Seasons by Lady Penguin

Akisame

Seasons

by Lady Penguin

Author's notes: Hmm. I'm blaming this on the penguins.

Disclaimer: What, are you kidding? I don't own Inuyasha! (Just his body)

Additional: AU; Modern era, I suppose; Sess/Kag; inspired by "Seasons", sung by Ayumi Hamasaki.

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ACT 01 - Akisame

And another knows naught of its chilling fall upon him at all, on whom the rain comes down." - Thomas Hardy.

It happened exactly fourteen years ago, in that forbidden garden, in the white dress she always loved to wear. Her mother had told her not to go into that garden, the garden that lay so temptingly in her view each day as she walked home from school. And she didn't listen. It wasn't easy, mind you, for the walls were so high that she had to tilt her head up all the way up just to see where the top was. But her resolution was set, and with a strong determination, she clutched the clean, white fabric of her dress with her small fists and began her cumbersome climb by gripping the vines that curled all around the wall's surface.

She didn't know how long it took, nor did she care. When she got over the wall, panting with exertion, she knew that her climb hadn't gone to waste. Rows and rows of tall, magnificent trees greeted her and soft, downy carpets of grass lay beneath beds of pretty flowers that seemed just perfect for picking. Her eyes grew larger with wonder with each object she took in; flowers ranging from delicatelly shaped to beautiful large blooms of a variety of pastel colors, the beautiful pond full of lilies, and she of course didn't fail to miss that the garden was exactly like the place she saw so many times in her books, filled with fairytales and princesses.

The problem was how to actually get down from the wall she climbed up. Pouting prettily, her forehead creased in consternation. That was when it happened. She met him. Fourteen years ago, her heart had soared, her breath was taken away--

"Hey, girl!" A boy with the most unruly mop of hair she'd ever seen, shouted, "Go away!"

And she fell. Literally. Thus, explaining why her breath was taken away when she teetered over the wall and her heart soared when she let out a little yelp of surprise.

"OooWwmph!"

Kagome's eyes widened as a little gasp escaped her lips. Something a little soft, a little squirmy, and a little warm was under her. Scrambling to get off of whomever was under her, she muttered some incoherent apologies. I'm so, so, so, sorry. Did I hurt you? Oh, my dress is all ruined! You won't tell my mother, will you? The boy blinked at her, quite dumbfounded at how a person's mouth could move so fast. How very odd. His eyes... were very brown, very burnt, and very... different from hers.

"Oi, stupid-head!" He grunted, "Look at what you did!"

Shaking her head, the little girl apologized profusely again. "Eeek. I'm sorry!"

Narrowing his eyes at her, he snarled, "Do you know who I am? My father will get you for this!"

"I told you," she repeated hastily, "I'm very sorry!"

"Well, sorry isn't enough!" A growl of dismay. A snobbish sniff.

"Well..." The girl's eyes were very large and her voice became very tearful. "What.. What do you want me to do?"

He seemed to ponder this for a moment. "Well... I'm bored with all my toys and I've never had a human pet before. How about you be mine?"

She blinked at him in confusion. "Human pet?"

He blinked back at her, scowling. "You have to play with me."

Kagome's eyes widened enthusiastically and she exclaimed, "Here?!"

"Where else? Oi, you stupid girl, don't you know anything?"

She frowned. The boy wasn't very nice. "My name is Ka-go-me. I live right around the corner."

"I don't care," He replied, getting to his feet. And surprisingly, he held out a hand for her.

Kagome frowned at him, but she took his hand happily. While he was muttering something about his father telling him that he should always be nice to girls, and that he was going to share his toys with her (though, he didn't want to), she took the time to take in the beauty of the garden once more. So, this was the forbidden garden. She felt like a little princess, in her dirty white dress and patches of smudges on her cheeks.

"Ey, you!" He snapped, "Are you listening to me?"

She smiled at him and asked, "What's your name?"

A hint of confusion. She wanted to know his name? "Keh, it's Inu-Yasha. I'm surprised you don't already know me."

"We can be good friends!" Kagome exclaimed warmly, smiling at him broadly.

"Keh," He grunted, "No way, you're my pet!"

"Am not!"

"Is too!"

And Inu-Yasha, with his arrogant and cocky demeanor, was the prince.

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*

Many summers came to pass, and now, the first drops of autumn rain fell upon the garden once more. It was odd. It rarely rained here in autumn, but the gray drops of water continued to shower upon the city for a whole week. Sighing heavily, so that wisps of cold air blew from her lips, Kagome touched her small fingertips to the windowpane regretfully.

"The gardens are pretty today," She murmured, turning around to face her friend, "It's too bad we can't be out there."

