Chapter 1: A Letter and Unusual Phone Call

**************************************

"I got a letter from Kara!" Kagome rejoiced, holding the object in question and bouncing around.

Inu-Yasha sat on the couch unimpressed. Is this Kara, person someone I should remember?

"And I care because…?" he snorted.

"Because, she's my cousin, stupid, and it says here, she's getting married!"

"Do I know this person?"

"You don't remember her? She's the one that lives in America... has long red hair… talks kind of funny…" Kagome stated waving her hand around hoping to jar some memories from the last time her cousin visited.

The memories that came to Inu-Yasha's mind were not the ones Kagome had hoped for. They were ones of pain, misery, and a very, very, very, embarrassing trip to the drycleaner's store.

"That chick with the tattoo and paintball gun?! I'm never going near her again!" Inu-Yasha shouted with sudden fear.

"Oh come on, that little incident with the paintball gun was an accident. She apologizes in almost every letter she sends me."

"I don't care! She scares me! Now what else does that letter say?" he said grabbing the piece of paper out of Kagome's hand.

"Hey, give that back!"

Inu-Yasha pushed Kagome down by the top of her head so she wouldn't steal the letter back.

He read it out loud:

Dear Kagome,

Hello! It's your cousin, Kara. I'm writing you because I have some wonderful news! I'm getting married! Can you believe it? Jason finally asked me at dinner last week. Mama almost fainted into her soup!

Anyway, you're invited! So are your friends: Inu-Yasha, Sango, and Miroku. If Inu-Yasha is reluctant, tell him he has to go as your date or I'll call Hojo and that these four tickets (enclosed) to Hawaii are NONREFUNDABLE. Remind him that I really am sorry about the paintball incident.

I've sent a similar letter to your Mother and Brother. And if Inu-Yasha has grabbed the letter out of your hands and is reading this right now, as I suspect he is,

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Inu-Yasha asked angrily, taking a brake from reading the letter.

"She just knows you well, Inu-Yasha." Kagome stated dryly. Inu-Yasha resumed reading.

I finally have an answer to why girls always want to touch your ears, Inu-Yasha! They're just so damn cute!

I hope to see you there, seeing as you'll be my Maid of Honor, Kagome!

Sincerely,

Kara ^-^

"Hawaii?! Maid of Honor?!!!" Kagome gasped as she finally got out of Inu-Yasha's hold and grabbed the letter back out of his hand. She held up four envelopes that were the tickets to Hawaii.

"Why the hell does she want you to be her maid of honor? Doesn't she know you're a klutz?" Inu-Yasha asked. "You'd probably trip going down the aisle."

Kagome appropriately smacked him on the back of the head with the envelopes. She read the letter over and over again, making sure Inu-Yasha hadn't misread anything.

"She wants me to be her Maid of Honor!" Kagome cried while clutching the letter to her chest. "I have to call Sango!"

With that she scurried off into the kitchen of her apartment leaving Inu-Yasha on the couch. Alone. As in by himself. Okay, not exactly by himself. Buyo, Kagome's old, obese cat was staring at him and the goldfish were swimming around in circles in their tank, but you can hardly count that as company.

About five minutes had passed and he hadn't heard a word from Kagome and he was starting to get a bit antsy.

"Kagome? What's taking so long? Kagome?!" he called. "Are you okay?"

Inu-Yasha got up and ran into the kitchen. He saw Kagome sitting on a bar stool looking impatient, with the phone next to her ear.

"Sango's not picking up." Kagome stated slamming the phone down. She was not even trying to hide the irritation in her voice.

"Maybe she's not home?" Inu-Yasha asked more than stated. He knew better than to mess with her when she was in one of those moods. Suddenly he got a bright idea: She was probably still asleep.

"Did you try Miroku's place?"

Kagome gaped at him. "You think she'd be caught dead at his house at this hour in the morning?" she asked looking at the clock and noticing for the first time that it said five forty-five.

"I'm here this early, so why couldn't she be there?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kagome asked with and evil edge in her voice.

"Not that! I'm just saying try it! Who knows? She might be there."

