A/N: Okay, just so everyone knows, this is not a direct copy of A Midsummer
Night's Dream (not that ff.net even allows those). It could not possibly
be because I have never read A Midsummer Night's Dream. I know the basic
background (mistaken identity, mischievous sprite) but that's pretty much
it. They only similarities between A Midsummer Night's Dream and this
InuYasha fanfic of the same name is that they take place during midsummer
and they involve some mischievous people setting up two particular couples.
There won't be any mistakes and they will remember it in the morning
(though it all doesn't take place in one night). I sort of had to change
the dynamics of Kagome and Inuyasha's relationship. Not much, just it's a
little less obvious that they're in love with each other. Sort of more
like it was at the beginning of the series. Just to reiterate, this is an
Inuyasha/Kagome and Miroku/Sango fic. I'm not fond of Kikyo, but I'll try
to be nice to her. And I will *try* to write lemons (unless anyone wants
to take the pressure off.) for the above couples, so the rating is going to
go up when I do that. And just so you know, I made up Kagome's moms job
because I really don't know what she does. It doesn't really have that big
of an effect on the story though. And I'm not quite sure where Kagome
lives in the present so I kind of made it up. Again, not big to the story.
Okay, that's pretty much all I wanted to say. So now without further ado
(Much Ado About Nothing.another Shakespeare bit I think) I give you "A
Midsummer Night's Dream,"-InuYasha style!
Shippo yawned lazily as he shifted himself from his state of sleeping to his state of awakening. He so hated to release himself from the dreams of his father. Shippo shook himself free and stood up. Quickly wiping the sleep from his eyes he scurried around the sleeping area, trying to find Kagome.
"She must be taking a bath with Sango," he said aloud. He knew better to go after her. Last time he went to talk to Kagome when she and Sango were taking a bath he had been mistaken for Miroku and had so many bath items thrown at him it wasn't funny. Okay, so maybe it was a little funny.
So today he settled for grooming himself the old fashioned kitsune way and waiting for Kagome to come back. While grooming he thought of how gloomy everyone had become lately. Even though the weather was wonderful and Shippo could feel the spirit of summer within himself everyone else (except Kirara) seemed down and out. Shippo wondered why.
Shippo had noticed that the boys (as he liked to call them in his head because it was easier) kept looking at each respective girl with a look that could only be described as longing on their faces and vice versa. Shippo knew the feeling well. He knew his face must look sad when he thought of his lost father but it wasn't like *they* were apart from each other that long. Could they be so sensitive that a few minutes apart drove them crazy? No, naïve as Shippo was about certain matters he knew that wasn't it.
"Then why is everyone so upset?" he said to himself.
"You know, talking to yourself is not exactly a good habit to have."
Shippo jerked around for the sound of the voice, recognizing it immediately. "Myoga," he called. "Where are you?"
When he felt a prick on his neck he knew immediately where Myoga was. He swatted at the flea and ended up with Myoga in his hand. "That wasn't very nice," Shippo said, rubbing his neck.
"Ah, but I couldn't find Master Inuyasha, so you had to do."
Shippo sighed. "I don't know where Miroku and Inuyasha are."
"Well, if from what I know about the monk, he must be spying on the ladies in the bath."
"Nah. We'd have heard him getting smacked by now. He's probably with Inuyasha."
"Oh," Myoga observed his surroundings, while thinking to himself about what Shippo had said earlier to himself. "Everyone's upset?"
"Yeah, I don't know why. They keep looking at each other all sad like."
"They?"
"Oh. Well Inuyasha keeps looking at Kagome sad and Miroku keeps looking at Sango said then Kagome looks-"
"I get the point."
"Do you understand it?"
"Well of course I do."
Shippo smiled and waited for Myoga to dole out his prognosis.
"It's obvious of course."
Shippo leaned in.
"They've all got the flu."
Shippo fell over anime style. "That's not it!" he screeched as he pulled himself up.
"Of course that's not it. I just wanted to see if you would 'fall' for it. Get it?"
Shippo narrowed his eyes and squeezed the flea spitefully. "Ack! Stop it!" Myoga screeched. "I'll tell! I'll tell! I know! I know!"
