Inuyasha © Takahashi, Rumiko
Hetalia – Axis Powers © Himaruya, Hidekaz

"…I forgot to feed mein sticky friend…" –Germany (Dub)

"But color is not the issue here, it's dignity, it's class
It's all about her heart, okay it's partly about that ass" –Stephen Lynch


Kagome twirled in the traditional garb of a miko, making the chore of caring for the Higure Shrine something enjoyable. Pausing, she reached up to the headband she donned that was accessorized with cat ears – both of which matched her hair perfectly – lightly squealing with delight. It wasn't long after her journey had ended that she had discovered the love that was cosplay, quickly taking to any and all characters with some sort of animal appendages; being around Inuyasha for a while had fine tuned her to adore the ears he had and wish that she had a pair of her own.

Having gotten through high school with mediocre grades from the constant trips to the past, she took up a job for experience and to save while she had studied for the exam to enter college. What money she saved, Kagome put forward to buying anything that she couldn't make for costumes for anime conventions or just get togethers that she had with some new friends she had met at the exam, and when it slipped that she cosplayed, it didn't take long for them to talk about any upcoming events or who they had the most fun being.

Kagome had taken the headband out of her bag when they asked her, responding that anyone with animal appendages were her favourite. Among her and her friends, she had quickly become dubbed as the 'Cat-girl Maid' from her accumulating maid outfits in her closet that she handmade herself with help from her mother. However, she wasn't just a maid; she was the Cheshire Cat from Pandora Heart or even a female version of Ikuto and Yoru from Shugo Chara.

Humming to herself, Kagome danced to her own tune with the broom as a mock partner; the jewel swayed with her dancing body, resting peacefully on the chains connected to the black velvet choker. Eyes closed, she held the cleaning tool in front of herself with one hand and bowed to it when her humming came to an end, grinning all the while. Righting herself, she looked at the shrine grounds, critically looking for any dirty spot that she may have missed – and when she found none, she made her way back to the house.

The day was nice out, the summer breeze blowing about, winding around what was in its path. Eyes on the ground, following her feet under the red hakama, it was no surprise that she missed the foreigner on the grounds. Reaching the front door without any run-ins or clumsiness, Kagome rested the broom by the door; stretching her arms above her head while cracking her neck. Glancing over to her right, blue eyes manage to catch a glimpse of a visitor.

Letting her arms fall to her sides, Kagome made her way over to the confused-looking man, taking in his appearance as she went. He had wavy brown hair with an ahoge that curled in two different directions, green eyes with a small bit of laziness to them as well as interest. His olive skin clashed nicely with his white tee shirt, complimenting his brown pants and matching jacket that he was carrying.

"Ohayoo gozaimasu."

The man looked up at her, blinking slowly, before looking like he was thinking something over – Kagome noted that he wasn't looking at her face, but rather at the top of her head. The miko tilted her head to the side as she waited, not sure if he was having trouble speaking or didn't know how to respond; still, she continued to greet the man nevertheless.

"Ogenki desu ka?"

The brunette took out a book that she had not spotted earlier, looking through the pages for probably a translation and maybe a response to her inquiry. The silence was slightly awkward for the female as she waited, already used to foreigners having difficulty speaking or understanding her.

The waiting paid off after a few minutes when the man responded in an accented response with slight mispronunciations, "Ohayoo. Genki desu."

Kagome smiled at the man, switching to English to strengthen her usage of it, "You're welcome. Might I inquire about the nature of your visit?"

The foreigner closed the book, tucking it under his arms with his coat slowly, "I heard about this shrine from a friend of mine."

The teenager made a small noise of curiosity, it wasn't often that people recommender her family's shrine to other people – it being more of a local knowledge – but there were the few that weren't from around here and came, often leaving satisfied with what they learned at the shrine or the festivals held there. However, the man was distracted by the calico cat known as Buyo rubbing herself against the brown pants of the man's ankles, purring loudly in hopes of being pet.

The green-eyed male smiled and bent down, patting the feline's head, scratching behind the two-colored ears, Buyo's purring increased as light green eyes closed in bliss from the attention. Kagome hugged her legs with one arm as she bent down to pet her cat, nails lightly trailing down her spine – making the calico raise her tail and hind end.

"By the way, I'm Higurashi, Kagome."

The brunette looked at her, "Karpusi, Heracles."

"Would you like some tea or a tour, perhaps?"

