The Other Side
Chapter Three
- Welcome to the Higurashi's -
"Kagome! Sango! Miroku!...Inuyasha!"
As our heroine Higurashi Kagome was putting her great vocal cords into use in a dinky little pit, a certain kitsune was yelling with all the energy he could muster into an empty well. A small cat demon was meowing away beside him.
"Sesshoooomaruuuu-samaaaaa!"
And across from our teary kitsune, a certain short green imp was doing the same.
As the two voices echoed pointlessly without a reply, an elderly woman hurried out of a nearby hut.
"Shippo, what happened?" She asked as she peered into the empty well herself. She dreaded to hear his answer.
The small fox demon looked back at her with a teary pair of green eyes.
"Kaede... Kagome and everyone left! Without me!"
"Left? What do you mean by left?"
"Sesshooooomaruuu-samaaaa!"
"Kagome was dangling on the edge of the well holding onto the girl called Rin and Sango and Miroku tumbled into it... And then Inuyasha tripped over me when I was trying to help Kagome out," the kitsune sniffled. "And then... Suddenly they were all gone!"
"How dare you not mention Sesshomaru-sama!" The imp suddenly intervened. "The worthless humans are in his royal presence!"
"I don't care about Sesshomaru!" The child snapped. "Everyone left without me!"
"Sesshomaru? Isn't that Inuyasha's brother?" The woman asked as she picked up the crying kitsune.
"Don't you dare relate Sesshomaru-sama with that pathetic hanyou!"
"You mean ALL of them fell into the well?" Kaede asked, incredulously. "ALL of them?"
"No..." the kitsune sniffled. "Sesshomaru jumped in there."
"Sesshomaru-SAMA to you!"
The fox demon merely stuck out his tongue at the squawking imp as the woman let out a sigh.
"I warned her..." she mumbled in an exasperated voice.
"Well, what's done is done...Come now," she added as she wiped the young demon's tears away,"Kagome and the others will be back pretty soon. We should all go back to the village for now. You too if you want to see your Sesshomaru-sama and the girl of yours." she added to the furious imp.
"She is NOT mine! She is...She is..."
The short green demon paused slightly, wondering what the best word would be in a situation he was in, but soon let out a squawk when he saw the retreating forms of the woman carrying the fox demon in her arms and the cat demon on her shoulder while the two-headed dragon ambled happily by her side.
He hurried after them.
"...No yelling, no pranks on Buyo, especially you Inuyasha, no exits without my permittion, no midnight snacks, no scaring away the guests who come to the shrine, no rackets, and most importantly no fighting," I concluded with a glare at the hostile dog demons. Rin-chan was already asleep on Sesshomaru's fur pelt while the others trekked along the steep road.
I was leading the group towards the house, purposely taking the long route around the shrine, as the sun was setting gradually. I felt uneasy. What if Mama didn't approve? What if Sesshomaru suddenly decided to blow up a few buildings because they were too bothersome? What if Miroku-sama really does leave a child in my time? ...Don't I have a history test tomorrow?
I could feel my stomach sinking lower as the roof of my house came into view.
"My, the hut looks very queer, Kagome-sama," Miroku-sama observed from behind me. "What are those square things?"
"Square things?"
"The ones that are gleaming with light."
"Oh... Those are called windows."
"Windows?" Sango-chan asked.
"Yes."
"What does it do?" Miroku-sama asked curiously.
...What does it do?
"Um... It allows you to see outside from the inside."
"Pardon?"
"Um...Oh, we're here!"
Not that I was actually that enthusiastic as I sounded.
I caught a whiff of the smell of soup as I slid opened the door. Mama was probably in the kitchen at this time. Oji-chan must be in the living room watching television and Souta would be...
Speak of the devil. I heard his footsteps pit-patting on the stairs as soon as the whole group entered the house.
"Kagome-nechan! Did you bring Inuya-"
He stopped abruptly on the stairs as he caught sight of the unusually large crowd of guests. He slowly took a step back.
"Oh, is Kagome here?" Ojii-chan sounded very excited as he came out to the hallway, "Did you bring any more-"
He looked flabbergasted as he froze in his spot.