Shippo released his hold and looked at the flea expectantly. "I suspect," Myoga said, straightening himself up. "That they're all in love with one another and are too afraid to confront the other about their feelings."
"In love with one another?" Shippo questioned.
"You do know what that means don't you?"
"Yeah.but I don't understand why they wouldn't want to tell each other."
"Love, Shippo, is a powerful emotion. When you love someone and you're not sure if they return that love you don't want to ask them for fear they'll reject you."
"But they all love each other."
"Ah, but they don't know that."
"Well they should ask!" Shippo said stubbornly.
Myoga sighed. "I've already told you Shippo, they're all afraid."
"Well I think that is the silliest-"
"Myoga, I should have known you'd be dropping in soon. We haven't been having many battles lately," Inuyasha interrupted.
"Ah! Master Inuyasha! A pleasure to see you!" Myoga exclaimed, eyeing Shippo purposely to indicate that he should keep his mouth shut about what they had been talking about, and ignoring Inuyasha's insult all in one moment.
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Why exactly are you here Myoga?"
"Be honest now," Miroku said from beside Inuyasha.
"You really want me to be honest?"
Inuyasha shrugged while Miroku nodded. "Well.to be perfectly honest.I honestly don't have anything better to do so I thought I'd just tag along for a while."
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "Basically you're going to leech off us until the going gets tough right?"
"Master Inuyasha!" Myoga said indignantly.
"Yeah Myoga, there's only room for *one* leech here.wait a second."
"Totally different type of leech Miroku. There's even a pronunciation and spelling difference."
"My mistake. I'm not exactly completely awake yet," he then yawned for emphasis.
"Where are Sango and Kagome?" Inuyasha questioned Shippo.
"I think they're taking a bath, but I'm not sure."
"Well, go and tell them to hurry up. I want to leave soon. Kagome has to stop back in her time for a few things I think and we're close by the Bone Eaters Well so I want to get a move on!" Inuyasha growled.
"No way! I'm not going! The last time I went they threw all these things at me because they thought I was Miroku!"
"Well I'm sure as hell not going!"
"I'll go," Miroku offered, a mischievous smile painted on his face.
"No!" Inuyasha and Shippo said in unison.
"Sango will beat you unconscious!" Shippo said.
"And then I'll have to carry you until you wake up!" Inuyasha yelled.
Miroku sighed. "Fine. I won't go. I didn't think you'd want me to. I was only offering."
"We should just wait until they come out on their own," Shippo suggested.
"No! If we do that they'll be in there until midday!"
"Well I'm not going to get them!"
"They won't hurt you as badly as they would me or Miroku!"
"I'll go," Miroku offered again.
"NO! YOU'RE NOT GOING!"
While Inuyasha and Shippo argued (and Miroku interjected randomly) Sango and Kagome were drying themselves off chatting amiably. They sat down on rocks near the convenient (aren't they all?) hot spring to let the morning sun dry their hair.
"Doesn't the Hiraikotsu hurt after you've carried it around all day long?" Kagome asked Sango.
"Not really. You get used it. You build muscle for it."
Kagome sighed taking in the midsummer morning. "You know what I hate?"
"What?" Sango turned to Kagome.
"Men. I hate men."
"Me too," Sango agreed.
"They're so irritable."
"They're so obnoxious."
"They're so stupid."
"They're so confusing."
"They save you all the time!"
"They grope you all the time!"
"They have such stupid ears."
"They have such stupid eyes."
"I hate them!" they said in unison and then looked at each other, as if just realizing the other was there.
Both of them blinked. "Do," Kagome cleared her throat. "Do you.have feelings for Miroku?"
Sango got up abruptly and marched into the woods surrounding the hot springs and waved her Hiraikotsu threateningly about. Once she had "secured the perimeter" as it was, she sat back down. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't want any peeping toms to overhear."
"It's okay. I understand."
Sango ran a shaky hand through her hair. "Yeah. I have.feelings for him."
Kagome sighed. "And you Kagome?" Kagome turned to Sango. "Things not well between you and Inuyasha? What am I saying? I know they're not well. Sorry Kagome."
Kagome drew her knees to her chest. "I wish I didn't love him so."
"I know Kagome. Believe me. I know." Both of them sighed and looked towards the sky. "I wish love were easy," Sango breathed.