Standing, the man picked up Buyo with his free hand, Buyo being more than willing to be held by the person who paid her attention. Heracles readjusted the translation book and his jacket under his other arm, "Some tea, please."

Nodding, Kagome gestured politely for him to follow her, leading him to the main house, grabbing the broom from its resting spot next to the door, while entering and taking off her shoes at the entrance of the house, slipping on a pair of house slippers. Being a courteous host, the blue-eyed miko took his jacket and translation book from him, hanging the jacket up by the door.

She led him to the living room after he took off his own shoes, Buyo still in his grasp as he took a seat on the couch. Kagome gave him a small bow, looking at him from under her thick fringe, "I'll be right back to put the tea on. Feel free to turn on the television if you like."

Heracles nodded the calico securely in his lap, her eyes closed as he resumed petting her once he was situated on the couch. The room he was in was modest, reminding him greatly of Japan's own home – though it doesn't come as a surprise that there's some influence from his people. The Grecian smiled to himself, he had to admit that the girl who had a headband with cat ears surprised him – Kiku made no mention of this priestess ever wearing anything of the sort, and he did mention Kagome had a cat on an off note.

The blue-eyed girl looked to the direction of the house when a soft scratching sounded on the wood – it didn't take long for a meow to make its way through the door, accompanying the scratching. Leaving the tea kettle on the medium flame, she made her way to the front door to open it and look down at the cat to see why it was at her door.

Kagome's eyes widened and her eyebrows rose to what she felt was her hair line in surprise at the number of cats in front of her house. She stood there, frozen in shock, and the roughly five to ten cats seized this opportunity to enter the house in search for the Grecian (Kagome closed the door only after all the cats entered, following them and peeked into the living room at Heracles surrounded by cats).

Shifting out of potential sight, Kagome made her way back to the kitchen, leaning her lower back against the counter as she tried to understand why Buyo was so calm with all of the other cats in her house and why the presumably stray cats were looking just for Heracles. Biting her lip, she recalled when he stared at her cat ears, glancing at the not yet hot water; leaving to make her way to her room as quietly as she could without disturbing her guest.

Heracles looked to all the cats that suddenly surrounded him, having a feeling that Kagome let them inside or they might have found an open window to crawl through. Her alternated between petting the cats around him and on his shoulders with the one in his lap, wondering if the tea was done and why this person was so precious to Japan – she seemed so young, then again France was close with Joan D'arc and she was young as well, a tad younger than his hostess if he had to guess.

Looking to the ceiling, it wasn't hard to hear the creaking of the boards above – just what was the priestess doing? It didn't take long for him to get his answer (her rapid foot falls were heard as she rushed downstairs to the whistling tea kettle) as she made her way into the living room, setting the tray with the cups, tea and all else on it on the coffee table.

Heracles looked up at her shocked when he felt her hands brush his hand and feeling the familiar feel of a headband on his head. Kagome pulled her hands back, and smiled at the Grecian, "You were staring at my ears and with all the cats attracted to you, I figured, why not?"

She took her seat across from the olive-skinned male, making herself tea and then his, since he was covered with cats – making it to what he wanted.

::-::

Kagome waved to the man as he left a few hours later, small smile on her face and her cat by her feet (the small army of cats that entered her house not much longer after him, trailed after the Grecian). He took his dear sweet time leaving and disappearing down the shrine steps, and while he was still in her line of site, Kagome made sure to keep the feel of his person – his aura – ingrained in her memory.

When he did leave her field of vision, the miko closed the front door, Buyo rubbing against her ankle and gave a soft meow for food. The headband-wearing teenager looked down to her cat, "I fed you earlier! I don't need you getting any bigger than you already are."

The two engaged in a small staring contest, before Kagome found herself bending to her feline friend's will, making her way to the kitchen to get a can of cat food for her calico – putting it in her dish where the feline happily inhaled it. Kagome sighed as she watched her cat, "Don's choke now, Buyo…"

Looking towards the front of the house, she made her way to her room to change out of the traditional apparel; her face donned a sour look, 'Japan really should not talk about me or the shrine. That's the fifth country that's visited this month. And I want my headbands back – from Honda-san and Karpusi-san.'

Fin


I cannot think of anything new for Amaranth, and I been reduced to jumbled random one-shots. This is the first of many to be added to my stories. Kudos to whoever recognizes the song I took the part from that Stephen Lynch sings (It's on his album The Craig Machine).