AN: Alerting readers to the rating change. Specifically, I rated the story T, yet circumstances in chapter 23 brings the rating up to an M. It's nothing raunchy mind you, sorry to disappoint. XD
~ The Otome Game ~
Chapter 1 - The Main Character
"Oh Sora, sometimes I think you're the only one who understands me." Kagome sighed dreamily as she propped her chin in her hand, gazing at the screen in front of her.
The laptop was humming an up-beat tune as credits rolled in pink lettering, the final names slowing down until the screen turned blank. Kagome leaned forward eagerly as a final cut scene was played where a young, attractive male was standing in a field with a girl. The girls features were hidden by her dark hair, giving players the fantasy that it could be 'them' that Sora was whispering sweet nothings to. You could even change the name of the heroine for this purpose.
"Kagome, my life hasn't been the same since the day I met you. From this moment on, I want to be with you...always."
Kagome made a happy noise, while her character blushed like a maiden. "S-Sora, what are you saying?"
Sora closed his eyes for a moment, before continuing. "I'm saying that I-"
"Oi! What the heck are you watching?"
Kagome squeaked and whipped her head in the direction of her window. Sure enough there sat Inuyasha, peering at her screen with no short amount of annoyance evident in his eyes. "Is it more of that romance crap again?"
The girl growled and turned back to the laptop, only to see the screen cut to black. The words 'The End' appearing.
She stared, feeling indignation grip her. That cut scene had been her reward for 15+ hours of gameplay. She'd gone through pain staking choices of dialogue that were chosen to appeal to the male lead she wanted, won every mini game, unwrapped the mystery of the plot, all the while keeping her Love Meter with Sora just at the right amount...only to have the final confession stolen from her.
And the game only saved her progress until she finished it. She couldn't replay the ending, or load the game from a certain point. She had to start all over again.
"Oi, Kagome are you listening? Hey!"
"Inuyasha. Sit."
OOO
That day the Feudal Era's sun shone brightly, raising the villager's morale and keeping everyone in high spirits. Unfortunately one of the village's occupants wasn't sharing their good mood as he wiped the remaining grass stains from his clothes.
"Will you cut that out already? I said I was sorry!" Inuyasha looked at the tense shoulders of the former shard detector as she walked on ahead and felt his ears lie flat. He knew it probably wasn't wise to push her, but he couldn't understand what was so important about a game of all things. Why get so worked up over something that wasn't real? She'd been playing them more often lately and though he'd never admit it, a part of him was a little concerned.
"Kagome!" Sango greeted happily when she saw them, holding the hand of one of her daughters. Upon hearing this Miroku appeared at the entrance of their hut, holding their son in his arms while their other daughter peeked around him.
Kagome grinned, her bad mood disappearing like rain clouds dispersing after a storm. They hugged while Inuyasha stood aside, ignoring their idle chatter and picking up a scent that had his bad mood plummeting into a foul one.
"My lady Kagome, how good of you to grace us with your presence once again." Miroku smiled easily, but Kagome suddenly felt a stab of guilt for staying away a little longer than planned.
"I'm sorry guys, I guess I've just been a bit caught up in things lately. I didn't return empty handed though, I've brought presents for the twins and Miyatsu." She smiled softly at the toddler in Mirokus arms, before wondering where another child had run off to.
"Hey where's Shippo? I thought he'd be here with you." Kagome glanced around, unable to see or sense him anywhere.
"Out with Rin, the usual routine for him these days." Sango smiled and shook her head in amusement.
Miroku chuckled. "You'll find them both picking flowers near the village entrance if you wish, though they should be along soon. You know how Kaede doesn't like Rin to be idle for too long."
Kagome left her yellow backpack and presents with them, keeping a smaller bag with her to give to Shippo. Inuyasha had instantly grabbed the ramen and took off with it.
As she walked up the hill from their home, the cries of laughter from the children rang in her ears, making her smile turn wistful. Something tightened in her chest, and she knew that this was part of the reason she'd been staying at home allot recently.
Kagome couldn't be happier for her friends. Sango and Miroku had gotten married and had children, Shippo was learning techniques about fox magic and Inuyasha was finally happy after avenging his lost love. All was right with the world.
