The Bonds That Hold
By: K-chan
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Disclaimer: Inu-Yasha, and all characters thereof,
are property of the incomparable Rumiko Takahashi. I
am using them without permission, for non-profit
purposes. Please don't sue. ^_^
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**Note: The events described in this fanfic take place
around the end of the fourth volume. I know the fifth
volume completely changes everything, etc., etc....
just bear with it. Also, I didn't know the names of
Kagome's friends, and no-one I asked seemed to know,
so I just made them up. If anyone knows their real
names, I'd love to hear from you. Well, on to the
fic!
Kagome closed her eyes to the warm sun and sighed,
enjoying the relatively uneventful day. For once, no
demons had attacked, no one had come to claim the
shards of the Shikon Jewel, and Inu-Yasha had even let
her go home without too much of a fuss. Sure, she
liked adventure, but there was something called "too
much of a good thing." That is, if supernatural
monsters trying to kill you every other day could be
thought of as "good."
Certainly, her life had been pretty boring before,
but she *wanted* it that way. A life without
fighting, without magic, without Inu-Yasha... Kagome
frowned. Inu-Yasha. Why did he have to make
everything so difficult? She'd tried to be nice to
him, didn't she? But he never tried to be nice to
anyone. Well, Kagome amended, that wasn't entirely
true. He always helped her, and the people they met
on their search for the Shikon fragments. He didn't
do it willingly -- he'd grumble and protest and
complain -- but he did it. He really was nicer than
he wanted anyone to know, even himself. She sighed
again. Truth was, she really didn't mind Inu-Yasha.
Most of the time. Sometimes, she even thought she...
liked him. But not anymore. At first, yes, she felt
a little thrill of attraction to him... she wanted him
to like her. Yet no matter how hard she tried, all her
efforts went ignored. The most she'd gotten was an
upgrade from enemy to associate, and reluctantly at
that. So she gave up. If he was so set against it,
why should she bother? And yet... no matter what he
thought of her, she did consider him a friend.
Fast-approaching footsteps on her left forced Kagome
to break off her train of thought.
"Kagome!" Outlined sharply in the bright sunlight,
two girls in school fukus hurried towards her bench.
Kagome smiled, filing away her thoughts of Inu-Yasha
for later. "Tomomi! Suki! I didn't expect to see
you today."
"We didn't expect to see you either. Your
grandfather said you were sick again, but here you are
in the park! Feeling better?"
"Ah... yeah. I am."
"Good!" Tomomi gave a wide grin and ran a hand
through her short dark hair. "I mean, mononucleosis
is a pretty serious thing, ne?"
"Err..."
The girls fell into their usual mix of chatter and
gossip, and Kagome soon joined them. *It must be nice
to never have to worry about anything more serious
than the next test or a weekend date, she thought.
Oh, well... at least, my life's unique...*
Tomomi leaned back on the bench and looked at her two
friends as they talked. They both seemed so carefree,
just luxuriating in the idleness of a Saturday
afternoon. Well, Kagome did have her illness to worry
about, and Suki always complained that she never had
any time to study... but other than that, their lives
were fairly uncomplicated. Especially compared to
*mine,* Tomomi added wryly. Ever since last year,
normalcy had fled from her household and stayed firmly
away. She just wished Akio would do the same thing.
He was perhaps the most annoying thing about being a
Traveler, aside from the inconvenience and the
responsibility and the really mean people trying to
hunt you down and kill you every week.
From the very beginning, from the day she was first
transported to his world, he did nothing but find new
means to make her miserable. Some guide. <<I can't
believe I'm stuck with this assignment again. I've
served many Travelers before, but none like *you,* >>
Akio's taunting voice came back to her, and she could
just see his impetuous smirk. <<You don't even look
like a girl, let alone a Princess. I have no idea why
they chose you. I bet *I'm* going to have to do all
the work.>> Tomomi bit her lip, and tried to ignore
the salty pricking behind her eyes. Even in memory,
that hurt. But why should it? She had proven him
wrong, hadn't she? She did her best to learn the
magic, and even the Protectress complimented her on
her performance in the last battle. Yet it was never
enough, not for him. <<Not bad, but Riina could've
done better. Now *she* was what a Traveler *should*
be like.>> Well, so what. So what if Riina was great
with magic, and beautiful, and had wavy tresses that
fell to her knees. She wasn't Riina, and like it or
not, she was the one Akio had to deal with. Just as
she had to deal with him. Sometimes she thought he
hated her. Then again... he did save her that time,
even though it cost him the Takara belt. And he
almost got himself killed, but he refused to surrender
until he made sure she was safe. Come to think of it,
there were many times he put himself in danger.
