seemed to notice the silence from their friend as they continued to walk.
“He’s been at it since what? Our second year in middle school?” Eri sighed, shaking her head. “He’s determined, I guess,” she stated. “Way more than Hojo, and that’s saying something…”
“Boy, ain’t it,” Yuka replied. She glanced at the silent girl walking with them when she realized there had been no input from her. “Helloooo… Earth to Kagome!” She reached forward, waving her hand in front of Kagome’s face. It did the trick, causing her to blink and look up.
“What’s up?” Kagome asked, pausing along with the other three, confusion reflected in her eyes. The other three sighed simultaneously at her lackluster response.
“Sano,” Yuka responded. Kagome tilted her head, her brows furrowing in confusion.
“Huh? What about him?” she asked.
“You for real?” Yuka deadpanned. Had she just been ignoring the entire conversation this whole time? She shook her head, prodding Kagome’s shoulder. “You can be so hopeless sometimes,” she said as she sighed.
Kagome pursed her lips in a pout as she glared at Yuka.
So what if she didn’t care enough to pay attention to them talking about some guy? They were so much more invested in her love life, or the lack of it, than she was. Rolling her eyes, she turned on her heel and started walking again. The three with her fell into step with her.
“Y’know, I’m a little jealous,” Ayumi sighed, shaking her head. “You have all these guys fawning all over you, and you don’t even care. Share the wealth, Kagome.”
“You three sound so dumb right now,” Kagome stated in a flat tone. “Aren’t you always going on about him being a delinquent anyway?” she remarked. What did it matter ot them, anyway?
“That’s beside the point,” Eri stated, leaning forward to prod at Kagome’s face. “You should be ashamed!” she stated in a lighthearted tone. “You’re such a heartbreaker!”
Kagome swatted her hand away from her face, glaring at her. “Hey! Watch it!” She pushed the three back out of her personal space, scowling faintly. “Ugh, you three can be the worst sometimes…”
What did it even matter to them? She didn’t have the time, nor did she have the energy, to deal with dating and relationships right now. Among all the issues she had, she was still dealing with the well, time travel, and her grades. If she wanted to get into a good university, then she needed to stay on top of things. Dating would only give her one more headache to deal with.
She already had plenty in the form of a loud-mouthed half-demon…
“I get it,” Yuka said, side-eying Kagome. “You’re still hung up over your ex, aren’t you?”
The question made Kagome’s eye twitch in faint annoyance. She shook her head, walking a bit faster until she fell into a faint sprint. “Would you just drop it already?!”
The other three giggled as they chased after her.
“Nope~! No can do~!”
“It’s over, huh…?”
As she said those words, Kagome couldn’t deny the faint sense of relief she felt so deep in her heart. Along with it was an undeniable sense of sadness, but even more than that, she was glad. Happy, even.
Three, nearly four, years of her life had been dedicated to fixing one huge mistake in the past. To finally be free of it was liberating. She expected to feel all sorts of things, but the conflicting emotions made it difficult to fully enjoy the peace that came after the year-long storm.
Now the well house was nothing more than a storage shed again. The memories remained, but there was nothing left. The energy from the well had faded. It was empty, desolate, deserted.
She glanced down at the box by her feet. It was full of strange things, but to her, they all had meaning. They were relics, mementos from an experience only a select few would ever remember. It was almost full, save for…
“Just one more thing…” Kagome said. She reached for the innocuous bauble hanging from around her neck. She removed it and set it carefully in the box before picking up some packing tape. With care, she sealed the box and placed a binding spell on it.
The jewel was dormant, destined to remain as nothing more than a pretty trinket. The magic had faded, and that was best for everyone. Even if it were ever to go back to what it once was, there was no breaking the spell she’d put on the box. It, just like the well, could finally be put out of sight and far out of mind.
She set the tape to the side as she crouched to pick up the box. She struggled to fit her arms around it, but she eventually managed to lift it after a bit of repositioning. She wasn’t expecting it to have as much weight to it as it did, and it threw off her balance when she lifted it up higher.
She stumbled back a few paces, eventually losing her grip on the box as she fell backwards. The box hit the ground as she attempted to catch herself.
“H-Hey, careful!”
When she failed to catch herself, she expected to land sprawled out on her back on the concrete. However, that didn’t happen. Instead, she was caught when a pair of hands grabbed onto her arms at the elbows, her weight sinking down slowly into a seated position. Taken aback, she glanced up. When she did, her eyes met a dark pair.
“You’re not hurt, are you?”
