Disclaimer: I do not own the series, "InuYasha" or any of the characters. All of them are of copywrite to Rumiko Takahashi. The only characters I do own are Emeri, Korei, Hiromi, and Tetsuya.
Teenage Games
Embarrassment on High
Chapter 1: The Plan? What Plan?
A slam was thoroughly sounded through the Higurashi residence one afternoon. The eldest of the family, as well as the youngest, cringed at the loud noise. Grandfather Higurashi gave a slight scowl at the ceiling, able to identify well-rounded stomps even with his decaying hearing. Souta Higurashi just resumed back to his video game, even though the continuing noises were distracting him inwardly. The mother of the household, Mrs. Higurashi, just sighed.
"Mama, will you please tell Sis to quit banging around? I can't concentrate!" Souta scowled just like his grandfather as he paused his game, 'Lethal Battle Destruction.' Suddenly, a near screech was emitted from the second floor of the house. Souta glared, growing deeply tired of his sister's temper tantrum. "Hey, Sis! Knock it off! We don't want to hear your constant screaming!"
Mrs. Higurashi turned to her son, giving a sympathetic scolding look. "Now, Souta. I know you don't want to put up with this, but let your sister cool down a bit. All right?" She smiled softly, her sympathetic feel not faltering the least bit.
Souta shrugged reluctantly. "Okay, Mama. Whatever you say." He then turned back to his video game, feeling a growth in his patience inside himself. Sisters can be so stupid sometimes…
Not long after the short discussion, the phone rang with the default chime. "I'll get it!" Mrs. Higurashi said in an almost hurried fashion. "Moshi moshi." A pause came in shortly after the greeting. "Oh yes, she's in… Though, Kagome is out of sorts at the moment… Well, I guess you can call back later; it's not a problem. Though, I could go get her right now if you'd like. All right… All right… Hold on." Carefully placing the receiver next to the telephone cradle, Mrs. Higurashi headed upstairs to fetch her daughter. With a couple short shouts from the child and a reassuring tone from the mother, two figures came down the stairs.
Kagome picked up the receiver, still holding a scowl. "Moshi moshi? … Oh hey, Emeri-chan!" Instantly, her tone changed like a deep contrast in a photograph. "Plans? No, nothing much. Just studying… Well I can't help it; I've missed too much school! … I don't have feline leukemia. That's for cats." The young girl's eyes rolled over to her grandfather in a glare. She could see the nervousness he was trying to hide with the local newspaper. "Yes, I'm sure… Yes… Yes! Now please tell me why you called!" Kagome drew a pause as she listened to her friend. "Oh, okay. Not a problem. What time should I come over? … Today? At what time?" She glanced for a clock anywhere around the room. "Well, today might not be a problem, but could we make it 4 PM? … Okay… All right… Okay, see you then. Bye." With the last farewell, Kagome hung up the phone and ran up towards her bedroom.
Rustling, fumbling, and small crashes were sounded, making everyone except Kagome wonder what was going on. "What on earth is that girl doing?" asked Grandfather Higurashi, who just stared at the ceiling, yet again. The only reactions were shrugs from his daughter and grandson.
Almost like a flash, Kagome came back downstairs, jogging in place. "Mama!" she called eagerly.
"Yes, dear?" Mrs. Higurashi peeked out through the doorway to the main hall.
"I'm going back to over there to get something, and come back home." Her small hand gestures moved along with her words; her eyes also ran back and forth between the sight of her mother and the front door.
Mrs. Higurashi nodded simply. "All right, dear. Don't take too long though. You're going to go over to Emeri-chan's home, correct?"
"Yep! I'll come back in an instant, Mama! Don't worry!" With the last two words, Kagome fled the house to the well shrine.
That is something mothers can never stop doing, sweetie. Mrs. Higurashi turned her view back to the kitchen as she resumed what she was last doing.
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He could feel it. Sense it. And right now, he was starting to get very annoyed with it. It being a pair of large green eyes that belonged to a certain fox cub, who at the moment was scowling. A growl slowly began to erupt deep within Inuyasha's throat. He was growing tired of Shippou glaring at him so intently. Goddammit. When will he get off my case! On his last string of patience, Inuyasha turned on his heel toward Shippou. Seeing this, the young fox daemon jumped about a half-foot away. The glare Inuyasha kept receiving was now being returned, and it was scaring Shippou.