Kagome smiled and stood up. "If love was easy, it wouldn't be worth as much."
Sango smiled in agreeance and stood up as well. "We'd better get back. Inuyasha is probably having a fit."
Kagome laughed. "Probably."
And with that they left the convenient hot spring, the only witness to their suffering besides each other and their own hearts.
~*~
Sango and Kagome entered the camping ground to find Inuyasha and Shippo bickering and Miroku standing to the side, laughing to himself and interjecting random things. Sango and Kagome got closer unnoticed and when they were in listening distance they saw Inuyasha whip around and scream in Miroku's face "FOR THE LAST TIME YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET KAGOME AND SANGO FROM THE HOT SPRING!"
"I should hope not," Sango snorted.
"Sango, Kagome good!" Inuyasha screeched. "Help us figure out how to get Sango and Kagome out of the hot.spring.oh." Inuyasha stared.
"I suppose we should have just waited from the start," Shippo sighed. "Instead of spending all that time arguing."
"Who was arguing?" Inuyasha growled. "I told you to-"
Miroku clamped a hand on Inuyashas shoulder and interrupted him. "Shouldn't we get moving if we want to make good time to the Bone Eaters Well and have Kagome back in our time before noon?"
Inuyasha could hardly argue with this so he begrudgingly led the way out of the camping ground talking to Miroku as he went. It was an odd separation. Inuyasha with Miroku and Kagome with Sango. But these separations had been happening a lot lately. It seemed no one but Shippo wanted to mingle with the opposite sex unless absolutely necessary. Of course Myoga was another exception today.
By nine o'clock in the morning the group had reached the Bone Eaters Well. "I'll be back soon I promise!" Kagome said. "I'm just going to get supplies and have a quick bath!"
Miroku turned to Inuyasha. "Are you going with her?"
Inuyasha stiffened. "I think I'll stay here this time."
Kagome smiled sadly. "Fine Inuyasha," and she disappeared down the well back to a time where hot springs weren't as convenient.
~*~
It may have seemed weird for a young preteen such as Sota to relish the sound of silence, but it was true. Sota enjoyed the times when nobody was around. And he counted himself lucky that his mother and grandfather were so lax when it came to leaving him alone.okay maybe not so, so lax.
On the refrigerator was a note written by his mother. On the pretty pink stationary it said:
Kagome-If you're not delayed in the past, please remember to watch over your brother. You have my permission to take him back to the Feudal Era if need be, but if you get him hurt or killed, I'll punish you severely. Love you honey! There's ramen above the fridge! -Mom
Sota shivered every time he had to walk by or open the refrigerator. That note represented a premonition of enslavement to Kagome. Not that he didn't love his big sister, he just enjoyed being alone. And he'd been alone for two whole days now because his mother had had this big conference for caterers in Tokyo. And his grandfather had decided to tag along because he hadn't been out of the shrine in over ten months. His mother had known this beforehand and had told Kagome to try to come and watch him the last time she'd been in the present. Sota, of course, hoped that she had forgotten. Either forgotten or couldn't come. Not that he was wishing for her death or anything.
And he knew death was potential in the Feudal Era. He had been once before. He'd had fun of course. It was great being with his hero and meeting all of Kagome's friends. He had wanted to stay as long as Kagome usually did until he was attacked by a hoard of demons while going to the bathroom.
Staying in the present was preferable. Especially considering he was alone today. Alone. A-L-O-N-E. Sota reveled in the solitude, as he lay out on the couch drinking milk right out of the carton.
And that's when it happened. One second he was downing milk happily, loving the solitude the next SLAM! "Sota! I'm home! Sota! Where are you?"
Sota muttered every curse his prepubescent brain could think of. "Here sis!" he said glumly.
Kagome bounced into the living room. "Hey Sota! Get ready to leave okay? I'm going to take a bath then gather our stuff," Kagome then bounded up the stairs leaving Sota with a severe lack of solitude.
Grumbling to himself all the way, Sota climbed the stairs and readied himself for his trip to the past.
~*~
Two and a half hours later Sota and Kagome arrived in the past. "We'll come back in a week," Kagome said cheerfully to Sota who was still depressed at having to follow his sister. Kagome hadn't noticed yet. Of course, Kagome had her own depression to deal with. And while Sota would perk up at the sight of Inuyasha when they entered the village, Kagome would only get more depressed.