Inu-Yasha nodded, the bangs of his fluffy, white bangs fell over his brow characteristically. Kagome loved his hair. She had watched its transformation from an unruly mop of dark coal into a long, cascading blanket of white. Endlessly white. Faintly blushing, Kagome turned around quickly to concentrate on the falling drops of rain. They touched the fragile leaves gently, rolled slowly down to the tips of the soft petals, until finally, they were lost to the ground. So immersed was she, in trying not to concentrate on Inuyasha, that she barely heard him tell her about his older brother. Sesshomaru, was it? How very nice. Your family must be very anxious.

"Inu-Yasha... your hair is so pretty! I remember when it used to be black... Why did it change color? My hair doesn't change color!" She pouted in disappointment.

"Keh," He grinned arrogantly, "because I'm youkai, that's why!"

"What's youkai?"

"Keh! Stupid girl!"

"Can I touch it?" Kagome looked at him with pleading eyes. "Please?"

Rolling his eyes exasperatedly, he sighed, "Whatever."

And Kagome never forgot how soft it felt between her fingers.

Kagome responded with distracted murmurs until finally, Inuyasha became impatient. "Are you listening to me?"

Turning around, she offered him a familiar smile. "Of course, Inuyasha. You said your brother was coming home."

Inuyasha scowled. "Keh, you weren't paying attention enough."

Laughing at his ridiculous pout, Kagome continued, "Sesshomaru... He has a very interesting name, very... chilling. Where has he been?"

"He went to college in England," Inuyasha replied nonchalantly, "I have to leave soon, too."

Kagome's smile faltered. "You never told me this."

He frowned at her in consternation. "Every boy that turns eighteen in my family has to go off to college in England. I thought I told you already! You don't listen!"

Kagome bit her lower lip harshly. She was only sixteen. "When will you be leaving?"

"In the summer," He replied.

"I don't want you to leave," Kagome told him, turning away sharply. She concentrated, instead, on the bleak shadows of the sky.

"I know," He said quietly, "I know."

The both of them were soon submerged into silnece. Kagome's heart sank, and she was sure that it was falling slowly just like the rain drops right outside.

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*

Sesshomaru, the reputed older brother of Inu-Yasha, proved to be nothing like his younger brother. The night he came home, Inu-Yasha had invited Kagome over for dinner, and Kagome felt, for the first time, the full effect of the two brothers' differences.

"What's this human girl doing here?" He asked, sniffing daintily. "Her scent disturbs me."

"Sesshomaru," Inu-Yasha's mother spoke gently, "Please, don't be so unkind to our guest."

"Her name is Kagome," Inu-Yasha told him, amber eyes flashing.

"I didn't ask you," Sesshomaru bit, "hanyou."

It would be the first time Kagome had heard the discriminating word thrown at Inu-Yasha, but it was not the last time. Then, Sesshomaru looked down upon her. He seemed to be in his early twenties and instead of being boyishly handsome like Inu-Yasha, he was breathtakingly beautiful. He was ridiculously tall and towered over her easily. The unusual red marks on his face inevitably led her eyes to trail to his eyes, and instead of the innocent eyes that Inu-Yasha had, his cold amber eyes refused to show any warmth. So cold that Kagome would not remember it as amber, but of a steel gray. Cold and gray.

"I do not want her here," Sesshomaru continued monotonously.

"Inu-Yasha," Kagome whispered, "I... I want to go home. I'm going home."

"No," He growled, "No, you won't."

And the autumn rain outside pounded against the windows more violently than before.

And now, on the steps of Inu-Yasha's mansion, she felt it again. She tried to stay away from him all year, yet she felt the force of his disdain. In the winter, he was colder than before, with his snow-white hair and pale, alabaster skin, Sesshomaru's presence haunted her whenever she was in the great halls of the mansion. Kagome thought it would be better in the spring, for the petals fluttered so prettily down in the garden. But it did not get better.

She did not remember Inu-Yasha's energy as he ran home with her from the local school to collapse upon the lush grounds of the garden, panting with renewed energy, and how he used to tickle her afterwards. No. She only remembered those cold eyes, those gray, haunting eyes. No, they were amber... but so cold. It had gotten so bad that she had eventually stopped coming to Inu-Yasha's garden to be with him.

But Inu-Yasha was leaving, and Kagome may never get to see him. Clutching the small package close to her chest, she drew in a deep breath and lifted a hand to knock upon the great doors of the mansion.

"Miss Higurashi," the servant greeted, "Are you here for master Inu-Yasha?"

She nodded, smiling at him. "Yes, Kei, I am."

As he was about to open his mouth to say something, a dark shadow fell upon them both. "Who is it, Kei?"

Kagome paled. Sesshomaru.

"Wench," Sesshomaru said coolly, "I had thought you already made the wise choice of not coming here anymore."

