=Hello~! Shadow here, again... This is the story that Ai Seikatsu requested. She wanted an InuKag story and she left me a lot of room to come up with ideas. This story was mainly inspired from a personal trip to Mexico, and yes... Why, AZ is a real place... So Ai Seikatsu, I hope you enjoy the story~=
Help wanted. Kagome examined these words as she thoughtfully chewed on a piece of bacon, savoring the crunchiness. She was seated in her favorite cushy blue chair in front of the TV, half-heartedly watching a reality TV show as her mother buzzed around the kitchen, trying to convince her younger brother Souta to not inhale his food.
"Souta, honey, you're going to end up choking!" Misaki Higurashi was standing behind her brother, hands on her hips and ladle held fast in her fist. Souta looked up at his mother, brown eyes wide and innocent. "Mhm, hif ah dmnt eaaaph fasht, ah'mna mssh dah bssh!" Misaki rolled her eyes and turned to Kagome. "Translation please?" Kagome quickly looked up from the newspaper, eyed Souta and cleared her throat, " He says; 'Mom, if I don't eat fast, I'm gonna' miss the bus.' You really should swallow before you talk Souta, or you should start wearing a bib." Souta looked up at his mother, shrugged and continued eating.
Discarding her newspaper for later, Kagome attempted to sneak past her mother towards the refrigerator, hand reaching for a cinnamon roll, when an ominous shadow fell over the pastry. "Nuh-uh Kagome! No cinnamon rolls for breakfast!" Kagome turned around to face her mother. "Mo-mmmm! I'm not twelve! I can eat what I want!" Misaki tsked and frowned at her daughter. "Not while you still live under this roof missy! Back to the table!" Misaki took hold of Kagome's shoulders and steered her protesting daughter to the kitchen table.
Kagome stared mournfully back at the abandoned refrigerator, and then turned her eyes to the glop in a bowl in front of her. "Moommm, what is this..?" Misaki turned around, ladle dripping with the gunk. "This is a new recipe of porridge that I'm testing out! I added milk, rice, and syrup!" Kagome eyed the goop in the bowl with mistrust. "Are you SURE that this is milk that you put in?" Her mother frowned, "Of course honey! This is the container that I used!" Misaki held up an empty container. An empty cottage cheese container. Souta abruptly stopped eating, and looked up at his mother in horror. "Are you telling me that I just ate cottage cheese, rice and syrup mixed in a pan? GROSS!"
"I'm afraid so, dear brother! I hope you enjoyed your porridge-a-la-cottage cheese!" Kagome snickered evilly, while her brother pantomimed a slow, painful death by suffocation. A sudden, loud beep broke Souta out of his newfound interest in acting. "CRAP! That's the bus! Gotta go Mom, Kagome, see you guys later!" Souta quickly chugged his milk, grabbed his backpack and bolted out the door, only to come in seconds later without shoes. He wildly glanced around, said a few choice words that caused his mother to frown, grabbed a pair of shoes and bolted out the door. Kagome eyed his retreating figure in amusement, "I wonder how far he'll make it before he realizes that he took your new shoes..?" She mused quietly, Misaki stared at her daughter in horror. "The new ones with the flower print?" Kagome nodded, barely controlling her laughter. Her mother stomped her foot angrily, and resumed washing pots with a newfound vigor, muttering under her breath.
Kagome rolled her eyes, and dumped the brew in her bowl into the trash, wincing as some landed on her foot. Anger vented, her mother turned to Kagome thoughtfully. "Hey, sweetie, have you found a job yet?" Kagome looked up from sanitizing her foot, "No Mom, I'm still looking, but I'll find one soon enough!" Misaki looked down at her daughter fondly. "I know, I'm just worried about your future.." Kagome was 19 and had no bus to wait for. She had graduated from college with good grades, and had applied for several colleges. She had been accepted by several, but had no means of paying for her tuition. Her mother was stretching the family funds enough by sending Souta to the high-class school he was going to, and was working nearly seven days a week, so she couldn't ask her mother for money. She was currently searching for a good, high paying job that would support her, and help take some pressure off of her overworked mother. Unfortunately, there weren't many jobs that didn't require college degrees that paid well.
Sighing sadly, Kagome flopped down into her chair again, picking up the crumpled newspaper. She flipped quickly to the Jobs section and scanned the listed advertisements. "McDonalds waitress, no. Babysitter, no, I suck with kids... Housekeeper...NO.. Ranch helper..?" Kagome scanned the ad quickly, " My last helper quit, and I need help with the animals. Must be able to lift heavy loads, ride horses and care for animals. If interested, call Inuyasha Takahashi at 520-745-7587 or contact me at CuttingWind275 ."
Kagome raised her eyebrows at the pay, College degree required..? NO! The raven haired woman clasped the newspaper in her hands and danced around the living room, ignoring the television in her happiness. A sudden thought stopped her in her tracks, If the pay is this good, and no degree is required... I'm not the only one looking for a job! It might be taken! Kagome pulled out her android, quickly punching in the number listed on the job ad. She crossed her fingers and bounced on the balls of her feet as the phone rang. Rrriinnnggg. Rrrrinnggg -beep- "Hello? You've reached Miroku Houshi at Takahashi Ranches, how may I help you?" Kagome breathed out deeply, "This is Kagome Higurashi... I'm calling about the job ad you listed in the newspaper?" Miroku paused, "The job ad..? OH! I'm so glad you called! I was the one who posted that ad, ever since our last helper quit, I've been the one doing the work!" A deep sigh was heard from the other end of the line, "First things first, where do you live?" Kagome frowned, "California, why?" The voice on the other end chuckled, "California huh? Well miss Kagome, to accept this job, you're gonna have to come to us... All the way down in Why Arizona..."
Kagome almost dropped the phone. Why Arizona..? Is that actually a place?! She smiled, realized Miroku couldn't see it, and hastily replied; "Ah-uhm, I'd be glad to accept the job! Thank you!" A sigh of relief was heard, "Thank heavens, when do you think you'll be able to come down?" Kagome ran to the calendar, she wanted the weekend to pack, and it would probably take her a day to find the damn place (if it actually existed) so it would have to be Tuesday. "I'll be there on Tuesday!" Miroku seemed pleased with her answer, "Good! You'll need lots of summer clothes, a GPS and... a lot of patience. It was great talking to you Kagome, I'll see you on Tuesday!" Kagome tapped the "end call" icon, and eyed the now silent device warily. A lot of patience..? He must mean the animals.
After searching up Why, AZ on Google Maps, Kagome was fairly certain that she vaguely knew the location of Takahashi ranch, it was in the middle of nowhere, so the GPS requirement explained itself. Kagome grabbed the newspaper in one hand, and pounded up the stairs to find her mother. "Moooo-omm! I found a job!"
= Sorry for the short chapter! You're probably getting sick of me saying that by now, so I'll try to make this announcement short. This story needs a title, so if any of you guys have ideas please post them as a comment or as a PM to me. I'll pick my top five favorite names that reviers come up with, post them on my profile and hold a vote. After that, I'll narrow it down to two names, unless one name wins by a significant amount... So please, pick a name! ~Shadow=