By nightfall though, Sota had noticed the tension that hung in the air between the group. And even in the short time he'd been with them last time, he knew it was weird for them to segregate themselves so severely. Around the campfire Sota moved over to Shippo and whispered, "Is it just me, or is something bugging these guys?"
Shippo looked up, surprised at Sota. "Well," he whispered. "They all love each other and don't want to tell."
Sota blinked, confused. "They all love each other?"
Myoga, conveniently nestled in Shippo's hair jumped out on his shoulder. "What in the--?"
"Oh that's Myoga!" Shippo said, catching on that Sota and Myoga hadn't been acquainted. "He's our friend, even if he runs away at the first sign of trouble."
"Hey!" Myoga said indignantly. "I was just going to explain the situation to Sota! There's no reason to insult me!"
"Sorry Myoga. Explain it then."
"Well, you see Sango is in love with Miroku and Miroku is in love with Sango but they're both too afraid to confess their love. The same goes for Inuyasha and Kagome, only perhaps it's a bit more complex."
"Oh!" Sota said, surprised at the thought of his sister and his hero in love with each other. Though now that he thought about it, he couldn't pick anyone better for Kagome, and he quite liked the idea of Inuyasha as a brother-in-law.
Sota, thoughts of how this would positively affect his family, said: "Well, why don't we help them?"
"It's not that simple," Myoga said, crossing his four arms. "Love is a difficult and messy thing to deal with."
"No it's not. Because we're not dealing directly with love. We're dealing with the admittance of love. And in movies," seeing the blank looks on Myoga's and Shippo's faces Sota decided to change his reference. "I mean, in stories, love is always admitted through a kiss."
"What stories? I've never heard any stories like that," Shippo said.
"Well, in my time, there are a lot of stories like that. About princes rescuing princesses, and saving them by kissing them."
"That's a bit far-fetched," Myoga wrinkled his nose.
"Well duh, but what I'm saying is that once they kiss each other they'll have admitted their love for each other!"
Myoga and Shippo stared at Sota, different waves of comprehension flashing over their faces. "It needs a few kinks worked out but, I think it can be done." Myoga stated.
Shippo squealed in delight. "Let's do it! Let's have them all admit their love."
And so, under the midsummer moon, three companions began to plot the admittance of love.
~*~
Woo. That was just the warm up. I'm going to throw in another curve ball in the next chapter.
Just so you know, it's probably going to be awhile for the next chapter to come out. But I sweat, that come hell or high water I will finish this fanfic. It may take me a while, but I swear I'll do it.
(Unless I die in a horrible accident involving a blender, rice and my Rurouni Kenshin wall scroll.)
READ AND REVIEW!!!
Shippo yawned lazily as he shifted himself from his state of sleeping to his state of awakening. He so hated to release himself from the dreams of his father. Shippo shook himself free and stood up. Quickly wiping the sleep from his eyes he scurried around the sleeping area, trying to find Kagome.
"She must be taking a bath with Sango," he said aloud. He knew better to go after her. Last time he went to talk to Kagome when she and Sango were taking a bath he had been mistaken for Miroku and had so many bath items thrown at him it wasn't funny. Okay, so maybe it was a little funny.
So today he settled for grooming himself the old fashioned kitsune way and waiting for Kagome to come back. While grooming he thought of how gloomy everyone had become lately. Even though the weather was wonderful and Shippo could feel the spirit of summer within himself everyone else (except Kirara) seemed down and out. Shippo wondered why.
Shippo had noticed that the boys (as he liked to call them in his head because it was easier) kept looking at each respective girl with a look that could only be described as longing on their faces and vice versa. Shippo knew the feeling well. He knew his face must look sad when he thought of his lost father but it wasn't like *they* were apart from each other that long. Could they be so sensitive that a few minutes apart drove them crazy? No, naïve as Shippo was about certain matters he knew that wasn't it.
"Then why is everyone so upset?" he said to himself.
"You know, talking to yourself is not exactly a good habit to have."
Shippo jerked around for the sound of the voice, recognizing it immediately. "Myoga," he called. "Where are you?"