Her friends were all content...so why wasn't she?
The three year gap of when Kagome had been stuck in the future hadn't divided their friendship, but it had changed things. She'd missed Sangos pregnancies, Miroku learning to become a father, Shippos achievements and growth. Yet she hadn't been prepared for how much she'd changed since leaving, and nothing had made that clearer to her than Inuyasha remaining exactly the same.
While a part of her had been glad to see him unchanged after three years, she couldn't ignore the fact that she was different from before. She passed her exams and finished school, even traveled a little, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly why her romantic feelings for him had faded. It had saddened her greatly to feel nothing but friendship for him, wondering where the warmth of first love had gone. It'd been such a large part of herself that she didn't really know who she was without it.
Now all she wanted was to find something that could connect her back with this world again. Without the threat of Naraku to face and no evil to conquer, Kagome knew she should be enjoying her happily ever after, but without that 'something' she felt removed from her friends happiness and feared she always would. A year later and she still felt like the third wheel.
It's time to change that, she thought to herself firmly.
Kagome finally reached the village entrance, but looking atop the crest of the hill showed no sign of them. Kagome frowned and pressed on until she was overlooking the village. There was a path that led out into the trees, and a glance at a few broken flower stalks told her that Rin had definitely been there.
She continued on into the forest, the path worn and welcoming. With sunlight streaming in through the tops of the trees, the smell of grass fresher than ever and birds chirping happily to one another, Kagome wondered why she'd stayed away so long. As she stepped forward once more however, all at once everything went silent.
Kagome stopped, feeling like the air itself had grown still, as if the forest was holding its breath. Her heart began to beat faster and she turned on her heel, reaching behind her automatically for her bow and notching an arrow. But with no target she was left standing there, aiming at anything that dared move.
She frowned in concentration. I can't sense a single demon nearby.
She'd figured she'd be safe on the borders of the village since nothing had happened there in so long. Yet this feeling, it weighed down on her so heavily, and her only thought was that she was in danger. It had been awhile since she'd been involved in a decent fight and she was now regretting not practicing recently. What if she couldn't sense the demon because her skills weren't up to scratch? Or perhaps...it wasn't a demon at all?
Sweat beaded on her brow as she wondered where the oppressive feeling was coming from. Her heart was hammering in her chest now and Kagome took a few breaths to try and calm herself. Nothings even happened yet and I'm already freaking out? What the heck's going on?
Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she cautiously decided to continue on a few paces before a rustle in the bushes startled her. Holding up her bow again, she charged it with her reiki, watching the arrow glow bright pink. When everything went still once more, she waited. Hearing only her shallow breaths, and feeling no youkai whatsoever, she began to wonder if her mind was playing tricks on her. However, just as she was about to relax once more, a dark shadow burst from the bushes and Kagome screamed.
OOO
When she awoke, Kagome found herself lying on the forest floor, not eaten and quite alive. She sat up, wincing in pain at the slight bump on the back of her head from where she'd fallen. Sighing and looking around in confusion, she saw nothing amiss and figured it must have been her imagination after all. Yet that sense of danger...it'd felt real.
Putting her hands at her sides to push herself up, Kagome stilled when her fingers touched something on the ground. Holding it up for inspection, she blinked, finding it was just a harmless blue marble. She smiled, before bursting into giggles, more out of relief than anything after getting so worried.
"What is it that you find so amusing miko?" A smooth velvet voice inquired.
Kagome's giggles abruptly stopped, recognising the voice instantly. Her blue eyes moved from the marble in her hand to the not so harmless Daiyoukai standing a few paces away.
"S-Sesshoumaru."
ooo
If you're interested in playing an otome game yourself, Alistair++ is definitely one worth checking out. It was made by Sakevisual, so remember to visit their website if you want to download it for free ^^ As for others, there's Star Project, which has dating elements but also mini games (also free) or Nameless; the One Thing You Must Recall, Amnesia; Memories (best otome game ever) or Dandelion; Wishes Brought to You.
Please review if you like it, this is more of a tentative dip in the water for me since its been so long since I wrote anything so any constructive criticism is appreciated. That said, I hope you have fun reading this one, it gets a little weird but in the best way :)