Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained by Ko Torii
92 Subaru
Alright! So I'm back with my first new story in almost a year...several updates are on their way (taking their dear sweet time of course lol) This newest story is loosely based on a concept that anyone who takes part in Facebook will recognize. I put my Ipod on shuffle and with the first 11 songs that were played decided to make a new story. I'm aware not everyone loves song fics, so I will continue my pattern of separating the song from the story clearly so it is easily skip-able for any straight narrative readers. 7 pages for a first chapter ain't bad for my first time back. ☺
The song in this chapter is called "92 Subaru" by Fountains of Wayne.
To listen to it here is a link that requires no downloading pr accounts:
http://www.playlist.com/searchbeta/tracks#92%20subaru
Disclaimer: I do not claim any rights toward the creation/ownership of the characters of Inuyasha or the lyrics written by Fountains of Wayne.
Enjoy!
---------
Tokyo, Japan
Kagome Higurashi wasn't what one would call the adventurous type. Sure she tried exotic looking foods and went on horribly unsafe looking roller coasters with her friends; like most people, but she didn't exactly live a life of danger and mystery. She had created a modest life in a rather lovely little flat on the outer edges of Tokyo and worked in a rather unimposing building deeper in town called "Flor". Working as a Co-Manager at a hip little clothing boutique nestled in Tokyo's shopping district definitely had its perks. The first and foremost being the amazing discounts on some of the hottest fashions of the season. However, as fantastic as the position may be it had one major downfall that could be summed up into two words: The Elite. High fashion drew all sorts of fabulous looking people with super sized egos and even worse attitudes. Every single one, be them male or female, came in with their heads held high to look down their noses at anyone who appeared unworthy of their all-important presence. Kagome almost always seemed to receive this treatment, while her co-worker Kaori managed The Elite with a calm grace. It was frustrating to say the least. It was this mountain of stress that urged Kagome to return home at least once a month and unwind.
Her flat was spacious enough for one person, and had an unbeatable panoramic view of the city she'd grown to love. It really was a lucky find, especially with all of the space constraints in a city as jam packed as Tokyo. However, this cozy apartment could never be considered her true home. After all, she came from a long line of mikos and monks and was therefore brought up in a holy environment; one that called to her inner need for peace of mind that was so illusive in town.
Her family home stood out ever so slightly from the identical architecture of the cookie-cutter-neighborhood she had once lived in. It was here long before the suburbs ever were, and would hopefully be standing long into the future. This home was none other than the Higurashi Shrine, made famous by the stories about brilliant displays of holy warriors and ancient religious relics that even international museums would fight to own. It was this very shrine that could be seen in the distance from her drivers seat. Just seeing the shrine gate standing as picturesquely as it had in her childhood began to calm her frazzled nerves.
Her decision to come home on this balmy Tuesday was not solely due to the demanding nature of her city life. She had made a decision, and her mother would have to hear about it in advance and in person. This wasn't something that a mother should be told over the phone. Kagome Higurashi: miko and 'fashonista extraordinaire' was taking a temporary leave from her senses. She had, in other words, decided to take half a year abroad. In California.
Mrs. Higurashi saw her daughter coming down the street in the same local taxi she always used. It was halfway through the month and about the same time that her daughter would always come visit to take a break from the real world. As much as she enjoyed having her little girl visit her so often, she sometimes thought that maybe her daughter needed a little more spice to her life.
Entering her family home Kagome abruptly yelled, "Mama? I'm home!"
"Kagome, dear! Come into the kitchen. I'm just starting dinner!"
Was the only response she received. After crossing the small entry hall Kagome turned at the doorway to the kitchen only to stop at the center table. Delicately sitting in the old wooden chairs she placed her hands on the tabletop and waited for her mother to notice her placement. However, her mother was far too busy listening to some music on the kitchen radio while washing dishes. There were several minutes filled of only soft music and the clanking of dishes in the sink, a soothing rhythm that Kagome welcomed in her stressful life. Once finished, Mrs. Higurashi turned around drying her hands and raised an eyebrow at her eldest child. It was unusual to see her sitting so formally while at home. With no words she sat at the table and locked eyes with Kagome.
With a deep breath Kagome decided to dive right in. Literally. She was talking very quickly and arguing with herself.
"Mama....I have something kind of important to tell you. And it's not bad! Well not too bad...well not bad at all, just weird...but not weird in a strange way! Just...just...oh! You know what I mean!"
With a sigh Kagome thought to herself, 'Well there goes the calm approach. Great job Kagome.'