"Fine," Kagome agreed. "but I doubt it."

Kagome dialed the number. The phone rang twice. Not only was Sango there, but also she answered the phone.

"Hi Kagome!" Sango greeted her friend cheerfully.

Kagome covered the receiver and mouthed the words 'It's Sango' to Inu-Yasha. When he smirked Kagome realized there'd b no living with him after this.

"Kagome? Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here. Sango, how'd you know it was me?"

"Miroku has caller id on his phone. If it'd been anybody else but you I wouldn't have answered, but Miroku is in the shower right now."

Once again Kagome put her hand over the receiver and mouthed 'Miroku's in the shower' to Inu-Yasha. Sango caught on.

"Kagome, is Inu-Yasha there with you?"

"Maybe…"

"Oh, god! This is making me sound like a total pervert! Tell Inu-Yasha I just got here about five minutes ago, and that Miroku just got in the shower!"

Kagome relayed Sango's message: "Inu-Yasha, Sango wants me to tell you she just got there about five minutes ago and that Miroku just got into the shower."

"Sure she did." Inu-Yasha said dragging the words out into a taunt.

"He said: 'Sure you did.'" Kagome repeated to Sango in the same taunting tone.

"Ooh that little! Wait till I get my hands on him!"

Kagome got an absolutely hilarious mental image of Sango strangling Inu-Yasha on her kitchen floor. "Inu-Yasha, she said she was going to hurt you."

"Her hurt me? That's a laugh!" Inu-Yasha said as he plopped down in the chair next to Kagome.

"Anyway," Kagome started again, "Sango, I got a letter from my cousin Kara today."

"Really?! I haven't seen her in ages!" Sango exclaimed happily. "What did she want?"

"She's getting married!"

"Married?!"

"Yeah!"

Inu-Yasha thought he was going to be sick. Just listening to Kagome and Sango blabbing on and on about stupid junk could take hours of his precious time and he needed to get Kagome and himself to work soon. Why did her car have to break down?

"Finish up, Kagome. We have to leave soon."

"Fine, Inu-Yasha. Listen, Sango, I'll give you all the details at the club tonight. Eight sound okay?"

"Sure. I can't wait."

Both girls hung up at the same time, but what Sango turned around to see and what Kagome turned around to see were two very different things.

Kagome turned around to see a very impatient Inu-Yasha with car keys in his hands, waiting by the front door.

Sango turned around to see Miroku in all his toweled glory. His unusually long hair was out of the ponytail he normally kept it in. It was wet and it allowed tiny beads of water to escape down his shoulders and onto his strong and naked chest.

Sango found herself watching them roll down farther and farther downward, until they slipped under his towel. Then Miroku noticed her gaze and let the towel slip a little bit further south on his hips. Not too far, but just enough to surprise the crap out of Sango and allow her eyes more roving room. He smiled wickedly when her eyes got huge.

"You like?" he asked her in a sassy voice. "Then why not try it on for size?"

Suddenly the awed expression on Sango's face was shaken off and was replaced by a very angry one. Then Miroku felt the left side of his face connect with her right palm, surely leaving a telltale slap mark behind.

"How dare you?!" she fumed at him.

"I was just joking! Sheesh! You take everything so seriously." Miroku said pulling up his towel to it's proper place.

"And you don't take things seriously enough!"

While the screaming match at Miroku's house went on, Kagome was being dragged out of her apartment.

"Come on Kagome! We've got to go!"

"Just let me grab my make-up."

"No, we have to leave now!"

Kagome reached up and grabbed one of Inu-Yasha's sensitive dog-ears.

"Please, no, Kagome! Don't do that!"

"Then let me get my make-up." Kagome growled and tightened her grip on his ear just to give him a preview of what would happen if he said no.

"Fine! Go get your make-up, but just don't twist my ear!" Inu-Yasha pleaded to his captor.

She let go and went back inside to grab her bag. She came back out about five minutes later with it and walked past Inu-Yasha and into his car. He followed and got into the driver's seat.

"I don't know why you insist on always having make up on. You look pretty good without it."

Kagome blushed.