Moonlight and Cherry Blossoms

In Japan, there's a club called "Girl Scouts", yet they aren't the usual American cookie selling girls. It's a club for girls that don't plan to get married, or just needs a place to sleep, in exchange for the privilege of having a boyfriend.

The dorms inside the club were small and cramped, but if you didn't have a job, and you were a college freshman, the "Girl Scouts" was your best choice. So, when Hashi Mika graduated from high school and decided to attend Nokomi Tech, one of the best colleges in Japan, known for its mechanical brilliance.

But after she got all her wanted classes, her parents were called away on a scientific meeting to America to study the marine animals, like seals and whales, leaving Mika homeless, and broke. She searched the web for a place to stay for free, and after 5 lonely days, she found the "Girl Scouts" and moved in.

They gave her Dorm Room #7 and a list of rules they upheld such as:
"Rule Number 1: You can't have a boyfriend or a boy in your presence in the dorm!
Rule Number 2: You have to buy Senpai McDonalds every Saturday with your own money.
Rule Number 3: You have to answer all of our calls." and so and so. It was a horrible deal, but at that time, Mika would take any offer.

The dorm room's furniture consisted of a tiny, narrow, lumpy white bed, a walnut bedside table with a lamp and red telephone hanging on the wall, a small desk with masses of papers thrown all over it, a wall mirror, and a tall white wardrobe. Every time Mika came home to her dorm room, she would sigh and wish she could afford better matching furniture.

One day, she came into the dorm empty and cold. After poking her nose in her Senpai's room, she knew they were gone again. Proof of that was a note stuck on the refrigerator in the office. It said: "While we are gone, you, Mika, must answer our calls. We have left some lunch for you."

Mika threw her attention to the desk that the note came from. An empty chip bag was the only remains of food in the entire dorm.

"Lunch??? That's not even considered as a snack!!! What do they think I am??? Some worm that eats trash??? My gosh!!!" she complained as she crunched the bag between her fingers. She threw it in the trash can and walked back to her room. Squatting beside her narrow bed, she took the receiver from the red telephone and dialed the newly built Panda Express for takeout. She tapped her finger on the beside table as she waited for an answer. A click on the other line told Mika that someone had answered the phone.

"Um, excuse me? I would like to order some takeout?" she asked, standing up now.

A gruff voice answered her. "Oh I'm sorry miss, but we don't do takeout on Thursdays. Only on Friday and Monday we do. Please try tomorrow," the person said, and the phone hanged up.

"What? What kind of business refuses its customers like that???" she cried, and dialed Hong Kong Noodles, hoping she'd get better luck than her recent try. Instead, a recorder message answered her call.

"We are currently closed today! Please eat Hong Kong Noodles some other time!" Click.

Mika bit her lip and was about to slam the phone down, when her stomach growled. Shaking her head in frustration, she pressed random 7 numbers and waited to see if someone would answer. After waiting for a minute, she heard a bark on the phone and someone said, "Yes? This is the Inugami Helpline," a lady voice spoke.

"Helpline? I'm starving! I need help!!!" she exclaimed and the lady voice laughed.

"Well then, you've called the right number. Please wait a moment for us to send one of our helpers to your place." The line went dead. Mika cried helplessly in the dead phone.

"Wait Miss, I didn't mean that kind of--"

A shimmering light and a howl greeted her shout. She spun her attention to the mirror, which seemed suspiciously bright. Suddenly, the mirror shone white, and a blinding hole grew in the center of the mirror. Something like a dog's bark rang into Mika's ears, and in a second, a large dog, about the size of a dinner table, leaped into her room.

The dog was outrageously beautiful. It had beautifully combed white fur, well kept claws, and godlike eyes. Mika fell to her knees when the dog panted and barked at her.

"You call this help??? I can't take care of a dog when I can't take care of myself!!!" Mika yelled and rubbed her temples. She glanced at the dog. "How did you come through the window anyway?"

The dog barked and stood up on its hind legs. Mika fell backwards and covered her eyes as the dog transformed into a boy. She blinked, and in the canine's place was a silver-haired 19-year old boy, dressed in an elaborate Japanese Kimono, tied with a golden obi sash. On his left shoulder, there lay a long white tail.

"Oh my--"

"What do you wish for?"

Mika blinked again. "What?"

"You need help right?" The boy's voice was smooth, low, and handsome.

"Uh..." The young college girl's mind went racing. Oh I get it. My senpai are testing me, to see if I can get a boyfriend or some sort. I bet they hired a crossdresser, cut a hole in the mirror, and used strings to make it seem all godly. Oh, but you guys don't fool me!

"What do you mean wish? I can wish for anything I want?"

The boy stayed silent and held up one finger. "Only one."

Hm, she thought, one wish... "So I can wish for money? Clothes? A house? Or even..." Mika's eyes sparkled with sparks. "GOLD?"

