Inushago: brilliant. Iz's turn. Begin whine fest number 1.
Izayoi: hay! Whoever said that I'm gonna whine?
Fushoma: well we all know what is about to happen in each of these stories. We did, in a way, have a hand in the composition of these stories. Don't you agree, Sha?
Inushago: oh cut the romantic crap and let inupup start the damned chapter, Sho.
Fushimi: you come off it, Sha. It's not all about you. Yes, let inupup start the chapter but try to enjoy it. For crying out loud.
Me: uhhh, I guess that means we move on to Izayoi's thoughts and worries. Here we go.
Izayoi.
For the last couple of months, Sha's been spending more and more time with us; me, Shimi, Shoma, Dai and Etsuko. I don't get it. He has lessons with Uncle. I wish the lessons would take longer though. It means more peace and quiet for me!
Anyway, Etsuko is now three years old. We were fourteen when he was born, making us seventeen now. Well, not quite. Our birthday is two months away. But I'm getting sidetracked. Yeah, so Et is three, which means he's asking questions about everything. Most days, I take care of him during the day while Mum's at work. Dad did something stupid and now he has to read through everything he gets off my uncle. So he can't take Et from me most of the time. When he gets bored, though, he comes and finds us. But that is rare. The only time I don't have to look after Et is when Mum is home on weekends and at night. But after that, he generally watches us practice in case we do 'Broken Hearts Parade'. I've been teaching him my old trumpet part and he's almost got it down.
The only bad thing about my days is that, when Shago's around, I also have to babysit him too. It's ridiculous! He's older than me (only by about a minute) and he acts like a child at times. I must admit, though, Etsuko is starting to warm up to him now that not cranky all the time. Shago also seems to like playing with Et, so I get a few minutes of peace and quiet when that happens.
May I be completely honest with you? Thank you. I miss going to school and hanging out with my brother and sisters for most, if not all, of the day. I need to get out! But I can't! I've become a house wife! And that's so downgrading and really bad womanising! I think I'll ask Aunt Ayame if one of her cubs can come take Et off my hands for a little while..........
"Hey, Iz?" Shago just walked into my room.
"Yeah, Sha?"
"Are you ok? Your crankiness has come close to rivalling mine lately." He says that almost like he's proud of being angry all the time.
"What are you talking about, Shago? I haven't been cranky lately." Almost everyone calls my brother by his nickname. His nick name even has a nick name, if you've noticed. The only people who call my brother by his full name are me, Mum and Uncle. Dad doesn't bother with names when we are in trouble, usually. Mum and I only call him Inushago when we are pissed but Uncle uses his full name all the time.
"Drop the act, Izayoi." I looked at him in shock. "I know you better than anyone. You are cranky, so tell me what is wrong!" he demanded.
"Nothing is wrong!" I insisted. I knew it wasn't working, but I could at least try.
"Izayoi," he said warningly, letting his limited youkai flare. See? I told you it wasn't working. I sighed.
So do you know what I did? I told him, I told him everything. Shago, the one people usually don't trust because of his infamous, unpredictable temper. And do you know what he did when I was finished? All he did was nod his head, get up and walk out. Now I am thoroughly pissed.
It's been a couple of days since the incident with Shago. He just got home and is now on the phone to god-only-knows who. I, however, am enjoying a peaceful moment and Etsuko is watching TV at my feet. Ok, maybe not what you'd call peaceful, but it's peaceful to me.
"Ok, now all I have to do is wait," Shago groaned as he slumped into a chair. Both Etsuko and I looked over at him.
"Wait for what?"
"Now, Et. You know how surprises work, don't you?" Shago replied cryptically. I was starting to get suspicious. Shago doesn't usually organise things unless they are beneficial to him. Et just nodded.
"Yes. If you tell someone what the surprise is, it's not a surprise anymore," Et replied innocently. Sometimes I wonder about his intelligence level. Shago only nodded and turned his attention to the TV.
After half an hour of paranoid peacefulness, the doorbell rang. Shago lumped off answering it to me and I walked quietly to the door.
"Hello?" I asked as I swung the door towards me.
"Hi!" came three bubbly voices.
"Let's go Izzie!" one cried.
"Wait! She's not ready! Mari, she's not ready!" whined another.
"Where's that brother of yours, Iz? I need to have words," said the last. Three heads of red hair pushed past me and went in search of my brother. They are my best friends, other than my sisters, of course. Mari, Yuri and Riki, daughters of Koga and Ayame. In their particular littler, they have one brother and he is currently dating Shimi secretly. Mari, the oldest of these girls, she looks exactly like her mother and usually wears her long hair loose. Yuri looks very similar, only she has Koga's eyes and wears her hair in one high ponytail (she also likes to complain if things aren't the way they are supposed to be). Riki is always enthusiastic to do stuff and again, looks mostly like Ayame and her two sisters. The only difference is one eye is green and the other is blue and she wears her hair in two ponytails on either side of her head. All three are kick ass, like their father, and I assume Mari intends to bash Shago up. Let's watch, shall we?
"Inushago! I thought you said she's be ready!?!" Mari screamed, balling a fist. Though she looks exactly like her mother, she is her father's daughter.
"I said 'she'd be ready' meaning she'd be expecting something. It was a surprise for her. You know as well as I that she's not appreciated as much as she should be. Now, if you'll excuse me, Etsuko and I are going out. She's all yours, girls. Later, Iz. Come o, Et." And with that, Shago left me watching, shocked, after him. As I looked after my brothers, I knew that evil looks were appearing on the girl's faces. As soon as I turned around, they dragged me to my room, got me changed and then hurriedly pulled me out the door for a 'Girl's Night Out'.
Apparently, after my little spiel the other day, Shago organised this for me. He may cause me so much trouble but he does care about me. Now, every Friday, Mari, Yuki, Riki and I ( and Shimi and Dai if it's during the holidays) go out during the day as soon as Shago can take Et from me.
Thank you, Shago. I appreciate it. I really do. Thank you so much.
Izayoi, the strict quarter inu.
Inushago: what did I say? I said that it would be a whine fest.
Izayoi: whatever you say, 'top dog'. *glomps Sha with an appreciative hug*
Inushago: hey, hey, hey! Get off!! *sighs, relaxes and hugs Iz back.*
Shimi, Shoma and I: Awww
Inushago: *growls* shut .... up .....
Shoma: hey shim, has inupup let you read Dai's chapter?
Shimi: yes! Omg, how sad is it? I had no idea she felt that way!
Izayoi and Inushago: what?
Daiki: well I do. Next chapter you'll get to see what is so sad and has my younger brother and sister so mushy to me. I hope you enjoy it though!
Inupup: they are taking over my job, so I shall see you next chapter, 'Daiki'.
Daiki: guys, can you get off me now? Besides we have homework to do.
Shimi:*releases Dai*ok, then.
Shoma: *also releases Dai* let's go.
*Dai, Shimi and Shoma leave*
Kagome: Iz, I've been called in. Can you come get Et?
Izayoi: coming Mum! *Runs off to sit Et.*
Inushago: this is no fun alone. Later, mortals.