"Kagome-chan?" Mama's soft voice was coming closer to the hallway. "Did you have a good time?"
She soon appeared inthe doorway of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron, but stopped when she noticed how the front doorway was quite crowded than usual.
Oji-chan please don't gawk at me like that. Souta don't run away, I swear I won't bite. Mama... Help me, please.
Miroku-sama was the first to move.
He kneeled before my mother and held her hand.
"My beautifiul lady, would you please bear my child?"
Usually, Sango-chan would have acted first, but this time I was the one who whacked him hard on the head.
"Miroku-sama! She's my MOTHER!" I yelled.
"I certainly know where you got your good looks, Kagome-sama."
"You stay away from her!"
"Oh, my! This is very soft! It's exactly like the one in our garage!"
I could hear my neck snapping as I looked to my right to see Ojii-chan already next to Sesshomaru, stroking his fur pelt. I also noticed a pair of dangerously narrowed eyes.
"My, the wonderful feeling! Young man, would you like to contribute this to the shrine?"
I quickly pulled Ojii-chan away.
"Ojii-chan, we don't need another one of those," I muttered.
"Of course we need a spare! You don't know how cold it gets in there in the winter, Kagome!"
"Meyow!"
"Inuyasha! I told you not to bother Buyo!" I yelled.
"I wasn't doing- ow! You little-!"
"Sit!"
"Kagome-sama? Are we there?" I heard a sleepy voice behind me.
"Yes, we're here, Rin-chan. Why don't you come- No, don't turn around so fast, Sango-chan!"
"Huh?"
I heard a crash of a vase breaking into many discrete pieces. Probably the vase that was positioned right next to the end of Hiraikotsu.
"Merow!"
"Buyo!"
"Step away from this Sesshomaru human or you will find your head decapitated."
"Damn furball!"
"Sesshomaru-sama?"
"Kagome-chan?"
"Inuyasha!"
"What!"
"Sit!"
And out of all the commotion of snarling, crashing, and yelling I managed to hear the most welcoming words.
"I hope you like steak."
I looked up to see Mama smiling softly.
"I'll have to heat more soup. Could you help me in the kitchen, Kagome-chan? And Souta, please take care of the broken vase. Oji-san, why don't you lead our guests to the living room for now?"
I never thought Mama looked more angelic in my life.
"Arigatou, Mama," I sighed.
She merely smiled.
"Welcome to the Higurashi's."
"Psst, Nechan?"
"It's no use whispering, Souta. They can hear you from here. The living room isn't a mile away."
"Oh."
I was stirring the miso soup with a ladle as Mama brewed more sauce in the pan. Souta was clinging onto my apron as if he was afraid that I would abandon him.
"Is the man with the rat tail the monk with the hole in his hand?"
"Yes."
"The one with the perverted mind?"
"...Pass me the spoon."
"And what about that big boomerang?" he asked, completely ignoring my request. "Can the lady kill demons with it?"
"Yes, and she can knock you senseless if you keep hindering me from giving them their dinn-...Hey, come to think of it... They already had their dinner!"
"But it can get so tiring when one is traveling time back and forth, Kagome-chan," Mama said as she tasted the sauce, "and the little one looked like she could use some food..."
"You mean Rin-chan? Isn't she cute Mama? Can we keep her?"
"Yes, she is certainly cute," she smiled. "But I'm sure her father won't approve of us keeping her here."
"...Father?"
"Yes, the silver haired one without the doggy ears."
...Father? If Sesshomaru really is her father, I'm going to kidnap Rin-chan for her sake.
"I wonder where her mother is..." she said thoughtfully, "Surely her mother didn't abandon such a sweet child... Or maybe...Oh! Maybe the father's a neutral demon? Like snails!"
"Wow, that's even more cooler than those mushrooms!" Souta whistled. "Is he really neutral, nechan?"
"...Pass the salt, please."
Vocabulary
Nechan - Older sister
Oji-chan - Grandpa
Mama - Mom
Ah yes... The wonderful memories of all the files of my computer flying away just flew into my mind while I was writing this. R&R please...