"Anything you desire."

"Anything..." Mika grinned and closed her eyes. When she opened her eyes again, her smile grew wider and she threw a slim finger at him. "I wish for you to be my boyfriend forever!!!"

At first there was silence. Then the boy shook his head. "No can do."

Mika felt her back crack. "YOU JUST SAID I COULD HAVE ANYTHING I WANT! I WANT A BOYFRIEND!"

"But--"

"I WANT A BOYFRIEND!" she whined, opening a eye to see if he was caught in her trap. You're shocked huh? You didn't expect me to be so smart huh? Well--

The boy closed his eyes and fell onto his hands. He transformed back into a canine and howled to the ceiling. Thousands of wolf cries answered his, as if they were discussing Mika's decision. A whirl of wind surrounded the noble beast, and the girl's things flew around the dorm, creating a mess. Then after this godly moment, the dog turned back into a human, with a disappointed expression.

"What in the world was that?" she asked, trembling with fright.

"It's approved," he murmured and looked at her with his golden eyes.

Mika shook her head. "Approved? Wait you mean for real? This is a joke right?"

"No..."

"You can't live here! They'll kick me out! I've got to get you out of here," she screamed and threw her hands over his neck. Unfortunately, her senpais had come home at this moment.

"Mika! Did we get any calls?" the older women said, sliding the dorm door open. When they saw the boy they gave her irritated looks. Veins seemed to pop out of their foreheads, and she smiled with an evilness.

"Uh, well, um, I can explain Senpai--"

"Mika-chan," a short Senpai began, "You know the very first rule that upholds this Girl Scouts club."

The taller women finished her sentence. "Rule Number 1: You can't HAVE a BOYFRIEND or A BOY in your presence of the dorm!!!"

The rest of the older women began a cry of protest. "No boys, no boys, no boys--"

"Wait, wait, you've got this all wrong! Come on, you know I have no luck with boys--"

The cries of the Senpai filled the room as they seized her things and threw them into boxes. Some of the things they threw in were:
Useless wires that were supposedly energy saving, electrical fans, her laptop, discs of anime shows, a tablet for the computer, a printer, a lamp, her cellphone, her pants, her shoes, her coat, some frames of her family, headphones, a broken down ipod, teacups and teapots, stained trays, old gum that had been stuck to her boots, and some old tapes of the American show, I Love Lucy.

"No! Don't touch that! It was 109 yen--ahh! That's my underwear--"

"NO BOYS, NO BOYS, GET OUT, GET OUT!" they shouted, and began carrying her and the boy away. When they reached the exit, they kicked her outside, throwing her coat onto her.

"Gomenasai Mika-chan, but rules are rules. When you get a new address, we'll send the rest of your things," the taller woman explained, throwing a stuffed yellow backpack next to her. She slammed the door, leaving a depressed girl crying and sobbing.

"We're--we're homeless!!! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME???" she sobbed, pounding the floor with her fist. The boy next to her looked at her strangely. "We are?"

Mika felt cold breezes against her neck. She twisted her head, her face a nasty frown. "YES WE ARE HOMELESS! THANKS TO YOU!!!"

"I didn't do anything, you wished for a boyfriend..."

"Why didn't you tell me it wasn't a joke..." She sniffed. "I'm sorry, it's not your fault. I'm just upset that we have to live in the streets now," she clarified, wiping her tears with her sleeve.

"What about your parents?"

"I'm a little over 18, so they aren't obliged to look after me anymore. I'm also broke, and I have no car or motorcycle."

"Oh." Mika sniffed again and turned to the boy. "I never caught your name. Mine's Mika," she said, holding out a hand. The boy looked at her confusedly. "You're supposed to shake it."

He shook her hand with force and whispered, "Sesshoumaru."

Okay... Mika stood up, stretching her arms. Sesshoumaru stood up beside her, and inquired, "What do we want to do now?"

Mika paced up and down outside of the dorm. "Look for a new home. I mean, you're a--" She scratched her head. "What are you?"

"Inugami," he replied, barely audible.

"An inugami needs a good home to stay in. I know of a cheap apartment we can stay in," she remembered, hitting her fist against her right hand. "It's just over by the corner, we can walk there!"

Sesshoumaru nodded, his bangs clearing away to show the crescent moon mark on his forehead.

After walking quite a bit, Mika knocked on the door of the apartment office. A young woman came out, eyed Sesshoumaru and chuckled. Mika suspected the woman had the hots for him and refused her offer to let her stay for 10 yen a month, if Sesshoumaru would live with her.

They exited the apartment and searched the local streets for a place to stay. Finally, after the 15th try, (the previous try turned out horrible; the owner of the apartment was an old man that believed in spirits and when he saw Sesshoumaru, he closed the door in Mika's face) Mika threw a fist at a vendor machine next to a bench in the park. Sesshoumaru took a seat on the bench, watching Mika groan in dissatisfaction.