When he felt a prick on his neck he knew immediately where Myoga was. He swatted at the flea and ended up with Myoga in his hand. "That wasn't very nice," Shippo said, rubbing his neck.
"Ah, but I couldn't find Master Inuyasha, so you had to do."
Shippo sighed. "I don't know where Miroku and Inuyasha are."
"Well, if from what I know about the monk, he must be spying on the ladies in the bath."
"Nah. We'd have heard him getting smacked by now. He's probably with Inuyasha."
"Oh," Myoga observed his surroundings, while thinking to himself about what Shippo had said earlier to himself. "Everyone's upset?"
"Yeah, I don't know why. They keep looking at each other all sad like."
"They?"
"Oh. Well Inuyasha keeps looking at Kagome sad and Miroku keeps looking at Sango said then Kagome looks-"
"I get the point."
"Do you understand it?"
"Well of course I do."
Shippo smiled and waited for Myoga to dole out his prognosis.
"It's obvious of course."
Shippo leaned in.
"They've all got the flu."
Shippo fell over anime style. "That's not it!" he screeched as he pulled himself up.
"Of course that's not it. I just wanted to see if you would 'fall' for it. Get it?"
Shippo narrowed his eyes and squeezed the flea spitefully. "Ack! Stop it!" Myoga screeched. "I'll tell! I'll tell! I know! I know!"
Shippo released his hold and looked at the flea expectantly. "I suspect," Myoga said, straightening himself up. "That they're all in love with one another and are too afraid to confront the other about their feelings."
"In love with one another?" Shippo questioned.
"You do know what that means don't you?"
"Yeah.but I don't understand why they wouldn't want to tell each other."
"Love, Shippo, is a powerful emotion. When you love someone and you're not sure if they return that love you don't want to ask them for fear they'll reject you."
"But they all love each other."
"Ah, but they don't know that."
"Well they should ask!" Shippo said stubbornly.
Myoga sighed. "I've already told you Shippo, they're all afraid."
"Well I think that is the silliest-"
"Myoga, I should have known you'd be dropping in soon. We haven't been having many battles lately," Inuyasha interrupted.
"Ah! Master Inuyasha! A pleasure to see you!" Myoga exclaimed, eyeing Shippo purposely to indicate that he should keep his mouth shut about what they had been talking about, and ignoring Inuyasha's insult all in one moment.
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Why exactly are you here Myoga?"
"Be honest now," Miroku said from beside Inuyasha.
"You really want me to be honest?"
Inuyasha shrugged while Miroku nodded. "Well.to be perfectly honest.I honestly don't have anything better to do so I thought I'd just tag along for a while."
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "Basically you're going to leech off us until the going gets tough right?"
"Master Inuyasha!" Myoga said indignantly.
"Yeah Myoga, there's only room for *one* leech here.wait a second."
"Totally different type of leech Miroku. There's even a pronunciation and spelling difference."
"My mistake. I'm not exactly completely awake yet," he then yawned for emphasis.
"Where are Sango and Kagome?" Inuyasha questioned Shippo.
"I think they're taking a bath, but I'm not sure."
"Well, go and tell them to hurry up. I want to leave soon. Kagome has to stop back in her time for a few things I think and we're close by the Bone Eaters Well so I want to get a move on!" Inuyasha growled.
"No way! I'm not going! The last time I went they threw all these things at me because they thought I was Miroku!"
"Well I'm sure as hell not going!"
"I'll go," Miroku offered, a mischievous smile painted on his face.
"No!" Inuyasha and Shippo said in unison.
"Sango will beat you unconscious!" Shippo said.
"And then I'll have to carry you until you wake up!" Inuyasha yelled.
Miroku sighed. "Fine. I won't go. I didn't think you'd want me to. I was only offering."
"We should just wait until they come out on their own," Shippo suggested.
"No! If we do that they'll be in there until midday!"
"Well I'm not going to get them!"
"They won't hurt you as badly as they would me or Miroku!"
"I'll go," Miroku offered again.
"NO! YOU'RE NOT GOING!"
While Inuyasha and Shippo argued (and Miroku interjected randomly) Sango and Kagome were drying themselves off chatting amiably. They sat down on rocks near the convenient (aren't they all?) hot spring to let the morning sun dry their hair.
