Part 2
Chapter 5
The Proposal
Kagome was running late. Hojo was not waiting for her outside the restaurant, but she hadn’t expected him to be. She entered, and the host greeted her with a friendly smile.
“Hello, ma’am,” she said. “How can I help you today?”
“Actually,” Kagome said, “I’m meeting someone. His name is-”
“Kagome!” came a voice from behind the hostess. Hojo was standing there, looking absolutely handsome in a tuxedo. Kagome, in a plain white dress and black high heels, felt terribly underdressed. Hojo smiled brightly at her. “You look beautiful, as always.”
He turned to address the hostess. “Her seat had already been paid for, ma’am,” he said. Than, he extended his arm for Kagome to take, and led her back to the table.
It was a beautiful little restaurant. Paintings of the feudal era adorned the walls, and everything was decorated in traditional Japanese style. Though it was a small place, it gave off an air of privacy and class. Kagome figured that it was probably expensive to eat there. Hojo, however, never said anything about the price. He pulled her chair out for her and she sat. He sat down across from her, still smiling brightly.
“What do you think?” he asked. “Do you like the place?”
Kagome smiled. “It’s lovely. I love the artwork!”
That second part was lie. The paintings reminded her of experiences…of certain people, that she would rather not think about.
It was fortunate that Kagome did not have a lot of time to dwell on this, as Hojo was very pleasant company. He was a graphic designer, and he told her about projects he was expecting to be working on. In his case, it didn’t come off as bragging, for he asked for her opinions on some of his ideas, and when he was done, he asked her numerous questions about her day, although only two had passed since they had last seen each other.
When their dinner came, Hojo poured them both some wine, and raised his glass. “To our one year anniversary,” he said.
They toasted, and began to eat.
Hojo looked distracted, but it was in an excited and anxious way. “You know, Kagome,” he said. “I was going to wait until after the meal, but I think I’ll do it now.”
“Hojo….” Kagome whispered, tears beginning to fill her eyes as she saw where this was going.
He held the box so it faced her and opened it. Inside was a marvelous diamond ring, with a gold band. Kagome couldn’t guess how much this had cost him.
Hojo smiled brightly, “Kagome Higurashi, will you marry me?”
There was a brief moment where the last three years flashed before Kagome’s eyes…and she clearly remembered everything that he was trying not to think of:
Three years had passed since Inuyasha had left. True to her word, Kagome had not followed after him. But he never returned for her. She had been patient for a while, but then that patience disappeared. Every night, she would sit in the well house and wait for him. She cried more that first year than she could ever remember crying…but he never came back. The second went better than the first, but Kagome was still determined that eventually, Inuyasha would return. She wanted to return to the feudal era…to see Miroku, Sango, and Shippou. She had not gotten the chance to say good-bye to them, and she wanted nothing more than to say ‘hello’ once again. And then there was Inuyasha. Before he had left, he had said to Kagome:
“I’ll come get you when I figure this out. I swear I will…We‘ll spend the rest of our lives together, I promise.”
More than anything else in the world, she wanted to see that promise fulfilled.
But, when the second year ended, Kagome was beginning to lose hope. It had, after all, been two years. She realized that she had a right to be happy…and that she couldn’t spend the rest of her life waiting for Inuyasha to return to her.
It was when she came to this decision that she finally allowed Hojo into her life. Though a lot of time had passed, he still had not given hope on her. Kagome decided to give him a chance. They dated for a year, and though Kagome still had an aching hole in her heart where Inuyasha had once been, she was happy.
And she deserved this happiness…
Kagome had to remind herself of this when she said “Yes,” and accepted the ring from Hojo.
* * *
As Hojo walked her home after the dinner, his face was all smiles. Kagome couldn’t help but feel drawn into his joy. She loved Hojo…at least, she thought she did. The truth was, she didn’t feel for him anywhere near as strongly as she had felt for Inuyasha, and she wasn’t sure if her love for Hojo went any deeper than friendship. Regardless, she had now agreed to marry him…if for no other reason that to help her forget the hanyou.
Instead of walking her to the front door and departing, led her around to the last place she wanted to be- outside of the well house. He turned to face her and said “I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited about anything in my life! I must be the luckiest man in the world!” He lifted her off her feet and spun her around.
During the spin, Kagome thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye…someone standing in the door to the well house. This figure was so cloaked in darkness that only the outline was visible. Kagome quickly dismissed it as her imagination.
Hojo put Kagome back on her feet. “Are you as happy as I am?” He asked, his eyes twinkling.
Kagome, couldn’t help but steal a glance toward the figure. It hadn’t moved an inch. I’m just imagining things, Kagome told herself again. “I am,” she said, looking back to Hojo.
“We’re going to have a great life together, Kagome,” Hojo said. “I’ll make sure you have everything you want. We’ll be so happy…it’ll be sickening!” he joked.
Kagome laughed. “I’m sure we will be,” she said.
“When do you want the wedding to be?” he asked.
Kagome blushed. “Hojo…I’m not…”
“Not sure?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she told him.
“That’s okay,” Hojo said, putting an arm around her waist. “I don’t want to rush this. We’ll do it whenever you’re ready!” He smiled, and she smiled back.
Hojo leaned in and kissed her deeply. As they locked lips, Kagome looked toward the well house.
She saw a brief flash of silver…and then nothing at all.