"This is hopeless, we'll have to settle living in trash cans and garbage dumps. Until I graduate from college," she said, sliding down onto the floor, "we'll have to live like hobos." She sighed and turned to Sesshoumaru. "Hey, do inugamis get hungry? Cause if you are, I can buy us some soup." She made a gesture to the vendor machine. "They have several flavors..."

"I don't know," he replied. Mika shook her head. This boy is definitely not streetwise, she thought. She took out some money, deposited it into the slot, and pressed two varieties of warm soup in a can. When the cans dropped down, Mika snatched them and handed the tomato soup to Sesshoumaru.

"Here you go. It's warm." She sat down next to him, watching the inugami examining the can curiously.

"How do you drink this?" he asked, spinning it like a ball. Mika sighed and put her can of soup beside her. She took the soup can and broke a hole for him. Handing it back to him, she started drinking her soup.

The boy sniffed it, then took a sip of it.

"Um, Sesshoumaru? I have a question," she said.

"What is it?"

"Why did you grant my wish? Don't other people in this world have it worse than me?"

"The Wheel weaves as it wills," he replied and gulped down his soup. "This is good," he commented.

"So, Inugami-sama, since you are a dog god type person thing, can you sniff out a place for us to sleep in or something?"

Sesshoumaru compressed the can easily with his strong hands, then shrunk it until it became dust. "Sure," he replied.

"If you could, why didn't you say so sooner???"

"You didn't ask."

Mika growled in irritation and threw her can in the garbage can. "So where's this place?"

A sparkle in his eye told Mika that he was waiting for this moment. "It's the old temple to the west."

The two walked to a bus stop where they waited for the bus to pick them up. While waiting, Mika would babble about how horrible the Girl Scouts had treated her.

When the bus arrived, they jumped in and told the bus driver they were heading to the temple. They took a seat in the way back, where Mika laid her head on Sesshoumaru's shoulder as the bus went up and down on the bumpy road. After they reached their destination, they got out of the bus and walked to the distant temple.

Unluckily, at this time the clouds breached across their heads and began to rain. It poured down immensely, slapping the twos' backs as they strolled as fast as they could. When they reached the stairs, Mika realized Sesshoumaru had halted in his steps. He looked sleepy eyed, and the way he walked look as if he had drunk 5 bottles of beer.

"Sesshoumaru--" she cried out as he fell into her arms. His eyes were closed and it seemed as if he was running out of breath.

"I'm alright," he assured her, and went to sleep after that. Mika struggled under his weight and had to drag him up the stairs. She set him gently on the floor in the temple room and poked through her backpack to dry the inugami's clothes.

But most of the stuff in her backpack was useless.
The senpai had put in a toaster, a radio that had no batteries, and a broken web cam. They even stuffed in Mika's lingerie, which was a little ripped. Finally, after a bit of rummaging through the things a person would not need on a regular rainy day, she found a hair dryer.

"Hey, hair dryers have heat! I need a plug," she said to herself as she searched the room for a plug. She paced the room in circles at least three times, then threw the hair dryer at the floor. "You fool, temples don't use electricity!"

She gave a stare at the unconscious inugami. His silver hair shone with a brilliant luster, and his face seemed handsome when it was wet. Mika blushed at the sight of him. He's kind of cute...

Then she snapped back into reality, and slapped her head. "He's going to freeze to death while I'm admiring him!" She poked through her backpack again, until she felt something soft. She pulled it out, and out came a large red blanket. "It seems they aren't so heartless," she chuckled and threw it over the inugami.

She sat on her feet, shivering from the cold air. Goosebumps popped up all over her arms and legs, trying to heat up the body. Suddenly, her vision went blurry, and her temperature raised up. She plummeted to the floor, breathing hard. "I shouldn't have worn shorts today..."

"Mmm..." moaned Sesshoumaru. He flicked his eyes open. It took him several minutes to realize he inside the temple. He sat up, and examined the room around him. He turned his head, and spotted a sick Mika, asleep with the fever. He put a cold hand on her forehead and retracted it. It was like touching flames.

"You silly girl," he said, and touched her forehead again, cooling down her temperature with "magic". Soon, after a bit her face didn't seem so stressed, and in place of her frown was a smile. He covered her with his blanket and exited the temple room as a canine. Panting, he sat outside of the temple.

The temple was broken down. The roof had holes everywhere, the doors were eaten by termites, and the wood was rotten with splinters. It was definitely not fit for anyone to live in. Even the stairs were ruined; they had eroded through the years and now it was just a pile of rocks.