"Doesn't the Hiraikotsu hurt after you've carried it around all day long?" Kagome asked Sango.
"Not really. You get used it. You build muscle for it."
Kagome sighed taking in the midsummer morning. "You know what I hate?"
"What?" Sango turned to Kagome.
"Men. I hate men."
"Me too," Sango agreed.
"They're so irritable."
"They're so obnoxious."
"They're so stupid."
"They're so confusing."
"They save you all the time!"
"They grope you all the time!"
"They have such stupid ears."
"They have such stupid eyes."
"I hate them!" they said in unison and then looked at each other, as if just realizing the other was there.
Both of them blinked. "Do," Kagome cleared her throat. "Do you.have feelings for Miroku?"
Sango got up abruptly and marched into the woods surrounding the hot springs and waved her Hiraikotsu threateningly about. Once she had "secured the perimeter" as it was, she sat back down. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't want any peeping toms to overhear."
"It's okay. I understand."
Sango ran a shaky hand through her hair. "Yeah. I have.feelings for him."
Kagome sighed. "And you Kagome?" Kagome turned to Sango. "Things not well between you and Inuyasha? What am I saying? I know they're not well. Sorry Kagome."
Kagome drew her knees to her chest. "I wish I didn't love him so."
"I know Kagome. Believe me. I know." Both of them sighed and looked towards the sky. "I wish love were easy," Sango breathed.
Kagome smiled and stood up. "If love was easy, it wouldn't be worth as much."
Sango smiled in agreeance and stood up as well. "We'd better get back. Inuyasha is probably having a fit."
Kagome laughed. "Probably."
And with that they left the convenient hot spring, the only witness to their suffering besides each other and their own hearts.
~*~
Sango and Kagome entered the camping ground to find Inuyasha and Shippo bickering and Miroku standing to the side, laughing to himself and interjecting random things. Sango and Kagome got closer unnoticed and when they were in listening distance they saw Inuyasha whip around and scream in Miroku's face "FOR THE LAST TIME YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET KAGOME AND SANGO FROM THE HOT SPRING!"
"I should hope not," Sango snorted.
"Sango, Kagome good!" Inuyasha screeched. "Help us figure out how to get Sango and Kagome out of the hot.spring.oh." Inuyasha stared.
"I suppose we should have just waited from the start," Shippo sighed. "Instead of spending all that time arguing."
"Who was arguing?" Inuyasha growled. "I told you to-"
Miroku clamped a hand on Inuyashas shoulder and interrupted him. "Shouldn't we get moving if we want to make good time to the Bone Eaters Well and have Kagome back in our time before noon?"
Inuyasha could hardly argue with this so he begrudgingly led the way out of the camping ground talking to Miroku as he went. It was an odd separation. Inuyasha with Miroku and Kagome with Sango. But these separations had been happening a lot lately. It seemed no one but Shippo wanted to mingle with the opposite sex unless absolutely necessary. Of course Myoga was another exception today.
By nine o'clock in the morning the group had reached the Bone Eaters Well. "I'll be back soon I promise!" Kagome said. "I'm just going to get supplies and have a quick bath!"
Miroku turned to Inuyasha. "Are you going with her?"
Inuyasha stiffened. "I think I'll stay here this time."
Kagome smiled sadly. "Fine Inuyasha," and she disappeared down the well back to a time where hot springs weren't as convenient.
~*~
It may have seemed weird for a young preteen such as Sota to relish the sound of silence, but it was true. Sota enjoyed the times when nobody was around. And he counted himself lucky that his mother and grandfather were so lax when it came to leaving him alone.okay maybe not so, so lax.
On the refrigerator was a note written by his mother. On the pretty pink stationary it said:
Kagome-If you're not delayed in the past, please remember to watch over your brother. You have my permission to take him back to the Feudal Era if need be, but if you get him hurt or killed, I'll punish you severely. Love you honey! There's ramen above the fridge! -Mom
Sota shivered every time he had to walk by or open the refrigerator. That note represented a premonition of enslavement to Kagome. Not that he didn't love his big sister, he just enjoyed being alone. And he'd been alone for two whole days now because his mother had had this big conference for caterers in Tokyo. And his grandfather had decided to tag along because he hadn't been out of the shrine in over ten months. His mother had known this beforehand and had told Kagome to try to come and watch him the last time she'd been in the present. Sota, of course, hoped that she had forgotten. Either forgotten or couldn't come. Not that he was wishing for her death or anything.