Surely, it meant... But then, he was probably just
doing his duty, protecting the Traveler. She was
crazy for thinking Akio could care. Not him. <<Heh.
You're such a tomboy, and your hair is even shorter
than mine! I hate girls with short hair!>> No, he
was a complete jerk, and she was wasting her time even
thinking about him. She...
"Tomomi!" Suki shook her shoulder, forcing her back
to reality. "You haven't said anything in a long
while. You okay?"
"Nani? Oh, yeah, sure thing. What were we talking
about again?" She should follow her friends' example,
Tomomi told herself, and simply enjoy the moment.
These minutes of peace were much too rare anyway...
and she wouldn't let Akio spoil them. Who cared?
Still... she did wish her hair would grow faster...
Suki laughed at her friend's absent-mindedness, but
her laughter was tinged with worry. She really
shouldn't be out here, doing nothing, a nagging little
voice told her. Not when she still hadn't caught the
Pretender, not when the fate of the whole world rested
in her hands. The Pretender was a dangerous enemy,
and she'd do better to spend her time trying to track
him down... Suki pushed those thoughts forcefully
away, biting her lip. She deserved this. She was
allowed to take a break once in a while, dammit. The
Pretender was hiding, keeping a low profile -- he
wouldn't attack for some days yet. When he did, she'd
take care of him, but for now, why couldn't she just
spend some time in the company of her friends?
Because she was Pretty Fighter Suki, the Magical
Girl, and no matter how ridiculous that sounded, it
was her job. A job without holidays, weekends or
vacations. A job where quitting simply wasn't an
option. When she'd agreed to take the title, she had
no idea what she was getting herself into. Of course,
she watched the Magical Girl shows on T.V., so she
knew a little about what to expect, but real life
never turns out the way you expect it to. Unlike the
T.V. heroines, she had no guarantee that she'd survive
the next fight, or that a Super Special Final Attack
would be presented to her at the last minute to save
the day. So why did she accept the job in the first
place? Why did she keep on going? Suki considered.
Well... because, in spite of the stress, in spite of
everything, she really did love it. She loved the
rush of adrenaline that accompanied all of her
battles, she loved the power that her alter ego gave
her, she loved the fact that the world depended on
her--her!--for its safety. When she was Pretty
Fighter Suki, she was in control. For someone who,
throughout her whole life, had been average, that
feeling was a delicious, intoxicating drink that
thrummed in her veins like so much liquid fire. And
it wasn't as if the job didn't have other advantages.
Her partner, for instance. Suki smiled wickedly. Say
what you will, but Magical Girls get the *best* love
interests. Night-dark hair, jade-green eyes, and a
body to die for. She didn't know his name, and he
didn't know hers -- that was the way it had to be --
but it just made him more mysterious. And mystery was
quite... tantalizing. Now if only all the bad guys
could go off somewhere and leave the two of them
alone... But she hadn't had time alone for a while
now. She didn't even have time to study, which was
why she was stuck in summer school. And which was why
she appreciated these scant moments of quiet all the
more. They...
"Suki!" Kagome waved a hand in front of her face,
sending her unfinished thoughts scampering to the
corners of her mind. "Were you listening?" Seeing
Suki's dazed expression, Kagome smiled and shook her
head in mock exasperation. "I guess not. Well, I've
got to get going. I still have... um, chores to do
around the temple, and gramps gets grumpy when I'm
late." *Not to mention Inu-Yasha!* she added
mentally.
"Yeah, it's about time I got home, too," Tomomi
agreed. Akio was probably waiting, impatient as
ever... "The sun's about to set, and I was only
supposed to be gone a few minutes."
"Oh, me too!" Suki looked at her watch. "I can't
believe how long I've been here." She had to meet her
partner at sundown, and only half an hour was left!
She'd better hurry; he wasn't big on tardiness. "See
you later, guys!"
The three girls walked off, each thinking her own
thoughts, each certain that the others couldn't
understand.
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**Author's Note: This fic came about because I was
thinking of Kagome's relationship with her friends.
Mainly, I was wondering why they were friends in the
first place: the other girls seemed like such
airheads! I know that at the start of the manga
Kagome was that way too, but still it wasn't enough
for me. I wanted a better reason for them to be
friends--and to remain friends--than what the idle
gushy boy-chatter they spend their time on indicates.
So I thought: what makes people friends in the first
place? Usually, it's something they have in common, a
shared bond. Maybe, unbeknownst to them, Kagome and
her friends have more in common than they think.
Maybe that's what drew them together from the
beginning. It could work. Since the two girls don't
know about Kagome's other life, it's logical to assume
that she doesn't know about theirs. Oh, well, I've
gone on much too long now, so...
Ja!
K-chan
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"There are two things I cannot stand: one is intolerance, the other is hypocrisy."
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