"Kagome I need you to repeat that a lot slower. Try actually breathing between sentences. Then I'll try to understand."
Kagome steeled herself for the shock she was about to bring to her mother.
"Well....mama...I've decided on something."
"What?"
"I'm going to spend half a year in America."
"You're what?! You can't be serious! You have a wonderful job, an apartment, and a family here. Why on earth would you want to go to America?"
“It’s just something I think I have to do Mama…I just…I just wanted to let you know before I left on Friday.”
Mrs. Higurashi just continued to look at her daughter as though she was a little special in the head before asking,
“Kagome are you sure? What about your life here? Time stands still for no one, you know.”
With a sarcastic grin Kagome replied,
"Mama! I'll be fine. I already told Kaori she'd have to be a single manager for a while. She didn't seem to be upset at all, so my job will still be there when I come back. And you know that I signed the two-year lease on my apartment. The up-front payment plan I chose is finally going to come in handy. I'm caught up on a whole year of rent."
Mrs. Higurashi told herself to calm down and took a deep breath. Finally looking up at her daughter with an amused smile she said,
"Well, it will be quiet around here without you and Souta bickering during your visits, but you're an adult now and I suppose I should try and be supportive. Let's start getting you packed."
"Oh thank you!!" With a great hug to her mother Kagome excitedly headed up the stairs, feeling like a peppy high school girl for the first time in almost four years.
.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.
I bought a car off a couple o' ladies way upstate
Took off the Greenpeace sticker and the New Hampshire plates
My friends are saying that I may have made a mistake but I
I tell 'em have a little faith now fellas, just you wait
.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.
Middle of nowhere, North Carolina:
A young man in a business casual outfit approached Kagome while she was looking at a little blue car in his used vehicles lot. He was after all, Kouga Wolfe. The most successful car salesman his side of the old Mason Dixon line. He started off negotiations with a casual, "So what do you think?"
Kagome turned to look up at the man who questioned her. A quick perusal told her that he was most likely a sleazy salesman, so she'd have to go in fast and hard to get this car for dirt-cheap.
"Personally, I think this car is a piece of crap."
With a look of shock Kouga said, "Miss....?"
"Higurashi."
"Well Miss Higurashi, I can assure you that none of the cars in this in lot are in anything less than mint condition. We take great pride in our vehicles here."
"So that's why there's a crack in the windshield, rusting paint and what looks like a patched spare tire on the rear axle? And that's only what I can see!"
Sputtering for a quick recovery Kouga finally managed to pull himself together and turned back to Kagome with a suave smile that she didn't like one bit.
"What? It must have been vandalized! Here, let me show you a vehicle that I'm sure you will love."
He gently put a hand on Kagome's lower back to lead her toward their more expensive vehicles thinking all the time that he was about to get a big sale. Kagome however, had ideas that all disagreed. That little blue piece of crap was just the piece of crap that she wanted to carry her around this foreign country. If it could survive all of the damage it had already gotten and still be sellable on the market then she was confident it would be good enough to get her to California.
With a quick glance to his nametag Kagome said, "Actually Mr.....Kouga, I think I will take that little blue number back there. I'm sure I can give you a great deal for a fixer upper like that. 2,000 dollars would be generous, but luckily for you I'm a rather generous person."
"2,000? Are you ridiculous? A quality vehicle like that for so little? All it needs is a coat of paint and a new tire and it will be golden!"
"Don't try and play me Mister. I don’t need to know much about cars to know that that car is a hop, skip and a jump away from being a real lemon!"
Becoming resigned to having this woman rip him off for his cute little Subaru Kouga lead her to the filing desk where two ladies sat waiting.
"Kagome these lovely ladies are Gina and Henrietta. They'll help you with all the paperwork, and don't let 'em sass you." With a wink to the two women, who were in a twitter over his joke, Kouga left to hopefully find a less irascible customer.
"Well howdy! My names Gina and this here's Henri. You buying that blue bonk in the side lot? I hope you know it's gonna need a good amount of work. But is awful cute! Well let's see here..."
She went off to work on the paper work while Henri fought the filing cabinet to get out the registration and keys to this little blue Subaru. Kagome watched all these proceedings with wide eyes. These Americans really are like what everyone said they would be. Usually out for money, loud and friendly, if not a little odd.
.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.
Puttin' in the new shocks and the anti-lock brakes
One touch ignition for convenience sake
And when I'm through it's gonna look and run better than new
So baby don't make a move
Because I'm coming for you
I'm coming for you
.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.