And he knew death was potential in the Feudal Era. He had been once before. He'd had fun of course. It was great being with his hero and meeting all of Kagome's friends. He had wanted to stay as long as Kagome usually did until he was attacked by a hoard of demons while going to the bathroom.
Staying in the present was preferable. Especially considering he was alone today. Alone. A-L-O-N-E. Sota reveled in the solitude, as he lay out on the couch drinking milk right out of the carton.
And that's when it happened. One second he was downing milk happily, loving the solitude the next SLAM! "Sota! I'm home! Sota! Where are you?"
Sota muttered every curse his prepubescent brain could think of. "Here sis!" he said glumly.
Kagome bounced into the living room. "Hey Sota! Get ready to leave okay? I'm going to take a bath then gather our stuff," Kagome then bounded up the stairs leaving Sota with a severe lack of solitude.
Grumbling to himself all the way, Sota climbed the stairs and readied himself for his trip to the past.
~*~
Two and a half hours later Sota and Kagome arrived in the past. "We'll come back in a week," Kagome said cheerfully to Sota who was still depressed at having to follow his sister. Kagome hadn't noticed yet. Of course, Kagome had her own depression to deal with. And while Sota would perk up at the sight of Inuyasha when they entered the village, Kagome would only get more depressed.
By nightfall though, Sota had noticed the tension that hung in the air between the group. And even in the short time he'd been with them last time, he knew it was weird for them to segregate themselves so severely. Around the campfire Sota moved over to Shippo and whispered, "Is it just me, or is something bugging these guys?"
Shippo looked up, surprised at Sota. "Well," he whispered. "They all love each other and don't want to tell."
Sota blinked, confused. "They all love each other?"
Myoga, conveniently nestled in Shippo's hair jumped out on his shoulder. "What in the--?"
"Oh that's Myoga!" Shippo said, catching on that Sota and Myoga hadn't been acquainted. "He's our friend, even if he runs away at the first sign of trouble."
"Hey!" Myoga said indignantly. "I was just going to explain the situation to Sota! There's no reason to insult me!"
"Sorry Myoga. Explain it then."
"Well, you see Sango is in love with Miroku and Miroku is in love with Sango but they're both too afraid to confess their love. The same goes for Inuyasha and Kagome, only perhaps it's a bit more complex."
"Oh!" Sota said, surprised at the thought of his sister and his hero in love with each other. Though now that he thought about it, he couldn't pick anyone better for Kagome, and he quite liked the idea of Inuyasha as a brother-in-law.
Sota, thoughts of how this would positively affect his family, said: "Well, why don't we help them?"
"It's not that simple," Myoga said, crossing his four arms. "Love is a difficult and messy thing to deal with."
"No it's not. Because we're not dealing directly with love. We're dealing with the admittance of love. And in movies," seeing the blank looks on Myoga's and Shippo's faces Sota decided to change his reference. "I mean, in stories, love is always admitted through a kiss."
"What stories? I've never heard any stories like that," Shippo said.
"Well, in my time, there are a lot of stories like that. About princes rescuing princesses, and saving them by kissing them."
"That's a bit far-fetched," Myoga wrinkled his nose.
"Well duh, but what I'm saying is that once they kiss each other they'll have admitted their love for each other!"
Myoga and Shippo stared at Sota, different waves of comprehension flashing over their faces. "It needs a few kinks worked out but, I think it can be done." Myoga stated.
Shippo squealed in delight. "Let's do it! Let's have them all admit their love."
And so, under the midsummer moon, three companions began to plot the admittance of love.
~*~
Woo. That was just the warm up. I'm going to throw in another curve ball in the next chapter.
Just so you know, it's probably going to be awhile for the next chapter to come out. But I sweat, that come hell or high water I will finish this fanfic. It may take me a while, but I swear I'll do it.
(Unless I die in a horrible accident involving a blender, rice and my Rurouni Kenshin wall scroll.)
READ AND REVIEW!!!