He held his snout to the setting moon in the mist. He howled a cry, and soon wolves, and domestic dogs gathered into the center of the temple. Some jumped down from the clouds as dog spirits, some leaped from the mountains, and some left their human homes to see what was the meeting about. Sesshoumaru barked orders to the dogs to help him repair the temple and soon, all of the dogs were howling loud and clear.

Magically, the dust and broken bricks floated in the air. The doors became white and pure, the wood regaining its strong strength back, the roof's holes clearing up. Trees and shrubs around the temple turned green again, and the floor became empty of leaves. When the hounds stopped howling, the sky returned to its regular blue, smiling on the fixed temple.

Mika opened up her eyes. The pain behind her eyeballs was gone, and her body seemed cool and comfortable. She looked around the room for Sesshoumaru. He wasn't there. She peeked her eyes at the open door. The sky was a pleasant azure, and the sun was high enough in the sky. She kicked her blanket off and exited the temple, searching for the inugami. She found him sitting on a rock with a horde of girl hounds licking at his face and biting his hair.

"Sesshoumaru?" she asked, picking up one of the female puppies. "Where did all these puppies and dogs come from? And why are they all female?"

"They helped me fix the temple," he replied and glanced at the temple. Mika followed his eyes and was awed at the beautiful temple. It was a sight to behold...

"But why aren't there any male alphas or something?"

"The males refused to come. I'm a guy you know," he said. "They're attracted to the opposite gender." A dog pawed at his hair and chewed at his clothes. He pulled them away, with an irritable look.

"Uh...somehow that doesn't sound good..." Mika said, stroking the dog's fur.

Sesshoumaru and Mika laughed at each other and went back inside the temple.

After searching endlessly in the backpack for a phone, Mika threw all the things on the floor. They rummaged the pile for her cellphone, and soon, Mika spotted her red cellular telephone. She dialed the Girl Scouts and told them her new address. When she closed it, she turned to Sesshoumaru and asked, "Um, can I get you something to drink or eat? You seem hungry."

"Sure, let me help you," he said, standing up. Mika held out her hands and walked forward.

"No I'm a girl so I have to do those things--" she began but tripped over a soda can. She fell into his arms and blushed.

"S-sorry, I'm a bit clumsy. I'll go make some tea--"

The door slid open, and in the doorway stood a 22-year old boy with black hair. With one arm, he was holding a heavy backpack. The boy was staring at Mika and her "boyfriend" with a cynical expression. Then all of a sudden, he burst into laughter and came over grinning.

"Aw, aren't you the cutest little sister? So you finally found yourself a man huh?"

Mika rubbed her nose and pulled away from Sesshoumaru. She patted her shorts and sniffed. "What do you know," she snapped. "How did you get here anyway, Hitachi???"

Hitachi beamed at her. "I have a car, unlike a certain sister."

"How did you know I was living here anyway?"

"I went to the Girl Scouts and they just told me your address, and here I am. Nice home," Hitachi commented, and stroked the wood. "Who did you hire to fix this place up? I remember this temple was broken down."

"Well, I have skills, unlike you, a playboy who has like 15 different girlfriends that have absolutely no idea that you're cheating on them," she retorted and sighed. "What do you want anyway? Money? I'm broke."

"No, I just need a place to stay. Wouldn't you feel safe if your older brother was here? He'll protect you from the monsters under the bed!" he teased. Then he grinned. He cupped a hand over her ear and whispered, "If you let me stay here, I won't tell Mom about your relationship with your boyfriend!"

"Relationship--"

"Then it's settled. Nice to you meet you, uh...what's your name?"

"Sesshoumaru--"

"AH! I just remembered! I was about to go make tea! Would you like some Hitachi?" Mika interrupted, fake laughing.

Suddenly the door slid open again.

"Mika-chan! We've come to celebrate your moving in!" came the voices of her senpais. Mika ran over to the door to greet them. The veins on their foreheads popped up again and the taller senpai gave a yell. She flung Mika off her feet and held her in the air.

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU, GETTING SO MANY BOYS IN JUST ONE DAY???" she cried, breaking Mika's back in the process.

"Senpai, he's my brother I swear--"

"Uh...I'm her older brother," Hitachi explained, leaning on the doorway. The Senpai chuckled and let Mika fall back to the floor. "Well why didn't you say so?"

The short Senpai sat down a wine bottle and exclaimed, "Let's party!!!"

Mika shook her head as she watched the people set up chairs and tables. "Just when I had some peace and quiet?" She hung her head sadly.

Mika looked around the party room for Sesshoumaru. He wasn't there. Maybe he's outside, she thought and stood up from her spot. Tiptoeing past the drunk senpais, she made her way to the door and found the inugami staring at the black sky that housed the white moon. She sat down next to him, watching the cherry blossom petals soaring above them.

"Hello," she greeted him.

"Hi," he replied. He put one arm on her shoulder. She felt herself warming up to him and laid her head on his shoulder.

The Wheel weaves as it wills...