Even though he was frightened, Shippou tried to build up his courage to counter his half-daemon friend. "I-Inuyasha, I think you should-"
"Y'know, Shippou. I think you," Inuyasha said, pausing to crack his knuckles. "Should quit bugging me!" A mile away, the average human would have been able to hear the cracks against Shippou's skull that Inuyasha delivered. Shortly after, a wail from the same abused child rang through the forest.
Sighs surfaced from the throat of a certain monk and daemon slayer. They looked at each other, shaking their heads in unison. "Looks like Inuyasha is at it again," said Sango, who was currently resting forward upon a well-placed fence.
"Do you expect anything less? He and Kagome-sama had another argument with each other not long ago." The monk named Miroku scratched his head softly, while also leaning back upon the same fence.
"Yes, I know. But do you think he should at least consider the well being of Shippou for once? I sometimes wonder how the poor boy doesn't get poor results from all those pummeling he receives from Inuyasha." Sango rested her cheek upon her palm, feeling slightly bored with the time given for an off day.
"The miracles of Buddha, Sango my dear. The miracles of Buddha."
"The miracles of Buddha have what say in all this how, Houshi-sama?"
"I am just stating that Shippou's perfect health and mentality is from Buddha's hands. It is the most possible theory." As a routinely habit, Miroku held his hand at 90 degrees, bowing his head slightly down.
Sango turned her sight back to the forest, yet again, still holding a bored feeling. "So say you, Houshi-sama." There was an awkward silence between the two. Neither knew how to break it, but someone else did.
"Sango-chan! Miroku-sama!" Kagome smiled, running up to her friends with a little too much joy.
"Kagome-chan?"
"Kagome-sama?"
"What are you doing back here?" Bewilderment was streaked across Sango's face. She stared at Kagome's expression. "I would have thought you would stay back in your time for a while."
"Well, yeah, that's the plan. But, I wanted to bring something from here back home." Kagome gave a coy wink to her friends, who just stared at her in oblivion.
"What is it that you wish to get?" asked Miroku. "We would gladly help you find this thing you want. Whatever it is."
The modern day girl rolled her eyes playfully. "Well," she drew out, "it's more of who I want to bring back with me. Or should I say, 'whom'?"
"I'm… not following," Sango replied. Unconsciously, she flipped a lock of hair back in order to not be distracted by it.
"Okay, I'll tell you. But you have to promise not to get mad." Kagome clapped her hands together, bowing deeply.
"Okay…"
"All right." Miroku just stared at Kagome. But why would we become angered?
The said girl peeked up at her friends, then swallowed hard at the butterflies in her stomach. "I request that you guys… accompany me to a friend of mine's home."
Both the monk and daemon slayer stared at the modern lass for a small period of silence. This silence was almost too heavy to bear and Kagome was slowly getting nervous. She turned her head up, peering at the reactions. What she thought she would see was anger, annoyance, or possibly disgust. Though, what she got were faces of confusion, curiosity, and hidden smiles. Sango spoke first, "we would gladly go with you to this friend of yours abode."
"The only question is 'how,'" Miroku added. He had a smile on his face, but it wasn't of just content. "If I recall correctly, it is only you, Kagome-sama, and Inuyasha who is able to get through the Bone Eater's Well."
Sango nodded in agreement. "That's right, we can't pass through it. Shippou has tried doing so before."
"He has?" Kagome stared in slight confusion at the news.
"Yes, it was around the time where Inuyasha was still recovering from the wounds he withheld from Sesshoumaru. It was the day when we first met Naraku in person." A look of remembrance was on Miroku's face as he spoke, his hand cupping his chin.
Doing the same, Kagome remembered the event. Oh right! That was when I wasn't able to get through the well, or at least after it. Inuyasha was terribly injured from the huge battle with his brother, and he pushed me straight into the well after he hugged me… And I'm still mad about that. She shook her head from her thoughts. "It's true, but I wanted to bring you guys over to my time. It would allow you to see what everything is like in the future." She sighed softly. And I would feel more comfortable to have you all around with me.
"It would be an interesting experience, but the given circumstances cannot be changed very easily. If we cannot pass through the well, then that's all there is to it." Leaning back onto the fence again, Sango sighed similar to Kagome.