Kagome quickly looked away, pulling herself free from his touch as she got back up onto her feet. Ignoring the quickened beat of her heart, she nodded. “I… Yeah, I’m fine,” she said, dusting off the back of her long skirt. Glancing briefly at the box, she decided to let it remain where it’d landed for a moment longer. “What are you doing here?” she asked.
He didn’t stop her when she moved away from him. Instead, he sent her a bright smile. “Can’t a guy come check on his favorite girl?”
His remark took her by surprise. She turned quickly, hands tightening at her sides. “Shinichiro-”
“And good thing I did,” he said without missing a beat. “You could’ve hit your head or something.”
Kagome sighed, shaking her head. “It would’ve been fine either way,” she said. She turned back towards the box then, stepping over to it. She crouched to try and pick it up again, only to be stopped by the taller man.
“Wait, let me,” he offered without missing a beat. While she was torn between accepting the help and insisting that she was more than capable of handling it on her own, he took it upon himself to pick it up. Deep down, it felt a bit strange to see someone else moving it. Metaphorically, it held so much weight. Apparently, it held just as much physical weight, too. “Where’s it going?” he asked.
It took her a beat longer before she finally responded. She nodded towards the open door of the well house. “On the top shelf on the right,” she said. She’d cleared a spot off nearly a week ago, and she’d only just now gotten around to completing the heavy task of putting everything into storage.
She watched as he easily carried the box inside and placed it where she’d requested. Even though she hadn’t carried it, she couldn’t help the deep breath she took as she went to close the door to the well house once he’d stepped back out. She was silent as she put the lock back on, tucking the key back into her pocket before returning her hand back to the lock.
She bowed her head, eyes closing as she said a final farewell in her own mind and heart. She felt him watching her, but he didn’t remark on her behavior. That she was thankful for.
A moment later, she pulled her hands away, turning to face him. “... thanks, by the way,” she said. “I didn’t realize it’d be that heavy.”
He grinned at her simple yet earnest praise and gratitude. “I’ve got plenty of skills,” he stated. “Heavy lifting happens to be one of them.”
Kagome rolled her eyes, reaching up to brush her bangs from her face. “Oh, yeah? I’ll consider asking for help in the future, then.”
“Well… y’know,” he began, motioning towards his chest. “Why bother with even needing to ask? I could be your personal fix-it man.”
She knew what he was getting at, and she sighed. Her expression softened some as she moved her hand so she could pinch at the bridge of her nose. “Shin…”
“Don’t turn me down just yet,” he said, cutting her off quickly. He took her free hand in both of his own, holding it. “One chance, that’s all I’m asking for here,” he said. “Give me one date, and I’ll make sure you have the best time of your life. I swear it.”
His words were dangerously close to begging, but he didn’t care.
“Shin-”
“Kagome, please,” Shinichiro said, grasping her hand a bit tighter. “I promise you, if you don’t have fun, I’ll never bother you again,” he said. “Just give me a chance. Please, I’m beggin’ here…”
She looked at him for a few long seconds before she sighed. She knew that if she said no, he’d back off, but… she knew she’d also feel bad. How many times had he asked her out, only to be rejected? It had to have been over fifty at this time…
Really, what did she have to lose? If she ended up hating the date, then she knew he’d also abide by his word and back off.
After nearly a full minute of consideration, she attempted to pull her hand free. He let go, and she held her hand up between them, holding up one finger.
“Fine,” she said. “One date, and if I don’t enjoy it, you need to agree to move on to someone else,” she stated.
She was met with a beat of silence. It looked like he was processing the fact that she’d actually agreed. Before she could say anything else, he nodded.
“Deal!” he exclaimed. “You have my word. I swear, if you don’t like it, I’ll never bother you again.” He flashed her a smile that was surely meant to be charming and charismatic, but it was marred by his earnest excitement. “I-I gotta go. Friday at 8:00 pm sound good to you?”
“Sounds fine,” Kagome said. “See you then?”
“It’s a date!” he called over his shoulder as he rushed off. She stood there for a few seconds before finally turning and heading back to the shrine's main building.
Auroua-chan: Gonna wrap this chapter up here.
Shinichiro is such a green flag even if he’s had his darker moments. In a way, Kagome and Shinichiro make such a good pair. She’ll definitely love Mikey and Emma when she meets them, which, frankly, will only make Shinichiro love her more; let's be honest here.
Anyway, that's it for now! Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Hopefully I caught all the errors before posting, but if not sorry.
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Bye for now~