Though shaking inside, she lifted her chin higher and said, "I've come to see Inu-Yasha."

He looked at her with fathomless eyes, and again, Kagome felt cold. So unbelievably cold. The servant, Kei, watched on helplessly as he watched his master regard the little girl he knew from Inu-Yasha's early days with contempt.

"He is gone," Sesshomaru finally replied.

Kagome felt the stinging behind her eyes. "You're lying."

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at her. Filthy girl. "How dare you? I, Sesshomaru, never lie. It is not my fault that a lowly, human girl such as you failed to keep the attentions of my brother. You should not be so surprised or hurt, bitch. After all, you're only human."

A sneer from him. An inaudible whimper from her.

"Master--"

"Come, Kei," Sesshomaru spoke with a flourish, "We don't have time for things such as her."

"Sesshomaru, please--!"

The door closed in her face.

And so, with tearstains upon her cheek, she ran.

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*

Staring out the window of the passenger seat in the car, Kagome pressed her fingertips against its cold surface. Raining. It was raining again. Tracing the trails of the raindrops, she closed her eyes and smiled happily. She'd waited two years for this. Two years. Her mother had consented, her grandfather had agreed to pay for the expenses, and even her little brother, Souta, felt happy for her. They were all so worried about her because she was never quite the same after Inu-Yasha left.

England was so pretty, Kagome mused to herself.

She had also heard that it rained here all the time. Kagome had learned to love the rain. Autumn clouds here, in England, were always gray and dreary. She liked it that way. It gave her sense of calm, a feeling of longing that she somehow learned to accept. Grasping the little piece of paper within her hands, Kagome turned her head to the driver, and told him in English to turn right.

"Where are you from?" He asked her, his accent was very thick.

"Japan," she answered.

"Ah," he nodded his head as if he knew the place very well, "it is very pretty there, is it not?"

She nodded absent-mindedly. Japan seemed... far away somehow. High school passed so quickly. So lonely. Kagome had friends, all of them were nice, but her heart was just too far away. Her heart belonged here; it belonged with Inu-Yasha. The driver and she exchanged polite inquiries, but her mind was already whisked away to some corner of the past, locked away in her memory. Again, like so many times after she met him, Kagome's mind wandered to the stoic older brother of Inu-Yasha once more.

In high school, he held the highest reputation. Handsome. Intelligent. All the girls wanted him. He didn't even go to the school, but no matter, the students felt his greatness within the school's crowded halls anyway. He was still many years her senior, but Kagome noticed that he didn't seem to age at all; he was still painstakingly beautiful as the day she met him. Sometimes, Kagome could not help but stare at him in awe.

The extent of his beauty was incomparable. And sometimes, she fancied to herself that she saw a little bit of Inu-Yasha in his facial features. But never his eyes. They never spoke to each other again, but his eyes... His cold eyes would always turn to her with the same contempt whenever they saw each other. She sometimes wanted to see him lose his quiet, unfeeling demeanor once. Just once.

The first tragedy hit the taiyoukai's family when Inu-Yasha's mother died. Their father followed two weeks after her death, and Inu-Yasha... Inu-Yasha did not return for the funeral. She had wanted to go mourn, for Inu-Yasha's family had treated her with hospitality and kindness, but she was afraid of what Sesshomaru might say and do. Kagome couldn't understand the power he held over her, the uncontrollable quakes of fear that made her tremble every time he was in view, the need to cower underneath his stare. Sesshomaru had forbidden everyone, except for the servants of the house, to come to the funeral. A little part of Kagome told her that maybe... just maybe, he didn't want anyone to see his lips uncurl from its sneer, didn't want anyone to see him crumble.

"Miss? We're here." The driver's voice brought her back to reality.

Smiling graciously at him, Kagome handed him the money and stepped out of the car. Unfolding her umbrella and flicking it open, Kagome held it over her head as she glanced at the gray, ominous skies.

"Not a very good day to see him, now is it?" She murmured to herself.

As she crossed the streets, passed several lofty apartments, Kagome heard the throaty laughter of a woman. Kagome smiled. Soon, she thought to herself, soon. Soon, she would be able to laugh like that. Soon, she would be able to see Inu-Yasha again. And so, with renewed vigor and enthusiasm, she rounded the corner.

A gasp.

An exclamation of recognition. "Ka--Kagome!"

"Inu.. Yasha..."

The autumn rain was cold. So unbelievably cold as it trailed down her cheeks and into her heart, where it was locked away for an eternity.

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Notes (!) : Sincerest apologies to Inu/Kag fans, hehe. Really, it was like, "make her meet Inu-Yasha, oh but Sesshomaru's delicious, so make Kagome get with Sesshomaru instead." -_-' Feedback wanted. =) (Shameless, really, but uhm, aren't we all?)