Forget Me Not by Celyia

One

She closed her eyes, her bare arms outstretched before her, as she felt the early morning breeze whispering against her cotton-clad body. The soothing breath of air was a welcome relief from the intense heat wave that had been hitting the city lately. Smiling sweetly from the morning's kiss, Kagome opened her eyes and leaned against the wrought iron railing, only to look upon the neighbourhood below.

"Kagome-chan! " a soft tenor called out. "That was the office. I can't pick you up from uni today. Will you be okay finding another way home?"

"It's okay, Hojou-kun. I'll catch the bus," Kagome smiled as she took one last glance over the balcony. Even from ten floors above, she could see the people running back and forth through the streets, each person living his own epic tale; each pursuing his own dream.

Life is amazing.

Kagome chuckled as she walked back in through the sliding glass doors, her callused hands reaching for the faded jean jacket her roommate had placed so carefully upon the wooden chair.

"Don't think I'll be around for dinner, either. You know how it is..."

The young woman winked at her friend. "Oh, yeah. I know how it is. Well, tell me... is she at least cute?"

Hojou's innocent, round face flushed as he looked at the carpeted floor.

"Oh, she is!" Kagome grinned in delight.

"It's just work and all."

Kagome nodded as she patted the man on his shoulder. "Yeah, I know. But don't let opportunity pass you by, Romeo. Life's too short for regrets."

He chuckled politely, stopping only to bend his tall frame over to kiss his ex-girlfriend on the cheek. "Regrets? Me? Never. You be safe, Kagome-chan. Good luck on your first day. And if you need me, just call my mobile."

The girl just laughed, thanking him, as she shrugged into the jacket, her eyes following the handsome attorney to the door until he left with a small wave.

"How quickly time goes by, doesn't it, Inuyasha?" Kagome mumbled as she folded her arms across her chest. "How much things change."

~*~*~*~

She ran, her thick black hair flying out behind her like a banner, hoping she would reach the bus in time. All she had to do was turn one more corner and then, at least, she could wave down old Hatamoto-san. The bus driver had taken a liking to Kagome a few years before when she first transferred to the university and since then, had made it a point to help her out when he could.

Even if she had been making it a habit of been late for the last two semesters.

"Oh, come on! Don't be early, Hatamoto-san! Don't be early!" she muttered as she pulled her backpack tightly against her body. She was nearly at the corner... just a few more steps would do it...

"Don't be... he's early," Kagome sighed deeply as she watched the bus drive by, its deep blue and white stripes blurring into a haze as it drove off into the horizon.

Two choices, the young woman decided as she continued walking to the bus stop. I could either hire a taxi to take me to uni or catch the next bus. Either way, I'm at least late to my first class if I don't miss it completely...

Dammit.

Sighing, she sat upon the cold, concrete bench and waited. Considering the state of her finances, it was probably better just to miss the first class than spend the cash hiring a taxi... but the idea of missing the first class of a semester made her extremely nervous. What happens if the professor decided to dismiss her from the class? She needed this class! Bad!

"No. I'll just explain it to the professor," Kagome decided as she brought out a couple pieces of paper to draw on. "Houta-sensei knows things like this happen."

The next bus didn't arrive for a good thirty minutes and the driver? Kagome shuddered as she pulled her jacket closed, the driver seemed to be intent on sneaking any peek of her body he could.

The hentai.

She was probably too old to be so silly, Kagome thought honestly as she continued doodling on the piece of paper, but she couldn't help dressing up a little bit nicer than usual on the first day of the semester. It was a tradition now, even though she was almost done with her Bachelor of Science in archaeology. All she needed was this last semester and she'd have the requirements needed to be accepted for admission into graduate school.

Graduate.

Kagome smiled, her eyes staring out of the streaked window as she watched the city fly by. There was a time not so long ago that Kagome ever wondered if she'd graduate from high school. After all the ... obstacles of her 9th and 10th year, it seemed impossible to catch up.

In fact, some days she wondered if perhaps it wasn't best if she had stayed there after all. But in the end, she never even had a choice in the matter.

And as terrible as it sounded, Kagome was glad that the decision, in the end, wasn't hers to make. Honesty forced the young woman to admit that if the decision had been in her hands, she would have made the wrong one.

At that time, she wanted nothing more in the world than to stay. There.

With him.

Now, while she missed him still and, when she was scared or nervous, she would talk to him as if he were listening, Kagome was infinitely relieved that the time she lived in was her own. She loved her life now because, in its own way, it was just as challenging and wonderful as her time spent in a world that had been dead for over five hundred years.

Not that there were times she would have gladly gone back to Inuyasha, of course. Kagome frowned, her hands worrying at the tanned skin of her fingers, as she remembered the heartbreak living now entailed. The failures, the triumphs... she had no where to hide from it all. She had seriously dated Hojou for several years (though she could never bring herself to call him by his first name- he would now and always remain "Hojou-kun" in her heart) and things had become serious enough where they decided to move in together.

And then Souta...

After the accident, right before he lost consciousness, Souta had whispered one thing through his cracked lips: No regrets. And she promised herself, for her brother who had now been locked into a coma for three years, she would do her damnedest to live with all her heart and have no regrets.

It was a hard thing to live up to but somehow, she did it. And somehow, she carried on. So she came back home and broke up with her boyfriend, good and safe old Hojou- the man who was good and wonderful, but one she could never love.

You couldn't replace Inuyasha, she thought as she slowly collected her things together. She didn't want to replace him. But just because he was her first love didn't mean he would be her last.

The funny thing about life, Kagome smiled, standing as the bus came to a stop, was that after a while, life forced you to live.