Henri turned to Kagome with a maternal smile and took one hand in both of hers in order to discreetly slip her a piece of paper. In a conspiratorial whisper she said, "Just go to this address and my son and nephew will set that little car straight for a price you can't sneeze at. You give me a call too if they try to pull any funny business on you, ya hear?"
"Henri you better not be trying to push Kouga's business to our boys again! You know how much trouble we got in with the dealership last time!"
Gina said all this with a concerned look, but then turned to Kagome with a sly wink. Kagome had a nagging feeling that this was a frequent routine for these two women. However, the two kind Southerly ladies got her into her new car in under a half hour and she was on her way downtown with hand drawn directions to the car shop that Henri wasn't supposed to tell her about. With another 3,000 dollars to spare in her budget, Kagome felt rather proud of herself. Now she just had to pray that the repairs didn't eat up all her spare money.
With a pop and grinding noise Kagome pulled to a rough stop on the side of the road near a building called "All the Fixin's." It looked disturbingly homey. This couldn't be the repair shop....it was just too cute, almost like a bed and breakfast in a Home and Garden magazine. However just to the left of the main building was a path that looked like it went around back with a small sign stuck in the ground with a car on it pointing toward the back of the property. Despite the fact that the advertising left something to be desired Kagome figured she was already here, why not just go and see this car garage….how bad could it be? Kagome walked toward the corner of the house and was about to go down the side path when,
"Hey! You over there! You named Kagome?!"
This shout came from behind her, and as expected Kagome jumped about a foot in the air only to land ungraciously on her butt. With a hearty laugh a young man, the one she assumed yelled her name, came over and helped her to her feet.
"You scared me half to death!"
With a sheepish grin the man said,
"Sorry 'bout that one, Ma always says I get a little carried away meeting people. My name's Hagakku by the way. Anyhow, are you the girl that belongs to that piece of scrap metal at the end of my driveway? Cuz I just got a call from Aunt Henri at the dealership about it."
"Umm, yeah I just bought it. Do you think you could take a look at it for me?"
"I'll do more than look at it, I'll fix it up nice and shiny for you. No worries. Go on inside, my sister Ayame's making lunch in the inn."
Startled Kagome said, "Oh, you all own that cute little place too?"
"Ha, yes we do! Been in the family for years."
"Well thank you! I think lunch would be wonderful."
Kagome walked up to the house expecting to be loudly welcomed once again, and was not disappointed.
"You’re Kagome, right? Come on in sugar, I'm making breakfast for lunch!"
"Huh?"
"Pancakes and hash browns sweetie, they're my specialty!"
"That's because you don' know how to make anythin' else Ayame!" Another young man who looked eerily like Hagakku came walking through the Kitchen door.
"Ginta watch your mouth! You know I'm not above tellin' your mama!"
"Yeah, yeah. Now move over before you burn anything. There's a reason why I'm the chef and you're the hostess ya know."
Kagome had watched this whole exchange and was rather entranced. Throughout the argument this man named Ginta and Ayame were fighting over a spatula. Covering each other's hands until Ginta's was at the top. At this point Ayame finally gave in, but she didn't seem too disappointed. It must be a common occurrence here to see the chef and hostess bicker like children. It was then that Kagome recalled that they were in fact cousins and had probably been bickering for as long as they'd been alive. She decided to let them figure it all out and headed back toward the porch. It was almost 6 o'clock and she didn't want to miss her first American sunset. She took up position on the stairs, which would have a decent view of the sunset, interrupted only by the old pines on the property. She may only be in North Carolina, but she was on her way to California and she was going to enjoy every moment here in America. After all, she would only be here for half a year.
.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.
You better make way cause I'm coming through
In my late '92 baby blue Subaru
Ooh ooh ooh yeah yeah
My cousin Gary's taking a look at the transmission
.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.
The sunset itself was stunning; not blocked off by skyscrapers or interrupted by the sounds of horrible traffic. No, this sunset was peaceful and with the welcome she had received from everyone thus far, she felt very much at home. In fact this bed in breakfast reminded her a lot of the shrine, if a little less religious. Only a few minutes after it began the sun had gone almost all the way below the horizon. Kagome stood with a peaceful sigh and turned to go back into the house. However, before she could get very far, her momentum was stopped due to a collision with another body.
"Oomf! Hey what's the big idea?!"
A voice said as she heard a thump on the porch. Her eyes were adjusting to the new darkness when she found a teenage boy sitting on the porch rubbing his side. 'Apparently that's who I ran into,' Kagome thought.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see you when I got up. Here let me help you."