Persistent to have what she desired, Kagome balled her fists and stomped softly. Her actions were like a spoiled toddler wanting their mother to buy her a popular toy in a department store. "But we at least have to try something!" she whined. Now, Kagome knew that her attitude at the moment wasn't very proper for her surroundings, but she didn't really care much. All she wanted to do was have her friends come along with her to the future in hopes of her comfort.
"Well," Sango said, drawing out the syllables. "We could give it a shot. Maybe if we had something that connected us to each other, there might be a chance."
"And what would that be?" Miroku looked at his sweetheart, giving a smirk that was mostly hidden.
The two girls thought, contemplating what there was available to them. It took them about two to three minutes before Kagome shot out a cry. "I know! We could use beads!"
"Beads?"
"Yeah! You know, the one Inuyasha wears or the one around your arm, Miroku-sama!" She smiled and pointed at the tiny blue stones that were wrapped around the monk's right arm. "If we can find at least three ornaments like yours or Inuyasha's, there might be a chance!" This made Miroku fumble with his own string of subjugation beads.
Sango studied Miroku's beads along with him before she turned her sight back onto her girl friend. "It is an option with a well enough chance of failing, you do realize this, right?"
"But we have another good chance of success too!" The middle school girl was almost giddy at her plan. Looking at her, you could see the hop in her step without her even moving.
"True," said the daemon slayer. The conversation between the girls drew out for a few more minutes, a way to actually obtain the beaded charms that were needed being devised in the process. Unbeknownst to them, Inuyasha and Shippou soon arrived into the area. Both were oblivious to what was going on, as well as a look of deep curiosity and confusion plastered on their faces.
Shippou bonded over to Miroku's shoulder, his movements being soft and agile. "Hey, Miroku, what are Sango and Kagome talking about?" His voice was just above a whisper as he looked over at the two mumbling girls.
Miroku stifled a sigh and yawn, not wanting to be brought into the discussion. "Kagome-sama wishes to find beaded ornaments for us. So, in that, we will be able to travel to her realm with the divine power of her aura pressed into the charms." Shrugging his shoulders to release the tension, Miroku continued. "The only obstacle of this whole escapade is that we do not know where to get those charms."
"Wrong on that, Miroku-sama!" The eyes of the modern priestess focused on her Buddhist friend. Somehow, she had leapt three meters from her previous position to the spot a hair's width away from Miroku's toes. And seeing as she was wearing penny loafers with a hard sole, and he only wore woven sandals with exposed toes, this made Miroku curl them in hopes of not losing one.
"I am?" He said, taking a small step back. It's not that he minded the minimal space between him and Kagome, it was just that two pairs of eyes were holding deadly emotions, and he'd rather like to have no bones broken some way they weren't supposed to.
Kagome nodded with a boundless energy. "Yes! 'Cause I remember that the day I met Inuyasha, Kaede-obaachan had used one of the beads of subjugation. Where do you think his necklace came from, anyway?" Her hands were moving quite animatedly while she talked, and only one question came to everyone's mind. What in the gods did she have, and where could they get some? 1
"But, Kagome-chan? Do you really think Kaede-sama would really have three more subjugation beads at the ready?" And there, Sango had a point. It was highly doubtful that Kaede would have a huge pile of those trinkets lying around, much less two or three. There could have been a small -very small- chance that Kaede had at least one.
Of course, there was no way of knowing that unless they went to the aging priestess. So through the woods and down the hill, it's off to Grandma's we go. Only in a more mature way, and through the rice fields laid around the village. Or something like that.
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A/N: Okay, first chapter of a fanfic I'd like to call, "Teenage Games." And we all know those classic activities that we love so much… Or not for those of you with bad memories of them. Warning: If you're not fond of OC's in fan fictions, don't even consider reading the rest of this story because I will bring in mine. That also goes for another fan fiction I call, "Fate Can be A Good Thing." Okay with that? Good.
And for that lovely little bracket-enclosed number back there; I'm going to give a short explanation. Or the shortest I know. Miroku, Sango, Inuyasha, and Shippou weren't actually thinking this, but it's almost on the same line as what they actually thought. The only reason why I wrote that is so I would get a cheap laugh (yes, I know I'm an ass), and so I wouldn't have to write out individual thoughts. And that's not lazy writing; I call it a convenient shortcut that helps move the story. Because what's the point of reading 4 italicized sentences when you can read just one that isn't italicized? You know I'm right. Anyway, CYA