"No, no it's fine. I was supposed to come get you anyhow. ‘Lunch’ is finally ready." With a grumble he said, "Although it might as well be dinner by now."
With a little laugh at the giant air quotes he had used around ‘Lunch’ Kagome introduced herself to the young boy. She met the final member of the Wolfe family: Shippo. While they both walked toward the dining room they chatted about the family businesses. Shippo was the technology buff in the family and kept everything up to date from computers and cash registers to nifty little gizmos that people like to install in their cars. The car additions were actually done by his cousin Hagakku, but he made it all work. For a boy so young he had accomplished a number of things, and Kagome was very impressed. What had she done with her life? Sell clothes? Pamper the already pampered? The horrible idea made Kagome even happier with her decision to come to America; maybe she could find something better to do with her life back in Japan.
Kagome also found out that Kouga was the one who started the garage that Hagakku now ran. He went on to open a branch of a popular car dealership just a few years ago. She could tell that there was a little tension over such a corporate decision in such a small, business oriented family. 'That would explain the sassy secretaries,' she thought secretly.
"Well if you ever need your car ‘pimped’ as they call it, you know who to call ok?"
They laughed together as they sat down to eat. Kouga had come back from the dealership and was a little disgruntled to see Kagome there at his home, but quickly got over it when he saw the food; Ginta had really done a fantastic job. Kagome didn't think she'd eat again for weeks after such a filling meal.
.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.
Puttin' in the lime green plasma screen television
Seats feel like leather, you can't even tell that they're fake
And I only got a couple easy payments left to make
Just a little alcohol in the glove compartment minibar
.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.
Kagome was surprised to learn it was against Wolfe family sensibilities to send a person out on the road after dark, even if they'd only known them for a day. So after everyone was filled up from dinner Ayame lead her to a room on the upper floor of the bed and breakfast. The minute the door opened Kagome had to tell herself to keep breathing, and not to flip out at the sheer amount of flowers covering every surface in the place.
"I hope you like nature Kagome, cuz this room here's as close as you can get to it in the indoors. Gram painted every single rose herself, bless her soul."
“Oh really? That’s really……nice” Kagome began hesitantly.
With a good-humored grin Ayame noted.
“Yeah, losing Gramps in the war drove her a little batty, but boy did she love flowers.”
After a dazed nod Kagome gathered her wits and replied,
"Well, it is definitely well done Ayame. I've never seen anything like it." It was mostly the truth. She really never had seen anything so horribly floral in her life.
"Really? Flower rooms are a big thing around these parts, but they gotta be done a certain way ya know."
With one silent prayer sent to the Kami above Kagome crossed the threshold into the brightly colored room and took it all in. Her bags were already on top of the trunk by her bed and there was a vase of fresh flowers over on her nightstand. With the huge bed with plush looking pillows and the antique Georgian style furniture, Kagome thought it could be really cozy...once you got passed the flowers. She said goodnight to Ayame and curled up in bed still in her travel clothes. Coming into a new country is a tiring thing and Kagome figured she deserved a good nights' rest.
.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.
Open up the moonroof so we can sit back and watch the stars
Oh yes and the GPS so I always know where you are
So baby don't go too far
Because I'm coming for you
I'm coming for you
.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.
Kagome had decided to wake up with the sun, or rather the sun decided to wake her up. She had left the curtains open when she'd plopped in bed and that decision haunted her the next morning. But after a strong cup of Ginta's super secret coffee mix and a stack of hotcakes Kagome was on her way, with a phone number to call the garage if her little Subaru broke down inside county lines and a new appreciation of the word Full. She had never eaten so much for breakfast in her natural life and doubted she ever would again. Ayame meant well by always refilling her plate, but four servings really were enough. It should save her time though, fewer snacking stops on her road trip.
Her bill at the garage ended up only coming out to around 1800 dollars, so Kagome had enough money left over to get one tool that would save her a lot of frustration down the line. After a short conversation with Shippo about her options, Kagome dished out a little more money and invested in a GPS. With her sense of direction, and the fact that she wasn't familiar with American roads, it seemed like a smart choice. The first thing she did was plot in her destination: San Diego, California. She pulled down her sunglasses and gripped the new steering wheel tight.
"Here I come."
.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.
So baby just let me know when are you read to go
Come on sugar let's roll
You know I'm coming for you
That's what I'm gonna do
You better make way cause I'm coming through
In my 92 Subaru
.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.
Ko-2/22/09